Good (semi-luxury) all rounder, under £7.5k?
Discussion
Morning all - first-time poster, long-time outside viewer so thanks for all the words of wisdom over the years!
Long story short, I'm trading in my 420i M Sport Gran Coupe (£13k ish), to buy 2 cars, 1 for me & 1 for my mrs who has just started driving.
Thinking of spending £2.5k on her little runaround (Aygo, C1 etc), £7.5k on my daily and the rest on some insurance for her, tyres, servicing etc to make sure all is well!
Thoughts on how best to spend £7.5k?
Looking for something luxury-ish (I've grown accustomed to throwing the 4 series into comfort mode and cruising around).
Space for 2 dogs, 3 people.
30+ mpg (do 10k miles a year including a long trip up to Scotland annually)
Cool (whatever that means)
Preferably auto (not a deal breaker though if it causes more trouble)
I've read horror stories about high mileage german cars, but then also keep getting told to buy a well-looked after Audi!? I've had everything from small French hatchbacks to German saloons over the years.
I'm no mechanic but always look after my cars, annual service, decent tyres, work gets done when needed etc...
I'm thinking high mileage, well looked after:-
3 series estate (practical)
Hilux (for reliability)
Touareg (costly motoring?)
Saab estate (always loved these)
Volvo of some sorts (open to advice as I don't know enough about them)
Lexus CT maybe?
Really appreciate any advice PHers!
Long story short, I'm trading in my 420i M Sport Gran Coupe (£13k ish), to buy 2 cars, 1 for me & 1 for my mrs who has just started driving.
Thinking of spending £2.5k on her little runaround (Aygo, C1 etc), £7.5k on my daily and the rest on some insurance for her, tyres, servicing etc to make sure all is well!
Thoughts on how best to spend £7.5k?
Looking for something luxury-ish (I've grown accustomed to throwing the 4 series into comfort mode and cruising around).
Space for 2 dogs, 3 people.
30+ mpg (do 10k miles a year including a long trip up to Scotland annually)
Cool (whatever that means)
Preferably auto (not a deal breaker though if it causes more trouble)
I've read horror stories about high mileage german cars, but then also keep getting told to buy a well-looked after Audi!? I've had everything from small French hatchbacks to German saloons over the years.
I'm no mechanic but always look after my cars, annual service, decent tyres, work gets done when needed etc...
I'm thinking high mileage, well looked after:-
3 series estate (practical)
Hilux (for reliability)
Touareg (costly motoring?)
Saab estate (always loved these)
Volvo of some sorts (open to advice as I don't know enough about them)
Lexus CT maybe?
Really appreciate any advice PHers!
Jap import Werthers Originals spec 2009 320i touring, 23k, £8000 but it looks lovely. Check insurance first - grey imports can be a bit tricky.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409123...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409123...
Clubsarnie said:
Morning all - first-time poster, long-time outside viewer so thanks for all the words of wisdom over the years!
Long story short, I'm trading in my 420i M Sport Gran Coupe (£13k ish), to buy 2 cars, 1 for me & 1 for my mrs who has just started driving.
Thinking of spending £2.5k on her little runaround (Aygo, C1 etc), £7.5k on my daily and the rest on some insurance for her, tyres, servicing etc to make sure all is well!
Thoughts on how best to spend £7.5k?
Looking for something luxury-ish (I've grown accustomed to throwing the 4 series into comfort mode and cruising around).
Space for 2 dogs, 3 people.
30+ mpg (do 10k miles a year including a long trip up to Scotland annually)
Cool (whatever that means)
Preferably auto (not a deal breaker though if it causes more trouble)
I've read horror stories about high mileage german cars, but then also keep getting told to buy a well-looked after Audi!? I've had everything from small French hatchbacks to German saloons over the years.
I'm no mechanic but always look after my cars, annual service, decent tyres, work gets done when needed etc...
I'm thinking high mileage, well looked after:-
3 series estate (practical)
Hilux (for reliability)
Touareg (costly motoring?)
Saab estate (always loved these)
Volvo of some sorts (open to advice as I don't know enough about them)
Lexus CT maybe?
Really appreciate any advice PHers!
Touaregs can be ruinously expensive to run and maintain as they are big, heavy cars that have been engineered in such a way to make lots of jobs be more effort than they should be (speaking as a former Touareg owner). Long story short, I'm trading in my 420i M Sport Gran Coupe (£13k ish), to buy 2 cars, 1 for me & 1 for my mrs who has just started driving.
Thinking of spending £2.5k on her little runaround (Aygo, C1 etc), £7.5k on my daily and the rest on some insurance for her, tyres, servicing etc to make sure all is well!
Thoughts on how best to spend £7.5k?
