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molgrips - my bro-in-law had the v70 Allroad or whatever its called.
Amazingly comfortable.
My father in law has an XC70, is that the one you mean? The older model was pretty much normal car shape, unlike the modern one, except with 4wd and a little more clearance. That one's lovely.
Not enough though, as it turned out, to make it through Pucker Pass near Moab. Driving up there was terrifying, turning around to drive back down after failing to get through the tight bit was even worse.
BMW 5 touring.
Not an m sport one, look for a SE in your budget. M sports tend to be firmer suspension.
All have air levelling rear sus, mine has sensible 225/55/17s on, proper comfort.
Erm. Yeah, maybe it was xc70. Like a jacked up estate car... rather than an SUV.
I looked at the first two posts and jumped to the end wondering why there a 20 page thread about a Merc estate. Still none the wiser, maybe I should read it haha
Molgrips bought a fancy Merc with a wobble.
Fixes it like a hero.
Still doesn't really like it - never did, truth be known.
Blames wife.
Next:
Buys an E63 estate.
Loses licence.
Moly's just having a troll flavoured laugh at your (our) expense. After all the grief he got up to fixing it, he's dishing it back out with his story of getting rid.
Even he's not that daft (is he?). 🙃
Just change the wheels, man. Get some old 14" steels with huge, hgh profile tyres. It'll look ace in a mini monster truck way and your wife'll love the soft, bouncy ride and wallowy cornering. Plus you won't have to buy another faulty wife.
Have you changed the wheels yet?
£5-700 for new wheels and then tyres on top of that.
I can see how smaller wheels would add cushioning on rough roads but I don't know what the effect would be on general comfort so I don't know if that's a better choice than changing the car.
Can't you get small wheels second hand from someone who upgraded to the big rims. Then sell the big rims to someone else who wants to look gansta. I imagine the relative desirability/value of each would mean you'd have a bit left for the new tyres.
I can see how smaller wheels would add cushioning on rough roads but I don’t know what the effect would be on general comfort so I don’t know if that’s a better choice than changing the car.
Well, my experience of going from lower to higher profile tyres - winter ones on smaller wheels - was that it softened the ride appreciably and made the steering feel slightly less precise, though nothing particularly dramatic. Obviously there's a limit to how small a rim you can fit as you need to accommodate the brakes, but this was all covered earlier on. Beyond that, some tyres with stiffer sidewalls also ride noticeably harder than others. I guess it depends on how much you like the car otherwise and how much your missus dislikes it 🙂
Special price for you.
£500+VAT?
I might take a look at the Jag
Jesus H Corbett Mols, you of all people should not be considering a Jag. An ex of mine's dad drove a Jag, he bought a second one which he SORNed on the drive to use for spares to keep the first one moving. A mate got one as a courtesy car whilst (ironically) his Merc was in the garage, said it was the worst thing he'd ever driven and it'd be more economic to fuel it by burning five pound notes.
The CLS only gave me 39 today which is frankly shocking.
And you're considering an E-class estate instead?
Get yourself a Mondeo and stop frotting about with overpriced broken motors. Mrs Grips will thank you for it.
Get on a Merc owners forum and ask if anyone want to swap your wheels for something smaller? There's probably somebody who would snap them up.
Can’t you get small wheels second hand from someone who upgraded to the big rims.
That IS second hand! CLS aren't a common car, and by the looks of it many were specced with 19s already so there's not much available with the right offset. There's a few from the older model (different offset), there's some junk here and there, but the best source is a few big German eBay shops and that's how much they are. Inc VAT, by the looks of it, cos eBay collects it.
And you’re considering an E-class estate instead?
Nah I've discounted that, on the basis it's basically the same car I have and for the same money.
Thing is, 8 years/88k miles is right about the point where things might start needing attention anyway, besides engine mounts - like shocks, bearings, bushings etc. A Passat would be either similar age but lower mileage or vice versa. Just looking at a 2018 for £14.5k, it's got new connected features and all modern stuff. That car's 5 years newer. The only thing I'd miss is the self levelling suspension, plus it'd need a towbar but that's easy to arrange if not especially cheap.
I mean I really love driving it, and I'm sure it'd be great with bigger and quieter tyres; but if no-one else likes being driven in it, it's shit on fuel and it's going to need more maintenance, it's not really the right car is it?
Skoda Superb MK3 onwards? There's not a more comfortable car I've ever been in.
Good shout, but they seem to be a similar price to the Passats, there are fewer listed on Autotrader, and for what it's worth (not a lot really) they don't look as nice. One to keep in mind though ta.
I've hatched a plan. I'll arrange to go to my parents, I'll ask my wife to drive, request we go on the windy country roads then tell her we're really late. The anxiety will make her right foot significantly heavier, maybe she'll start liking the Merc 🙂
If you do go with the passat - check that it is capable of being fitted with a towbar - my sister had fun with a new octavia which wasn't rated for towing (Skoda wouldn't issue a new vin plate despite it being physically identical to one that was rated for towing ) - ended up with a different new octavia that has factory fit towbar
I mean I really love driving it, and I’m sure it’d be great with bigger and quieter tyres; but if no-one else likes being driven in it, it’s shit on fuel and it’s going to need more maintenance, it’s not really the right car is it?
