What would you buy with 24k?

PowerToWait

I was thinking A6 Avant but I think that's out.

Must be: max 2L, estate auto, diesel, very comfortable, reliable and reasonably economical.

It's going to do 40k odd annually, mostly motorway / dual carriageway with 220 km commute 3/4 days a week.

It's basically between a V90, E 220d and Superb.

I don't have to spend it all! That's why the Superb is in the mix. Probably makes most sense financially, unless the other 2 are really going to make the miles disappear?

I'm looking up north, seems to be decent value.

What would you do?

MTBD

PowerToWait wrote: »

I was thinking A6 Avant but I think that's out.

Must be: max 2L, estate auto, diesel, very comfortable, reliable and reasonably economical.

It's going to do 40k odd annually, mostly motorway / dual carriageway with 220 km commute 3/4 days a week.

It's basically between a V90, E 220d and Superb.

I don't have to spend it all! That's why the Superb is in the mix. Probably makes most sense financially, unless the other 2 are really going to make the miles disappear?

I'm looking up north, seems to be decent value.

What would you do?

Why on earth would you limit yourself to a max of 2L if you had the choice of larger and at that budget you undoubtedly do? The difference between a 6 cylinder and a 4 cylinder is monumental in terms of refinement and performance and the fuel consumption isn't that much higher. Tax is low on all of them. I'd be wary of a V90 in terms of reliability.

But genuinely I do not understand this aversion to larger engines people in this country have. Id give up almost every other option a car comes with to have a 6 cylinder over a 4 cylinder. Particularly in a diesel where NVH levels are greatly reduced and you get to your destination considerably more refreshed.

So yeah...I'd be looking at an E-Class estate with the 3.0 V6.

bazz26

If your ruling the A6 out because it won't return close to 60mpg as per your other thread then I cannot see you doing much better with the E Class or V90. They both are similar in size and weight to the A6. If you want that level of comfort and refinement then your going to have to accept lower mpg from them. If you want 60mpg then your looking at the wrong type of cars. Even something like a Superb probably won't give you 60mpg but 50+mpg would certainly not be beyond it.

PowerToWait

bazz26 wrote: »

If your ruling the A6 out because it won't return close to 60mpg as per your other thread then I cannot see you doing much better with the E Class or V90. They both are similar in size and weight to the A6. If you want that level of comfort and refinement then your going to have to accept lower mpg from them. If you want 60mpg then your looking at the wrong type of cars. Even something like a Superb probably won't give you 60mpg but 50+mpg would certainly not be beyond it.

Cheers, no, it's not the consumption, I just don't think I like it as much as I thought. I could probably live with 45 mpg if the car does the commute in comfort.

PowerToWait

MTBD wrote: »

Particularly in a diesel where NVH levels are greatly reduced and you get to your destination considerably more refreshed.

So yeah...I'd be looking at an E-Class estate with the 3.0 V6.

Yeah, I'd definitely enjoy that but I'm limited to 2 litre max, not by choice.

Casati

V90 D4 here returning 6 l/ 100km on motorway / national road driving fairly fast. Extremely comfortable with pilot assist brilliant imo. I’d advise you to get a car with adaptive cruise at a minimum for the mileage your doing.

Superb especially manual is going to be more economical and are great at soaking up the miles but not as premium.

PowerToWait

Casati wrote: »

V90 D4 here returning 6 l/ 100km on motorway / national road driving fairly fast. Extremely comfortable with pilot assist brilliant imo. I’d advise you to get a car with adaptive cruise at a minimum for the mileage your doing.

Superb especially manual is going to be more economical and are great at soaking up the miles but not as premium.

Have you had it long? Any reliability issues? I'm increasingly tempted.

The Superb is the no brainer for pure vfm but not sure it will be as quiet and comfortable as I want. Won't be going manual.

Large bottle small glass

PowerToWait wrote: »

Have you had it long? Any reliability issues? I'm increasingly tempted.

