4-5 year old BMW or new mazda 3/6, Toyota Auris Hybrid

motorguy

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Of course I knew about the f30 328i (once got a f30 320i as a loaner) but I was thinking from the OP's perspective and no way could she afford a f30 328i at her budget.

To be honest I am disappointed in the newer f30, steering feedback and that BMW handling isn't quite as present as earlier generations. Apparently to get that BMW sportyness you need a special option on the adaptive suspension.

Havent driven an F30 yet. TBH theres little price premium for an F10 5 series so i'd go for one of those if i was in the market for one.

Wifie has a new model z4 with that two litre turbo engine and its a good job - though her previous 3.0Si Coupe z4 had a fantastic engine in comparison.

I wouldnt have a BMW as my main car as i do big miles and i'd rather have a newer car under warranty than an older premium brand car without. But thats just because of the miles i do. Have had several 5 series - couple of 535ds (one i bought new :eek:), 530i, 530d, etc. Also an e70 x5 new, and several 320ds. Oh, and a handful of 330i coupes.

Son has a 120d M Sport 3 door on 19s, so i'm the odd one out at the moment in my golf

Have been trying to prod wifie towards an m3, but i dont think its going to happen - its a bigger car than she says she needs. Looking more like a Cayman next time around

crvs

darkmatter101 wrote: »

'crvs' you seem highly indecisive, I do remember reading your previous posts and you were advised against a diesel yet you still contemplating on the 320d. Firstly choose the brand of car you want, don't waver from Mazda, to Toyota hybrid to BMW. Then once you have done this, choose the line of car you want, i.e. 1 series, 3 series then choose the model, i.e. 116i or 120i

Sorry, that's typo mistake. Im trying to compare different make of cars that are targeted towards different customer base is because I find 4 -5 year old BMW with around 50k mileage and 2-3 year old Mazda or Toyota say 25k mileage are quoted same price. I would much prefer BMW which im used to against other cars.

thanks

crvs

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Cat D cars are road worthy and have mostly been repaired to the required standard. Most Cat D cars in my experience tend to be body panel damage, never engine damage. OP if you are looking at Cat D cars, nothing wrong in that, just look at all the documentation and have it checked over

whats check should i carry out to buy Cat D cars?

jaydeeuk1

Crvs, if comfort is the biggest factor, forget sporty BMWs with their 17" alloys and run flat tyres. Honestly try a ct, in advance or lux spec, its like sitting in your favourite arm chair. Ok its more of a 1 series rival but inside there is a decent amount of space. The auris has decent suspension but seats in hire car gave me back ache after driving derby to swindon. Not sat in a prius so no idea how comfortable they are.


And if you don't know ẃhat your looking for in a cat d car, either take someone who does or avoid. Some cat d's have awful damage that looking at photos you'd not want to drive again, and you'd know that it just wouldn't 'drive' the same as a straight car.

motorguy

crvs wrote: »

whats check should i carry out to buy Cat D cars?

Personally, i'd get it independently check for the quality of the work.

Also, i'd ideally be looking to see "before" pictures and receipts for the parts used.

There are absolutely no regulations as to what standard a cat D car has to be repaired to.

So, as i said further up, you dont know if its new genuine parts, second hand parts, damaged second hand parts taken off another car and repaired, or pattern fit parts.

Also, mechanical internals can often be affected and will need checked.

Also, if i really *had* to buy one, i'd be looking for one that was bought and repaired by someone who subsequently kept it themselves - far too many people buying write offs, repairing them as cheap as possible and then selling them on for profit - their profit margin depends on them finding corners to cut.

motorguy

Heres an example

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/maserati/granturismo/maserati-granturismo-v8-mc-stradale-2dr-mc-shift/2236056?isexperiment=true

From the advert it was described "Fully Maintained Regardless Of Cost With Full Maserati Service History", but on VCAR (written off) but professionally repaired.

Heres what it looked like before hand

http://wrecks2riches.co.uk/2012/12/salvage-cat-d-maserati-gran-tourismo/

darkmatter101

motorguy wrote: »

Havent driven an F30 yet. TBH theres little price premium for an F10 5 series so i'd go for one of those if i was in the market for one.

Wifie has a new model z4 with that two litre turbo engine and its a good job - though her previous 3.0Si Coupe z4 had a fantastic engine in comparison.

I wouldnt have a BMW as my main car as i do big miles and i'd rather have a newer car under warranty than an older premium brand car without. But thats just because of the miles i do. Have had several 5 series - couple of 535ds (one i bought new :eek:), 530i, 530d, etc. Also an e70 x5 new, and several 320ds. Oh, and a handful of 330i coupes.

