luxury vs. poverty spec

KyleJJE

Folks,

Planning on making a purchase soon.

Is worth buying like a 2004 mercedes / bmw 3.0L diesel than buying a 2008 low tax diesel ard 8-9k range that normally are pretty poor spec wise.

Just a thought, but im tempted going for a merc / bmw e.g. s class or 5 series

What you think??

CianRyan

7 series for the BMW anyway.

Always buy the better car, not the better reg anyway.

colm_mcm

Non executive/posh/premium brand cars can often come with high spec to be fair.

Often it's the prestige/refinement/performance/badge that you desire rather than equipment.

Whether that's worth paying extra for is down to you.

An 8/9k post 08 diesel probably won't be anything special though.

bazz26

Generally people in the market for a cheap tax post 2007 eco diesles don't have any tendencies to even consider 10 year old big engined premium cars.

Atlantic Dawn

Buying a barge or a cheap tax diesel car is the same as the choice between buying a cheap mansion in the country or buying a tiny 2 bedroom apartment in the city , each has its benefits.

fmcg_scribe

KyleJJE wrote: »

Folks,

Planning on making a purchase soon.

Is worth buying like a 2004 mercedes / bmw 3.0L diesel than buying a 2008 low tax diesel ard 8-9k range that normally are pretty poor spec wise.

Just a thought, but im tempted going for a merc / bmw e.g. s class or 5 series

What you think??

In the case of a 5 series, you would expect, say, a 535d or 530d to have a better standard specification than, say, a 520d mainly because the options list becomes shorter as you move up the engine sizes. After that, if looking at individual used cars for sale, you will notice minor differences between 5 series of the same age and engine sizes and differing trim levels (M Sport v SE) - that's true for most BMWs.

For future resale, it's best to buy the car with the best spec within your budget. However, that does not trump buying a car with a decent service history and an acceptable exterior and interior colour scheme.

If owning a 730d or 740d or 745d mattered to you more than owning a 5 series diesel, fair enough. Obviously, the 7 series would be more refined but it would not be that much bigger or better to drive. In the case of the E65 7 series, the exterior design of the car is still controversial and may make the car difficult to move on. Further, a 7 series would be more complicated and expensive to fix. That leads into ownership costs such as insurance.

Most of the points I've made here also apply to the Merc E class and S class.

At the end of the day, cars like the 7 series and the S class are the flagship models for their manufacturers but they don't hold their value and most people interested in owning a luxury car would be wary of buying such a car because of the perceived running costs - they would look instead at a 5 series or E class or A6.

If depreciation and other running costs don't worry you, buy an S 320 CDI or 730d. However, the sweet spot would probably be a good used E class or 5 series with a three litre diesel engine or thereabouts.