£40k to blow on a car - please help!

anewman

A minibus would also be fun to drive and different as not many people have them. My mum's family, she has 1 brother and 4 sisters, used to have a minibus back when they were all young - but I guess these people carrier things didn't exist back then.

Only car I can think of that was still a car that could have extra seats was the Skoda Felicia Estate. There was an optional extra which let you put 2 extra seats in the space of the boot, so that's 7 in total. I assume they expected you to get in via the tailgate though, can't have been fun for the passengers.

SilverScooby

Not "prestige" but indecently quick & lots of space - How about a Subaru Forester STI from Litchfield Imports:

http://www.lichfieldimports.co.uk/subaru_06forester.asp

Under £27k OTR, with 300bhp, 0-60 5 secs, very practical, but none of the OTT spoilers etc from the Impreza Sti that it's a close relative of

MILLWALLFC

Get a Landrover Freelander 2

nickmack

SilverScooby wrote: »

How about a Subaru Forester STI

Decent car, but I find it pretty ugly!

Riq

bartsimpson wrote: »

quick update - im now considering a range rover sport - anyone got one?

My dad has one and it's terrible. I hate the thing. Much preferred the Audi Q7 he used to have

bunking_off

I've found this thread extremely depressing. I remember when MSE was a friendly community, but now there appears to be an awful lot of "politics of envy" kicking in. Some of us are MSErs in order that we can "blow" that money we've saved on whatever our passion is in life...and I'd freely admit that I spend far too much on cars myself. But hey, other people e.g. smoke, so everyone needs their vice. Funny that it seems acceptable to have a go at someone asking a legit question about how to spend their money, but there'd be (justifiable) outrage if someone with a bit of spare cash went over to DFW and was similarly critical.

Given this is a moneysaving site, the main (obvious) snippet of advice I'd give is to buy something 6 months old rather than new. Dealer demonstrators are the best way of saving money on cars, and in the segment of the market you're looking at you'll likely get something that's predominately been driven by the manager of the dealer.

Secondly, I'd think very carefully of whether you need all of that extra space. Are you not going through a knee jerk from a sports car to the extreme of a 4x4 barge? You'll pay at the pumps, and in handling (when journos talk of a 4x4 handling well, you have to remember these things are relative).

Example on the pumps aspect - in the (stand by for flames) Jag I drive, I get approx 24mpg on a mixed tank. A mate of mine who owns a dealer of the type you find in the Sunday broadsheets was driving a Range Rover Sport with the same engine in recently, and didn't get into double figures mpg. Also, it takes approx 80% longer to do the 0-60 run.

Example on the nearly new aspect. For the money it would cost you for a new big engined Chrysler 300C (nice car for the money, incidentally) I picked up an S-Type R, 10 months old with 3k on the clock. I know which I'd prefer...

If you're desperate for the space, as others have said, Audi estate or Q7, Merc estate, or Range Rover Sport. However, before going down that path, have a drive of a Jag XJ and Merc CLS. On either, you'll get a year-old top spec for your money.

bartsimpson

I've been to a few showrooms and I've been able to discount a few:

Range Rover Sport - too square and ugly
Audi Q7 - looks fantastic but far too big
BMW X5 - Ok, but a bit ugly from the back
Audi A4 - boring

So the two I've narrowed it down to are:

- Audi S4 - very fast, quite luxurious but thirsty
- Mercedes ML (280 or 320 diesel) - not that fast, very luxurious and not as thirsty as S4

The merc seems to fit the 'family car' description better and because Lewis Hamilton drives it's bigger sis (the GL), I reckon it's got quite a young image

The S4 is appealing for obvious reasons, but I'm worried about depreciation and fuel bills will be sky high

Im looking at £30k for either, used, maybe I was being a bit too silly with a £40k budget.

So, Im torn between the 2 - any advice?

balsingh

S4 all the way!!!

The Merc is a diesel for god sake .... how cane you even start to compare them??

bartsimpson

balsingh wrote: »

S4 all the way!!!

The Merc is a diesel for god sake .... how cane you even start to compare them??

My head says go for the comfortable, luxurious and safe family 4x4, eg merc, x5, range rover sport, but my heart says go for the fast s4 - i really dont know what to do

jeannieblue

I think the Range rover sport looks gorgeous - and it has street cred - but to be honest, I J'adore the Landcruiser - the top of the range ones are gorgeous and comfy too - but could be over the 40k for a new one tho....

I am also partial to Lexus' - I like the look of the RX's - had a new black RX350 in for a 1st service the other day - I thought it was a very tasty looking vehicle.... Being female - looks matter in a car The new LS's are nice - one of our customers has just bought a new one - but think it cost him considerably more than 40k......

To put my oar in and upset you males out there - I think Merc's are cr*p these days and if its an Audi - avoid an automatic gearbox....

Secondhand Bentley continental? parts are cheap if you buy them from VW or Audi