Dilemma time.

[mancman]

I have now retired and I’m thinking of trading my Glc 250d premier pack, I don’t really do a lot of miles and I’m thinking will the Black Death catch me out, so I’m thinking of a petrol and this in itself is a problem. Most Merc’s are diesel and I’m not diy minded on cars and then also the newer models seem to be 1.3 or 1.5 are these cars under powered or am I thinking to much. Ideas on this would be appreciated thanks.

 

[Srdl]

I have now retired and I’m thinking of trading my Glc 250d premier pack, I don’t really do a lot of miles and I’m thinking will the Black Death catch me out, so I’m thinking of a petrol and this in itself is a problem. Most Merc’s are diesel and I’m not diy minded on cars and then also the newer models seem to be 1.3 or 1.5 are these cars under powered or am I thinking to much. Ideas on this would be appreciated thanks.

My GLC is petrol and not at all underpowered - and I’m retired as well!

 

[Blobcat]

V8…

 

[sausage]

Hopefully this will help:
You can set Autotrader search options to only include MB and petrol, as well as a minimum engine size:
12,000 petrol MB for sale on Autotrader presently.
6,000 of those are petrol with more than a 2.0L engine.

A friend has recently bought an Arteon which has quite a small engine for such a large car, and he doesn't seem to think it is underpowered, I personally have no experience with the smaller engines.

Are you going to enjoy using the touch screen instead of a dashboard with buttons and dials? Newer cars largely seem to come with a touch screen. I prefer old style dash and that is enough to put me off many newer cars.

Autotrader search options:

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Petrol is my go to method of propelling a car nowadays I’ve bought my last diesel and won’t go near a EU6 version. The government emissions tariffs are heavily bent towards taxing bigger petrol engines off the road and as MB medium size 3.0 litre engines were not fitted to many models it does present a problem if you are looking at 3-5 year old secondhand vehicles. BMW kept the faith and continued to produce a 3 litre petrol engine offering in most models so I’m sure that is where a lot of buyers including myself ended up.

Doesn’t answer your dilemma but if you are looking at 1-3 year old MBs there is a better choice but the prices are very high for obvious reasons at the moment, I’ve been looking at swapping the E class diesel for an E43 estate but I’m not prepared to pay £35-40k for a good one

 

[ajlsl600]

I have now retired and I’m thinking of trading my Glc 250d premier pack, I don’t really do a lot of miles and I’m thinking will the Black Death catch me out, so I’m thinking of a petrol and this in itself is a problem. Most Merc’s are diesel and I’m not diy minded on cars and then also the newer models seem to be 1.3 or 1.5 are these cars under powered or am I thinking to much. Ideas on this would be appreciated thanks.

A lot of the smaller motors are twin stage turbos and complex (expensive to maintain) if was me I wud be looking something with more predictable maintainance costs.
Possibly a bit extreme. I am going for older usable classic. In best order I can find.
Less complex. Easy to fix lower running costs. Might go up in value.

 

[Wighty]

I have now retired and I’m thinking of trading my Glc 250d premier pack, I don’t really do a lot of miles and I’m thinking will the Black Death catch me out, so I’m thinking of a petrol and this in itself is a problem. Most Merc’s are diesel and I’m not diy minded on cars and then also the newer models seem to be 1.3 or 1.5 are these cars under powered or am I thinking to much. Ideas on this would be appreciated thanks.

What age and mileage is your GLC ?

 

[mancman]

What age and mileage is your GLC ?

It’s 2016, 55000 just been serviced and mot

 

[Cleck]

I've been giving some thought to my strategy of car-buying too. I'm currently driving a leased EQC, but the public charging network is putting me off electric, worthwhile experiment though it's been. To be fair I've still a year to go on the lease, but I'm thinking of going back to petrol (or even maybe diesel) next. With the high cost of second hand cars, I'm thinking a cheap old big car, S Class, 7 Series, or possibly even a Jag and there are loads of high-milers for £3-5K. I reckon a year or two with one of those (thinking of retirement) and the market may have settled down to make a 3yr old car more realistic.

I've never done this before and since I'm no mechanic (although I have a good indy), it may be the most stupid thing I could do, I'm sure you all have opinions?

 

[00slk]

A lot of the smaller motors are twin stage turbos and complex (expensive to maintain) if was me I wud be looking something with more predictable maintainance costs.
Possibly a bit extreme. I am going for older usable classic. In best order I can find.
Less complex. Easy to fix lower running costs. Might go up in value.

Good man there ajl, I've got a few old bangers but I have to correct you on low cost maintenance.......8 injectors for my Rover SD1 V8 petrol engine £840, brake discs and pads £440, Quaife differential £1000, there are cheaper parts to keep the older cars mobile like electronic ignition around £200 spark plugs £4.50 each and tyres are nicely priced. Body panels are a killer, £500 each for front wings for a Triumph 2000 MK2 etc etc. I always do much research in comparing parts and part numbers to find what other car manufactures use the same mechanical parts then compare prices. Rolls Royce and Ford Transit use same front brake pads on some models, Rover and Land Rover have interchangeable brake components also Volvo and Triumph have compatible parts and most are more than 1/2 the price.
My advice is don't buy a rusty old classic if you're in the market for one. MPG is not great on these old cars either 18 up to 35 mpg depending on makes and models

 

[Wighty]

I've been giving some thought to my strategy of car-buying too. I'm currently driving a leased EQC, but the public charging network is putting me off electric, worthwhile experiment though it's been. To be fair I've still a year to go on the lease, but I'm thinking of going back to petrol (or even maybe diesel) next. With the high cost of second hand cars, I'm thinking a cheap old big car, S Class, 7 Series, or possibly even a Jag and there are loads of high-milers for £3-5K. I reckon a year or two with one of those (thinking of retirement) and the market may have settled down to make a 3yr old car more realistic.

