another what car thread - epiphany reached. Bicycles instead

[legrandefromage]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

found a reasonable W210 e320 cdi for not too much - will see what goes in the bank at the end of the month.

 

[DICKO10]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

Mercs are good just watch out for rust I would get a Passat B5.5 estate tdi I drive a Mitsubishi gallant estate auto 2liter petrol not to good on fuel tho :facepalm: .

 

[legrandefromage]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

I had a Passat PD130 - never again. It only ever seemed to work brilliantly for 5 minutes before something else would go.

 

[drcarlos]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

I had a Passat PD130 - never again. It only ever seemed to work brilliantly for 5 minutes before something else would go.

My VAG experience was similar, reliability reputation seems like a hangover from the days when they were built well, now they are just a bit shit really.

Carl.

 

[ajm]

Re:

Wouldn't touch an Audi from the past ten years or so, but having had Volvos for the past decade and more the parts are not particularly expensive at all (compared with similar class of car, BMW, Merc etc.)

I would say I've virtually always found the genuine Volvo parts, or their genuinely OEM equivalents, to be really top quality; you fit something from the blue box and you can be pretty confident that you'll not be doing the same thing six months later through material failure.

Both the older Audi-derived (850 era) and newer Volvo's own 5 cylinder diesels seem to reach massive mileages without much bother, so long as you keep changing the useless water pumps in the VAG engine.

I've never had a Merc, it'd be interesting to hear how you get on with it... the rust problems from the past 15 years or so really put me off, same with slightly newer BMWs - I quite fancied one for a change but think I'll be going for another Volvo if the current one doesn't survive the upcoming MOT.

 

[legrandefromage]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

leaning towards a Merc still.

Owning a few of the 80's W126 really gave me a taste for them and the missus' 200 SLK is rather nice to be in.

But, as usual will probably end up driving the crappy Stilo for a while longer. I was looking at it today - it just doesnt know what it wants to be. It handles like an over stuffed sofa. New shocks on the rear and it still crashes over bumps. Drop links done at the front - gone are the knocks and rattles - a nice twisty A road? Bleaugh!

 

[s_zigmond]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

saab OG9-3 2.2. I used to do 60000 a year in mine and it was fault less .

 

[legrandefromage]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

I could always do the sensible thing and spend the money on a retro bicycle or ten

 

[Alison]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

I could always do the sensible thing and spend the money on a retro bicycle or ten

Now 40000 miles a year on a bike would give you mega muscles but your clients might complain about the wait

Alison

 

[hamster]

Re: another what car thread - car for 40,000 a year+

Some off the wall thoughts:
Saab 9-5 with the 3.0 diesel - very understressed motorway cruiser, not sure about real-world mpg though. The 2.2 diesel was liable to pop, my Saab main dealer always kept a rebuild kit on the shelf. Alternatively the 1.9TD Fiat-based 9-5 or 9-3.

Post 04 W203 diesel looks like a possible alternative - make sure you get the facelifted one, I can get 48mpg if gentle on my estate. So far I've run mine to 100k without bother, only needed an oil drip from the auto box fixed, plus a new front spring from a big pothole (it's the Avantgarde SE with AMG suspension).