E-class, 5 Series, A6... Which as a taxi?

[D1on]

Looking at replacing my jaguar x type soon which I use as a private hire vehicle...
Been looking at the above, will have around £6000-£7000 to spend, don't mind ones with around 100k miles...

Which do you think would be most suitable, I'll be looking at the e60 and w211.
Would love an auto however I think a manual may be that little bit more economical and reliable...

Any help appreciated!

[hyphen]

Passat or Skoda superb not an option? As imagine they will be cheaper to run than the more prestige badges you have selected.

[D1on]

hyphen said:

Passat or Skoda superb not an option? As imagine they will be cheaper to run than the more prestige badges you have selected.

I do take your point, I've thought long about it though and drove passats and superbs in the past but I fancy one of the above now..

[ZX10R NIN]

The W211 will be pretty much bulletproof.

2006 E320 Sport 53k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Matt UK]

Well based on nearly every private hire car I jump into is a Mercedes, I'll say Mercedes.

[POORCARDEALER]

Mercedes, in silver, smart looking....is there no limit to the age of car you can use?

[jayemm89]

Whenever I've been to Germany Mercedes is THE car of choice for taxi drivers, gotta be a reason. Most of them have nearly 300k kms on the clock too

[SWoll]

ZX10R NIN said:

The W211 will be pretty much bulletproof.

2006 E320 Sport 53k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Really? I was of the opinion the W211 was built during the low point in MB's history and considered the worst E Class ever for reliability? And the 320 isn't exactly good on fuel either?

Unless you're doing 'prestige' runs then I'd probably go for the Skoda Superb as mentioned above. Lot's of <5 year old cars in budget, plenty of space, well built and economical in diesel/manual form.

[Monkeylegend]

I ran 2 W211 E220CDi's as a PH Chauffeur car, both did over 300k miles in just over 3 years, no major issues at all, very economical, very comfortable.

The W212 if you can stretch was just as good. I retired it and me with 282k miles and still use it as a daily, now on 292k and again no major issues whatsoever.

Check with your licensing authority though, I think some of them might now have an age restriction at first licensing, and if you want to go into London you probably need to get a Euro 5 car at least to minimise future emissions charges due in 2017/18.

[SuperHangOn]

The facelift W211 E220 CDI is a very reliable car.

The E320 diesel isn't. A lot of potential for grief with the V6 Diesel engine and early 7G box.


The W212 E220 CDI uses the OM651 which isn't as strong as the older engine. Single row timing chain at the rear of the engine, plastic water pumps, awkward to work on.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Thursday 24th November 09:08

[scherzkeks]

SWoll said:

Really? I was of the opinion the W211 was built during the low point in MB's history and considered the worst E Class ever for reliability?

The facelift W211 is very good. You are thinking pre-facelift.

[ZX10R NIN]

SWoll said:

ZX10R NIN said:

The W211 will be pretty much bulletproof.

2006 E320 Sport 53k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Really? I was of the opinion the W211 was built during the low point in MB's history and considered the worst E Class ever for reliability? And the 320 isn't exactly good on fuel either?

Unless you're doing 'prestige' runs then I'd probably go for the Skoda Superb as mentioned above. Lot's of <5 year old cars in budget, plenty of space, well built and economical in diesel/manual form.

The previous generation of E Class represented the low point, the later ones (post 2005 do not suffer with rust) were fully galvanised (you'd be hard pressed to find an 2003 suffering with rust. Engine wise they're still using the 3.0d now & they're a good unit.
The OP has stated he fancies a one of the above so IMO the E class is the best of the bunch.

[Alex_225]

I have a W211 E320 CDI which I used day to day, it has 108k on it and it certainly feels as solid as any car I've been in with a lot less miles than that. I've only owned it 6 months but so far they've been trouble free and inside although it's a little dated (2003) it's a very comfortable place to be.

[Shakermaker]

Mercedes.

There's got to be a reason you see them by the thousand at Heathrow.

[_rubinho_]

I get a lot of airport cars for my job. The vast majority are Mercedes, I've had a couple of BMWs and not a single Audi. I've never seen a manual.

Both the E-class and 5 series are comfortable in the back and have ample leg room. I'm usually two up with a colleague with a large suitcase each. I can't comment on fuel economy, only the passenger experience.

You can't go wrong with the E-class, but the 5 series rides were memorable in that they were in something a bit different.

OT: My best was a 760li from Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi a couple of years ago. That was a serious piece of kit and sounded glorious!

Edit: spelling

[rsbmw]

You could just about jump into an F10 520d for that budget, after a bit of negotiation.

[hyphen]

Would you want to though?

Wouldn't it be better to get something with more toys rather than a poverty spec newer model- considering a taxi driver will pretty much live in it.

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

The W211 will be pretty much bulletproof.

2006 E320 Sport 53k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Bulletproof? Not IME. I certainly can't and won't rely on mine!

[rxe]

My favourite taxi driver in Spain used to run an A6 estate. It had about 600k kilometers on the clock, no much went wrong with it, the interior pretty much looked like new, even at 600K.

He's chopped it in for a Skoda Superb estate. Same size car, and from the passenger seat, a new Suberb is about the same as a 6 year old Audi.

So far the Superb has about 100K on the clock and has not gone wrong.

His cars do have a pretty easy life though, constanct cruising on the N340, rarely getting wet.

[rsbmw]

hyphen said:

Would you want to though?

Wouldn't it be better to get something with more toys rather than a poverty spec newer model- considering a taxi driver will pretty much live in it.

F10 is pretty well specced as standard. Heated leather seats, sat nav and the excellent ZF8 box should be pretty live-in-able