Purchasing Help E60, F10, B8 A4??

[Eriedor]

So after 5 years I'm selling my daily driver Cayman S and replacing with a Caterham R300 and some sort of sensible saloon.

I'm instantly drawn to Audi/BMW as I generally like the majority of their models and I don't want to take a massive step down in interior quality from the Cayman.

Budget is in the region of 10k +- a few k, I care more about cost of ownership than purchase price so the budget is a bit loose. I'll do 8-9k miles a year in it.

Must have:

• 4 Doors
• Manual

Nice to have (in order of preference)

• Petrol
• Not sports suspension
• Parking sensors
• Bluetooth
• Naturally Aspirated

Don't care

• MPG
• Tax

Audi
The search started with B8 1.8T A4s as they're plenty big enough for what I need (no pets or kids). Pros - Decent looks outside and in, can pick them up cheaper than other models I'm looking at. Cons - Turbo charged engine, rarely have bluetooth.

Example
1.8T A4 SE

BMW
When it came to BMW I looked at E60s initially as I really don't like the looks of the e90, and no matter how good the package I just can't drop ~10k on something I don't like the look of. Pros - Great petrol engine lineup, good enough interior, seem to more likely be spec'd with PDC and bluetooth etc. Cons - Exterior looks only just cuts the mustard for me, bigger car than I really need.

Example
E60 530i

Then I saw an F10 side advert on autotrader and was surprised to see the bottom of the market is now sub £12k. It means getting a 520d which is the least inspiring of the engine lineup but I'm willing to compromise that as the F10 to my eyes is a much better package than either a B8 A4 or E60, particularly visually! Pros - Looks great inside and out, latest model. Cons - Most expensive, boring engine.

Examples
Grey 520d
Blue 520d

In the past I've always advocated getting a well spec'd older model than a low spec newer model, but the F10 seems very compelling to me, is it sensible to get a bottom of the market, likely ex-lease 100k miles F10? Am I overlooking something? Wil F10 servicing noticeably more than the Audi? I've never bought a car in this class so any advice is appreciated.

tl;dr
Need a ~£10k german saloon, 8-9k mile per year, don't care that much running cost.

 

[Tinders]

B8 is an old design, so i'd discount it, the F10's would be the best of the bunch, i hadnt realised they could be had for 10kish now.

How about a Jag XF?

 

[[TW]Fox]

The F10 is an excellent car but the 10k ones are crap and the 2 litre engine has various issues such as the timing chain flaw and complex 8 speed box meaning I wouldn't want one without a warranty which rules out 10k examples.

The two you posted for example are awful, rubbish manual gear box and poverty spec 6 inch display with no nav.

 

[rodenal]

I would not be spending £10k on any car with 100k, not because of any potential problems (which you should read up on) with it having done the miles but because you will likely really struggle to move it on again if you put any sort of miles on it.

If you're not fussed on performance I'm sure the 520d will be an acceptable enough drive and it's a newish design too, as above though maybe worth spending more on approved used or a car you can add warranty to

 

[sigma]

Octavia VRS? Not sure what the interior is like.

 

[Eriedor]

The F10 is an excellent car but the 10k ones are crap and the 2 litre engine has various issues such as the timing chain flaw and complex 8 speed box meaning I wouldn't want one without a warranty which rules out 10k examples.

The two you posted for example are awful, rubbish manual gear box and poverty spec 6 inch display with no nav.

Aside from the gearbox and the display (as I care about neither), is there much else wrong with them?

I would not be spending £10k on any car with 100k, not because of any potential problems (which you should read up on) with it having done the miles but because you will likely really struggle to move it on again if you put any sort of miles on it.

If you're not fussed on performance I'm sure the 520d will be an acceptable enough drive and it's a newish design too, as above though maybe worth spending more on approved used or a car you can add warranty to

Well I don't do mega miles so if I hold onto it for 3 years a 100k car will be on 124k which isn't astronomical. Performance wise the 520d should just about cut it as the Caterham provides the thrills, but naturally the 530i E60 is far less of a compromise in that department.

B8 is an old design, so i'd discount it, the F10's would be the best of the bunch, i hadnt realised they could be had for 10kish now.

How about a Jag XF?

Agreed the F10 is a far better prospect than the B8 which is why it's really the foundation of my question here, is a 12k F10 a fundamentally bad idea? (bearing in mind my requirements)

Octavia VRS? Not sure what the interior is like.

Will take a look

 

[[TW]Fox]

Agreed the F10 is a far better prospect than the B8 which is why it's really the foundation of my question here, is a 12k F10 a fundamentally bad idea? (bearing in mind my requirements)


Will take a look

I think at this budget the B8 is the better buy, they are older and thus nice ones are more readily available at 12k. The big improvement of the F10 over the B8 is the far better infotainment system but you claim not to care about that, therefore I think a good sensible miles B8 is the better 12k buy. Always buy a car from a good few thousand above the bottom of the market. Don't buy from the bottom of the market. Also, the chain snapping problem on the BMW 2 litre diesel is a very serious and significant issue.

What about one of the last of the previous shape A6?

This sort of car generally sucks with a manual box btw, there is no pleasure to be had stirring the box on nearly 2 tonnes of 4 cylinder diesel barge.