£10k car for commuting

[TW]Fox · 20 Jun 2011 at 21:16

BennyC said:
True, I have looked at the saloons, to be honest I haven't a problem with them, more practical no doubt. My budget could stretch a bit if I found one spec'd nicely. Tax would be cheaper too no doubt.

Tax is only cheaper on the October 2007 onwards Efficient Dyanmics cars fitted with the N53 engine. These engines are also a reliability nightmare compared to the earlier N52 so you'd be mad to run it without a comprehensive warranty.

Wicksta · 20 Jun 2011 at 21:21

BennyC said:
True, I have looked at the saloons, to be honest I haven't a problem with them, more practical no doubt. My budget could stretch a bit if I found one spec'd nicely. Tax would be cheaper too no doubt.

To be honest I find the coupe more practical, apart from getting people in and out of the rear. The rear seats fold down on the coupe which they don't on a saloon (well unless you can find one with that as a very rare option). Even with my E60 530i saloon I find the boot less practical than my old E46 coupes for certain things like B&Q visits.

BennyC · 20 Jun 2011 at 21:26

[TW]Fox;19415885 said:
Tax is only cheaper on the October 2007 onwards Efficient Dyanmics cars fitted with the N53 engine. These engines are also a reliability nightmare compared to the earlier N52 so you'd be mad to run it without a comprehensive warranty.

Ahh right. Is all this 'stop/start' tosh more hassle than it's worth at the moment then?

Wicksta said:
To be honest I find the coupe more practical, apart from getting people in and out of the rear. The rear seats fold down on the coupe which they don't on a saloon (well unless you can find one with that as a very rare option). Even with my E60 530i saloon I find the boot less practical than my old E46 coupes for certain things like B&Q visits.

Interesting.

I did find this on my travels a few days ago, though it really really is the upper end of my budget. It'd be ideal though. It is 'affordable' but it won't leave me a great deal of change from £15k having part ex'd the 182. Comprehensive warranty is something I'd be getting at around £40/pm for that particular model/milage IIRC. Though it's black, but we can't have it all. It's only 10 miles away too.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201120387708613

See what I mean by swings and roundabouts!

[TW]Fox · 20 Jun 2011 at 21:30

BennyC said:
Ahh right. Is all this 'stop/start' tosh more hassle than it's worth at the moment then?

There is no start/stop fitted to 6 cylinder cars.