replacing beloved old bmw...opinions please

love_lifer

i was warming to the saab, especially as there are some real bargains around. however i checked insurance groups- my 323 is group 15; the saab diesel and bmw compact both group 23. so no savings to be made on insurance as I'd hoped. how unfortunate i have expensive taste in cars.

oliverr

love_lifer wrote: »

i was warming to the saab, especially as there are some real bargains around. however i checked insurance groups- my 323 is group 15; the saab diesel and bmw compact both group 23. so no savings to be made on insurance as I'd hoped. how unfortunate i have expensive taste in cars.

How about a Volvo? sure, not the most exciting car there is around but it's not that disimilar to the saab. They have some more efficient engines that should be lower insurance.

either way, it should be at least a bit cheaper than an insurance group 23 saab.

love_lifer

will have a look at volvos, hadnt thought of them, though did consider s70 when i bought this car. cheers

or was it the c70?

jaydeeuk1

reeac wrote: »

Your insurance figure surprised me. My 1998 XJ8 3.2 has never cost much more than £300 in the 11 years that I've owned it. Currently £289 as I've switched to limited mileage. Periodically I debate replacing it but it's never failed us yet, has full size spare wheel, £210 road tax, superb visibility and overtaking capability so I'll probably keep it for ever.

Superb car. Yours on the original nikasil or it had a replacement enginel?
Was looking at the 4.0l before deciding to stick with what I got, can get amazing examples for under £3k. Last year almost went for a spotless year 2000 1 owner, full jag SH with cream leather and all the toys for £1999 but car sold within an hour of being put on autotrader.

steve-L

love_lifer wrote: »

i was warming to the saab, especially as there are some real bargains around. however i checked insurance groups- my 323 is group 15; the saab diesel and bmw compact both group 23. so no savings to be made on insurance as I'd hoped. how unfortunate i have expensive taste in cars.

On autotrader is the tab for each car giving the Vehicle Summary this has the IG and for the one I linked it say's 12 (obviously different insurers can put them in different bands I think)

Doing the same for the 323i gives group 15E

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201212274734174/sort/default/usedcars/body-type/saloon/price-to/5000/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/model/3_series/make/bmw/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/radius/1500/page/1/keywords/323/postcode/bb79da?logcode=p

Double check???
see what comes back on insurance price comparison websites?

reeac

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

Superb car. Yours on the original nikasil or it had a replacement enginel?
Was looking at the 4.0l before deciding to stick with what I got, can get amazing examples for under £3k. Last year almost went for a spotless year 2000 1 owner, full jag SH with cream leather and all the toys for £1999 but car sold within an hour of being put on autotrader.

It must be a Nikasil engine but it's never shown any symptoms of wear - no oil consumption and very low emissions in MOT test. I can only think that during its 2 years of high-sulphur petrol useage it was only used for longish runs and so the Nikasil never got exposed to sulphuric acid. Actually, Nikasil has great advantages and is used in competition engines - both cars and motorbikes - as long as you stick to low sulphur fuel.

love_lifer

Was thinking about it- are there 2 groupings for insurance? The old 1-20 and a newer 1-50? Will check it out because group 23 isn't so bad if so

steve-L

love_lifer wrote: »

Was thinking about it- are there 2 groupings for insurance? The old 1-20 and a newer 1-50? Will check it out because group 23 isn't so bad if so

Its also worth getting some actual quotes?
So far as I know the insurers don't have to stick with the 'band', isn't it just an industry guide?

One insurer might see a specific car with a specific driver profile as a different risk than another?

love_lifer

I've had a look at that link thanks Steve. Some fantastic offers on Saab diesels- what's the catch? And yes the insurance looks a bit lower than on my 323.

Still undecided but weighing up all the info I'm getting before I make a decision to stick or twist

prowla

I have a 2002 coupe, and I would say that the inherent problem is that there are only 2 doors: (a) the door is very big, and (b)getting into the rear seats is more difficult. (Yes, I know it's stating the obvious!)

Also, the handle on the boot is a poor design, as it is a relatively flimsy piece of plastic that is screwed on, as opposed to being part of the boot lid itself.

Other than that, it is a great car.