The Superb is the no brainer for pure vfm but not sure it will be as quiet and comfortable as I want. Won't be going manual.

I could have written your OP!

In 22 years of buying cars I've always avoided buying the first batch of a new model. @24k you'll be getting 2017 V90.

They might be great, I love how they look, but personally I'd buy a 15 or 16 from UK.

Superb feels a step down in terms of premium feel.

I still can't make my mind up but I'm in no hurry

PowerToWait

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

They might be great, I love how they look, but personally I'd buy a 15 or 16 from UK.


I still can't make my mind up but I'm in no hurry

Why would you go 15 or 16?

I'm not in a huge hurry myself, but probably want it in the next coupe of months.

Casati

PowerToWait wrote: »

Why would you go 15 or 16?

I'm not in a huge hurry myself, but probably want it in the next coupe of months.

The V90 was launched in late 2016 so really most of cars you find will be 2017 onwards.

I’ve had no reliability issues but it’s a 2019 so wouldn’t expect any but I checked the likes of Whatcar surveys etc and the V90/S90 continually came out way better than A6/5 series / E Class/ XF. Saw it perform better than Lexus in some surveys too. No doubt they have some reported faults like all cars, but generally they seem to better than most competitors. I’d be interested to learn more about faults others have seen.

I had a few Superbs previously and the Mark II were better screwed together than the Mark III’s Ie 2016 models interior looks good but tactile quality isn’t as high & mine suffered from lots of (common) squeaks and rattles which drove me mad. Overall though the Superb is a fine car and matched to a DSG is a nice drive. Adaptive cruise is standard in most UK cars but generally optional here if that’s a consideration (which it would for me buying again). They are generally cheap secondhand in UK so make a good option to import too

PowerToWait

Casati wrote: »

The V90 was launched in late 2016 so really most of cars you find will be 2017 onwards.

I’ve had no reliability issues but it’s a 2019 so wouldn’t expect any but I checked the likes of Whatcar surveys etc and the V90/S90 continually came out way better than A6/5 series / E Class/ XF. Saw it perform better than Lexus in some surveys too. No doubt they have some reported faults like all cars, but generally they seem to better than most competitors. I’d be interested to learn more about faults others have seen.

I had a few Superbs previously and the Mark II were better screwed together than the Mark III’s Ie 2016 models interior looks good but tactile quality isn’t as high & mine suffered from lots of (common) squeaks and rattles which drove me mad. Overall though the Superb is a fine car and matched to a DSG is a nice drive. Adaptive cruise is standard in most UK cars but generally optional here if that’s a consideration (which it would for me buying again). They are generally cheap secondhand in UK so make a good option to import too

Thanks for that. I have a Superb atm, and while it's a grand car, as you say, there's a fair bit of noise and to be honest it's really quite loud in the cabin of the combi, don't think sound insulation was top of the list in 2010.

I'm sure this is contributing to fatigue on longer journeys. I'm bunched after a 220 round trip, with some city stuff at either end.

Large bottle small glass

PowerToWait wrote: »

Why would you go 15 or 16?

I'm not in a huge hurry myself, but probably want it in the next coupe of months.

I meant to type 15 or 16 V70.

Vastly different car, tiny market here and not a massive amount of nice stuff left in UK.

Casati

PowerToWait wrote: »

Thanks for that. I have a Superb atm, and while it's a grand car, as you say, there's a fair bit of noise and to be honest it's really quite loud in the cabin of the combi, don't think sound insulation was top of the list in 2010.

I'm sure this is contributing to fatigue on longer journeys. I'm bunched after a 220 round trip, with some city stuff at either end.

I did 630km yesterday in Volvo - 400 motorway and almost all of that using pilot assist which I find a great feature for reducing fatigue. Sound insultation is better on the Volvo but be careful with tyres too, quite a difference between different brands

GavMan

v90 for me out of that 3. A rare enough bird. I love the saloon and the estate is particularly nice too IMO. Again very rare.

