Buying an older luxury German car

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chefshrek

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I'm looking for a new car for my wife. Our maximum budget is R120k but honestly we'd rather keep it under100k. Would it be completely foolish to buy a 10-15 year old BMW, Audi or Merc? It just seems like I'd be getting so much more car for my money. Here are a couple of ads that caught my eye.

http://www.motorportvw.co.za/Vehicle...gramPictures=1

http://www.concordecars.co.za/vehicl...4-BMW-3-Series

Would I be better of buying something newer, smaller and more boring?

This car will also be used to transport my six month old daughter so safety and reliability are very important.
 
IMO it's going to end up being a black hole that will swallow your money.
Rather a newer vehicle which will be more reliable and less expensive to fix. Remember the more attractive to you means it's attractions to criminals.
Also a newer vehicle would be safer in terms of airbags etc.
 
That's a terrible idea. Few things:

-Car is old and things will break = $$$
-Not fuel efficient = $$$
-Even though they might be bigger, older cars are not safer in the majority of cases. Top Gear did an episode on this where they crashed a smart car into a volvo station wagon from yesteryear. The smartcar came off better. Mind blasting.
 
What would you recommended as an alternative considering the budget?
 
chefshrek said:
I'm looking for a new car for my wife. Our maximum budget is R120k but honestly we'd rather keep it under100k. Would it be completely foolish to buy a 10-15 year old BMW, Audi or Merc? It just seems like I'd be getting so much more car for my money. Here are a couple of ads that caught my eye.

http://www.motorportvw.co.za/Vehicle...gramPictures=1

http://www.concordecars.co.za/vehicl...4-BMW-3-Series

Would I be better of buying something newer, smaller and more boring?

This car will also be used to transport my six month old daughter so safety and reliability are very important.
Click to expand...

a 10 year old Merc is better on any given day than a new car of the same price. You can get many C class Merc's for your price with just over 100000km on the clock which is really nothing for a Merc. Go test drive one of them and test drive any small car for the same price thats "new". Then imagine driving with your 10 yr old Merc into the little car at 80km/h and wonder in which one you'd rather be. Might not be as low on fuel as the small car but you want to enjoy your car not just save petrol. if you wanna save petrol, walk.
 
albert123 said:
a 10 year old Merc is better on any given day than a new car of the same price. You can get many C class Merc's for your price with just over 100000km on the clock which is really nothing for a Merc. Go test drive one of them and test drive any small car for the same price thats "new". Then imagine driving with your 10 yr old Merc into the little car at 80km/h and wonder in which one you'd rather be. Might not be as low on fuel as the small car but you want to enjoy your car not just save petrol. if you wanna save petrol, walk.
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I'd be fine with the consumption of a C180k or C200k. What should I be looking out for or have checked on such a car?
 
albert123 said:
a 10 year old Merc is better on any given day than a new car of the same price. You can get many C class Merc's for your price with just over 100000km on the clock which is really nothing for a Merc. Go test drive one of them and test drive any small car for the same price thats "new". Then imagine driving with your 10 yr old Merc into the little car at 80km/h and wonder in which one you'd rather be. Might not be as low on fuel as the small car but you want to enjoy your car not just save petrol. if you wanna save petrol, walk.
Click to expand...

This test was already done. No need to 'imagine' stuff. If you buy a 2-3 year old Polo and you crash into a 10 year old Merc, you can bet your ass you will be better off than the BMW/Merc driver in the majority of the cases.

Technology has advanced a great deal.

Of course if you buy a Datsun GO, well then a 15 year old City Golf is just as safe. It's up to you to do the research and check the NCAP ratings, etc.
 
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albert123 said:
a 10 year old Merc is better on any given day than a new car of the same price. You can get many C class Merc's for your price with just over 100000km on the clock which is really nothing for a Merc. Go test drive one of them and test drive any small car for the same price thats "new". Then imagine driving with your 10 yr old Merc into the little car at 80km/h and wonder in which one you'd rather be. Might not be as low on fuel as the small car but you want to enjoy your car not just save petrol. if you wanna save petrol, walk.
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Lol, and if something breaks?

On a merc if something in the suspension stuffs out it will cost R20k, if the gearbox on an audi packs up it will cost r50k, if the BMW breaks, well just throw it away.

Seriously, German cars are not cheap to fix. And a 10 year old car will have issues occasionally.
 
chefshrek said:
I'm looking for a new car for my wife. Our maximum budget is R120k but honestly we'd rather keep it under100k. Would it be completely foolish to buy a 10-15 year old BMW, Audi or Merc? It just seems like I'd be getting so much more car for my money. Here are a couple of ads that caught my eye.

http://www.motorportvw.co.za/Vehicle...gramPictures=1

http://www.concordecars.co.za/vehicl...4-BMW-3-Series

Would I be better of buying something newer, smaller and more boring?

This car will also be used to transport my six month old daughter so safety and reliability are very important.
Click to expand...
Go for the least oldest car you can afford. Bear in mind that these cars are old and if they have not been taken care of, things will fail regardless. Try go for a model that has full service history even after the maintenance plans have expired.

If I recall correctly there are insurance products for used cars where they cover services and repairs. Have a look. It isn't nonsense to look at older cars but you have to know what you getting into. Research the model to see what issues it had, that way you can always keep an eye out for it when checking the car.
 
eg2505 said:
Whats the best site to research particular models and recalls issued for certin cars?
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I have always found www.whatcar.com very useful. Look at the used section and there are great reviews and they usually give the 5 major point to look out for on a certain model.

I have a 1997 W202 C220 with 358 000km's on the clock and have had no major issues with her whatsoever. Yes things do need replacing but its never been too expensive. Had the clutch done at a good price by an independent Merc mechanic. And replaced ball joints, otherwise everything is original.

Also have a 2003 SLK200 with 102 000km's on the clock, running like she is in showroom condition.
 
eg2505 said:
What about A class mercs, any that should be avoided?
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As far as I know only the original one was really k@k (I am not a fan of the A-Class, only the new hatch) but from 2005 onwards they were not bad
 
Brenden_E said:
This test was already done. No need to 'imagine' stuff. If you buy a 2-3 year old Polo and you crash into a 10 year old Merc, you can bet your ass you will be better off than the BMW/Merc driver in the majority of the cases.
Click to expand...

Link to this test?

I doubt a Polo or similar vehicle would stand up to a 10yr old BMW or Merc with a minimum 6+ airbags in a crash test.
 
I seem to be getting mixed answers here. What to do, what to do? Im confident that I'd be able to do simple services like oil changes and filters myself. Anybody know which one of the three would be the least risky in regards to reliability?
 
They're all much of a muchness in terms of reliability.

What you need to do is thoroughly research parts costs, over and above the standard service... that is where the big difference will come from.
 
ToxicBunny said:
They're all much of a muchness in terms of reliability.

What you need to do is thoroughly research parts costs, over and above the standard service... that is where the big difference will come from.
Click to expand...

This. Also factor in labour. If you bough a Merc I doubt you would be taking it to the dealership as their labour is high, that being said some Merc specialist's I know still charge R650 an hour for labour.

A good mechanic charges about R450 an hour and at the end of the day the labour is usually a bigger chunk of a regular service in terms of your standard services.
 
Kal86 said:
This. Also factor in labour. If you bough a Merc I doubt you would be taking it to the dealership as their labour is high, that being said some Merc specialist's I know still charge R650 an hour for labour.

A good mechanic charges about R450 an hour and at the end of the day the labour is usually a bigger chunk of a regular service in terms of your standard services.
Click to expand...
Ford is R610 per hour so not much difference.
 
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