I'm considering trading in my 60 plate (Nov 2010) 200IS diesel Lexus (2.3L or thereabouts apparently), which I've owned for the past two and a half years, and has done 52k miles. The Lexus has been fabulous,(it has the upgraded sound system with something like 26 speakers - eh???) but I'm concious that it will be 6 in November, and perhaps I should look towards something a bit newer. I'll probably be looking for a 2013/14 220d C series Mercedes estate, or a BMW 3 Series estate. What d'ya reckon? Is there something else that's better - I don't want to pay more than £15-16k
BMW for anyone under 70 who rides bikes too. Merc for anyone over 70 but no longer wants any excitement in life.
We always preferred scooby legacy R's - strong enough for any high st shop window,good load carrying capacity and fast enough to outrun any OB - even their bottom of the range underpowered helicopter
Think it was the Legacy Estate 3.0 R B spec manual - what an utter weapon! Go straight past any Beemer or AMG Merc through the bends and some! I see they have bought out a Legacy 3.6 R B now - must have a go in one
Very happy with my 320d Touring. Sub 8 secs 0-60. Great round the twisty bits, cosseting for big mile journeys and capable of mid 60s mpg. Boot's not enormous but big enough and you can always put the seats down if you do need big space.
Tricky really - cos I would bet my house on it that the Lexus has been a great car,totally behaved and given 100% reliability? They are like a Swiss watch and so damm good they are almost bordering on the bland and boring!You ain't gonna get this with the merc or the BMW I very much doubt? Silly,stupid warning lights that come on regularly and almost have a mind of their own - means a trip to main dealer service dept (pants down time?) as few of the specialists have the software to pinpoint exact fault! Their £10/20K machines come up with 3/4 possible causes so can get very expensive visit.im a car dealer so I don't smoke about in cars I know can be expensive aggro - I would go Audi A4 Diesel everytime everytime - just make sure it's got all the Audi stamps and has had recent cambelt and at same time waterpump replacement - good luck
you're right - the Lexus has never gone wrong and has run perfectly - in fact, it's probably not such a great idea to move it on (i put 4 new tyres on it in December), and it's £130 car tax/44 mpg around town. It's not a quick car though, and the boot is tiny.
That is the first sign of the flimsy weak paddle flippers internal to the exhaust manifold that often disintegrate causing catastrophic engine damage! Chech it out on BMW forum and make sure dealer fitted revised part for peace of mind?
I have a 320d touring, its ok,a little cramped inside, but if I were in your shoes I would keep what you have . Even at 6 years old its better than the BMW or Merc.
I wasn't tryin to be a smartarse - ask anyone in the trade that if they had to jump in a car right now and do a 22 hour straight run to Marbella stopping only for fuel what car would the take? Lexus or Accord diesel I bet
Personally,as you have just fitted new tyres i would get another year out of the Lexus - it will be a free years motoring chap
it a piece of jap pretentious junk so why are you seemingly embarrassed by its aged plate? Grow up fella........................
When my C270 cdi auto box self destructed at 160,000 miles after 10 years, I needed something that could tow both track bikes, have boot space to take gear for two, have toys and be auto. Had a short list and settled on a pre registered Seat ST FR Titanium. 2 litre diesel with 180+ bhp, DSG gearbox, leather, LED lights blah, blah ad nausium. Great car, all the space, comfort and power I need, £110 car tax and 45+ mpg day in, day out. Oil change services £185 and first big service at 35,000 miles is just over £350. Would I buy another Merc (or BMW) ? Nah, neither are what they used to be and IMO neither give value for money when you are paying £160/hour for labour and covering their gawdy showroom overheads. Andy
i wanted a legacy tourer. Didn't work out. Got an exeo st (spanish barge aka a4) which has been brilliant except it's tiny inside, interior borrowed from a4 cabrio. Loads of space if you don't need the rear seats, which I do! Have you considered 7 series? Not cheap to run but depends on mileage you plan to rack up. 18k gets you a disproportionate amount of car.
I will never have another beemer. I had quite a few as company cars in the eighties and nineties. I had several 3 series including an M3 and a few 5s as well. All were good. Then few years back I splashed out on a 740 sport. What a pile of crap. Bits kept falling off. Rear door trim popped off and ended up creasing the door panel. The dealer wasn't interested and I got rid of it. Never again.