Son has a 120d M Sport 3 door on 19s, so i'm the odd one out at the moment in my golf

Have been trying to prod wifie towards an m3, but i dont think its going to happen - its a bigger car than she says she needs. Looking more like a Cayman next time around

Nice to see another BMW comrade. How did you find the 330i? Was it the newer aluminium/magnesium block n52/n53 variant? That was my last car, was a peach of an engine. I had the BMW Performance exhaust fitted to mine. Felt effortless, and with horrid state the UK roads are in (I live in London), it was as quick as (if not quicker) than my E92 M3 at lower speeds, as I feel that I just cannot exploit the power of my M3 on these roads.

I fully agree with you, I wouldn't have a BMW if I were doing high mileage, (unless my pockets were bottomless!). Neither would I use a BMW for short city drives less than 3 miles, hence why I use my Yaris for everything else.

In an ideal world, my next step is the Porsche 911 Carrera S, but like I said, in an ideal world

crvs

darkmatter101 wrote: »

I fully agree with you, I wouldn't have a BMW if I were doing high mileage, (unless my pockets were bottomless!). Neither would I use a BMW for short city drives less than 3 miles, hence why I use my Yaris for everything else.

When will you use your BMW then?


We had a heated discussion this morning and can say my DH wants to try non BMW say Nissan Qashqai or Toyota Auris . We have some good leasing deals going on Nissan but we will discuss with our mortgage advisor today and see how it will affect out mortgage availability.


Thanks.

motorguy

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Nice to see another BMW comrade. How did you find the 330i? Was it the newer aluminium/magnesium block n52/n53 variant? That was my last car, was a peach of an engine. I had the BMW Performance exhaust fitted to mine.

It would have been the earlier one, but still a fantastic engine. The noise alone is just superb!

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Felt effortless, and with horrid state the UK roads are in (I live in London), it was as quick as (if not quicker) than my E92 M3 at lower speeds, as I feel that I just cannot exploit the power of my M3 on these roads.

The fatest one i had was the LCI 535d M Sport that i had remapped to approx 350BHP. 0-60 in 5.5s, 500lb/ft torque, delimited, so could top out at 173MPH. BUT, as you say, its hard to get roads where you can use anywhere near that sort of power, let alone what you would have in the M3.

If i was buying an F10 it would probably be a 520d, auto, M Sport, leather. But that would be as a big cruiser moreso than any sort of "sports" performance.

If it was another E60, i'd probably go for the 530i in the first instance - although v hard to get in M Sport spec. The turbos on the diesels (among other issues) would worry me with the diesels at that age.

darkmatter101 wrote: »

I fully agree with you, I wouldn't have a BMW if I were doing high mileage, (unless my pockets were bottomless!). Neither would I use a BMW for short city drives less than 3 miles, hence why I use my Yaris for everything else.

Well we've wifies z4 as our "main" car, for the weekends. Mines just for the commuting drudge and supermarket car parks at the weekends.

My son is 20 so hes rarely with us (hes in slovenia for 6 months at the minute), but we'd use my golf or his 120d if we're all out of an evening.

I've got into the habit of having a weekend "toy" about me - i've had an mx5 and a 330Ci this year, but last year i'd an X351 XJ, several S Types and a 530i. No big money involved in any of them and i made a little on each on the way out.

darkmatter101 wrote: »

In an ideal world, my next step is the Porsche 911 Carrera S, but like I said, in an ideal world

Wifie has almost always bought(?) new on a PCP deal, then changed after the term is up. Cant get her head around buying used, and i suspect, even though she could face a Cayman the deals on a new one are going to be mental.

I've still my trade contacts so could defo get her into something "heavy" and used for not a fortune.

darkmatter101

crvs wrote: »

When will you use your BMW then?


We had a heated discussion this morning and can say my DH wants to try non BMW say Nissan Qashqai or Toyota Auris . We have some good leasing deals going on Nissan but we will discuss with our mortgage advisor today and see how it will affect out mortgage availability.


Thanks.

When I said I wouldn't use a BMW for high mileage, I meant it in the context of the BMW's I have owned, which have always been at least 6 cylinders. I only do around 3-4k miles/year in my M3 and pay roughly £700/year for routine maintenance (not including tyres/brakes and all done at an independent specialist, not dealer prices!) plus £800ish/year for BMW warranty. If I actually do 15k plus a year I would also have to consider tyres (£800 to change all fours) and brake discs/pads which definitely aren't cheap, bring my annual total in the few thousands...(and that's with warranty, without it could potentially run in the 10's of thousands!!)

Now, if I had a 320d (or any 4 cylinder entry level BMW), completely different story...Companies normally use these as their company fleet cars, so running them 20k plus/year isn't so expensive.

OP, if I were you listen to your husband, he seems to know what his talking about. If you are considering buying a second hand car on finance (and it seems you also have to consider your mortgage availability), a BMW isn't for you.