The old man wants to buy a new Merc S320 CDI around the 45k mark.
I reckon he's just squandering my inheritance what with depreciation n that.
Give me some ammunition / alternatives please, it doesn't have to be a big saloon, but he does like presence.
I'm thinking second hand A8 or order up a Boxter S ?
What would a year old CDI do at auction?
GTR
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Go for an older M-B with FSH and reasonable mileage plus Signature warranty if bought from M-B dealer (says he, having done that twice).
Audi A8 v. nice but aluminium body is said to be v. expensive to repair, so presumably v. expensive to insure. Boxter S a totally different experience, of course, and about as impractical as you can get.
If size is not important . . . consider a six-cylinder top-spec Audi A4; I'd go for that rather than an M-B C-class.
But if I were intent on buying new and not spending over the odds, I'd have a very close look indeed at the VW Golf VR6 4-Motion, the successor to my current all-time favourite (my 5-year-old series III VR6 Highline) or, indeed, the new big-engine (V8?) Passat.
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I presume the E320CDI does not have enough presence? If it has follow ,Roger jones advice above.Do not buy new.
regards
Simon
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A C270CDI automatic estate is a very nice car: compact and easily as quick in the real world as a C320 auto estate. See road test on this site. The S320CDI is nice enough, but a touch heavy for the suspension. And I've never seen any at auction, not even at Top Car, unless they were private imports. It also seems to have an engine mount problem. See car by car breakdown.
HJ
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The new C Class is like the old one - boring and badly made. The E is the best bet. I drove an E Class CDi in Europe (not sure which one) and it was the dog's wotsit. Can't see the need for anything bigger.
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The trouble with the E Class is the way they rust in the seams, on the bootlid and in the front wings. (I have photos.) And the E320CDI has (or had) the same engine mount problem as the S320CDI.
HJ
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Just tell him - big mercs used to be good, now they are no better than your average mass market barge. From what I have read/heard build quality has plummeted.
How about a Passat W8? My personal choice if I was a 'senior' would be to import an Audi A8 V8 TDI. Now that is a wicked engine.
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Nice idea but you can't get the Audi diesel in this country so the dealers are bound to be a bit sniffy about servicing and resale might be tricky.
The passat W8 will halve in value in 18 months I reckon, so not really a goer. Wouldnt mind one myself when they get a bit cheaper.
Sounds like Mercs - even the S are not what they were. The E class sounds dire
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Re. the drop in Merc quality, when did this begin? What's the cut off point, therefore, for a decent quality secondhand E class?
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I think I recall correctly that, having developed the current 'E' series (i.e. the 'round' headlight model) to a production-viable motor, MB then cost-engineered it and took 20% off the build cost. This type of cost engineering was a new thing for MB and I suspect that is when they started to go downhill in quality. In my opinion, they copied the typical Ford 'build to a cost' policy and ended up with a Ford-quality product.
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FWIW, re the A8, I think the dealers have to service them under Euro law - but I am not sure. And also, if your father intended to keep the car for a good number of years (5++) all luxobarges will depreciate severly.
Re Boxster S - there are not many cars that hold their value like Boxsters. Just pick up a copy of 911 & Porsche world and look at the price of even 97 poverty spec 2.5s - still over 20k.
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Go for a BMW 530d. Cracking engine and better to drive than the MB. I've got the estate version 2nd hand from a dealer with sub 10k miles and 20% off RRP
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