Mercedes or BMW 10k

StephenRy30

Well lads got a run around car awhile ago Renault fluence. Now imblooking what Mercedes or BMW is worth getting for around 10k diesel 5 door 2liter or higher automatic & comfortable

User1998

This seems to be coming up a lot lately. By all means you can buy a BMW or Mercedes for €10k but you should expect to spend another €2k a year maintaining and repairing it as you are buying a 10+ year old car luxury brand of car which won’t be the most reliable or cheap to repair

Gerrymandering reborn

When not get something like an octavia or passat?

goochy

If not doing much mileage . Would a petrol low mileage car be better ? I don't mean one of the big engined petrol models.

keithb93

if you know how to do some diy mechanic work yourself then I say go for it. I own a 16 year old big engine bmw for 2 years and have put 2k worth of parts into it. Easily double that if I paid someone else to do the labour rather than doing it myself.

goochy

A petrol 3 series or c class / clk with low miles could be a good buy but only if doing low enough miles

McGrath5

There’s plenty luxury German cars going for that price, try find one that doesn’t have crazy mileage and with a decent service history. Like another poster said keep a decent 4 figure sum to hand for maintenance and repairs.

goochy

I saw a 2008 318 with low tax . Low miles and leather at lambe and o Connor. A good dealer for €3950 . Talk about alot of car for money if u aren't bothered about the reg plate

bazz26

The engine in those 318i can be just as troublesome as the diesels of the same vintage. Timing chains rattle/stretch on them too. Injectors give trouble and the cooling systems fail on them also. Don't expect much sympathy from a dealer selling you a 14 year old one either.

Buying an old German premium brand car is just like going to a posh club. The purchase price is only the entrance fee, you still have to splash the cash once you get in there. People think because these cars are affordable to buy when they get to a certain age, that they are also affordable to own.

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122346840#Comment_122346840

My motor running costs decreased by so much when I went from an 15 year old Mercedes 2l petrol to a 12 month old Avensis 2l diesel my accountant raised it as a query… about 60% iirc… and I went from doing all my own maintenance on the merc to the main dealer with the Toyota!

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122346882#Comment_122346882

Ah now but you have to account for the tens of thousands euro cost to change and much higher depreciation rate.

No harm going for an older German car as they're not that much more to service/parts as its made out. Just watch out for the timing chains on the most affected engines and get it done before it goes bang.

goochy

A small high spec volvo or a passat / superb with leather etc

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122347143#Comment_122347143

I only had a w203 c class. It had the unbreakable m111 engine and 5sp auto. It never gave any major problems to be fair, it just cost a lot more with tax, petrol, suspension bits and other little things. It cost 3k to buy and did 70k miles and 6 years, so yes; all good on that front.

The Toyota lost 9k in the following 6 years from 2017 to 2023, but of course the cost to change in 2023 for a new car was quite astronomical:- while you could buy a 12 month old avensis cleared from the uk for 23k in 2017; a similar car might be almost twice that now.

I’d still buy a old German, but I’d want it fresh with an folder of receipts.

goochy

A high spec passat could give a small merc or bmw a run for its money

jmreire

After having 2 x MB E Class 220's diesels for 2 years each, and doing all the maintenance work myself, inc. auto transmission fluid and filters on both, I changed over to a 2 ltr VW Passat, which I've driven for nearly 2 years now, and I'm thinking about going back to the Mercs again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Passat, I've driven several down through the years, all great cars. And I'd only change if the deal was very right for me. The years wouldn't bother me either, but preferably on the side of the emission-based tax system. My preference if I was in your shoes, would be to go for the MB or the Passat

StephenRy30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122346375#Comment_122346375

I do actually like the Octavia VRS iv had passat before I know there good cars. Thanks for the advice seen good few VRS that look better and probably have a better engine and alot of Mercedes/ bmw

Gerrymandering reborn

All I can say is that your looking in the right direction - you're after a saloon and not one of those suicidal SUVs

However, you can do one better and that's by going for an estate - specifically an Octavia VRS estate

I know this is over your budget but gives good idea what is available

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2014-skoda-octavia-vrs-combi-2-0tdi-184bhp/37304457

chinwag

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122352508#Comment_122352508

Are SUVs more likely to topple over? Think I heard that before. Just wondering if that's what you meant by 'suicidal'. It amazes me how popular they have become but that in itself doesn't mean they're a good buy. Think it's just the trend now 😏

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122346375#Comment_122346375

Typical boards response for the motors forum 😂

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122352569#Comment_122352569

ehh, no.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122352569#Comment_122352569

My experience with the average SUV driver is that they're just oblivious to other road users, almost as if they're trying to get in a crash or something. There is a general theory that the increase in larger vehicles becoming the norm is having a negative psychological impact giving people a false sense of security or increasing their disconnection with their surroundings. There was a term for it but I can't recall it at the moment.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122352569#Comment_122352569

yes, SUVs because of their higher centres of gravity, which makes them excellent off-road vehs, also makes them unstable for "normal" on road driving, especially on bends or sudden maneuverings. They can and do flip over, and I've personal experience of it happening too, several instances in fact. And in one case, the cause was tyre pressure imbalance, and the vehicle was a Toyota Landcruiser. I wouldn't be going for a SUV in any case, unless I needed it for work, a lot of towing, farm work etc. I'd be happy out with a MB Eclass, Superb or a VW Passat. All good cars.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122353161#Comment_122353161

I’ve never managed to flip over in any of the SUV’s I’ve driven

djan

I mean yes, a taller car is more likely to flip in general but there's so many other factors that come into play long before a car is at that point. A heavy EV SUV with most of its weight very low will take more energy to flip than a lightweight crossover on thin tyres.

