25,000 miles a year in comfort (and on a budget)

Jez · 28 Nov 2021 at 11:25

If you go for a W212 with the small 2.1 diesel (220/250) be especially careful about its history. A huge number of them will have been private hire and also a huge number may have doctored mileage which goes with that usage.

Check the MOT history, if you see a sniff of 6 monthly MOTs then that’s a good indicator.

Same applies to the diesel S-classes (350) - loads will have been private hire too, and I wouldn’t trust the mileage on many of them.

If you can find a privately owned version of either, probably best to get a really dull oap looking one as per Fox’s advice - then they are very good cars.

An S class wouldn’t concern me at all and are much much nicer cars than the e-class. The suspension is a known system, and is the only additional stress over an e-class, bar the smallest engine being the v6 (very reliable but at least 10mpg worse than the 4cyl). The suspension is worth the hassle imo, at least air suspension is a feature which I am always glad to have despite its potential pitfalls.

All that said though, you said £5k. I’m not sure that you’d really be able to find a serviceable (as in heavy usage every day) s-class for that amount these days?

gailjon · 28 Nov 2021 at 14:30

[TW]Fox said:
Where do you think the important parts of a Skoda Superb come from.....?

Yes, but when the parts go pop, they cost a a lot less to replace...

Cyber-Mav · 29 Nov 2021 at 12:28

Aftermarket is booming with parts these days. Can even fix s class air suspension with aftermarket alternatives.

Nasher · 29 Nov 2021 at 14:35

A Citroen barge. Or a Lexus/Toyota

Most of all the others are money pits out of warranty and no more comfortable, probably less. 100k miles on the Luxury German (or British) stuff is approaching breaking for parts territory, not going another 100k.

teenwolf · 29 Nov 2021 at 14:45

get this its like brand new

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373789662127?hash=item5707999baf:g:cj4AAOSwh0thkAYF

Bug One · 29 Nov 2021 at 15:05

teenwolf said:
get this its like brand new

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373789662127?hash=item5707999baf:g:cj4AAOSwh0thkAYF

That look ideal. Uncool enough to be a decent buy - not even that high mileage. A 5 year old Peugeot barge should be a much more reliable package than a 10+ year old Mercedes.

[TW]Fox · 29 Nov 2021 at 15:44

Nasher said:
100k miles on the Luxury German (or British) stuff is approaching breaking for parts territory

lol

blun · 29 Nov 2021 at 17:33

Completely different to other suggestions so far but hear me out...

If you have somewhere to charge at home, you could lease a brand new Tesla Model 3* for £632/month (that's for 25,000 miles)
This would cost around £25 per month in fuel compared to £375 for the diesel, allowing you to put the £350/month fuel savings towards the car.

If you take into account the depreciation and servicing costs on the diesel this would make your monthly costs:

£632 car, £25 fuel, £0 servicing - £657 total per month for the Model 3
compared to
£100 depreciation, £375 fuel, £15 servicing, £25 repairs, £22 tax - £537 total per month for the diesel.

You'd also be saving around 12 tonnes of CO2 per year which is the equivalent of 12 return flights to New York

*other EV's are available!

jpaul · 29 Nov 2021 at 18:21

I take your point ... but, if he wants to own the (originally specced £5K) asset though, for flexibility.

Relentless81 · 29 Nov 2021 at 19:03

2.4 190bhp Honda Accord. Only 4 cylinder but thought I would throw it in for the reliability aspect and should be in budget too

tom_nieto · 29 Nov 2021 at 20:11

@blun - this is welcome advice as I would be able to charge at home (and possibly at work too). There may be good deals on EVs on salary sacrifice from the NHS which may further improve the deal. A lot are 36 month deals which could end up needlessly expensive if my mileage drops.

Owning a cheap barge outright is not high on my list of priorities, but thought I’d explore all avenues. I probably need to speak to a local Mercedes specialist to figure out how much regular servicing would be (and how much peril there is!).

@Jez - excellent point about clocking, very easy to do and I would need to be very careful. I’d need to spend a bit more to get a post 2006 S class. They look lovely, but they just scream “huge bills” to me. Again will take advice as the Diesel engine and 7G box is broadly the same as the E class cars that I’ve been looking at.

@teenwolf - good option, but manual and no leather. Likely to be reasonably reliable I guess, but still potential for decent bills I should think - suspension, clutches etc.

