[xs2man]

Right, well I've had itchy feet now for a few months, and the E91 is gonna be too small in a few months time

So looking for a new motor. Gotta be bigger than a E91, so I was thinking of a new 5 series touring. But can't find a decent enough deal if I'm honest.

Budget of around £2k down and £450 a month doesn't seem to get you very far. Although it will get me a A6 Avant 2.0TDI Black Edition with a pretty decent spec.

Anyway, I am trying Drive The Deal (Who quoted the A6) and Broadspeed, but are there others?

I was ideally wanting a 520d M-Sport Touring, as it has all the spec I REALLY want, but was VERY tempted by that E-Class offer a few months back (£2k down + £360 pm). Not sure I'm old enough for a Merc yet though, despite my bald head and grey beard.

Despite me saying I would never buy a new Audi diesel again, I have now decided that I am gonna have to sacrifice something for the extra space I need. With the Audi that'll be my word, fuel economy and power. But it is a lovely looking motor, and the wife always talks about how much she misses the A4 Black Edition Avant Quattro.

It doesn't have to Estate, could go 4x4 too, but Q5 / X3 probably too small, Q7 / GL / X5 / Disco / RR are all seemingly too expensive. Unless you guys know something I don't?

I will type it again, as this is the real question...

Anyway, I am trying Drive The Deal (Who quoted the A6) and Broadspeed, but are there others?

[phil200tdi]

Your low deposit seems to better fit a lease deal..

Some cracking Merc deals out there at the moment.

[xs2man]

Yeah, I can do more deposit admittedly, and usually do if I'm honest. But wanted to keep it lower this time round, as I have some other expenses to consider.

[rjwojcik]

Not being mosey but is this your first (child)? If it is and you pack efficiently then you may find that you can cope with just having an A4 / 3 series. We used to take the whole house with our first but after a while you find you don't use a lot of the stuff.

[xs2man]

That's almost what it is. It's actually going to be our second. The problem just now is that her (the current one) massive pram almost takes up all of the boot already, meaning anything more than a light shop already ends up on the rear bench.

Now we are gonna have to look for some sort of double buggy like thing, which is only going to take up more room, but with the addition of another ISOFIX system, there will only be a little sliver of seat up the middle of 4 wandering hands.

The 3-series does feel smaller than my previous A4, but I still would like something bigger. As the wife has said, we have cut out a lot of luxuries we used to have, but the car is something we use daily, and she doesn't want to compromise on that. The boots on my Passat and Range Rovers are plenty big enough really, but being 10 and 13 years old respecfully, she doesn't trust them to drive (plus the RR only gets 14 mpg, albeit on LPG).

Had a quick look at luggage capacities, and it looks like the E-Class is the best bet there. And the cheapest. But it's a Merc

[RockIt]

Don't dismiss modern Mercs out of hand. Mine is anything but old man territory. I was hugely surprised on a test drive, which is why I bought it!

[davyk31]

The lease deals on Mercs are quite amazing so long as you want a C220/250 or similar E models. Bigger engine stuff isn't often advertised.

[RockIt]

They aren't, but they are still out there. I went to 3 dealers with a figure in mind, played one off against the other and secured a C350 Sport Plus coupe with various options on a 3+35 for a very favourable sum.

[E60525d]

Anyone got any links to these Merc deals?

[doughboy]

OP - a 335d to a 520d?? FFS man!

Without doubt the current merc deals are unbeatable (not from merc dealers, but through lease agents)


+1 this summers facelifted E class estate has lost the 'ageing executive ' look IMO, merc know this any they are going for younger buyers with a much more aggressive sporty look (see E63 pic below)

And both Chris Harris and Autocar rate it as BETTER BUILT and a nicer place to be than the current 5 series. And they come with soooo much more OE kit than a 5 series.

Bigger engine deals are often better VFM as they are being discounted more to shift them.

I'm leasing a £79,000 557bhp E63 AMG estate on 8+24 at £570/month all in with VAT (basic was £530, but I added £1500 of options)



Try http://www.contracthireandleasing.co...-benz/e-class/

or my lease agent: http://www.nicheleasing.co.uk/Merced...s_Estate_14MY/

[chrisbin]

There are some good BMW lease deals available at the moment too, but not for long....

Personally, having ventured to the dark side (MB) I will be happy to return to BMW....

[B33M3R]

Dont forget, if anyone is looking to purchase a new BMW is HM Forces / Police or a family member of either there is a very generous discount scheme available direct through BMW.

I was initially looking at the F31 but have instead this week ordered an F10 LCI owing to there currently being an additional discount promotion running on the 5 Series. The level of discount I got is obscene. PM me if you need contact details for the scheme.

