Moving away from old BMW, advice needed

positivenote

Hi all,
Moving away from my 2003 530d touring due to costs of keeping her on the road and always thought of going with merc c-class or e-class but today my mechanic (old school type who knows his stuff big time) has put me right off... claiming he’ll be seeing alot more of me and that you basically paying a premium for a badge. He told me Toyota was the way to go for reliability and economy... I cover 100miles days a week.
So my question for you all is what should I be looking at with the following criteria:
Reliability
Running costs/Ecomy
Comfort as I’m spending a fair amount of time in it (leather/Bluetooth etc would all be nice)
My budget would be around 8-8.5k

Cheers for any advice

biko

Since reliability is highest on your list I'd look at sites like
http://www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100 and then find reviews of each on youtube

For instance this is most reliable according to that site
Toyota iQ

Go to youtube and watch vids like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCl1xDcWJlQ

grogi

biko wrote: »

For instance this is most reliable according to that site Toyota iQ

I am guessing an iQ is so small it has far less parts that can go wrong...

But on a serious note, I would go with Prius Mk3. Or a Lexus CT200h route if a bit of €$ can be added to the pot.

Nuw

What about this Saab? I'm not certain about this particular engine in terms of reliability, but in terms of comfort it's way up there.

drunkmonkey

Is it the tax is turning you off another 530d, I put up 40/50k a year in one and no major issues bar general wear and tear, had an E60 then went F10, very hard to go back to something like a Toyota, 520d even feels bad in comparison. 320d would be nimbler.

garyskeepers

I drive a saab and i have to say,,, excellent for comfort

commited

I reckon your mechanic is mistaken, the facelift E-class is one of the most reliable cars on the road, the 220cdi comes highly recommended and often do mega miles in the UK and continent as taxis. Road tax is €994 for 2007 or €750 for 2008 onwards so just buy the best one you can find. Great on juice and very very comfortable.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/car-mb-e-220/17107912

Be warned though, it won't be nearly as engaging as your BMW to drive but neither will a Toyota!

For what it's worth, I'd consider a 2011/2012 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi also, you'll have to go to the UK with your budget though.

positivenote

Okay guys just to update this, my e39 died on the motorway today... fuel injection fault. Cost me 150€ to get towed back to Dublin from castleblaney, rental of a car for the next week is going to cost me 200-300€ tax is due on the car now aswell...
I’m looking at getting it going and moving it on. Any advice on options as previously mentioned in the thread would be greatly recommended. Reliability/economy/some comfort are all influential factors given mileage being covered. I’m also looking to part-exchange my own...
cheers

Heres Johnny

positivenote wrote: »

Okay guys just to update this, my e39 died on the motorway today... fuel injection fault. Cost me 150€ to get towed back to Dublin from castleblaney, rental of a car for the next week is going to cost me 200-300€ tax is due on the car now aswell...
I’m looking at getting it going and moving it on. Any advice on options as previously mentioned in the thread would be greatly recommended. Reliability/economy/some comfort are all influential factors given mileage being covered. I’m also looking to part-exchange my own...
cheers

Forget about the part exchange. Your car is worth next to nothing to be honest, I bought an e39 in 2013 and sold last year. I love e39 but no value in them anymore.

That said I will be buying one again in the future as a classic!

Sell it for whatever you can get and straight purchase the next one giving you chance of cash discount.