PowerToWait

Casati wrote: »

I did 630km yesterday in Volvo - 400 motorway and almost all of that using pilot assist which I find a great feature for reducing fatigue. Sound insultation is better on the Volvo but be careful with tyres too, quite a difference between different brands

That's a days work right there, hardly in Ireland? I'll definitely be trying for pilot assist if I can stretch to it.

PowerToWait

GavMan wrote: »

v90 for me out of that 3. A rare enough bird. I love the saloon and the estate is particularly nice too IMO. Again very rare.

Why would you plump for the Volvo GavMan? I'm leaning that way myself though the Merc may be more reliable.

They're not plentiful but a few available in UK and up north.

Casati

PowerToWait wrote: »

That's a days work right there, hardly in Ireland? I'll definitely be trying for pilot assist if I can stretch to it.

Kerry - Dublin - Kerry so 6.5 hrs driving time. Fairly tiring no matter what your driving in fairness

PowerToWait

Casati wrote: »

Kerry - Dublin - Kerry so 6.5 hrs driving time. Fairly tiring no matter what your driving in fairness

Ah yeah, rather be in the back of a Maybach for that. Fair play.

Durtburd

Casati wrote: »

Kerry - Dublin - Kerry so 6.5 hrs driving time. Fairly tiring no matter what your driving in fairness

I did that once a week for a year (was more like 4 hrs each way due to destination in dublin and **** kerry roads) a long time ago and it nearly killed me. Being in a noisy diesel peugeot with no cruise control didn't help one bit!!

I would go with whichever car gets closest to self-driving as possible for the motorway.

My 2c: there are a few teslas up on autotrader for around the £30k mark. If you can stretch (I know it's a big stretch!!) your initial budget, and arrange charging while up at work in dublin (or at the supercharger in birdhill), you might claw back the extra cost in the long run - assuming you're doing this drive regularly for a good while... say you got a car loan, you're probably better off spending your monthly fuel budget on that and maybe getting some of it back if you sell the car later, rather than burning it all in the form of diesel. Teslas seem to hold their value fairly well despite mileage and age.

MTBD wrote: »

But genuinely I do not understand this aversion to larger engines people in this country have.

Higher insurance costs, lower mpg, higher tax, generally higher maintenance costs, more bits to go wrong, smaller resale market when selling the car... they don't make financial sense for most people and the perceived benefits aren't that significant. It's not until you actually own one that you realise they're worth every cent!

MetzgerMeister

MTBD wrote: »

But genuinely I do not understand this aversion to larger engines people in this country have.

I think it's kind of bet into people because of the old motor tax system despite the annual tax costs being significantly less.

Durtburd wrote: »

Higher insurance costs, lower mpg, higher tax, generally higher maintenance costs, more bits to go wrong, smaller resale market when selling the car... they don't make financial sense for most people and the perceived benefits aren't that significant. It's not until you actually own one that you realise they're worth every cent!

Insurance - not that much higher given there are fewer of them on the road

Lower MPG - not really. A 3 litre BMW can reach 50+ MPG.

Higher tax - I know I'd rather pay €280 a year for a 3 litre than whatever it is to tax a 2 litre in the same model. It's not like we're still talking about €1,494 vs €710. It costs less to tax a 3 litre for a year than it does to tax a 1 litre on the old system

PowerToWait

Durtburd wrote: »

My 2c: there are a few teslas up on autotrader for around the £30k mark. If you can stretch (I know it's a big stretch!!) your initial budget, and arrange charging while up at work in dublin (or at the supercharger in birdhill), you might claw back the extra cost in the long run - assuming you're doing this drive regularly for a good while... say you got a car loan, you're probably better off spending your monthly fuel budget on that and maybe getting some of it back if you sell the car later, rather than burning it all in the form of diesel. Teslas seem to hold their value fairly well despite mileage and age.

I was thinking of a model 3, but in 2 years! 33k odd Euro would just be out of range right now. If they came down to mid twenties in a couple years then definitely.

