Hi
Can anyone recommend a quality car for someone who is semi retired that wishes to indulge himself in a bit of second hand luxury :-)
I am over 50 and drive infrequently (Shops or the odd run from Cornwall to Kent)
Big cars are preferred but my knowledge of BMW's etc is slim.
Comments welcome.
Budget £10000
Thanks
Neil
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Lexus LS400 - that'll be a whole lotta luxury for your £10000- see car by car breakdown. Judging from Parkers that might get you a '94/'95 car. For even better value try a Caddilac Seville STS from 1998.
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One of my choices would be a pre 96 E or S class M-Benz to ensure top quality engineering & build quality that later models do not match.Plus there is a relative paucity of electronic gizmos, that are proving to be questionable in terms of reliability together with exhorbitant repair costs.
regards
Simon
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Lexus GS300,great car total reliability,less common (as in numerous)than the Drug Dealers Special from Munich.
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You should be able to buy an almost new Rover 75 for that money ,A problem with an old Lexus will send your bank manager into hysterics.
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Andy,
Could you (or Ian or Mark or anyone) flag up the next time HJ is on the radio?
I had to miss it last time.
I was under the impression it was a weekly thing, so I arranged for the afternoon off work yesterday, only to get connected and only hear some bloke going on at length about care of a wooden chest.
Thanking you ta.
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BMW 5 series,good at everything.
Jaguar XJ series ,nice badge.
Rover 75 , not my cup of tea but they get very good reviews.
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Any £10K Mercedes.
They are still *the* standard for the use you mention.
David
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When you say big are you refering to car size or engine size or both?
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Try a Saab 9-5, it was "What Car" used executive car of the year. Well-specced particularly as an SE. The 2.0 is a nice engine & returns over 30mpg. Comfortable and particularly rated as a motorway cruiser. Buy outside the main dealer network, then get a genuine cast-iron no-quibble Saab warranty put on by submitting for a pre-warranty inspection (£70-ish).
Another factor which you may want to consider is where your nearest dealer is. Any of the cars mentioned (Saab, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes) are bound to need a visit to the main dealer at some point - which is the nearest, how convenient is it etc?
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Why would a Lexus 400 send anyone's bank manager into hysterics? At 7-8 years old the depreciation curve has flattened right out. These things do 300,000 miles if properly serviced and aren't that thirsty.
The SAAB 9000 would be pretty good vfm, as would an Audi A6, but.... the pre slant eyes E class is generally reckoned to be the best built Merc of all.
If badges don't matter then a year old Mondeo in Ghia spec is a damned fine car.
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Would anyone care to adjudicate on the difference of opinion between Andy and Mahatma?
Is an old Lexus 400 a good "Champagne" car for someone on a "non-widget bitter" budget? (I don't mean you Neil).
Or is it particularly risky, or what?
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Like I wrote in my last auction report, I could have had a 98R XJ8 4.0 with everything for £8,000 last Wednesday. But all my time and money has gone into this website, so I couldn't do it. No point in buying for re-sale, though, because there isn't much market for 92,000 milers. The good news for people like Neil is there will be a lot more cars like this coming through as company director drivers check their BIK tax. A £40,000 4.0 litre Jag costs 35% of £40k x 40% tax. That's £5,600 a year in tax over 2002.2003.
HJ
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