what to buy ?

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thedutchman

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so today or tomorrow i've got to decide what i want, which is difficult, as it seems that i will be driving that car longer than my motorbike, which was exactly 2.5 months until some fart and i collided.

it will be second hand as i cant afford a new car, it has to be automatic and it has to have some sort of cruise control / speed control... budget is around 135k. It has to be automatic not because i'm old but because of my ankle.

So at the moment i'm looking at either a 2005 merc c 320 avantgarde with 155k on the clock. then i'm also looking at a volvo v50 T5 with less that 80k on the clock but also a 2005 model. now those two models differ a lot from each other, the one is a station wagon and the other one a normal sedan, theres also a wear and tear issue. The car must preferably be in jhb.

What do you guys suggest ?
 
My experience with driving a Merc it that the running costs are pretty high. The services are not cheap, but it's the tyres that really push it up. Ask any tyre salesman and they'll tell you that you cannot expect to get much more than 20 000km on a set, and at around R6000 a set, that pushes up the costs considerably.
 
thedutchman said:
so today or tomorrow i've got to decide what i want, which is difficult, as it seems that i will be driving that car longer than my motorbike, which was exactly 2.5 months until some fart and i collided.

it will be second hand as i cant afford a new car, it has to be automatic and it has to have some sort of cruise control / speed control... budget is around 135k. It has to be automatic not because i'm old but because of my ankle.

So at the moment i'm looking at either a 2005 merc c 320 avantgarde with 155k on the clock. then i'm also looking at a volvo v50 T5 with less that 80k on the clock but also a 2005 model. now those two models differ a lot from each other, the one is a station wagon and the other one a normal sedan, theres also a wear and tear issue. The car must preferably be in jhb.

What do you guys suggest ?
Click to expand...

up on the reef, the turbo motor should be more of a benefit than the NA engine of the merc...

both are cool cars....

I'm a volvo fan and would settle on the Volvo...plus you can get the motorplan extended on the Volvo, I think....
 
Colin62 said:
My experience with driving a Merc it that the running costs are pretty high. The services are not cheap, but it's the tyres that really push it up. Ask any tyre salesman and they'll tell you that you cannot expect to get much more than 20 000km on a set, and at around R6000 a set, that pushes up the costs considerably.
Click to expand...

You must have bought local tyres. I know on my mother's A-class, the tyres lasted 20k from new. But when we changed it, its lasting now 30k+.
Mine C-class also now on 19k and quite a bit of thread left.
Thing its the tyres.
Both cars are though high running costs. Not sure which is more.
 
i would pick the volvo here...but agree, both are gonna cost u a fair whack..
why not get a focus automatic ?
 
The W203 C-class (previous shape) is notorious for chewing up tyres. Especially the rear ones. And no, at R6000 a set they're not local, nor were the set before that, nor the other six sets of tyres I've been through on that car. By contrast driving in the same way, I have never got less than 60 000km on any of the other cars I have owned in the last 15 years, and I've done over a 1 000 000 km in that time.

As I said, speak to the guys who sell tyres, I have, and they all say the same thing...
 
not seriously worried about the tyres at the moment to be honest... just want a good car.. i'm just a bit skeptical about the mileage on the merc, with a 155k on the clock, its not a trainsmash, i mean, they can go on for another 155000 km, i think... or what are your views ?
 
Do yourself a favour and look at a Subaru legacy SW as well. The 2.0 litre has everything you want, plus brilliant consumption...then you have the 2.5 which is a delight and the 3.0 like mine which is sublime :D
 
Volvo's are awesome, until the maintanence plan runs out. But I assume the same is true of the Merc. I had a V70 and it was a beautiful vehicle to drive..good fuel consumption and lotsa space inside, also it didn't eat tyres. I had it all the way to 240 000 km before trading it in. Auto V50 T5 is a nice vehicle. You could probably get a V70 with the same mileage for around the same price I reckon.

http://search.autotrader.co.za/www/cars_advert?id=201019186736514
 
Kbeat said:
How do you start comparing a Focus to a Volvo and a Merc?
Click to expand...

i am not, i am offering an alternative which would have half the km's and running costs....
status isnt everything
 
The cars you are looking at were fairly expensive when they were new... just keep that in mind, as the maintenance costs are normally related to the new price.
 
My W202 uses 195's which last considerably longer than 20k km. Fitting Bidgestone/Firestone Firehawks will set you back about R 750.00 a piece, and from my experience gives by far the best bang for your buck in wet and dry conditions. Although I love Mercs and own one, I would not go for the W203 at all. I've simply heard too many horror stories about that car from various people.

As for maintenance costs, both vehicle's will hammer your wallet from time to time, simply no getting around that.
 
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