4 Series vs. C-Class

Murf

Murf

Murf

Soldato
Joined
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Newcastle
Hi guys,

I'm currently driving around in the wife's Audi A3 (the 1.4 150bhp petrol) but the time has come to buy my own car. I am torn between the 4 Series GC or a Mercedes C-Class (prefer the coupe but should really get 4 doors so potentially saloon.)

I've test driven the 4 series (was a 435d xDrive) and I've got a test drive of the C-Class lined up for Friday. I wanted to take a straw poll on what you guys recommend, and what I'm potentially missing. But unless the Merc test drive on Friday completely changes my opinion I'm assuming, rightly or wrongly:

4 Series is the better car to drive.
Merc looks nicer, inside and out. Feels more... 'premium'
4 series is more practical (for taking my parents on day trips) in GC form over the coupe.
C-Class can be bought on very competitive PCP deals for 4 pot engines.
4 series 440i is the only realistic way I can get into a 6 cylinder engine for a reasonable price (TRL @ Berry Heathrow deal).

Now, I also drove a 540i (car was too big frankly and used PCP deal not competitive) but absolutely loved the engine. This will mainly be a toy for me (I will be doing less than 10k miles p/a) so my heart says buy the 440i with plenty of options. A C43 after discounts would still be 10k more which would push the PCP payments into wife considering divorce territory I think. :p

So with 3k down, and roughly ~£450p/m to play with with what would you guys do? C200\C300 premium plus with a couple of choice options or heavily specced 440i GC? Or this being motors, something entirely different? :D

PS - I've discounted the Audi A5 as I'm 6'3" and when I sat in it, I was sat on it. Even with the seat at it's lowest. Excluding driving experience days I've only ever driven a Fiesta then the subsequent Audi (which the wife bought) so had no idea how awful the driving position in the Audi was compared to the other German marquees. C-Class coupe and 4 Series were a much better fit for me.

So motors, thoughts?
 
After amortising the deposit this works out to be well over 500 quid a month - for a 4 Series? This seems like a lot of money for a car like that.
 
It does seem an awfully expensive way to go - what's to stop you getting an approved used 435i? Pay the same sort of amount per month and it's hard to see how you wouldn't be thousands of pounds better off in terms of what is left in the car after a few years Vs outstanding balance - even if you take out an extended warranty after approved runs out.

Alternatively have you looked at the potential price difference by using a broker then financing through a bank backed PCP? It might not work out massively differently but you should be able to secure a very low apr

In terms of the cars, have recently been in (but not driven) a c300e quite a bit. Perfectly nice car bar the stupid stuck on tablet, but really hard to see how anyone would want to spend 40k on it. Also far from what I would call exciting but that could be down to the specific powertrain more than anything else

Edit* must be a c350e from a quick google
 
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[TW]Fox said:
After amortising the deposit this works out to be well over 500 quid a month - for a 4 Series? This seems like a lot of money for a car like that.
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If you were considering new (you're a huge advocate of 1yr old cars IIRC so disregard that for a second! :p) then what medium sized coupe with a 6 cylinder engine would you go for that was cheaper? The TRL deal is 3k down and 400p/m with a decent spec. So it wouldn't have to be over 500p/m with the deposit amortised.

rodenal said:
It does seem an awfully expensive way to go - what's to stop you getting an approved used 435i? Pay the same sort of amount per month and it's hard to see how you wouldn't be thousands of pounds better off in terms of what is left in the car after a few years Vs outstanding balance - even if you take out an extended warranty after approved runs out.

Alternatively have you looked at the potential price difference by using a broker then financing through a bank backed PCP? It might not work out massively differently but you should be able to secure a very low apr
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The APR would be 2.9% so unlikely I'll find more competitive rates privately. I've not really considered used, I've found the APR to be atrocious, and with the absence of dealer\manufacturer incentives they're not significantly cheaper and lack the specific options I'd want. (ie - digital cockpit, Apple Car Play)
 
Have you checked the price against a drivethedeal or equivalent price though? I don't know the details but it's worth checking the all up values what you can achieve and see if there's a balance between price and the cost to you in terms of repayment over the number of years somewhere. You would still get dealer contributions etc doing this.

Assume this is effectively what you're already aaccessing but gives a sense check
 
Carwow shows smaller discounts for factory orders than the TRL deal. I'm pretty confident in terms of the BMW that the deal itself is very good, even if the financial argument of New vs. Used means in comparison to a Used car it's not great. But getting the exact specification I want is important to me.