I also found myself needing to upsize from the 3 Series now I've got the two kiddies. The new 5 Series LCI is IMO amazing and the base specs also increased with the LCI.

Xenon's, Business Nav, Heated Seats all now standard fit

[mowflow]

Your situation sounds similar to what mine was just over a year ago.

My son wasn't quite 2 when my daughter was born so we started panicking about cars and double buggies. Got a bigger car and a double buggy. Didn't use the double buggy once and the one we bought wasn't much bigger than a pram as it was one of the inline jobs. 2 isofix not a problem in pretty much any car.

Within a few months of my daughter being born my son wouldn't go in a pram at all and she could go in a smaller buggy rather than a pram. So realistically we didn't need a car any bigger than what was required for 1 child.

By all means get a bigger car if you want but I would bet my testicles on the e91 being more than adequate. With the kids now 3 and 1 I have no trouble using the 1 series for all but long journeys.

Going from a 335d to a 2.0 VAG will be miserable. I like the current Merc line up but comments like the one from chrisbin above always worry me, plus i've never test driven one that done anything for me. I think in your position i'd maybe be looking at an F31 330d X drive. The f31 is bigger than the E91, the 330d is impressively quick and the x-drive gives that extra "family onboard" safety. The lease deals have been good on these and BMW themselves were throwing support at the 330d x drive last quarter. However, we have just entered Q4 so all the deals will be changing (APR will go up on the website until they update it). The good thing is that this is generally one of the slowest quarters so i would;t be surprised if there were good deals to be had. I got an email from BMW last week hinting at a 0% deal coming up on some models.

[m@rk]

I have seen a few people get some stupid deals on the A7 over the last few weeks (circa 25% to 30% plus) and of course even the base model is loaded with toys although the Black Edition is like the starship enterprise.

You even get a huge usable boot as well as 6 cylinders

Worth a call into your local dealer

[dobbo99]

I got an email yesterday for a lease deal on a 6series saloon which was 6 + 35 at £500 a month (inc VAT).
whilst more than you budget, that's a car surely worth stretching for??

I cant find the email now, as I delete everything each day, but I think it was from Douglas Park BMW in Hamilton.

[xs2man]

Kinda want either an estate or a 4x4 though. Not really interested in a saloon, despite how big the boots in saloons actually are, it's the little bitty hole you have to get stuff into it that makes them fall apart.

Mowflow, I'm quite sure also that in reality, after a month or so of everything settling down, that the e91 will be fine. But that said, I have had it for 15 months now, so time for a change anyway. And I just like bigger cars. The 330d x-drive does sound in theory like a great car, but it looks rank to me. And I'm sure it wont be any cheaper than a 520d or A6 2.0 TDI.

The wife has also said she wants a car with a bit of luxury and space, as we'll basically be sacrificing everything else, so she wants something comfortable for going on road trips since we wont be able to afford abroad holidays for a while. And she does miss my old Black Edition A4 Quattro Avant. I wouldn't have another of them so soon, but the A6 I would consider.

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by xs2man

Kinda want either an estate or a 4x4 though. Not really interested in a saloon, despite how big the boots in saloons actually are, it's the little bitty hole you have to get stuff into it that makes them fall apart.

Hence my suggestion of the A7 (or even A5 sportback) as they are hatchbacks.

Having previously had a 335D E91 and a C350 CDI Estate the A7 is able to deal with loads from Ikea better and on holiday this year (drive to Southern France) all the stuff we normally take that filled the boot to the brim on the last 2 cars was swallowed up and left enough room for 60 bottles of wine (in boxes of 6)

I also managed to fit a single bed (with mattress) into the back of it not so long ago. Something that would have been impossible on the E91

I would have thought a 5GT would also give you a similar sort of boot space and flexibility

[mowflow]

Originally Posted by m@rk

I also managed to fit a single bed (with mattress) into the back of it not so long ago.

Dogging?

[doughboy]

Yup 5GT is a great car, a step up from the regular 5 and come good lease deals.

535d GT is a great car.

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by mowflow

Dogging?

[Mike Scib]

It can be done....



2 little ones, wife, me plus my road and mountain bike up top and a Early Rider bike in the boot along with a stair gate plus enough bags and nappies for 2 weeks up north!

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by Mike Scib

It can be done....



2 little ones, wife, me plus my road and mountain bike up top and a Early Rider bike in the boot along with a stair gate plus enough bags and nappies for 2 weeks up north!

Stick a Qashqai+2 under there & that's essentially the same as my recent Cornwall trip. Those roof boxes do swallow up a shit load if stuff (just watch out for height restriction bars!!).