Seeker_UK
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Firstly, apologies if these have been answered before and a second apology for a bit of a ramble before I get to the questions. 
Mrs Seeker (not really married but what else to call her?) is looking for a new car. Her current chariot (Audi 2.6e auto) is now getting on a bit, is thirsty, a bit of a slug and being a cabriolet isn't very roomy in the back. We're moving house and we need to keep running costs down as the mortgage is going up. Any car we get has to meet the following criteria:
1. Room for 4 people with easy access to the rear doors
2. Better on fuel that the Audi (23mpg (at best) round town, 34 on a run)
3. Better or same insurance as the Audi (current IG17).
4. Newer than the Audi.
5. As quick as the Audi (Audi does 0-60 in approx 10 secs which is cr*p for a 2.6). (Although she will deny this but her comments suggest otherwise!).
6. Preferably auto.
7. Comfortable to stand a longer daily drive (18 miles each way, mostly dual carriageway).
We've auditioned loads of cars and the trick has been to find one she likes the style and more importantly the drive. Now since then we've tried all sorts but the 2 she has liked was an AMG C36 (fails on nearly all the criteria but we didn't tell her that until she'd driven it :mrgreen: ) and yesterday we tried a W210 E280 Elegance which she also liked. We did try a 300 TurboDiesel but they didn't feel righ (in fact one felt so rickety it was unbelievable).
I need some answers about the W210 which may make it a bit easier to decide whether to buy it or not.
1. The car is a 98, 280E elegance in a gorgeous dark red with beige cloth interior. FMBSH but due a service (see next Q) with 98K on the clock it has a few toys (aircon, cruise, pop-out headlamp wash, alloys, electric height adjustment on the seats and factory done privacy glass) . The car has no rot and I suspect the previous owner has really looked after it. It's up for £4995 which I think is a very reasonable price. Do you?
2. The car needs a Major Service. It would be nice to get it done by a main dealer or competent specialist (I know of 2 around here) rather than the dealer's grease monkeys. How much could I expect to pay? (I know it's a bit of a "how long is piece of string" type question but a rough idea would be nice).
3. The old fuel consumption question. I ferretted around in the user manual when we took it out for a test drive but there's no information - there's a big space under the 280 header! It's a 5 speed auto so what could we expect to get out of it?
4. We also saw a '97 230E in another garage which had identical spec to the 280 but was £500 cheaper (however they offered us £500 less for our car so it's basically the same price to buy). OK, this is a 4 banger and so nowhere near as smooth but cheaper to insure but can you give an idea of what fuel consumption we could expect from the smaller engine and what performance difference there is?
Many thanks in advance - if we don't decide in the next couple of days, I fear it won't be around for long.
Mrs Seeker (not really married but what else to call her?) is looking for a new car. Her current chariot (Audi 2.6e auto) is now getting on a bit, is thirsty, a bit of a slug and being a cabriolet isn't very roomy in the back. We're moving house and we need to keep running costs down as the mortgage is going up. Any car we get has to meet the following criteria:
1. Room for 4 people with easy access to the rear doors
2. Better on fuel that the Audi (23mpg (at best) round town, 34 on a run)
3. Better or same insurance as the Audi (current IG17).
4. Newer than the Audi.
5. As quick as the Audi (Audi does 0-60 in approx 10 secs which is cr*p for a 2.6). (Although she will deny this but her comments suggest otherwise!).
6. Preferably auto.
7. Comfortable to stand a longer daily drive (18 miles each way, mostly dual carriageway).
We've auditioned loads of cars and the trick has been to find one she likes the style and more importantly the drive. Now since then we've tried all sorts but the 2 she has liked was an AMG C36 (fails on nearly all the criteria but we didn't tell her that until she'd driven it :mrgreen: ) and yesterday we tried a W210 E280 Elegance which she also liked. We did try a 300 TurboDiesel but they didn't feel righ (in fact one felt so rickety it was unbelievable).
I need some answers about the W210 which may make it a bit easier to decide whether to buy it or not.
1. The car is a 98, 280E elegance in a gorgeous dark red with beige cloth interior. FMBSH but due a service (see next Q) with 98K on the clock it has a few toys (aircon, cruise, pop-out headlamp wash, alloys, electric height adjustment on the seats and factory done privacy glass) . The car has no rot and I suspect the previous owner has really looked after it. It's up for £4995 which I think is a very reasonable price. Do you?
2. The car needs a Major Service. It would be nice to get it done by a main dealer or competent specialist (I know of 2 around here) rather than the dealer's grease monkeys. How much could I expect to pay? (I know it's a bit of a "how long is piece of string" type question but a rough idea would be nice).
3. The old fuel consumption question. I ferretted around in the user manual when we took it out for a test drive but there's no information - there's a big space under the 280 header! It's a 5 speed auto so what could we expect to get out of it?
4. We also saw a '97 230E in another garage which had identical spec to the 280 but was £500 cheaper (however they offered us £500 less for our car so it's basically the same price to buy). OK, this is a 4 banger and so nowhere near as smooth but cheaper to insure but can you give an idea of what fuel consumption we could expect from the smaller engine and what performance difference there is?
Many thanks in advance - if we don't decide in the next couple of days, I fear it won't be around for long.