Ignoring the financials for a moment, for ball park same money, are there any other cars I should consider? I'm not missing anything blindingly obvious?
 
rodenal said:
The new Kia I suppose, but if you want a 4 series / C class I assume it's not in the running
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Yeah, despite having a short driving history I'm already clearly a bit of a snob. Plus, if I'm going to make a potentially poor financial decision, it should be for a premium car right?! :p
 
I wouldn't personally dismiss it without looking as it gets a very good write up, but in reality I think I would be with you in terms of "might as well get the badge"
 
Wow I've just read up on the Stinger GT. Spec, looks, power, price all look great. Just shows the power of branding (and my own snobbery) that I still don't think I could seriously consider it............
 
I was recently looking at similar options - it's a shame Merc don't do a 4GC equivalent.
Something else to consider - 640d Gran Coupe : around £25k gets you a nice example with good options.
Murf said:
Wow I've just read up on the Stinger GT. Spec, looks, power, price all look great. Just shows the power of branding (and my own snobbery) that I still don't think I could seriously consider it............
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Exactly - when people ask what car you have, responding with 'Kia' instantly sets perceptions. Having to explain it's the high end fast model will change nothing and send people to sleep :p
 
SDK^ said:
I was recently looking at similar options - it's a shame Merc don't do a 4GC equivalent.
Something else to consider - 640d Gran Coupe : around £25k gets you a nice example with good options.
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I drove a 5 series on Sunday and frankly I thought it was a little big. I reckon I'd have the same issue with the 6 series. I'm also dead set against diesels.

SDK^ said:
Exactly - when people ask what car you have, responding with 'Kia' instantly sets perceptions. Having to explain it's the high end fast model will change nothing and send people to sleep :p
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Yup, I think I would seriously struggle with that. And I've just checked the PCP deals and the 440i GC actually works out cheaper (despite the Kia having a much cheaper cash price) so on that basis I'll pass on the test drive I think.
 
There's lots of personal loans out there for around the 3.3% mark up to around £25,00 which with your deposit should put you into a nice year or so old used car and have something to show for it in the end?
 
Reading Murf’s comment above surprised me that he thought the 5 is a big car, then I did a bit of comparison and in many areas (width, height & wheelbase) it’s actually bigger than my e38 7 Series ,which undoubtedly is a big car, the G30 is only 41mm shorter in overall length!

Wow, I hadn’t realised how big the 5 had become...
 
sovietspybob said:
There's lots of personal loans out there for around the 3.3% mark up to around £25,00 which with your deposit should put you into a nice year or so old used car and have something to show for it in the end?
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That's ~£550 p/m. A little uncomfortable with that. What 1 year old car with similar options to the 440i are you suggesting for 25k?

Scania said:
Reading Murf’s comment above surprised me that he thought the 5 is a big car, then I did a bit of comparison and in many areas (width, height & wheelbase) it’s actually bigger than my e38 7 Series ,which undoubtedly is a big car, the G30 is only 41mm shorter in overall length!

Wow, I hadn’t realised how big the 5 had become...
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I've not driven many big cars, but i was surprised by how big it is. However, it seems as if all cars are getting bigger, generation by generation.
 
Murf said:
I've not driven many big cars, but i was surprised by how big it is. However, it seems as if all cars are getting bigger, generation by generation.
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Yup. Increased sizes of crumple zones. More structural reinforcement to protect the passengers in a crash. More safety features. Turbo + intercooler need to be accomodated.

Also there's a boat load of 140i's, 240i's and also some 340i's on AT for sub 27k. That's assuming the 25k + some sort of deposit.
 
Dis86 said:
Yup. Increased sizes of crumple zones. More structural reinforcement to protect the passengers in a crash. More safety features. Turbo + intercooler need to be accomodated.

Also there's a boat load of 140i's, 240i's and also some 340i's on AT for sub 27k. That's assuming the 25k + some sort of deposit.
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Makes sense regarding crumple zones etc. :). The 1 series platform I've discounted as I want something bigger (I'm aware I complained about the 5 being too big! :D). 340i I would be dead set against but I really want Apple Car Play, the digital cockpit and a couple of other specific options. More difficult on second hand cars.

[TW]Fox said:
But at the end of the loan you own an asset worth 5 figures.

Ok so it's 2 but...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201710190458956?advertising-location=at_cars&minimum-badge-engine-size=2.6&advertising-location=at_cars&maximum-mileage=60000&postcode=s11aa&model=4 SERIES GRAN COUPE&page=1&make=BMW&year-to=2015&fuel-type=Petrol&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New
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Very good point. Going new it's quite a premium to pay to get the exact spec you want and a slightly newer car.

Nobody got strong opinions on C Class vs. 4 Series GC? (Let's assume in motors fashion sound financial advice will be ignored :p)
 
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