Which car would you chose?

[TW]Fox said:
I have yet to find anything to suggest it's even anywhere near as good as the ST220, with the notable exception of a few people who got lumbered with one as a company car and are trying to convince themselves they didn't get a raw deal :)

My neighbour has one - I always notice things about cars but it took me ages to realise it was the GSi he had not just a 2.0 DTi or something. It just looks like a Vectra :( And it has a Vectra interior and a Vectra chassis :(
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Wouldn't bother with that shape Vectra, they have a horrid suspension setup which Vauxhall have taken stock of this model and released a corker of a car, one of the best in class now....
 
530i sport easy.

1. You drive like an old man most of the time :p Hence scoob is unwise, everyone will try and race you, horrendous insurance, image etc.
2. mk2 Mondeo. You are right, old and expensive.
3. mk3 ST220 -depreciation bound to get bad sooner or later
 
i really cant see you in a scoob.
ST200 should not be an option imo

ST220 or e39 imo for you.

What would i choose? probably the scoob :D
 
Havent read all the posts - just the original one...

well none of them really float my boat to be honest, but you didnt ask that!

SO, all i'll do is offer criticism on each of them...

BMW: Cracking motors, good fuel economy, good performance. Can you say torque?! Nice... BUT, and a big BUT, i'm guessing thats the upper end of your budget, and by heck are them things expensive to repair...

Mate at work has one, had to have a (partialy) blocked injector or 2 fixed - non BMW dealer charged him £1400 for them to be cleaned, not replaced... something to consider...

Older Mondeo - you seem to really like your current motor, which is a good thing, but i personally would want to use the oppurtunity to try something new. Plus you may find this one to not be as good as yours in some departments, yours may be a particulary good/reliable/better example.

Newer Mondeo, do you really want to ram your budget for something you're having reservations about now? Also the budget limit means you'll not have the biggest slection of vehicles to choose from - could be a good option if you find the right one - but who's to say it will give you the same pleasure as your current one? However, the styling problems you have with it are all probably fixeable with some choice mods...

Impreza - i assume you've gone for that era for styling purposes? Because the 10k you'd drop on a mondeo would get you WRX in the newer shape - comfortably. that will have fewer (bad) owners and i believe they're more reliable. Cracking cars but running them is a pain...

Insurance is bad
Fuel economy is bad
faulty Turbos are not uncommon
Likelihood of theft is pretty high
etc etc

Great car but too many problems can be associated to it...


My opinion (and i bet you've ticked these cars off the list for whatever rerason) would probably be:

Cracking Civic Type-R for 9k
Mini Cooper S (top end of budget probably)
Accord Type-R (No idea on budget for these)
Audi S4 (<- again would probably have to be older to get in budget)

i dunno, you're a different person to I and would prefer different things i guess.
 
live a little while youre young... go for the scooby and enjoy it then move onto something more "executive" once you get bored :p
 
I think you should go for the 5 personally.

From reading your previous threads, I know you like your Mondeos but I would be surprised if you would honestly feel better driving out the stealership in the mondeo and living the 5 behind.

As for the scoob, that seems like a hell of a change of scenery for you. Can't deny the interior is poop and everytime someone slams my doors too hard I shout "Oi, its not bleedin german you know!"

However, I'd be amazed if the scoob wasn't cheaper to keep than the 5 and they are a lot of fun and you have to admit the noise is pretty cool. Find a MINT standard UK classic on a 99/00 and see what you think - it isn't german though!

Personally I won't be going german for a good few years yet, I like having fun and how many germans have you met with a smile on their face?
 
Suprised the Scooby is in your choices, I didnt think that was your kind of thing?

The BMW warrenty is changing for the worse, and based on my friends BMWs there will be quite a few little problems over time - they are complicated cars and dont use Jap electronics so its to be expected.
The ST200 is the sensible choice, but the 220 is quite an improvement in the power/torque stakes but thats all on paper I haven't been in either car.

Id personally love the 5 series or either Mondeo.
House ownership, tight parking conditions at home and at work would rule out the 5 series for me.
Id personally go for the ST220.
 
TomO said:
the 2.5d is a diesel from the old skool IIRC. not terrible, but certainly not the appeal of the 3.0d, hence the price differences. :)
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It's about 163bhp in unchipped form, and the 3.0d is 184/193 in the E39. Chipped the 2.5d should be about the same if not higher :)
 
SaBBz said:
It's about 163bhp in unchipped form, and the 3.0d is 184/193 in the E39. Chipped the 2.5d should be about the same if not higher :)
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not just in power output.
refinement.
smoothness etc.
 
2.5d is not an old skool diesel, it's a commonrail direct injection engine like the 530d, but with a smaller capacity. My concern with the higher mileage BMW diesels is that they like to munch on Turbos and injectors :(
 
[TW]Fox said:
2.5d is not an old skool diesel, it's a commonrail direct injection engine like the 530d, but with a smaller capacity. My concern with the higher mileage BMW diesels is that they like to munch on Turbos and injectors :(
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err.. :o

o.k. was it the 525tds than i am thinking of then?
 
I think I spoke to you about it on IRC before Fox, but couldn't remember if you'd totally ruled it out or not :)
 
My choice would definielty be for the E39, but then that's more my sort fo car. Had bad problems in the past with Fords, can't get on with Scoobys and the like and am a current BMW owner so it is not really suprising!

I have one piece of advice though kind of in relation to what some of the others say. With regards to getting a car this spring, it sounds obvious, but whatever choice you go for make sure it is the one you are going to be happiest with now. By that I mean, don't not go for an E39 because its not the best one. Don't save yourself for a Scooby P1 in a few years because you don't want to spoil the Scooby experience by getting a plain WRX now.

I'm guessing (but feel free to correct me) that you spend a dispraportinoatley large amount of your disposable income on your car, when compared to the average car owner in theis country. Perhaps not that different to many of the readers in here but probably quite different to the general public. For you, your car is an exceptionally important part of your life and you get immense enjoyment from it. So buy the absoloute best that your budget can afford that will make you happy.

I wish I had done. I really do like my motors but when I graduated the first thing I did was buy into property. As one of the few assets in life that appreciates in value I saw it as a sound investment and I really couldn't stand starting out my working life at home (and I refuse to throw money down the drain in rent). However as a result, I did have to drive around in a MkIV Ford Escort 1.6LX for five years and nothing can prepare you for the shame of that. ;)
 
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