[TimMcC]

Hi all,

The time has come to look into options for a new family wagon. We currently have a '16 C class C300h estate which the wife likes a lot, but the lease on that is coming to an end and we could do with something bigger. Her must have list is:

- Leather interior
- MSport/AMG Line/equivalent with big wheels
- Privacy glass
- 200bhp ish
- Adaptive Cruise
- Automatic
- New car

Budget wise I'm looking at £45k tops, and with discount should be able to get one of the following with a decent set of options:

- BMW 520d Touring - I really like this, but the wife isn't keen to have 2 BMWs on the driveway. It's also smaller than the E.

- Mercedes E220d Estate - This is the favourite as it's just a bigger version of what we have now, has some cool tech, and that great widescreen dash. It's also the biggest which is important.

- Audi A6 2.0 TDi Avant - A nice car, but the new one is coming at soonish, and I'd like to keep the new one for a while without feeling shortchanged that I've got the 'old model' so soon after purchase. It'd have to be a cracking deal over a short term.

So, does anyone have any views on any of the above, positive or negative? Or any options I need? Or something else I've not considered?

Do what you do best. Help me spend my money!

[isleaiw1]

I had a prior model E class - it was huge! Useful when youngest at uni but a serious pain in car parks (and I am used to reasonably big cars). The 4 cylinder diesel is very gruff too. New one with new tech is nice - borrowed an E350d estate a couple of times and liked it but I didn't think it was special.

Volvo V90 is a good left field choice - perhaps slightly less load space.

I would be going 5 series if you really need that size. An A4 would also be on my list for an option as boot space isn't that much smaller...

[Rudz]

You should get an E350D AMG line premium plus pack for that kind of money, would suggest you spec it up on carwow, you are bound to get 15-20% discount on list

My preference among the 3 would be the Merc, I love the interiors, Digital cockpit is awesome, it is an awesome cruiser, wife has one and on long drives it is the preferred choice

[davyk31]

I would look at leasing. Mercs always appear on cheap lease deals and there are some good deals on outgoing A6. Maybe not so many deals on estates but with a bit of looking the deals are there.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by Rudz

You should get an E350D AMG line premium plus pack for that kind of money, would suggest you spec it up on carwow, you are bound to get 15-20% discount on list

My preference among the 3 would be the Merc, I love the interiors, Digital cockpit is awesome, it is an awesome cruiser, wife has one and on long drives it is the preferred choice

If you do use carwow don't just take their best offer, ask for more. I always use them to find dealers open to negotiating, but then ask them to match the best broker prices out there, which are always more than carwow.

I just did exactly that when ordering a new Q7, which on test drives feels like it's going to be an amazing family wagon by the way, and got £1300 more than the best carwow offer.

If you did go for a big SUV don't be put off by dimensions too much. Against big estates there is no difference in length, and only a small difference in width.

With your budget you'd be pretty close on getting a Q7 or an XC90.

[TimMcC]

Originally Posted by Alex440

If you do use carwow don't just take their best offer, ask for more. I always use them to find dealers open to negotiating, but then ask them to match the best broker prices out there, which are always more than carwow.

I just did exactly that when ordering a new Q7, which on test drives feels like it's going to be an amazing family wagon by the way, and got £1300 more than the best carwow offer.

If you did go for a big SUV don't be put off by dimensions too much. Against big estates there is no difference in length, and only a small difference in width.

With your budget you'd be pretty close on getting a Q7 or an XC90.

Thanks for the tips, although the budget is a limit not a target. I'll happily spend less

So use Carwow to find dealers open to negotiating, then go to them directly as they don't know who you are and negotiate from there?

[TimMcC]

Originally Posted by davyk31

I would look at leasing. Mercs always appear on cheap lease deals and there are some good deals on outgoing A6. Maybe not so many deals on estates but with a bit of looking the deals are there.

Any tips on finding good leasing deals? Never really looked at that angle, and I'm a bit lost...

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by TimMcC

Thanks for the tips, although the budget is a limit not a target. I'll happily spend less

So use Carwow to find dealers open to negotiating, then go to them directly as they don't know who you are and negotiate from there?

Carwow deals are already pretty good, usually. I just compare them to the best broker ones. Drive the deal for Mercedes and Broker4cars for BMW seem to have the best prices at the moment. I was looking only last week.

I then just use the messaging system on carwow to speak directly to the dealer. I tell them I've seen a better offer of X more off on a broker site and that I'm happy to buy from the broker, like I have done in the past, unless the dealer thinks he can match the deal. 9 times out of 10 they match it and knock a little more off their opening carwow offer.

Even when finished with all that I'll still then go to my local dealer and get them to try and match. The good thing about carwow is you get a quote direct from another dealer that you can show your local one. If they don't match it then I buy from the carwow dealer and travel a little further to get my car.

All a little bit of work, but once you've done it a few times you can do this in a couple of hours, or even sat in your local dealer on your smart phone.

[davyk31]

Originally Posted by TimMcC

Any tips on finding good leasing deals? Never really looked at that angle, and I'm a bit lost...

There is a Pistonheads Lease Deals thread , it's on Vol 4 now as it gets very long. That posts deals on all sorts of cars and there is a guy on there called Fastbug who specialises in lease deals as he seems to be a Merc dealer. He could help if after a Merc. Then have a look on Whatcar leasing where main dealers post their deals. You can search on model so narrow it down easily. Brokers don't advertise on the Whatcar site so for their quotes along with dealers head to the Contract Hire and Leasing site, that lists often hundreds of deals for models of your choice.

Start with reading the Pistonheads thread to get a feel for what Is currently on deals but you will need to consult those other sites for more specific deals. Then when you see a deal you fancy take it the fleet sales dept of local dealers to see if they will match or better.

Leasing would be good option for say the A6 as you would maybe take on a two year deal and have no concerns about resale with it being an old model by that time. You just hand back again. Deposits are also generally pretty small with leasing.

[davyk31]

The S4 seems to on a bit of a lease promotion and is being discussed on the PH thread. Deals for the Avant seems to be about £3k deposit followed by 23 payments of about £330.

That's more horsepower than your stipulations but that can't be a bad thing!!