Looking for something luxury-ish (I've grown accustomed to throwing the 4 series into comfort mode and cruising around).
Space for 2 dogs, 3 people.
30+ mpg (do 10k miles a year including a long trip up to Scotland annually)
Cool (whatever that means)
Preferably auto (not a deal breaker though if it causes more trouble)
I've read horror stories about high mileage german cars, but then also keep getting told to buy a well-looked after Audi!? I've had everything from small French hatchbacks to German saloons over the years.
I'm no mechanic but always look after my cars, annual service, decent tyres, work gets done when needed etc...
I'm thinking high mileage, well looked after:-
3 series estate (practical)
Hilux (for reliability)
Touareg (costly motoring?)
Saab estate (always loved these)
Volvo of some sorts (open to advice as I don't know enough about them)
Lexus CT maybe?
Really appreciate any advice PHers!
Saab estates are (or at least were) great but are getting a bit long in the tooth now. Had a few 900s, 9-3s and 9-5s (all turbos or aeros) over the years, all did exactly what you'd expect in terms of comfort and mile-munching, but they can be a mixed bag on reliability and are now old enough for rust to be a consideration on any example regardless of miles.
Volvo V70 would fit the bill especially if you can find a suitable one - this is a little over budget but you get the idea: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411286...
Big Volvos are supremely comfortable places to be for doing long journeys, and roomy too.
Subaru Legacy / Outback estates could be a good shout too - good spec, very reliable, bags of room, 4WD (if you need it) - e.g. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411176...
TooLateForAName said:
might fail the cool test but skoda superb estate.
Huge, comfortable, lots of creature comforts.
Great cars also.Huge, comfortable, lots of creature comforts.
If you went for the 3.6 it would be rapid as well: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410034...
Wouldn't fit the brief on fuel economy though.
Jag XF estate can be had for that, dont know if its "cool", but its pretty good looking, 2.2 diesel for reliability vs the 2.0, or can get a 3.0 diesel if you want more power.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411146...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411146...
-Lummox- said:
Touaregs can be ruinously expensive to run and maintain as they are big, heavy cars that have been engineered in such a way to make lots of jobs be more effort than they should be (speaking as a former Touareg owner).
Saab estates are (or at least were) great but are getting a bit long in the tooth now. Had a few 900s, 9-3s and 9-5s (all turbos or aeros) over the years, all did exactly what you'd expect in terms of comfort and mile-munching, but they can be a mixed bag on reliability and are now old enough for rust to be a consideration on any example regardless of miles.
Volvo V70 would fit the bill especially if you can find a suitable one - this is a little over budget but you get the idea:
Big Volvos are supremely comfortable places to be for doing long journeys, and roomy too.
Subaru Legacy / Outback estates could be a good shout too - good spec, very reliable, bags of room, 4WD (if you need it) - e.g.
Awesome advice! Love the Volvo and the Scooby!Saab estates are (or at least were) great but are getting a bit long in the tooth now. Had a few 900s, 9-3s and 9-5s (all turbos or aeros) over the years, all did exactly what you'd expect in terms of comfort and mile-munching, but they can be a mixed bag on reliability and are now old enough for rust to be a consideration on any example regardless of miles.
Volvo V70 would fit the bill especially if you can find a suitable one - this is a little over budget but you get the idea:
Big Volvos are supremely comfortable places to be for doing long journeys, and roomy too.
Subaru Legacy / Outback estates could be a good shout too - good spec, very reliable, bags of room, 4WD (if you need it) - e.g.
thanksFor £7.5k, anything with a "premium" badge on will be a lot older than your existing car (which would retail at about twice that given the trade-in price). Even if in good condition, the older designs even on premium cars will seem more basic and very much a step back.
Although very much not "luxury" in any sense, the best comfort for the money would probably come from a Vauxhall Insignia. The most recent model is surprisingly good, but the reputation of the older ones mean they depreciate like a stone. You'd get a slightly high miles 5 year old Insignia for £7.5k, whereas you'd be looking at a close to 10 year old A4 or 3 Series or one with 150k+ miles for that money.
A better option though might be to keep your existing car and try to scratch a bit of money together to buy a very cheap runaround. You should be able to get a functioning Aygo or similar for not much over £1000, particularly if you can find one being sold privately. The traders need to make money, so selling a car to them to entirely fund another car is an expensive way of doing it.
Although very much not "luxury" in any sense, the best comfort for the money would probably come from a Vauxhall Insignia. The most recent model is surprisingly good, but the reputation of the older ones mean they depreciate like a stone. You'd get a slightly high miles 5 year old Insignia for £7.5k, whereas you'd be looking at a close to 10 year old A4 or 3 Series or one with 150k+ miles for that money.
