Looking for a smooth 2nd hand car

kopper

I'm looking for a 2nd hand car which is smooth on the roads. I'm tired of feeling all the potholes on our roads and i have driven a few makes without success. Looking to spend upto £5000.
Any suggestions?

Brooker_Dave

kopper wrote: »

I'm looking for a 2nd hand car which is smooth on the roads. I'm tired of feeling all the potholes on our roads and i have driven a few makes without success. Looking to spend upto £5000.
Any suggestions?

Some sort of Mercedes E-Class.

harveybobbles

Volvo S80 or Pug 607 waft along quite nicely...

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Some sort of Mercedes E-Class.

Correct. The E-class is one of the most cosseting vehicles on the road.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/825567.htm

There's a 320CDi too, which is more popular. 45mpg on the motorway, and very very quiet. Engines good for 400,000 miles.

Rust is the main concern, but most of that age will have been repaired under warranty.

hewhoisnotintheknow

citroen xantia

harveybobbles

the engine on a Merc will last 400,000 miles but the electronics certainly wont...

gilbert_and_sullivan

Most large cars will soak up the road bumps quite well, as long as you get a model with sensible 55 to 65 aspect ratio tyres, the fashion for elastic bands stretched around boy racer 18"+ wheels destroys the ride quality in almost all cars.

Its finding a long term reliable car in the same category thats the difficult bit, Volvo's a good choice, some MB's avoiding the rust if you can, even some larger BMW's ride well, certainly bigger Lexus's.
If you don't mind not being up to date, a well looked after Omega could fit the bill.

I think thats part of the reason so many have plumped for 4 x 4's, generally they are so much better at tackling the increasingly poor state of our roads.

jimmo

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Most large cars will soak up the road bumps quite well, as long as you get a model with sensible 55 to 65 aspect ratio tyres, the fashion for elastic bands stretched around boy racer 18"+ wheels destroys the ride quality in almost all cars.

Its finding a long term reliable car in the same category thats the difficult bit, Volvo's a good choice, some MB's avoiding the rust if you can, even some larger BMW's ride well, certainly bigger Lexus's.
If you don't mind not being up to date, a well looked after Omega could fit the bill.

I think thats part of the reason so many have plumped for 4 x 4's, generally they are so much better at tackling the increasingly poor state of our roads.

I totally agree with that.
In my old fashioned way, going for a Mercedes, BMW etc is somehow stepping outside my comfort zone. They are probably wonderful cars but I could never get beyond the fear that if something major went wrong the cost of getting it fixed could be prohibitive.
When I retired, 2 years ago, I gave my R reg Mondeo to my son who still lives at home with us and I still drive it occasionally. We now use my wife’s Motability car, an Astra (and she gets a brand new one every 3 years).
In our circumstances, the Astra suits us very well but, oh God, I really miss my Mondeo.
Just one other point, the Mondeo width is sufficient that I could drive over speed humps without them affecting the car. The Astra width is not quite there.
With £5,000 to spend, you can afford a lot more than my old Mondeo but the general principle is that if you want comfort you need a relatively big car.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

harveybobbles wrote: »

the engine on a Merc will last 400,000 miles but the electronics certainly wont...

Really, no problems with the electronics on mine.

Ranger8

£5k will get you a lovely ride in a Jaguar.:cool:

shown73

If your thinking of a newer Mondeo, I'd try one first. My old Mk1 was a much better everyday car than my present gadget-filled Mk3, in almost every way.