Next car purchase

[mik]

But still:



Even for an MPV that's astoundingly gopping

Ultimately though Rich is correct.

[Mito Man]

It looks like a cruise ship, probably the same size as one too.

[Orange Cola]

My wife is 5 months pregnant, baby is due November so thought I'd get my sensible hat on. Plus I regularly do 700 miles round trip from Ayrshire to Oxfordshire. The 235i is fine on long cruises, but it would be nice not having to fill up at service stations and get ripped off. The 235i could do 350 miles but I'm too impatient to keep to the speed limit.

I also still love my 235i, it's just a fantastic little coupe. Might keep it and buy an estate much older than planned.

How regularly are you making that trip?

Twice a month.

I wonder if there’s a bit of clever shopping to do here. Putting miles on a car like that isn’t exactly taxing on it especially if it’s serviced correctly, but miles do still kill the value of a car. I’d be looking at a higher mileage A6 that’s been sat on a motorway all of its life and is up for sale for less money due to the mileage. You occasionally 3-5 year old ones with 50-100k on them for bottom of the market prices but nothing actually wrong with them. Buy one, change every fluid in it (especially gearbox and diffs), crack on. It probably won’t go wrong.

[McSwede]

How regularly are you making that trip?

Twice a month.

I wonder if there’s a bit of clever shopping to do here. Putting miles on a car like that isn’t exactly taxing on it especially if it’s serviced correctly, but miles do still kill the value of a car. I’d be looking at a higher mileage A6 that’s been sat on a motorway all of its life and is up for sale for less money due to the mileage. You occasionally 3-5 year old ones with 50-100k on them for bottom of the market prices but nothing actually wrong with them. Buy one, change every fluid in it (especially gearbox and diffs), crack on. It probably won’t go wrong.

The great thing will high mileage, ex fleet cars is that they're generally maintained regardless of cost so it should be easy to check if all that had been done via main dealer servicing. I'd be much happier with more miles than low miles on a derv family wagon.

[Orange Cola]

Twice a month.

I wonder if there’s a bit of clever shopping to do here. Putting miles on a car like that isn’t exactly taxing on it especially if it’s serviced correctly, but miles do still kill the value of a car. I’d be looking at a higher mileage A6 that’s been sat on a motorway all of its life and is up for sale for less money due to the mileage. You occasionally 3-5 year old ones with 50-100k on them for bottom of the market prices but nothing actually wrong with them. Buy one, change every fluid in it (especially gearbox and diffs), crack on. It probably won’t go wrong.

The great thing will high mileage, ex fleet cars is that they're generally maintained regardless of cost so it should be easy to check if all that had been done via main dealer servicing. I'd be much happier with more miles than low miles on a derv family wagon.

Sounds almost perfect. It’s pretty much what the Taxi drivers shop for isn’t it? Difference being their cars get a proper hammering.

[V8Granite]

The airport transfer people I use only have A6 models. Every one is a manual though as they had nothing but problems with the autos.

Dave!

[Mito Man]

I think you need to be especially careful buying a diesel A6 (or any executive saloon like that) especially if it’s the smallest engine as that’s the bread and butter for private hire drivers who keep clocking them to meet their lease requirements.

[Orange Cola]

I don’t know how Audi do their engine size and power mapping but I’d go for the ‘largest’ (most powerful) variant of a given displacement that I could. Sitting at 70+ in a 160bhp 2.0l diesel 5 series/A6 sized car isn’t fun on regular big trips. A larger engine or at least a higher output does start to perform better for fuel efficiency and driveability when cruising at those (80+) speeds.

However if it’s regularly 60mph traffic and frequent traffic jams then my point is invalid.

[Carlos]

But still:



Even for an MPV that's astoundingly gopping

Ultimately though Rich is correct.

Toyota Altard snigger

[integrale_evo]

As a recent-ish new dad, my typical (and obviously highly generalised and not very 2020 PC) advice on cars would be: get the wife a decent sized family car. She’ll be the one who needs it most as she’ll have a whole maternity leave year or more of having to ferry the baby and any stuff around every day while you get in your car and drive to work on your own. All you need For even worst case is a car capable of taking a car seat.

I never understand the families who have a big family estate/SUV/MPV which the dad takes to work whilst the mum has a little hatchback.

Didn't you recently get rid of your nice v8 sports car for a sensible vw golf to go along side a 3 series estate?

