30K Budget - Which car?

DublinWriter

I'm planning on scrapping the car I've driven for the last ten years and treating myself to something special. I'm going to do it this year before everything goes looney tunes with the SSIAs next year.

Firstly, I have a 30K budget. Secondly, I will not buy new.

I'd rather get a comfy bouncy-castle, rather than something sporty because a) I'm 35 and b) I commute and spend a lot of time in traffic.

I'm looking at buying one of the following, about two years old:

a) Jaguar S-Series
b) Audi A6
c) Merc E2xx
d) BMW 52x

Can anyone offer any opinions? My preference at the moment would be the Jag.

kluivert

Nice one, thats easy get a Audi A4 1.9TDi
Or as for BMW 320d if your really nice to yourself an Madza RX8 great all - rounder

mokeymokey

i think a 2001/2002 mitsubishi lancer would be the best car for you

lomb

728i, 1999, for 12 or 13 grand+, reliable, fuel efficient and classy.

unkel

DublinWriter wrote:

My preference at the moment would be the Jag.

And a good choice that would be. For your budget you'll only find a 3.5 to 4 year old though. Same applies to other candidates except perhaps the Audi

Whichever you buy for €30k, they will all depreciate fairly heavily still over the next few years. All are reliable so you might want to consider halving your budget and buy one of them but slightly older

What's your mileage? If it is low, then the fuel consumption is not that important. Obviously your NCB is sound if you can afford to run any of these cars. Did you consider going one further step up the ladder in size / luxury? You'll be surprised to find that won't cost you much more at all, probably only fractionally higher tax / maintenance

I got quoted hundreds less to insure my V8 7 Series compared to a similar age / price 6 Cylinder 5 Series

ds20prefecture

DublinWriter wrote:

I'm looking at buying one of the following, about two years old:

a) Jaguar S-Series
b) Audi A6
c) Merc E2xx
d) BMW 52x

Can anyone offer any opinions? My preference at the moment would be the Jag.

I would agree. But I'd go for a slightly older XJ8 instead of the S-Type. Much better car all round, particularly in terms of ride comfort. The Merc and BMW are fine cars, but overpriced for what they are. The Audi is too harsh.

If you are into something a bit more creative, you could look at a Cadillac Seville, a Chrysler 300 or a Renault Avantime. You won't see many of these on the road: they don't handle like sports cars so people don't buy them. They weren't sold new here so I think all of these are LHD only, which might rule them out for you.

Or you could buy a classic and something practical if you have a garage. Classic MkII or S-Type Jag is a beautiful car, and you'd buy a fine example for €20,000. You won't get more floaty or bouncy than a Citroën DS, €15k will buy you a superb example.

You might miss the mod-cons though (electrics, aircon) so maybe an 80s Jag XJ6, a Citroën CX Prestige, or a Bentley Turbo R or Eight. Obviously VRT is an issue for importing cars under 30 years old, but with 30k you won't have a problem finding good examples.

The Bentley in particular is a hell of a car - easily serviced, brisk, supremely comfortable, luxurious and robust. Not as gauche as a Rolls Royce, but it's hard to touch it for presence.

bmoferrall

If you decide to ditch the bouncy-castle, non-sporty, criterion might I humbly suggest the following:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=235740
A special car, under budget, and you'll look good sitting in those traffic jams

MercMad

Firstly are you planning to keep the car for a similar length of time ??

If not ands depreciation amtter then theb Jag will depreciate more than thenothers and be more costly to service ! Personally Jags dont do it for me !

All these cars depreciate a similar amount, only varying a few hundred realistically, so pick what you like best !

IMO the 5 series is the best to drive, there are plenty bout there, plenty of options and the new model isn't really any better to drive with similar engines and suspensions, they old one is far better looking !

The E-Class is a shade more elegant, but despite being a Merc fan I would avoid these for the following reasons, there are millions out there and the new W211 E-Class far outshines the W210 in every respect. There are some known paintwork/rust issues with the 99-01 cars and the older Kompressor engine isn't a patch on the newer Kompressor engine, let alone the V6's. Also the BMW 6's are superior in every respect although they are a bit lazier in 2.0 and 2.2 ltr guise.

I dont like Audi's. The quality has dropped severely in the last 4 years and they justy arent what they should be !

I would seriously look at the 7 series. It drives like a small car on the twisties yet also has the luxobarge feel. The standard equipment list is good with phones and leather all in since 1996 ! Even the 728i has decent performance and you could pick up a super car , well optioned and end up with some change !

My personal choice would be to find the either the above or the last of the W140 S-Class's ( yes the big phuck off one) and keep a few bob in your pocket. You could get a low mileage 1998 one for little more than half your budget and it'll outlive you !! You may even get a '00 new model S320..........just check it out properly, bguy it cheapluy or get a warranty.

Enjoy !

DublinWriter

ds20prefecture wrote:

The Bentley in particular is a hell of a car - easily serviced, brisk, supremely comfortable, luxurious and robust. Not as gauche as a Rolls Royce, but it's hard to touch it for presence.

