new car help...

[Just Sean]

Okay, so deciding that the pugs going to take a back seat for a while... Its bumpy and rattly and broken most the time and I want something comfy and reliable.

I want to get either a BMW 520d m sport



Or an audo a4 sportline



Both are about the same amount of money...

Anyone got any experience with either?

I might even look at alfa romea guillietta



I think the BMW looks nicer and is more grown up, but like the interior of the Audi and the looks of the Alfa!!

Will be looking at buying in June/July so expecting it to b a not cheaper due to the new registrations...

Will be paying half cash and other half with finance hopefully to bank, not with BMW or Audi as the interest will be higher.

[ozonehostile]

if you have that sort of money to spend on a car why not get something more interesting? i.e not something almost exclusively driven by carpet salesmen

[Just Sean]

I like carpet!

Because there good well built cars,cheap to run, cheap to insure and new.

I'm 21 with 4years ncb. So has to be something fairly sensible

Will either be keeping the pug for fun or breaking it for parts.

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BTW... I hope this doesn't turn into a toms306 esque style thread!

[ozonehostile]

if you want an exec spec car at least get something like an audi rs6 or something

[Just Sean]

Insurance. Fuel cost. Tax cost. Not to mention initial cost!!

[ozonehostile]

true..... i just like v8's haha

[Just Sean]

All men do!

[ozonehostile]

out of your choices, the alfas gotta be the best, at least it shows you have a bit of soul left if you drive an alfa, plus they have all the nice little touches like polished inlet manifolds and other little chrome bits. dont sound too bad either

[cwspellowe]

Yeah but the Audis are extremely nice places to be on the inside...

[Toms306]

My Uncle drives an auto 525d......he only gets 35mpg from it! However it's really nice inside, and so comfy and well specced.

The Audi should be better on fuel, but will be wallowy and understeery just like every other VAG car, and not quite as 'nice' as the beemer usually.

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Also, you're getting paid too much if you can afford either of those at 21.

[Just Sean]

Yeah but the Audis are extremely nice places to be on the inside...

This.

The alfa is a nice car and 'exclusive' has nice touches too.

The Audi is such a nice place to sit, my grandad had one and it really is lovely and quiet.

Never been in a 5series. Will be test driving the Audi n bmw, have already had a go in an Alfa.

I do a lot of motorway miles going home and back to camp so want something comfy and reliable.

Tom, the 2.0 bmws are really quite good with fuel. And are better with a remap too...
Ill get the link from the forum i was reading last night...

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http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/49870-2007...erhampton/

[InkedMuttley]

f*ck if you've got that much to spend on a car and want to look like a drug dealer why not just go for an L322 Range Rover can pick up a fairly low mileage 02 plate TDV6 for £7,500+

Failing that, the Audi wins hands down...I used to drive a customer's A4 and that was the 2.0TDi S-Line and I have honestly never been in anything so comfortable and safe feeling. They're quick off the mark, return excellent mileage and are just generally a faultless car. That was on a 61 plate and I seriously cannot rate it enough!

[Just Sean]

My grandad had an sline and it was lush. Gonna go for a drive in them both and see what they're like.

[swampy]

Both of those cars along with the st tdci Mondeo. We're on my short list of new family hack.

I had just finished working for Audi and had drive alot of them in all forms and to be honest I didn't find it that nice a place to be, yes it had all the toys but it lacked feeling in the drive

BMW soon got dismissed due to the image that it comes with


Mondeo was very nice (had a2.0 tdci ghia at time) but found alot of them had being neglected and on all of them the alloys were badly corroded.


In the end and totally by accident we ended up in

Alfa 156 2.4jtdm 20 valve very nice to drive averages 40+ around town and the last tank of mainly motorway got mid 50s

Full leather plenty of goodies inside and decent looks and the big plus is they can be had for a fraction of the cost of the others

[Chris_90]

What is it with people going all out on modding there 306's then brakeing/giveing up on them at min ,theres you, ash 23, maybe darren, Probly some more all that hard work thats gone it to all these cars and just give up on them what a shame! just keep the 306 ;-)

[Just Sean]

Audi a4 2.0 sline
- 141hp
- 236lb/ft
- 0 - 61 - 9.2 s
- 139g/km
- tax band E
- £120 a year
- insurance group 23
- 65 litre fuel tank
- 53 mpg combined
- range 758 miles

BMW 520D m sport
- 160hp
- 251 lb/ft
- 0 - 61 - 8.4 s
- 158 g/km
- tax band G
- £170 a year
- insurance group 32
- 70 litre fuel tank
- 50 mpg
- range 770 miles

Alfa Romeo giulietta
-138 bhp
-258 lb/ft
-0 - 61 - 8.7 s
-119 g/km
-tax band c
-£30 a year
-insurance group 20
-60 litre fuel tank
-62 mpg
-range 818 miles

Think I've worked the range out on all of them. The giully certainly looks the cheapest option!

I think Audi has more of that image than the BMW does nowadays tbf.

Havnt looked at 156's yet... Do like the st mondeos, that was on my shortlist before the pug!

[Niall]

I like carpet!