[Rich B]

As a recent-ish new dad, my typical (and obviously highly generalised and not very 2020 PC) advice on cars would be: get the wife a decent sized family car. She’ll be the one who needs it most as she’ll have a whole maternity leave year or more of having to ferry the baby and any stuff around every day while you get in your car and drive to work on your own. All you need For even worst case is a car capable of taking a car seat.

I never understand the families who have a big family estate/SUV/MPV which the dad takes to work whilst the mum has a little hatchback.

Didn't you recently get rid of your nice v8 sports car for a sensible vw golf to go along side a 3 series estate?

nothing to do with fitting a kid though, it was purely down to A new job with a long(ish) commute.

The wife has the estate family car as she uses it for family duties far more than me (and at the weekends when we’re all together I drive hers). I had the M3 for 2 years as a dad and it was more than big enough for dad duties (backed up by getting a 3 door golf). So long as there’s room for a car seat (I even had the seat in the isofix front seat for a while I’m the M3, so it wouldn’t even strictly need to be more than a 2 seater) then it’s big enough for dad roles!

[Alex_]

A6 avant ruled out. Now turning my attention to 320d.

[Orange Cola]

A6 avant ruled out. Now turning my attention to 320d.

330d!

[Swervin_Mervin]

A6 avant ruled out. Now turning my attention to 320d.

Seriously check out the Arteon(/Superb) if you're going down that route. Not sure what Arteon resale values are like but they're immensely more practical than a 3-series.

Edit: £20k gets you in a 2yo 21k 2.0 TDI R line

[Alex_]

A6 avant ruled out. Now turning my attention to 320d.

Seriously check out the Arteon(/Superb) if you're going down that route. Not sure what Arteon resale values are like but they're immensely more practical than a 3-series.

Edit: £20k gets you in a 2yo 21k 2.0 TDI R line

Ta. I'll do more research later.

[Alex_]

Evonomics have kicked in: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... esc&page=1

[Jobbo]

That's a mental option for 700 mile trips, excellent! (Only because of the economy and the depreciation).

My criteria for my new commute were pretty similar, and I have to say I'm very much enjoying the CLS. I filled up this week at 658 miles. Economy appears to take a hit on the car's computer when you sit at 90 rather than 80, but the computer, I have discovered, varies a lot while my actual mpg has averaged almost bang on 39 for every tank, whether it says I've done 44mpg or 39mpg. Since the tank is 82 litres, it has taken a while to find this out.

[Alex_]

That's a mental option for 700 mile trips, excellent! (Only because of the economy and the depreciation).

My criteria for my new commute were pretty similar, and I have to say I'm very much enjoying the CLS. I filled up this week at 658 miles. Economy appears to take a hit on the car's computer when you sit at 90 rather than 80, but the computer, I have discovered, varies a lot while my actual mpg has averaged almost bang on 39 for every tank, whether it says I've done 44mpg or 39mpg. Since the tank is 82 litres, it has taken a while to find this out.

Simon, what engine/spec is your CLS? Can't find the thread you started.

[Jobbo]

Mine's a CLS350 CDI Shooting Brake in AMG Sport trim: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10346. I looked at a non-Sport version with the nappa ('Exclusive') leather seats but it looked a bit bare in normal spec; I never realised they looked terribly different until buying one, and then started to notice the different bumpers, wheels etc. The nappa leather didn't feel any nicer than the standard CLS stuff anyway; if you wanted upgraded leather you'd need to find one with Passion leather which is softer.

Despite looking at the specs for about a dozen on a Merc VIN decoder, they all had the same 'direct control' suspension, so there wouldn't be any ride comfort benefit to going for the normal trim either. Air suspension was an option but it's a rare one. AMG Sport spec gives you LED lights as standard; the only option I had to have was memory seats and about half of the 350s seem to have those. The ride is fine, although it handles well too. Might be a bit old-man for you though

I avoided the facelift version because I wanted to have a spare wheel; the facelift model has an Adblue tank where the spare would live. It's only a spacesaver but that is 100% better than none at all.

Apparently the 250 engine isn't too bad and would get a bit better fuel economy but it's a nice car, it feels luxurious inside and it suits the V6. Work out the difference to your pocket between 50 and 40mpg (bet the gap wouldn't be that wide in reality) before choosing the 4-cyl

[Alex_]

Cheers for that Simon.