Thank you for the suggestions so far!

blun · 29 Nov 2021 at 20:18

There are some very good EV deals on the NHS salary sacrifice scheme from what I have heard (much better than the one I posted above). I’d strongly recommend doing some digging there! They tend to be all inclusive too so lease, insurance, tyres, maintenance all included. If you get a car with enough range to do your round trip then you can choose to charge at home or work or both which gives lots of flexibility.

JonRGV250 · 29 Nov 2021 at 21:23

[TW]Fox said:
Anyone who picks a 5 grand S Class to do 25k a year in is brave or foolish.

As a Merc tech of many years, i'd go with foolish, or at the very least bordering on insanity.
Our compound was chock a block with cheap Mercs rotting away that the owners couldn't afford to repair.

SkodaMart · 29 Nov 2021 at 21:27

I’ve done similar to this, 20,000 miles a year for £4000 spent.
I’ve been quite amazed that it’s been possible.
Car in choice was a Berlingo 1.6HDI
(Don’t laugh loads of vans doing exactly the same thing).
Anything with the VAG 1.9 TDI engine should also be a decent choice.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OC...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

tom_nieto · 29 Nov 2021 at 22:05

SkodaMart said:
I’ve done similar to this, 20,000 miles a year for £4000 spent.
I’ve been quite amazed that it’s been possible.
Car in choice was a Berlingo 1.6HDI
(Don’t laugh loads of vans doing exactly the same thing).
Anything with the VAG 1.9 TDI engine should also be a decent choice.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OC...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

The outright purchase price of an automatic Octavia is not a million miles away from a similar age and mileage E class Mercedes. I realise that the latter has much larger potential running costs, but it's a much nicer place to sit. I would have suggested an Octavia or a Passat every day of the week before trawling autotrader over the last couple of days.

I need to investigate the running costs in more detail.

EDIT: The Superb looks like a much nicer place to be than a similarly priced Octavia.

SkodaMart · 29 Nov 2021 at 22:12

tom_nieto said:
The outright purchase price of an automatic Octavia is not a million miles away from a similar age and mileage E class Mercedes. I realise that the latter has much larger potential running costs, but it's a much nicer place to sit. I would have suggested an Octavia or a Passat every day of the week before trawling autotrader over the last couple of days.

I need to investigate the running costs in more detail.

EDIT: The Superb looks like a much nicer place to be than a similarly priced Octavia.

Need the 1.9 TDI engine not the 2.0.
For high mileage budget motoring.
I would own that car above. (Subject to corrosion inspection).
Very low miles and only 1 owner.
Beggars can’t be choosers, it’s also as frugal as it gets.

Hedge · 30 Nov 2021 at 07:39

I got a superb estate for under £5k last year and its done 20k miles so far with no drama..

Although it's now due a cambelt and waterpump for £450+. Suppose its worth considering what bills may be on the horizon to keep older cars going.

peige · 30 Nov 2021 at 07:49

I'll also put a vote in for an EV, with some of the lease schemes and the likes of Tesla not wanting more than minimal servicing its worth getting the calculator out as the fuel, servicing and tax savings soon add up and there are model 3's out there doing 250k miles plus problem free. Also its a very nice place to be on the motorway..

tom_nieto · 30 Nov 2021 at 08:53

peige said:
I'll also put a vote in for an EV, with some of the lease schemes and the likes of Tesla not wanting more than minimal servicing its worth getting the calculator out as the fuel, servicing and tax savings soon add up and there are model 3's out there doing 250k miles plus problem free. Also its a very nice place to be on the motorway..

I’d be looking at £500 a month in diesel with this sort of mileage (at 45mpg) which soon adds up over the course of a 3 year lease term. It probably puts the EV on a par with a cheap diesel over 3 years. However, I’m not likely to be doing this mileage long term, so the lease might get unnecessarily expensive towards the end of the term. Will need to do some man maths. I would like an EV!

[TW]Fox · 30 Nov 2021 at 09:06

SkodaMart said:
Need the 1.9 TDI engine not the 2.0.
For high mileage budget motoring.
I would own that car above. (Subject to corrosion inspection).
Very low miles and only 1 owner.
Beggars can’t be choosers, it’s also as frugal as it gets.

I'd rather do 25k a year on the bus than drive that. It was a good car once but that was a very long time ago. This model of Octavia came out in 1997 and looks and feels like it inside and out. A very depressing place to spend 25,000 miles a year in 2021. It doesn't appear to even have cruise control.

It looks and will feel like a £450 car and will make doing 25k a year about as miserable as possible.