I've never done this before and since I'm no mechanic (although I have a good indy), it may be the most stupid thing I could do, I'm sure you all have opinions?

I feel a nice “New Big Car Thread” coming on

 

[ajlsl600]

Going for best hilman minx can get for up to 12k. Some unmolested ones about.
Simple engine, easy to fix. Goin up not down.
No mot cost no rfl. Classic inss at 10k declared value and 5000 km Yr £96.00 I think that has half chance of fairly economic hassle free driving
No updates no £130 just to know wots gone wrong
Pretty much everything is visible
And it was certainly NOT designed to fail. Dtf. Anyway I am going to give it a go when ml gone. I will put a tow bar. No bullsxxt coding req. And I will do a nice retro fit (without changing any origional interior pts of GPS system prob one from existing a class. And a electronic ignition system. Funny that They have been proved reliable. Perhaps benz shud get their electronics made at same place
0 to 60 crap mpg prob 35 no fancy headlights that mean half car removed to change bulb
Wots not to like admittedly not mb interior but then not benz(or any modern car costs) I speak of benz cos up to now its my majority car. I sure near all modern are the same.

On related note I sure wud not pick anything out of land-rover as a classic to run I went to several courses on rr and their electronic fuel injection system was designed in a bycicle shed! 12 v injectors and 6v cold start injector. Why.!

 

[V6Matty]

Going for best hilman minx can get for up to 12k. Some unmolested ones about.

Simple engine, easy to fix. Goin up not down.
No mot cost no rfl. Classic inss at 10k declared value and 5000 km Yr £96.00

Just an FYI, you can only have classic insurance if you prove it’s not your main vehicle, otherwise you have to have traditional car insurance

 

[ajlsl600]

Understood will still have aclass. Even if on bricks!

 

[ajlsl600]

Good man there ajl, I've got a few old bangers but I have to correct you on low cost maintenance.......8 injectors for my Rover SD1 V8 petrol engine £840, brake discs and pads £440, Quaife differential £1000, there are cheaper parts to keep the older cars mobile like electronic ignition around £200 spark plugs £4.50 each and tyres are nicely priced. Body panels are a killer, £500 each for front wings for a Triumph 2000 MK2 etc etc. I always do much research in comparing parts and part numbers to find what other car manufactures use the same mechanical parts then compare prices. Rolls Royce and Ford Transit use same front brake pads on some models, Rover and Land Rover have interchangeable brake components also Volvo and Triumph have compatible parts and most are more than 1/2 the price.
My advice is don't buy a rusty old classic if you're in the market for one. MPG is not great on these old cars either 18 up to 35 mpg depending on makes and models

When, if I get my minx I will be sure to ask u on pts

 

[DSK]

I've been giving some thought to my strategy of car-buying too. I'm currently driving a leased EQC, but the public charging network is putting me off electric, worthwhile experiment though it's been. To be fair I've still a year to go on the lease, but I'm thinking of going back to petrol (or even maybe diesel) next. With the high cost of second hand cars, I'm thinking a cheap old big car, S Class, 7 Series, or possibly even a Jag and there are loads of high-milers for £3-5K. I reckon a year or two with one of those (thinking of retirement) and the market may have settled down to make a 3yr old car more realistic.

I've never done this before and since I'm no mechanic (although I have a good indy), it may be the most stupid thing I could do, I'm sure you all have opinions?

Sensible!

I have a 1995 Supra and 2 (was 3) 20 yr old Volvos which I jump into without a thought over anything else if I had to drive around the world!! Whilst these things were properly built and bullet proof, along with diligent maintenance they are awesome and laugh at new stuff for being trouble free and largely fixable with normal tools.

Old luxury cars are fine but it would have to have a low number of owners, strong history and be in Good shape inside and out. Expect big bills when things go wrong so avoids car with too much needless electronics. Look into the common faults and avoid variants known to have costly failures from poor design or complexity.

I would say something like. Lexus GS300/450h or VW phaeton TDI would be an epic buy. Because they are overlooked the vfm is epic and reliability and aftercare is top notch. Lots to choose from Audi A8, BMW 7 and S class and Lexus LS. Just avoid car with lots of owners and less than an strong history. This motto has always worked for me in getting good sound cars as it shows owners are happy to keep them and do what they can to look after them over long periods.


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[grahamcol]

I must say l'm saddened at today's craze for smaller, high output engines. Surely can't be good for engine longevity? But l suppose it's good for manufacturers.
I'm going to see about a new Jaguar XE petrol on Tuesday. At least that has a reasonable sized engine of 2 litres, although l would prefer larger. However what concerns me more is whether l might be making a big mistake with all the new fangled electronic trickery the Jag has. My current 209 CLK220 has enough of that, although it has been reliable, parktronic excepted. Trouble is I've hankered after an XE for a while and with future legislation etc, plus Jaguar's intention to move to fully electric vehicles in the not too distant future, this might be my last chance to buy a "proper" car.

 

[DSK]

It’s been reasonably reported that small capacity boosted engines today are only good for helping manufactures get around legislation but not for proper old school longevity.

I doubt I’ll be seeing any 1.0 eco boost things in 20 years time feeling like they are fresh off the showroom floor.

The only thing stops me buying anything on the current market is unproven durability and complexity and in my opinion crap use of materials. I can’t be dealing with half arsed designed short falls and mechanics having an ever difficult chance of reasonably fixing the damn things.


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