Family Saloon Suggestions £18k

can you charge at home? for that price you could look at a model 3, an ipace or even a model S if you don't mind an older car

I am biased as I have the ipace. if you go that way try to find a face lift with 11kw charging, the new infotainment and only 1 12v battery
 
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Something like this G30 530d in your budget OP. Personally I like this colour on the 5 series. It's a 17 plate with 59k miles, so not moon mileage and I think priced ok at £18995.

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LowEndTorque said:
Something like this G30 530d in your budget OP. Personally I like this colour on the 5 series. It's a 17 plate with 59k miles, so not moon mileage and I think priced ok at £18995.

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Plus the cost of a pair of tyres to get rid of those 'Kpatos FM601' whatever the hell they are :cry:
 
I would suggest a Skoda Superb if the correct one falls into budget but to just discount the BMW and Mercedes brands because there are so many of them is weird, there's a reason they are the biggest sellers in this area and it's not badge snobbery
 
Get a F36 440i. Fast, practical, reliable with the B58 engine and reasonable economy. (over 11,000 miles mine has done 30.7mpg with many short trips. A full tank high of 39.1 and a low of 24)

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[TW]Fox said:
It should be, because a 3 litre engine will give you 6 cylinders, which is what you need in a car the size of a 5 Series. Not so much for outright performance, but because of the relaxed way it'll deliver that performance which is what you buy a car like that for.
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The good ol' saying 'There's no replacement for displacement'. 2.5-3.0l IL6 are so good and efficient in terms of performance, fuel consumption, balance and potential. Just like 4pot engines in Hothatches, before they were the size of saloon cars. lol
 
Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.

I don't know if I've come to a concrete decision yet.

Every time I think I have, I then go and watch or read something and my interest gets piqued elsewhere or the doubting Thomas appears on my shoulder.

For example.

I decided on a BMW 5 series 3.0 diesel. Not that many on Auto Trader in my price range (upped to £20k) Even then there's on 7 cars under 60k miles.

So then I look at 3 Series with same engine. Then I watch and read reviews. Then I think if, I'm going to get the 3 series, I may as well go for the 2.0 petrol. Then I get in to BMW's seemingly low reliability and customer satisfaction ratings. Then I watch more videos, that don't seem to really address or even worry about reliability as such and just say what a great cars they are.

Then I watch comparison videos and other related stuff and now, of all things, I'm looking at E class Mercedes estates.

I'm driving my wife nuts with all the different cars I keep showing her. I'm driving my self nuts with all the chopping and changing. At this rate I'll just say "screw it" and buy nothing.

At least I think I've narrowed it down to a reasonably small choice. Maybe :D
 
The best thing you can do is test drive and get a feel for the cars on your list.

The 5 series is probably the best option in your budget, good blend of in-car tech, comfort, enjoyable drive and reliability.

However, I did buy an XE recently having had multiple 5 series over previous years and wouldn’t swap :D I’d only entertain the facelift model of both cars though which I don't think sits in your price band.
 
My G20 3 series is undeniably the best value car I’ve owned so far.


It’s built like a tank - the fit and finish is much better than it ought to be and SO far above the competition it’s quite funny.




Not sure I’d waste my time looking at anything else. During my search I was disappointed by any other car I looked at in the same price bracket, to the point where I was happy getting the 2L diesel. The car is just that good.
 
MrRockliffe said:
My G20 3 series is undeniably the best value car I’ve owned so far.


It’s built like a tank - the fit and finish is much better than it ought to be and SO far above the competition it’s quite funny.




Not sure I’d waste my time looking at anything else. During my search I was disappointed by any other car I looked at in the same price bracket, to the point where I was happy getting the 2L diesel. The car is just that good.
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I like mine as well - it's a great car. But I'm not sure you'll get one a good 6 cylinder one for £18k and therefore the 5 Series might be a better choice as a result.

If you want a 6 cylinder 3 Series then it'll be a 330d - which will be a fantastic car - but they are rare and quite expensive as a result.
 
[TW]Fox said:
I like mine as well - it's a great car. But I'm not sure you'll get one a good 6 cylinder one for £18k and therefore the 5 Series might be a better choice as a result.

If you want a 6 cylinder 3 Series then it'll be a 330d - which will be a fantastic car - but they are rare and quite expensive as a result.
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I agree, but I think the G20 is so good that OP should at least check out a 4 cylinder.


I dont hate the diesel at all, despite having already had a 2014 3 series with the older 2L diesel.
 
barmyllama said:
So then I look at 3 Series with same engine. Then I watch and read reviews. Then I think if, I'm going to get the 3 series, I may as well go for the 2.0 petrol.
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still seem to be a heap of g20 330e's ex-biks in the 18k price slot - I'm just waiting to hear a good argument to offset concerns of battery warranty.
 
jpaul said:
still seem to be a heap of g20 330e's ex-biks in the 18k price slot - I'm just waiting to hear a good argument to offset concerns of battery warranty.
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I didn’t want the risk. Test drove one with 59k miles or so, and from memory on just over a half charge it quoted 6 miles. So 12 miles on a full charge.


This would indicate to me that it has lost roughly half of its real world full range in 60k miles.



Can’t see the value in that.
 
Got some insurance quotes today and a Jaguar XF and XJ are definitely out.

All I can say is they must be a high profile cars for thieves or involved in a lot of accidents.

Other 3.0 V6 diesels were only a few hundred pounds, at most, above our current car.

The Jaguars were the best part of £700 more.

A 2018 BMW 320i was only £80 a year more.
 
The Lexus ES is a bit quirky looking in my opinion. But they should be reliable and also seem to be in a lower bracket for insurance. An example below.

Edit: They have a solid warranty for the hybrid system and the car as long as the car is serviced at Lexus.

Lexus ES
 
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I've decided that the G20 3 series is a bit of a stretch both budget and specification wise.

Any thoughts on the following.

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I’m sure someone will be along to tell you what packs and extras those are missing but if it were me, I’d be happier jumping into a G30 5 series than an C or 4 series.

I guess it depends entirely on what takes your fancy and what you’re after.
 
If you're happy with a 2.0 engine, the G30 is probably achievable still and whilst the purists will tell you that such a car is absolutely wasted without a big 6 or 8 cylinder engine, if it's not something you're used to having, you won't necessarily miss it and a 180-190bhp 520i/520d will feel fine (a little quicker than your Civic still) - though here arguably the power delivery of the diesel might suit the car better, a 520i will probably need a few revs - a 530i would alleviate that a bit but may again push the budget.

Whilst a 6cyl G30 would be nice, a 4cyl G30 is still going to be nicer than a 4cyl F3X. I think if he had to choose between a 4cyl G30 or any F3X model (4cyl or 6cyl), even Fox would go 4cyl G30 :p
 
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