Looking for a car to replace my BMW 520d

but she's not worried about you dropping 13k on a new car? sounds a bit weird to say the least, for 13k you could probably run a very broken e60 for a good 2-3 years.

and at 200kish you're not going to get much for it so might as well run it to the ground and think about new car when it's uneconomical to repair.

This man speaks sense.

Also sure there were some f10's on autotrader recently for around your budget, could be worth at least looking at them, not sure what they were like though.

Just checked and there are!
 
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This man speaks sense.

Also sure there were some f10's on autotrader recently for around your budget, could be worth at least looking at them, not sure what they were like though.

Just checked and there are!

3 year old and under 40k miles?
 
Personally, i would keep the BMW . It's got a big boot for a pram and all that furniture you're going to end up buying when junior arrives. Plus if it's going to cost between 4-5k in repairs, going for worst-case there... Then why not keep it running and then buy something else when the child is a bit older , say 3-4years, and you don't need the space anymore?
 
I think the thing that people miss is that when you're doing this sort of mileage it's normally for business. If you're doing 10k a year commuting and one day the car doesnt start, its not the end of the world - you call your boss and explain you might be in late, get to a garage and drive off with a courtesy car. When you've got an important meeting with a customer at 10am and they're 4 hours drive away, that's not really something you get away with doing! It's not about the cost of repairs, it's about being as confident as you can be that the thing you rely on isn't going to let you down
 
I think the thing that people miss is that when you're doing this sort of mileage it's normally for business. If you're doing 10k a year commuting and one day the car doesnt start, its not the end of the world - you call your boss and explain you might be in late, get to a garage and drive off with a courtesy car. When you've got an important meeting with a customer at 10am and they're 4 hours drive away, that's not really something you get away with doing! It's not about the cost of repairs, it's about being as confident as you can be that the thing you rely on isn't going to let you down

Good point

I often have to go to customers places of work straight from home on a morning. If the car is going to be off the road for 4 weeks a year then that is not going to be suitable. Also I do get a car allowance each month so they insist our cars are up to a certain standard.
 
How much more likely is it that a 250k mile car doesn't start one morning compared to a 100k mile car? Assuming they've both been well serviced.

Isn't it more likely going to be issues that creep in and are just more common on the 250k car, but either way you have time to get it in a garage and get a courtesy car?
 
Simply not starting is a bit of hyperbole I guess. You have to think about just how much of your day/week you need to be using the car when you're wrapping up that sort of mileage, dropping it in to repair the next annoying problem can actually be a major headache.
 
Personally, i would keep the BMW . It's got a big boot for a pram and all that furniture you're going to end up buying when junior arrives. Plus if it's going to cost between 4-5k in repairs, going for worst-case there... Then why not keep it running and then buy something else when the child is a bit older , say 3-4years, and you don't need the space anymore?
This probably makes the most sense. Better the devil you know and all that?

However, the 520d is probably going to be looking at a suspension refresh, amongst other things, very soon?
But then considering you're always on the motorway, stress on the parts isn't very big.

Perhaps wait until a big bill gets thrown up and then look to swap?
 
Ford Mondeo could be an option as well. Just looking through autotrader and the titanium x seems a good spec for the money.
 
No. But it's a suggestion ignoring potentially arbitrary age and mileage requirements.

It's not that arbitrary is it - a nearly new Hyundai is a rather different proposition ownership cost wise to a bargain bucket ex-fleet castoff F10 isn't it?
 
[TW]Fox;29341313 said:
It's not that arbitrary is it - a nearly new Hyundai is a rather different proposition ownership cost wise to a bargain bucket ex-fleet castoff F10 isn't it?

And you're certain they're ex-fleet castoffs how? That's just an assumption.

There are a large number of F10's available at that price mark and will have many different backgrounds.

Yes, there may be different ownership costs but they're also completely different ownership experiences. I certainly know which of the two I'd go for between a 6 year old 520d and a 1-2 year old i40.
Id also be fairly willing to bet than in 2,3 or 4 years time the BMW will be worth more thus lowering the blow of those ownership costs somewhat.

And just to add something in regards to age, worst car I ever had for reliability was a 2 year old Clio with 20k on it. Best car I ever had for reliability was a 15 year old Punto with over 100k.
 
And you're certain they're ex-fleet castoffs how? That's just an assumption.

There are a large number of F10's available at that price mark and will have many different backgrounds.

Because this is the bottom of the market and is populated by high mileage, tatty or low specification cars. To get a nice one, you need to spend a bit more money.

I'm sorry but a 6 year old F10 is a completely different ownership proposition to a nearly new i40. The purchase price is almost irrelevant otherwise why are we not suggesting he buys a used S500, way better than a 6 year old 520d and its the same price! :p

Buying a 6 year old F10 IMHO does nothing in terms of ownership experience that his E60 520d doesn't already do, beyond the fact it's obviously a far superior car. But look at his reason for change - it isnt to get a far superior car, it isn't even to get a better car, it's to get a more dependable known quantity and moving from an 8 year old diesel 5 Series to a 6 year old diesel 5 Series doesn't achieve this at all.

If he's comfortable with that idea then surely keeping his 520d would also be on the table as an option, yet it isn't. He wants something from his next car that a used 5 Series doesn't appear to offer him.
 
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[TW]Fox;29341359 said:
Because this is the bottom of the market and is populated by high mileage, tatty or low specification cars. To get a nice one, you need to spend a bit more money.

I'm sorry but a 6 year old F10 is a completely different ownership proposition to a nearly new i40. The purchase price is almost irrelevant otherwise why are we not suggesting he buys a used S500, way better than a 6 year old 520d and its the same price! :p

I agree with you that it's a completely different ownership prospect, don't get me wrong. But it's not just about supposed reliability due to it being newer and having fewer miles on it. The OP is doing 30k a year and having driven both the cars in question I can tell you now which I'd far rather do 30k a year in. Both cars meet his practicality requirements.
Is the used BMW more likely to throw a fit? Not necessarily, and it doesn't matter that the i40 is under warranty, it's still a pain in the backside when your car has to go in.

Following your edit the reason for the change seems to be a nagging Mrs...we all know how logical they are esp if they're with child! Oh i'll also point out I suggested earlier he keep the current car as a first choice.
 
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Then why not keep his current 520d? Saves a pile of money and is probably no more hassle. It isn't suddenly going to implode because it's done 200k. It might need a turbo at some point but of course so might an F10, if it doesn't eat it's timing chain first.

Obviously I agree the F10 is a better car, I drive one, but I don't think £13k is the right point to buy into one if 'no hassle' is on your list of things you expect from a car.

Unless you have a burning desire to be a trailblazer in the currently unknown long-term ZF8HP reliability stakes, who knows how long they last and what happens when they go wrong, with a 2010 you'll be one of the first to find out and I doubt many specialists know them inside out yet, for example. Having the oldest and first of something new is always a complete pain - hence why the E60 525i my Dad had was such a complete nuisance, the oldest N53 engined car around at the time yet just out of warranty so nobody knew what to do with it. Fast forward 5 years and now everyone knows them well and specialists are well versed..
 
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