Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k

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Thu 16 Jun 2016 22:09
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - nicprz

Hi All!

I am expecting my first child in a few months and the lease on my Golf GTD will be ending soon after. I am looking at getting an estate car and I have about £15k to spend on it.

I would really love to get some performance out of what I choose, also try and get some decent MPG as I travel 40 miles each day for work.

So far I have looked at ~2010/2011 C350D, A6 Avant Quattro 3.0, A6 Avant allroad, BMW 325d.

If anyone could give me ideas on which would be the best I would be so grateful, which has the least issues/running costs etc?

Thanks, Nick =]

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Fri 17 Jun 2016 10:44
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - Sam49

Hi Nick - Congratulations - as a dad I wear my estate car like a badge of honour! My experience has been (and I reckon shared by others here) is that bigger is better because of the ridicuous amount of associated baby paraphenalia. When I was choosing an estate I was looking at Honda Accord, Avensis, Mazda 6 ( I like Japanese brands). It's one less thing to think about - to be able to lob all your kit into the boot without thinking about how it needs to be arranged or what you might need to leave behind. And let's face it, you could have a top spec, rip snorting Beemer but you'll lose kudos when you have to resort to the dreaded roof box!!

So out of those I'd be looking at the A6. Have a look at a 5 series or an E Class - those rwd 3-series tourers really don't have big boots. As said, I'm not really into pemium brands but those Jag XFs look nice, as do Volvo V70s. Hopefully others here with more know-how/ experience those of the specific brands/ engines will give more feedback on more technical matters.

BTW - If you like to keep your cars looking smart, leather might be preferable for its wipe-clean properties! One exploding nappy can easily ruin your upholstery...

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Fri 17 Jun 2016 13:41
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - barney100

Can't go wrong with a V70, i've had a few Volvo estates and they swallow baby kit and are real workhorses but quite peasant to drive. That or an E class for me, more kudos than the Volvo and if you use an indie for servicing you keep costs down. Audi a no no for me and jags don't seem to look right as estates but look wonderful as saloons. Beemers I now nothing of.

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Fri 17 Jun 2016 14:38
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - nicprz

Brilliant advice, thanks guys! Will definitely be looking for all leather seats, think its a toss up between the E class and the 5 series, I do love a good sporty German.

Cheers!!!

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Fri 17 Jun 2016 15:08
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - RobJP

Bear in mind that the LAST thing you want is 'sporty'. Small child + rock hard 'MSport' suspension = vomit.

A Boring 520d SE touring, or E220CDi with 16" or 17" wheels will be a lot kinder to your life than a 530d MSport on 19s

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Fri 17 Jun 2016 22:18
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - nicprz

Bear in mind that the LAST thing you want is 'sporty'. Small child + rock hard 'MSport' suspension = vomit.

A Boring 520d SE touring, or E220CDi with 16" or 17" wheels will be a lot kinder to your life than a 530d MSport on 19s

Thats a fair point, I'm leaning towards the 530d, which ones of those would have the softer suspension?

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Fri 17 Jun 2016 15:10
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - Stumblebum

You can also buy some heavy duty rubber mats for both the boot liner and interoir footwells to try and keep the interiior clean.

Leather is great, but make sure the air con is effective.

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Sat 18 Jun 2016 06:56
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - NARU

There are some cracking deals around at the moment on new A6 and 5 series estates (both are coming to the end of their life). But I guess those are out of your budget, alas.

Edited by Marlot on 18/06/2016 at 06:57

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Sat 18 Jun 2016 08:18
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - RobJP

For any of them, SE spec with 16 or 17" wheels will give the best ride quality.

Basically, if it sounds sporty (MSport, AMG line, S-line) then it's going to have rock-hard suspension and big wheels. Might look nice, but living with it will not be fun.

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Sun 19 Jun 2016 12:46
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate - Best used premium estate for £15k - Happy Blue!

I have an E350CDi estate (2011). Bought it last November at 20,000 miles for £20,000. It is a superb car. The ride is very smooth and the power is inexhaustable, with the economy not at all bad for the size, weight and performance of the car. We have three kids and we go to the airport fairly frequently without being embarrased by a roof box.

My wife and I spent a day looking at premium cars before I decided on the E-Class. It was a simple decision. The Audi and BMW interiors were just the wrong shape and size for us (we are both 5'7" and not overweight). Happy to answer any questions you may have.

HB!

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