A better option though might be to keep your existing car and try to scratch a bit of money together to buy a very cheap runaround. You should be able to get a functioning Aygo or similar for not much over £1000, particularly if you can find one being sold privately. The traders need to make money, so selling a car to them to entirely fund another car is an expensive way of doing it.
SkodaIan said:
For £7.5k, anything with a "premium" badge on will be a lot older than your existing car (which would retail at about twice that given the trade-in price). Even if in good condition, the older designs even on premium cars will seem more basic and very much a step back.
Although very much not "luxury" in any sense, the best comfort for the money would probably come from a Vauxhall Insignia. The most recent model is surprisingly good, but the reputation of the older ones mean they depreciate like a stone. You'd get a slightly high miles 5 year old Insignia for £7.5k, whereas you'd be looking at a close to 10 year old A4 or 3 Series or one with 150k+ miles for that money.
A better option though might be to keep your existing car and try to scratch a bit of money together to buy a very cheap runaround. You should be able to get a functioning Aygo or similar for not much over £1000, particularly if you can find one being sold privately. The traders need to make money, so selling a car to them to entirely fund another car is an expensive way of doing it.
I suspect from the original post, OP is also looking for something a bit bigger / an estate. A BMW coupe as he has now is not ideal for carrying 2 dogs and 3 people (unless you want the interior to get scratched and wrecked) and an Aygo wouldn't be big enough to get 2 dogs comfortably in the boot. Although very much not "luxury" in any sense, the best comfort for the money would probably come from a Vauxhall Insignia. The most recent model is surprisingly good, but the reputation of the older ones mean they depreciate like a stone. You'd get a slightly high miles 5 year old Insignia for £7.5k, whereas you'd be looking at a close to 10 year old A4 or 3 Series or one with 150k+ miles for that money.
A better option though might be to keep your existing car and try to scratch a bit of money together to buy a very cheap runaround. You should be able to get a functioning Aygo or similar for not much over £1000, particularly if you can find one being sold privately. The traders need to make money, so selling a car to them to entirely fund another car is an expensive way of doing it.
Any reason why a 5 series estate not on the wishlist as opposed to a 3? Much more room in a 5, often better spec and very little in it on price after a few years.
Example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395987775524
Example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395987775524
Mazda 6 Sport Nav. Ideally post 2016 - gets colour HUD and heated steering wheel as standard mid way through 66 plates. Autos maybe pushing the budget a bit though.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412127...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412127...
Clubsarnie said:
TooLateForAName said:
might fail the cool test but skoda superb estate.
Huge, comfortable, lots of creature comforts.
Hadn't considered a Skoda, I've always been fond of them. cheersHuge, comfortable, lots of creature comforts.
Not a deal breaker but it'd still hurt and I can't see it getting any cheaper.
RX450 is a good shout too.
XC70 offers a lot, and 3L gives it a bit of power
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412016...
Something a bit newer/ sleeker, Jeep:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412107...
Nice AMG Line C-Class, bit high on miles, but my we've had good mercs with a lot higher milage:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412147...
Disco 4, pretty cool:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410095...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412016...
Something a bit newer/ sleeker, Jeep:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412107...
Nice AMG Line C-Class, bit high on miles, but my we've had good mercs with a lot higher milage:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412147...
Disco 4, pretty cool:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410095...
ilikejam said:
Mazda 6 Sport Nav. Ideally post 2016 - gets colour HUD and heated steering wheel as standard mid way through 66 plates. Autos maybe pushing the budget a bit though.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412127...
Nice family bus that, the 2.2d has a terrible reputation though, I'd want to research if that was sorted by 2016 and if it was a real issue not people using diesels inappropriately and ignoring obvious signs something wasn't right!!https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412127...
Seconding the recommendation that you keep the existing car and find additional funds for the second.
The current car would achieve a trade valuation, which you'd probably then be splitting into two retail-priced cars. This means you would probably end up paying two sets of costs to change (i.e. reasonable costs of a dealer to find, prep, supply and warranty a car x2).
In addition, there will be running costs of two quite old used cars and the not unreasonable expectation that one or both will require some additional spend to bring them up to standard and maintain well.
I'd personally start from a position where one of the two cars is owned / known to me already, assuming you're happy with it.
The current car would achieve a trade valuation, which you'd probably then be splitting into two retail-priced cars. This means you would probably end up paying two sets of costs to change (i.e. reasonable costs of a dealer to find, prep, supply and warranty a car x2).
In addition, there will be running costs of two quite old used cars and the not unreasonable expectation that one or both will require some additional spend to bring them up to standard and maintain well.
I'd personally start from a position where one of the two cars is owned / known to me already, assuming you're happy with it.
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