Looking to buy a new executive company car

k3lvc

debunked wrote: »

Any thoughts on the Lexus IS200T?

Yes - not a patch on the others - shortest length of ownership I ever had was a Lexus IS (albeit not a new 200T) - I gave it 6 weeks. On paper it did everything yet on the road nothing :mad:

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

The reality is that in each of those cars you are buying image:

Jaguar sporty, but an odd looker, trying to be BMW but different. Jury out on whether they have reliability under control and they definitely have had problems on current models.

BMW sporty, general perception of being a safe bet driver's car, but unimaginative choice and hasn't shaken off it's reputation of many of their drivers being entitled cocks (even with Audi doing it's best to take on that mantle).

Kia - budget brand. Regardless of how good they are, (and I have friends who are very pleased), you will spend your time explaining how it is a hidden gem, as good as a BMW, Merc or Audi.

Second hand they will have poor value once the warranty is up as you are in the market for people looking for poor men's BMWs - after all they can get a BMW if the price is right.

Cars are about image, whatever people pretend, in a BMW people will clock you and make a judgement on you, a Kia the same. In the premium market, you will not be judged kindly by your peers in a Kia.

FWIW, I am not a fan of BMW which goes back to the 90s days when they were a bit special but ultimately too much of a compromise (I hated the claustrophobic driver's pit with the massive transmission tunnel in the 5 series, and the 3 series I was put off by the !!!! driving it who spent all his time searching for the source of the rattles rather than watching the road because a quality car like his should not rattle) - and the interior has barely been updated from those days. Pure personal bias of course.

Take a look at Audi too, not perfect cars, I suspect that they never quite have enough budget to bring the finished product on from the standard chassis, just a few oddities about the final implementation of features like folding mirrors that cannot be set to automatically fold and cruise control without speed limiter options and parking sensors that don't come on automatically at low speed. I like my Mercedes, they do certain things right that I like, don't seem to attract as much irritation as BMWs and Audis but are not seen as driver's cars in the same way.

Something to consider is how you will feel about the car in 5 years time. With my Mercs I've felt I've got car that is as good as new, but a bit less attractive to car thieves, I felt the same with my VW Golf which was of similar build quality (one of those long lasting 2002 models), quite happy with it as a 10 year old car. A good car, you've actually got a choice of keeping it - a surprising number of people I know with 10 year old Audis, Beemers and Mercs bought from new or very nearly new and haven't bothered to change.

reeac

k3lvc wrote: »

Yes - not a patch on the others - shortest length of ownership I ever had was a Lexus IS (albeit not a new 200T) - I gave it 6 weeks. On paper it did everything yet on the road nothing :mad:

Oh. dear. I've just bought a 2 year old IS 300h after 26 years of Jag. Xj ownership. My daughter thinks that it's too "boy racer". So far my only complaint is regarding the 600 page handbook.

fatrab

Personally, I agree that BMWs are overrated but the people who like them will argue this all day long. I had a 5 series and it put me off BMWs for life.

The Kia will depreciate at an alarming rate. Unless you thoroughly enjoy the test drive I'd rule it out.

Which leaves the XE. Again, purely down to personal choice, I'd rather have a used XF (probably the 3L supercharged) than a new XE.

I bought my current car in October which is for business use and I also get paid an allowance for this by my employer. When I was looking at my options on paper I'd narrowed it down to a choice of 3 cars - Jag XF, Lexus IS or C-Class.

I ended up buying a Subaru WRX STi. It was better value and better driver satisfaction than the others. Don't be afraid to look further afield than your current choices would be my advice.

iolanthe07

The Kia will depreciate at an alarming rate.

That's not really accurate any more. In fact, because of the seven year warranty and the fact that they come near the top of most driver satisfaction and reliability surveys, their depreciation is on par with other marques. Kia have improved immeasurably over the last few years, but, like Skoda in years gone by, poor reputation is hard to shake off.

AdrianC

What restrictions do your employer place on the car you use on their business?

Presumably you're looking to lease or PCP, rather than finance a purchase, so trying to second-guess depreciation becomes irrelevant, since that's somebody else's problem - you will know up-front the initial and monthly payments.

Have you actually test-driven the three and decided which you would prefer to spend a substantial amount of time in?

neilmcl

Personally I don't understand why the OP is looking at these cars. In his first post he mentions that he's looking for a "executive company car" then later on he basically tells that that it won't be used for work at all. Are these really the types of car he wants for a personal runabout?

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

neilmcl wrote: »

Personally I don't understand why the OP is looking at these cars. In his first post he mentions that he's looking for a "executive company car" then later on he basically tells that that it won't be used for work at all. Are these really the types of car he wants for a personal runabout?

Good spot.

I'd start again. How many people expecting to take, do you want to stick a bike in the back or on the roof, planning any touring holidays and so on.

One of the depreciation aspects to consider is that saloons are something of a dying breed, the reason cross-overs are becoming popular is that they have an upmarket image rather than the utilitarian 4x4 image, and they are more practical - most are enjoyable to drive, have an airy interior and are flexible load carriers. Saloons are the preserve of businessmen who want a secure boot on their visits and have a weekend car for their trips to the tip.

Given the move to hybrids, uncertainty of the economy, move into cross-overs and other flexible designs, I would have thought the OP was about to buy the most depreciating type of car out there (I personally think that the diesel confusion will pass so it is a good time to buy a Euro 6 diesel).

motorguy

IanMSpencer wrote: »

Good spot.

I'd start again. How many people expecting to take, do you want to stick a bike in the back or on the roof, planning any touring holidays and so on.

One of the depreciation aspects to consider is that saloons are something of a dying breed, the reason cross-overs are becoming popular is that they have an upmarket image rather than the utilitarian 4x4 image, and they are more practical - most are enjoyable to drive, have an airy interior and are flexible load carriers. Saloons are the preserve of businessmen who want a secure boot on their visits and have a weekend car for their trips to the tip.

Given the move to hybrids, uncertainty of the economy, move into cross-overs and other flexible designs, I would have thought the OP was about to buy the most depreciating type of car out there (I personally think that the diesel confusion will pass so it is a good time to buy a Euro 6 diesel).

A 340i is not your run of the mill 320i / 320d 3 series. For a long time to come there will be demand for them from enthusiasts.

Theres no real "move" to hybrids in terms of market share currently.

NBLondon

I get the point about liking something a bit different - and sorry, the German marques are a bit predictable and only come in 2 or 3 colours apparently. But as others have said, Kia will still have an image issue. (Whether the OP cares about that is another matter). So for a left-field idea.... Volvo S60 or S80 with all the toys?