Because there good well built cars,cheap to run, cheap to insure and new.

Wrong. Have you been in a new BMW? They used to be really well built inside but they are incredibly cheap and plasticy inside now. That used to be one of the only good things about them and now they have lost that.
Also, Considering the amount of time i spend on motorways, the most amount of cars i see stuck on the hardshoulder are newer audis!

You could probably afford something like a Jag XF for that sort of money if your lucky?

[Just Sean]

Just had a look at 159 TI's and they seem to be about the same as what I'm looking at...

Jag xf for the lower range of 15000? Very lucky indeed!!


Yeah theirs that Chris but it gets to a point when everything rattles and breaks and you think just how much money am I gonna throw at it! I've spent nowhere near what others have but everyone's got a limit! I'm sure once I've got the turbo on and the mad sorted and the servo sorted I'll b happy for a while.

Im gonna be coming back with about 7k once I've done my tour and what to treat myself to some comfort and luxury!

[Niall]

buy something a bit older but nicer. TBH them two you put up there still have a hell of a lot of depreciating to do!

[Just Sean]

Well I've still got till June/July to wait!!

[Tom]

Why dont you build a brand new complete uprated HDI engine and go nuts? Would probably cost less than a new car lolz

[Grant]

Austin Martin

Ferrari Mondial




Both under 15k

[swampy]

Go for a slightly older alfa and you will pick a very tidy example up for 7k cash

Ours is the top of the range 156, full leather, cruise, ac etc one owner with full dealer service history 56k on the clock and we paid under 4k for it!!!

For a similair spec a4 or st with same sort of Milage on it we were looking at nearer to 6k!!!

Only regret I do have is I wish I hadn't let the mrs talk me in to down sizing and had gone for the 159

[Just Sean]

I'm more likely to go for the159 if I was going down that route. Look lush!

[aircool]

Seems to be a common trend with past 306 owners in Alfa's ?

Im all for it

[Andy]

Sean... What the shit is wrong with you.
For that money you can buy a Supra and get it running 400 bhp. Don't turn into a old man. As much as I like those cars I just think they're for Reps.

If you want a beemer diesel. Get something slightly older and try and go for a 330D or a 335D or maybe even an older E39 535D because they are awesome and they map up/tune well with huuuuge turbos!

Don't grow up too fast and make sure you get something a drug dealer might drive.

[Just Sean]

Because I want something economical and modern and a bit luxury!

If I was buying any old car I'd probs get a mad as f*ck Clio williams or the like!

Ill have a fun car/b road car once ive paid the car of then ill spunk all my money into it. Wont matter if it breaks every 5 mins! Cant take car anywhere atm without fear of it breaking down!

An e60 tunes up well. So do all the cars mentioned!!

Have you seen the link i put up earlier with the remap results?

Want a new car, with creature comforts and toys coming out the boot!

[n0v0s]

A manual 530d will likely better an auto 520d for overall economy, even if you are doing alot of mway miles. It will destroy it for outright performance (especially with a map) and refinement. I'd buy a cheaper e60 530d manual.

I averaged a combined 58mpg to milton keynes the other day doing nsl. If i hammer it to xxx leptons and drive like your typical bmw driver around town, id still be above 40mpg combined, easy.

My dads 530d auto e60 is a joke. It just drinks diesel. But he loves the lazy slushbox. So relaxing. If you can afford to pay so much for the car to begin with, bare in mind its going to depreciate like a stone. I dont get why people then buy a smaller engine to save money?! Buy a slightly older 530d thats done more of its depreciating and enjoy it! Have you even worked out the total fuel cost differences in a year between a 520d/530d auto. Probably not much in it at all.

The older e39 and pre 2003 e46s came with the older m57 2.9d's. They dont compare to the newer 3.0d m57ns as found in the newer e46s/e60s. 300bhp and mongifying torque levels are quite reachable with a few select mods.

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Also, bare in mind the sport models ride quite hard. Not quite as comfortable as you might think for the mways. Mine tramlines like a BITCH in comparison to my dturb. Mind you, the e60s dont have staggered mv2 rims like mine has, which makes it better. Never tried the audis mentioned above, but from having owned a tt and an s4 b5, i can only imagine they have similiarhorrible, audi wooden steering. The bmws, even in SE spec dont. Try them before hand!

[Just Sean]

Thanks for that post. The red 520d was just a picture. I'm defiantly having a manual. Nothing worse than autos IMO!ThThat's when you no you really have given up all hope!!

I'm staying at 2.0 for insurance. Even the 2.0 BMW is insurance group 32 let alone a 535!!

I don't mind a sporty ride. Just asking as it don't crash around and vibrate everything lose like my pug does!

I don't really forecast how much its going to cost in the future as I'm not really bothered. I'll drive a car till it breaks then break it and move on generally. Might seem a false economy doing it that way but its the way it is! Hate buying and selling cars

[Toms306]

Wouldn't take too much notice of insurance groups Sean, they don't seem to make much difference. Do actual quotes to check the difference, you should find its not much. I'm paying more for a group 6 car than a group 29 one just because of one extra mod lol...