Some the E class or V90 seem to have a good deal of autonomous capability, just concerned about being landed with large parts bills if stuff starts to go south.

Durtburd

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

I think it's kind of bet into people because of the old motor tax system despite the annual tax costs being significantly less.



Insurance - not that much higher given there are fewer of them on the road

Lower MPG - not really. A 3 litre BMW can reach 50+ MPG.

Higher tax - I know I'd rather pay €280 a year for a 3 litre than whatever it is to tax a 2 litre in the same model. It's not like we're still talking about €1,494 vs €710. It costs less to tax a 3 litre for a year than it does to tax a 1 litre on the old system

You're probably right about the influence of the old tax system. I'd wager theres an element of fear about future amendments to tax system which will again come down heavily on bigger engines etc. In fact with the greens in government I'd consider it a near certainty that something is going to be done to motor tax soon.

Insurance - have to disagree here, I see it first hand as I work in insurance. Depends on your location, age, points, experience etc. Try getting reasonable insurance on a 530d before you're 30, or with 2 speeding tickets, or a recent small claim, you better have some vaseline at the ready!

PowerToWait wrote: »

I was thinking of a model 3, but in 2 years! 33k odd Euro would just be out of range right now. If they came down to mid twenties in a couple years then definitely.

Some the E class or V90 seem to have a good deal of autonomous capability, just concerned about being landed with large parts bills if stuff starts to go south.

Fair enough, I knew it was a huge stretch!

I had an e300 hybrid diesel, AMG spec, not too long ago, was only a 132 w212 facelift so the self driving tech was in its infancy. I test drove a car with it and it wasn't great, ended up going without it when I bought due to the price difference. However I'm sure the tech has improved greatly since then.

As you mentioned, eye-watering costs for the smallest breakdown are a big concern. At one point, I was charged the bones of 200 euro for a plastic housing the size of a toilet roll. Completely put me off Mercedes as reliability with the car wasn't the best either - I'm a glutton for punishment though and will no doubt go back at some stage!!

Great cruisers though and very comfy and quiet.

Anything to be said for a VW Arteon? Again a small stretch on budget as they are a newer car but you'll save it all back versus a cheaper e class in one breakdown

PowerToWait

Durtburd wrote: »

Anything to be said for a VW Arteon? Again a small stretch on budget as they are a newer car but you'll save it all back versus a cheaper e class in one breakdown

Yeah, I looked at a couple in Enniskillen last week. I was quite impressed with the design, sharp looking car imo. Reviews are not that positive and I thought they were pricey enough: 31k euro all in for 2018 Elegance 8.5k miles

beggars_bush

I'd buy a 17-18 Skoda Superb Estate 2.0

excellent car and very comfortable. all the bells and whistles with lane assist, driver fatigue, apple car play,

MetzgerMeister

Durtburd wrote: »

Insurance - have to disagree here, I see it first hand as I work in insurance. Depends on your location, age, points, experience etc. Try getting reasonable insurance on a 530d before you're 30, or with 2 speeding tickets, or a recent small claim, you better have some vaseline at the ready!

Yes, a person's own situation will come into play with regard to insurance. For myself I got my 330d insured at 29 for less than €800 and each year it has come down. That was 5 years ago.

No penalty points, 11 years NCB at the time living in Tipp.

PowerToWait

beggars_bush wrote: »

I'd buy a 17-18 Skoda Superb Estate 2.0

excellent car and very comfortable. all the bells and whistles with lane assist, driver fatigue, apple car play,

Starting to think that way myself, but the top spec with lowish miles are not that plentiful.

beggars_bush

PowerToWait wrote: »

Starting to think that way myself, but the top spec with lowish miles are not that plentiful.

Uk. Better service records and spec on cars

PowerToWait

beggars_bush wrote: »

Uk. Better service records and spec on cars

UK all the way, but still a bit of searching to be done.