20k Annual Mileage Car?

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Soldato
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Short and simple.

Requirements: Diesel / Auto Box.

Budget: £8k


What are my options? I want a motorway cruiser, something I won't get tired in. Looking at 2007+ cars. I'm struggling to find anything I like but can make some exceptions to settle with. Would like a 3L for lazy/smoothness.

I've looked at the E60 525/530/535d variant's and all seem mega moon mileage for the price, or rather, owned by those of 'arite m8' nature. I can somewhat get past the styling but I feel at this age and price set I may get stung with reliability issues. Though most seem to have had dpf's removed + poor history. Swirl flaps blanked on some/not on others. Not sure if it's worth the risk?

I've also looked at the CLS 320 CDI. I know these can throw up some very big bills due to intake port motors/manifolds etc? But I love the styling and most seem to be looked after and owned by the elderly folk. Rims can crack and finding on in AMG styling is rare. Though I can live with the styling of the normal ones.

I'm not worried so much about the big bills as I don't mind getting my hands dirty when needed but are these even a viable option at price and age?

Bad idea for both, lessen my horizons and settle for a VAG Passat?

Wild cards are; A5 Sportback - I initially gave this a miss but it does seem more reliable then the others judging by reviews online. Not to keen on the styling but I feel it is a good all-round package.

C350 CDI - A friend had one and I was impressed in it's performance. It's somewhat comfortable but the interior is not to the best of my taste. Still, it's not a bad place to be. Engine seems fairly reliable?

Petrol Alternatives: Not sure off the luck I'd have with the diesels not throwing up faults within the first year and thus any savings in fuel costs being spent fixing the things.

So 325i/330i are my petrol alternatives, coil packs hpfp,anything else?

It's quite a weird roundup of cars but they're the only ones which stood out to me to do the job in comfort.
 
I don’t mind travelling for the car but my budget is pretty much fixed as it is in my post. This is where I feel that it’s neither here or there and if there are any alternatives then I could look at those.
 
If you want to do 20k a year but you only want to spend 7k you need to focus on reliability. Stop looking at tired old prestige cars and look at something much newer like perhaps a Skoda Superb.

I'm sure a smooth and lovely 3 litre would be great but at this budget its just not an option if you need to depend on it for 20k a year.
 
I currently do that mileage if not a little more, all in a 1.6 focus diesel 2011. Its a Titanium X, and has not cost me a penny in the last 3 years, apart from tyres/brakes.

Its not as fun or prestigious as a BMW, but its lasted so far. (I will soon be moving and reducing commute, then I can get a fun car again)
 
My old man who suffers with back problems had a 2012 2.0l Focus Estate Titanium X and did about 120k miles in 4 years with no complaints, so I don't think you need to get something quite as fancy as you may think. As others have said get something that should be more reliable for you rather than an older Merc or bmw :)
 
[TW]Fox said:
If you want to do 20k a year but you only want to spend 7k you need to focus on reliability. Stop looking at tired old prestige cars and look at something much newer like perhaps a Skoda Superb.

I'm sure a smooth and lovely 3 litre would be great but at this budget its just not an option if you need to depend on it for 20k a year.
Click to expand...

Echo what Fox says here, I have a Superb albeit a 15 plate but for the budget I am not sure if you could get anything better. Go for an Elegance spec for some nice spec:

£7.5k gets you something like this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803224832582?price-to=7500&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&model=SUPERB&aggregatedTrim=Elegance&sort=price-desc&make=SKODA&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=pa160pr&page=1
 
I do circa 23k a year in a Volvo V70.
I prefer the estate as it becomes a car that can cover all needs (apart from a sporty drive...)

Example V70
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...odel=V70&aggregatedTrim=D5&radius=1500&page=1

Example S80
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...ission=Automatic&model=S80&radius=1500&page=1

My V70 (2011 D5) does roughly 40MPG over the year, more in summer, less in winter etc.
Those may be slightly different as the engine may be the single turbo rather than the twin in mine.
I have had it from 30K to just under 100K now.
Only common fault is the AUX belt to my knowledge which can be a bit of a risk as it has the potential to take the CAM belt with it however I believe there is a tensioner recall that sorted this.

Its the most comfortable car I have been in. Never feel tired or ache after using it. The D5 has decent power/torque and never felt the car struggling to move on if required.

Worth having a look at.
 
How about a Lexus of some sort, reliable motorway munchers and generally a nice place to be in without the Merc/BMW pricetag.

In fact a Passat wouldn't be bad either, I'd probably want Approved/Warranty of some sort though as they're not cheap to fix!
 
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Can't help but feel you'll be spending quite a bit on repairs and niggles if you go for an older Audi or BMW. Skoda is dull but it does the job, comes with pretty much every option you need and will be significantly newer as well.
 
xs2man said:
I would look at the Superb too personally.

Although an A8 would be awesome. Since you wont get the 3.0 in the Superb...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201805266898325?price-to=8500&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&model=A8&sort=year-desc&make=AUDI&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=dd114tw&maximum-mileage=80000&page=1
Click to expand...
As amazing as that would be, you can't help but feel it'll throw some absolutely enormous bills?
 
mjt said:
As amazing as that would be, you can't help but feel it'll throw some absolutely enormous bills?
Click to expand...

Sure, the potential is there for that. I'd imagine the air suspension for a start could be quite pricey. And it must have some complicated electronics in there. But as far as drivetrain goes, the OP was looking for a 3.0 diesel with an auto box. I'm not sure how much pricier these would be, if they had issues, in an A8 rather than a 5 series, like he has been looking at.

And the BMW and Mercedes equivalents at this age just look horrible by comparison to the A8, IMO. I would much rather have a D3 A8 than an E60 5 series, or whatever the code is for the horrid looking 7 series of the same age. Same goes for Merc E or S classes of that vintage. To be fair though, the A6 of that age is also a bit of an ugly car, albeit that is more on the inside than outside. They don't look too horrible and dated from the outside.

Probably not as likely to be "owned by those of 'arite m8' nature" either. But then again, you never know now they are at this price range.

I do find it amusing though, that these are now in a similar price bracket to the likes of the E60 and such. And the one I linked isn't even a huge amount older than the Skoda Superbs linked before it.

If I could find one that looks well looked after, I would jump at one of these for a 20k annual commute. I am considering one for my increasingly regular trips down south, something my old 5 series would have been excellent at (although this wasn't a thing at the time I got rid of it). I am considering a D4 instead of the later D3's now though. They are only a few K more than the newest of the D3's, and look like an even lovelier place to be.
 
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