What car for 20k?

jake38 · 09-07-2007 10:33pm #1

I am looking for a car for about 20k. I do about 10k miles a year . I m looking for a fairly large car, high spec . and dont mind if it is an estate, jeep or saloon. Any ideas.

rebel.ranter · 09-07-2007 10:57pm

What's the biggest engine size you are willing to tax & insure?

jake38 · 09-07-2007 10:58pm

Henry Ford III · 09-07-2007 11:04pm

I'd say go petrol. A large well specced car. Huge choice. Saab 9-5 perhaps?

jake38 · 09-07-2007 11:11pm

never been in one. What are they like.
?

Anan1 · 09-07-2007 11:32pm

jake38 wrote:

never been in one. What are they like.
?

Drive one, see what you think. In fact, you should really drive a selection of cars that fulfil your basic criteria.

anthony4335 · 10-07-2007 12:01am

My brother has one for the last 4 years ,and has told me he has had nothing but trouble with it. Check out the reader reviews on cbg.ie and also honestjohn.co.uk .Personally I like them. Check out Lexus. Have one and they are nice.

bazz26 · 10-07-2007 12:34am

andy.s · 10-07-2007 12:40am

Dude, get mercedes-benz :cool:

Henry Ford III · 10-07-2007 8:17am

Nobody mentioned The Octavia yet. Huge boot. Planet crushing torque

rowanh · 10-07-2007 10:14am

The huge boot seems to be the Octavias main selling point?

Aside from it being large and high spec are there any other things you want form the car? Might help you narrow down a list of cars to test drive. Also would you have any prefferance to front or rear wheel drive or even 4wd like the legacy mentioned.

Cyrus · 10-07-2007 10:29am

i got this for a little over 20k

01 bmw 530i sport

you can get something very similar with a nice 2.2l 6 cyl engine, badged 520i

imo for your requirements there isnt a better car than an e39 5 series, the trim and engine type size are personal things

JCDUB · 10-07-2007 10:42am

Nice weapon Cyrus,

I had a 520i (manual) same model but older, had to get rid, petrol costs were phenomenal in city driving, having said that much more economic on long motorway journeys.
I can only imagine what yours costs you, think I was getting about 22-24 MPG if I remember correctly, still a beauty though:D

Mr. Larson · 10-07-2007 11:00am

The Subaru is definitely the pick of the bunch from that lot.

rowanh · 10-07-2007 11:04am

Two friends of mine recently bought subaru legacys, they are nice cars, very fast, though they both have twin turbo ones, a GT estate automatic and a b4 estate. Heavy on petrol though and if its an import then you would want to check if its been remapped for our fuel.

Cyrus · 10-07-2007 11:08am

JCDUB wrote:

Nice weapon Cyrus,

I had a 520i (manual) same model but older, had to get rid, petrol costs were phenomenal in city driving, having said that much more economic on long motorway journeys.
I can only imagine what yours costs you, think I was getting about 22-24 MPG if I remember correctly, still a beauty though:D

lol city driving isnt 530i's strong point esp with auto box, about 16 mpg :eek:

grand on long runs 30+

Henry Ford III · 10-07-2007 11:22am

OP said 2 litre max. No more 520i/530i's please.

Cyrus · 10-07-2007 11:25am

2 litre 2.2 its not that big a jump, besides there isnt a better large car for his money

Henry Ford III · 10-07-2007 12:18pm

He (OP) said 2l tops.

You cannot get a square peg...:D

Cyrus · 10-07-2007 12:22pm

ho hum, its gotta be an octavia/passat with the ol 1.9tdi then :rolleyes:

jake38 · 10-07-2007 10:19pm

Well I am going to test drive a Subaru Legacy, 2l. 2005 model. any comments .

unkel · 10-07-2007 11:37pm

Henry Ford III wrote:

OP said 2 litre max. No more 520i/530i's please.

The '96-'00 520i E39 is a 2 litre straight six with 150BHP. I drove one for a good bit yesterday. It is the first E39 I have driven. I'm used to a lot more power and torque, but I found the setup and driving dynamics truely astonishing for a car that size. I had to keep it over 3,500 to 4,000 rpm to keep it going well though, which is something I do not like (personal preference)

If I were to change car today (and unfortunately with a very limited budget) I could well go for an E39 with the M62 V8 engine (535i 3.5l or 540i 4.4l)

colm_mcm · 10-07-2007 11:45pm

Yeah, the E39 is a class act alright, passed up the chance of a mint 520i 00 auto with leather and roof for a great price last year and stll regret it.

unkel · 11-07-2007 10:14pm

colm_mcm wrote:

Yeah, the E39 is a class act alright, passed up the chance of a mint 520i 00 auto with leather and roof for a great price last year and stll regret it.

What was the price if you don't mind me asking? Anyway, there are a good few imported high spec ones around. You'll get another chance!

colm_mcm · 12-07-2007 12:00am

I bought it in at work against a new car, would've cost me 14k. I also passed up a 530i for less, not too bothered about that one though, as it had cloth interior and wasn't as tidy.

Wouldn't touch an imported UK BMW.

unkel · 12-07-2007 12:57am

colm_mcm wrote:

would've cost me 14k

That's still a lot of money!

colm_mcm wrote:

Wouldn't touch an imported UK BMW.

Why not?

BTW the one I was driving was an original Irish poverty spec '00 520i manual 2.0l 150BHP, 15" alloys, cloth, manual, aircon, traction, 1 owner, FSH, 96k miles. 1 year left on NCT, good tyres, just serviced. From a dealer with a warranty - €9k plus a worthless '00 Fiat Punto with issues

Seems like a good deal. It probably is. Now imagine you could have a similar age / mileage high-end top of the range 7-series for not much more than that

TomMc · 12-07-2007 3:54am

jake38 wrote:

Well I am going to test drive a Subaru Legacy, 2l. 2005 model. any comments .

Jake, I have one or should I say herself (2L Estate, Auto) not manual saloon. Love it - even more than my own 5-Series. Really nice car to drive, refined, (a car with character), if ever so slightly under powered. Not too bad on petrol. 30ish mpg urban & 35-40 motorways. 2006 2.0L models on have more powerful engines but 2005 model is still the business.

Estates are much more practical as space in the rear is limited enough. They also have better residuals and auto is also preferred. They are relatively rare too, a diesel version arrives next year. Servicing is reasonable - HB Dennis, Airside. One of the few cars on the road that are engineered beyond their purchase price.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=679772

* A little above your budget, but if you could stretch, worth a look (auto & with leather which is very rare on the older 2L's).

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=441769

* This one (manual) seems to be on sale for some time, so not sure about same.

jake38 · 14-07-2007 5:50pm

Tom, Drove that legacy today and bought it. Thanks for the advice, it is a comfortable motor, and practicble.

TomMc wrote:

Jake, I have one or should I say herself (2L Estate, Auto) not manual saloon. Love it - even more than my own 5-Series. Really nice car to drive, refined, (a car with character), if ever so slightly under powered. Not too bad on petrol. 30ish mpg urban & 35-40 motorways. 2006 2.0L models on have more powerful engines but 2005 model is still the business.

Estates are much more practical as space in the rear is limited enough. They also have better residuals and auto is also preferred. They are relatively rare too, a diesel version arrives next year. Servicing is reasonable - HB Dennis, Airside. One of the few cars on the road that are engineered beyond their purchase price.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=679772

* A little above your budget, but if you could stretch, worth a look (auto & with leather which is very rare on the older 2L's).

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=441769

* This one (manual) seems to be on sale for some time, so not sure about same.

What car for 20k?

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