...meanwhile back on planet earth.

I'm sticking to my original list of four.

css

hows about a lexus? great auto box for wafting through traffic..

Ribbons

for what you want it has to be the jag, however i think im right in saying when they were originally released they were a poor car and only got better as they were revised and time went on, therefore you would want as new as possible. And they arent cheap circa 36k for a 02 (had a quick look on cbg.ie).

30k wont get you a new shape 5 or e class and the old ones do look old now. Old A6 was never at the races compared to the other cars listed.

Depending on how long you wish to keep a 3 series beemer or even better a 3 series coupe is a much better investment as they hold there value quite well and you should get a good 02 with leather and all the extras.

Really tho i wouldnt discount the 7 series

Or maybe have a look at the Alfa 166, very very cheap second hand ( some reliability issues but shouldnt be too bad if you get a well looked after one) but if you can find well looked after and dont mind the odd front end looks its a lovely car on the inside and has good road presence. use the 15-20k u save to buy a convertible/or classic car for weekends

few 166s

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=211838
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=258486
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=180651
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=208924

ds20prefecture

DublinWriter wrote:

...meanwhile back on planet earth.

I'm sticking to my original list of four.

Nice. Good to see an open mind. You should probably go for the BMW.

Fabritzo

Don't Jag's depreciate heavily? They're made by Ford and hence probably have cheap parts. I wouldn't buy that.

The Audi seems to be a no one car, it's just not very interesting, although it's probably a great car. It's the sorta car for people with stainless steel kitchens! Clinical?

I'd pick the Merc, but I'd save a bit more and get the current shape E-class, it will hold it's value too.

The old 5 series is out since late '96 I think.
They've got cheap and there are alot of undesirables driving them, I doubt it would be the choice of car for someone with the handle DublinWriter.

*There's a new S-class due out, the price of the current one might drop a bit, it's a great car and in your budget, it might be tricky getting a small engined one though.

bazz26

Would you not consider the Jag X-Type as an alternative?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=250546

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=256005

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=236036

They are still an uncommon site in this country.

From the choice you selected I would probably go with the 5 Series as they would probably be the best alround package despite being old now. My second choice would be the E-Class.

HashSlinging

tested a 00 S500L in park motors that was going for 30k, only had 100k on the clock. think its long gone now. *That* was some car. I'd say it was just big enough for your ego also.

Seeming that its your money im spending I'll go for a 02 E240 Avantgaurd. no contest. See can i dig a nice one out for you.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=180079

Am i good or am i good?

mike65

Children children! Stop posting silly suggestions. And don't buy an X type its a Mondeo in a posh frock. I'd go for a 7 series out whats been suggested so far. You dont mention which engine size you're willing to tax

Mike.

DublinWriter

bazz26 wrote:

Would you not consider the Jag X-Type as an alternative?

Nah, it's just a posh Mondeo.

My first choice is still the Jaguar S-class.

I'd go up to a 3.2 Litre engine max.

bbbbb

I've been thinking about changing cars along the same line also (haven't jumped yet), my short list would also include:
Volvo C70
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=234138
(comes with nice spec & seems to depreciate fast from new, so good value second hand).

Saab 9-5
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=247088
(a posh vectra, but I still like it)

peasant

bbbbb ...Good Man, for mentioning Saab !

But the one on your link is actually a 9-3.

The real thing is here: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=246600

250 turbo horses and THAT style ...enough to tempt our Dublin Writer ??

(they come as saloon as well, but the estate looks so much better IMO)


btw: Saab seats are the best in the business ...seriously !

podge3

Why not get a top-of-the-range Rover 75 - maybe the 2.5L. Should be well less than 30K next year.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=268323

BrianD3

The Jaguar S-type is OK, but to me it looks ugly and bulbous. It isn't sleek, long and low like a real Jag should be. The previous generation XJ8/6/R (X300 model) is a real Jag. This is the model ds20prefecture was referring to, it's a beautiful car which is older but better in many ways that the S-type. You'd pay anything from 8k to 30k for one depending on how old and good a one you went for. Running costs will be high but the S-type will also have high running costs.
here's a shiny silver one
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=248820

Bassman

Try these...

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&sortby=MileageAsc&maxrows=100&Make=Jaguar&MakeID=12&Model=S-Type&ModelID=112&Price_Max=30000&GroupID=738

DublinWriter wrote:

I'm planning on scrapping the car I've driven for the last ten years and treating myself to something special. I'm going to do it this year before everything goes looney tunes with the SSIAs next year.

Firstly, I have a 30K budget. Secondly, I will not buy new.

I'd rather get a comfy bouncy-castle, rather than something sporty because a) I'm 35 and b) I commute and spend a lot of time in traffic.

I'm looking at buying one of the following, about two years old:

a) Jaguar S-Series
b) Audi A6
c) Merc E2xx
d) BMW 52x

Can anyone offer any opinions? My preference at the moment would be the Jag.

ubu

Thats fairly shíte legroom in the back of the jag, you'd expect more room in the back from a car of that size, that would influence my decision anyway, dunno about yours.