Not really a reason to consider in a car choice and more just a pub style argument...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122353896#Comment_122353896

I thought pub style arguments was the norm for boards…. certainly half the fun 😁

Luna84

Talking about tall vehicles flipping watch this. Mad thing while searching for this video I came across other range rovers flipping so must be quite common. Obviously if you do not pull a quick manoeuvre at speed you will not flip but still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3DVxG2f654

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122356093#Comment_122356093

Looks like he was trying to pull off a J-turn. That would flip any SUV. Probably watched a little too much Hollywood stunt driving and decided to have a crack at it himself.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122353605#Comment_122353605

Neither have I, and I have been driving suvs for more years that I care to think about, mainly Toyota Landcruiser's, and in the conditions that they were designed for, off-road, mountains, ice and snow, desert, rivers and forest. The kind of stuff that a winch and a chainsaw were standard equipment on. And I've often had to use them too. Plus I've driven MB, Renault and Scania 4 x 4 trucks. And I've never capsized one. But I know of 3 LC's and 1 Landrover, that did flip.

The two Land cruisers flipped while each of them was travelling on the motorway. In the Country they were travelling in, the temp in summer can reach 45c + and this temp, combined with unequal tyre pressures in the wheel's caused them to become unsteady on the road, and the drivers over corrected, causing them to flip. A major factor in this was the high centre of gravity, they were inherently unstable due to this.

The Landrover flipped while driving through a city, low speed when a pedestrian stepped straight off the footpath, and the driver swung the steering wheel hard suddenly to avoid her. And over it went.

The 3rd Landcruiser was stopping for a checkpoint when the nearside wheels slipped off the road, down slightly on to the hard shoulder, and flipped. Just like that. Lots of other vehicles had stopped on the same spot (no choice) and none of them went over. But then, they were not off-road vehicles either.

So, yes. In my personal experience, SUVs with high centres of gravity are more likely to flip than standard road vehicles. For comparison, even if it's a little extreme, try driving a mini-Cooper round a bend at say 70 kph, and try doing the same with a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Esel

Look up the Elk Avoidance Test.

bcklschaps

This thread has quickly gone off track.

In response to the OP's question

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058358559/mercedes-or-bmw-10k

My opinion, neither. You are not going to get a good one for that kind of money. Stick to your mass market pleb-mobiles and at that price point you are not even guaranteed to get a good one of those.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122357228#Comment_122357228

Yes, and the test car, a Mercedes Benz A class was not classed as a 4x4, just a standard vehicle, and it failed the test at 72KPH.

jmreire

The Bottom line is, no matter which vehicle you decide on, unless it has a full-service history (or at the least the independent mechanics white ink service history written on the engine itself,) don't touch it.

goochy

A 10K car with FSH - good luck with that - also just because it got serviced doesnt mean there was much other money spent on repairs

Dr_Colossus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122356093#Comment_122356093

To further derail the thread, this is another comical example of people's stupidity with SUVs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrw1W4jKdn4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122359165#Comment_122359165

Textbook example of more money than sense imho.

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122359165#Comment_122359165

Seatbelts eh? Who needs them? 🤣

tabby aspreme

The 2.1 mercedes diesel would a better reputation than the 2.0 bmw

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122359505#Comment_122359505

Indeed, the 2.1 diesels are workhorses and were the go to choice for many a taxi across Europe in the E class. You'll get a fright starting them up as they're rattly yokes but will keep going well.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122359526#Comment_122359526

Its all the crap that comes with them now that lets them down. All the electronics, gearbox, DPF, EGR, Adblue etc

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122359505#Comment_122359505

That would be my choice too, and I've had 2 MB E class so far, and while I was thinking about going for a BMW 5 series next time, I think that I will stick with either the Superb or back to a MB again.

jmreire

Thing is, hard to find any diesel without that crap now…. at least older models, pre 2008 didn't have as much of it.

jmreire

Judging by the dress code, asking them to wear a seat belt might be taken as an insult to their honour…..and as for the utter contempt shown to other beach users.,,,kind of reinforces it.

jmreire

Aside from the service history, be it a dealership stamp in the service booklet, or the indelible ink record in the engine compartment, there's always the yearly NCT certs, so theres always some kind of record. If not, walk away.

goochy

I would just walk away .find a newer / less mileage car from a more mainstream brand but one with lots of speci