New Family Car 16-18k

The thing is that it seems to be about 22k for a 2013 plate so quite a big premium. The car I linked above does seems to be on the edge of too good to be true.

To be honest I may consider upping the budget to £23k as it opens up the field quite a bit.

On a side note, running a VIN check on the cars I like I can see that quite a few 5 series are specified with the smokers pack. Is that an instant put off for people? I appreciate that having the smokers pack and smoking in the car are not one and the same, but it is a bit of a put off for me. I don't want to travel 80 miles to see a nice car to then realise that 4 years of smoke are embedded in the upholstery at which point I would walk away. It may sound odd but would it affect residuals?
 
[TW]Fox;28878749 said:
I'm trying to talk it up *and* down as I'm toying with the idea of changing mine still :D
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Make me an offer on mine, but I am worried an M Sport might be too much car for you, because it's like an M5 really....honest.
 
SpeedFreak said:
The thing is that it seems to be about 22k for a 2013 plate so quite a big premium.
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If you can find a 2013 530d Touring with that spec then buy it. They are much more than that. You may be mistaking them with the 520d's which seem to be worth rather a lot less.

£22k buys a good 2012/13 520d, not a 530d.

On a side note, running a VIN check on the cars I like I can see that quite a few 5 series are specified with the smokers pack. Is that an instant put off for people? I appreciate that having the smokers pack and smoking in the car are not one and the same, but it is a bit of a put off for me. I don't want to travel 80 miles to see a nice car to then realise that 4 years of smoke are embedded in the upholstery at which point I would walk away. It may sound odd but would it affect residuals?
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Smokers pack is standard fit, most of them have it because nobody realises they can remove it and it has no real effect anyway. Mine has it and has never been smoked in. My Dad's Touring has it and has never been smoked in. Infact I don't think I've seen one without it.
 
[TW]Fox;28878510 said:
It's not bigger, it's smaller - it's just packaged differently inside so more of the space is available as rear boot space and rear passenger space.

If they are so wonderful where is yours? I'd probably pick one over that Audi ;)

The 5 Series offers a superior drivetrain layout, better gearbox, better engines and a better interior over the Superb (As it should, you can almost get a brand new Superb for the price of a 4-5 year old 5 Series). Not sure what the A6 offers - same engines, same gearboxes, more dated interior as it comes from 2004 rather than 2008 with the Superb....
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I never said it was better than a BMW :confused: I just said that it was bigger inside, with significantly more rear legroom and a much bigger boot.

Of course the F11 is superior in every single other way. It's what I would've purchased if I had more money :p

Not that anyone cares, but I didn't get a Superb because they're all 1.6Ds over here or 140PS 2.0s due to stupid tax laws. Audi reduce output of their cars to 163PS (from 170) whereas Skoda don't. That means another £600 registration tax for 7bhp. And I'd have to drive a Skoda ;)
 
SpeedFreak said:
A colleague has a Superb and while I really like it my wife is illogically adverse to Skodas.
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I'm actually looking with very similar requirements, just on a lower budget and had been looking at the Octavia - only to come up against this exact problem.
 
[TW]Fox;28878554 said:
Nope, you can purchase the warranty separately. Infact the prices quoted are for new policies - renewals are slightly cheaper.

I would imagine it needs FSH, yes.
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BMW told me that it has to have been serviced in.compliance with BNW's specifications, which essentially means sticking to the proper intervals and using genuine parts. This is, of course, easy to demonstrate on a car with FBMWSH, less so on one without.
 
Any thoughts on the 525d (4 cyl). I have found one nearby which ticks a lot of boxes:

see here

Looking at reviews it seems this is as good as a 4 cylinder diesel can get.

edit: The odd thing is the seller claims xenon lights but these don't show up on the VIN check as an option. Is this normal?
 
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Its still a 4 cylinder diesel, the issue with the 520d isn't that it's slow its that it isn't refined at low speed and under load and adding an extra turbo doesn't change that.

That car does not have xenon lights.
 
SpeedFreak said:
Also, what are the thoughts on the the pop up Nav on the 12 plate A6s. I'm not sure if I could live with that.
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It works fine and isn't something isn't really something I have put any thought into previously. I start the ignition it appears I get out the car and is disappears. It certainly isn't a design feature I would use as consideration for whether to buy the car or not.

If you are considering the A6 I wouldn't even consider the older C6 A6 like you have linked to, your budget will get you into the newer C7 if you are willing to accept a 2.0L 4 pot engine. Whilst the engine is less powerful/refined than the 3.0L V6 it's far less of a compromise than buying the older C6 generation of car that is fundamentally a 10 years old design.

Random example:
http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/use...tafford/605290956-40589.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_

or with a bit of negotiation you might just get the 3.0L in budget:
http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/use...norwich/605354758-30021.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_
 
There are two main issues with the A6 which IMHO put it out of the running:

a) The popup nav screen is tiny. It isn't 2006 anymore, what are you doing Audi?

But by far the bigger issue..

b) Unless you buy a petrol hybrid or a 3.0BiTurbo Diesel they do not offer a single model with a decent transmission - they are all either manual, an awful multitronic CVT or a DSG. The DSG itself is a great box it doesn't suit a huge exec saloon like a proper automatic does.
 
[TW]Fox;28888884 said:
There are two main issues with the A6 which IMHO put it out of the running:

a) The popup nav screen is tiny. It isn't 2006 anymore, what are you doing Audi?

But by far the bigger issue..

b) Unless you buy a petrol hybrid or a 3.0BiTurbo Diesel they do not offer a single model with a decent transmission - they are all either manual, an awful multitronic CVT or a DSG. The DSG itself is a great box it doesn't suit a huge exec saloon like a proper automatic does.
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The first issue can be resolved by going for the tech pack, I completely agree with the second point though and it's one of the reasons I ended up going for a manual.
 
Abyss said:
The first issue can be resolved by going for the tech pack
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It can't - the tech package screen is a paltry 7 inch (The same size as the rubbish Business Advanced screen in the 5 Series).

The F10 however has a 10.2" screen if you have Professional Media. This makes it much more flexible.
 
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