Didn't we tell you this two dozen pages ago? (-:
I dunno man, I feel for you. You clearly want to love it, it's a nice-looking motor. But if your missus hates it then you've got three choices: get shut (of the car!); buy her a cushion; or tell her to lump it or buy her own.
Look at it this way. You currently have a serviceable vehicle. You know the adage, "the best time to get a new job is when you already have one"? Have a look around, do a bit of tyre-kicking. The reason you wound up with the Merc was time constraints, exactly how I ended up with a Scorpio years ago. But now, you've no time pressures. You can get something else tomorrow, or in a year. And you're currently sat on two cars' worth of ready capital.
Blimey, that's odd, I'd have expected Octavias to be approved. But I'll check, ta.
Keeping to VWG, what about an Arteon? Mate had an early model with towbar fitted.
Too new I think. An Arteon estate would be lovely but I don't think it has self levelling suspension either despite all the competitors doing so.
So for the hassle of selling the car, buying a new one, and any money lost in those transactions, you'd consider buying a car without a towbar and getting it fitted, but won't try some new wheels, which by the sounds of things would probably cost about £900 (minus the cost of flogging yours on eBay)?
As you've already been tinkering about with it you've probably got a very good idea of what condition the car is in, whereas anything else could need new engine mounts.
I might take a look at the Jag
Please don't. FIL had one bought at two years old. He had the courtesy car for more time than the car he owned, as it had multiple failures and issues. After 11 months Jaguar bought the car back.
I’m on my 2nd jag - had an XE diesel r sport 163ps for 4.5 years. Nothing went wrong with it in that time other then needing one silicone pipe changing towards the end.
Few months into XF Sportbrake (2.5 ish years old) - so far so good. Infotainment can be a bit buggy but apparently that’s ‘normal’.
Love how it drives / the size of the interior etc.
I think the Landrover Discovery Sport is meant to be awful with loads of issues so Jaguar landrover definitely have some problems sometimes.
which by the sounds of things would probably cost about £900
£5-600 for the wheels alone and about £700 for decent tyres. Theres still 6mm on the current ones. I would if I was going to keep it but I don't know how much difference it'll make so it's an expensive experiment.
The car's in good condition, yes, but shocks only last so long they're a service part. And yes, any other car could need fixing but on a 3 year old Passat it's a lot less likely.
Have a look around, do a bit of tyre-kicking.
Yeah I think I'll put it up for sale after my Lakes trip in October (stealth ad!) at the high end of the price range and see if I get a bite. If I don't get close ish to what I paid then it's not worth it really.
Thing is, it's not my car, it's the family car so we all have to like it. She drove the Passat as much as I did once I stopped going away for work every week in it.
(stealth ad!) at the high end of the price range
Don't consider a career in Marketing either.
Chop it in for VW Phaeton.
£700 for a set of tyres 😯
You can get cheapo tyres in those sizes but I'm not getting those. I paid £460 I think on the old Passat for a set of Goodyears.
Rears about £175-225 each depending on offers and fronts about £160-200.
Don’t consider a career in Marketing either.
Don't worry, I never have 🙂
check that it is capable of being fitted with a towbar – my sister had fun with a new octavia which wasn’t rated for towing
Vrs ?
Don’t consider a career in Marketing either.
Steady on, there's no need for that sort of talk!
If you need an advertising jingle......
Lord won't you buy
My Mercedes Benz
The ride is to harsh
For my Mrs' rear end
Turns out that the warranty is backed by the RAC but the contract is held by TCW and they obviously don't give you a refund if you cancel it because they are a bunch of bastards.
So if I sell the car I'm stuck with paying off the £1k extra it cost.
In other news, it got 48mpg coming from my parents' house, that's something like 15-20% worse than the Passat.
I'm like this ^^^ with bikes. I like to call it 'examining all the options and enjoying the journey', my wife calls it something slightly less complimentary.
Anyway, not advice for Molgrips but I couldn't let this pass
exactly how I ended up with a Scorpio
@cougar - how does ANYONE end up with a Scorpio? Was it abandoned outside your house? Won it in a card game? I just can't imagine any transaction where I would hand over actual money for one. My dad had one for a while and even when new, it was the most horrible thing I'd ever sat in. Including my mum's Anglia!
how does ANYONE end up with a Scorpio? Was it abandoned outside your house?
ROFL at least there are some good things about my car 🙂
On the subject of bad cars, the local Merc specialist has an old, 2002 I think, C-class coupé which is utterly horrific. It's a barely mobile scrap-heap, everything is falling off, rattly, noisy, doesn't work, smells bad or all of these. Now I've driven some wreckage in my time (no, not the Passat) but on top of its mechanical condition this thing was just an awful car. Claustrophobic as hell, couldn't see out of the back, driving position all over the place, cramped, and just unpleasant. I really wanted to get out and walk away. Never been so uncomfortable driving a car.
I really wanted to get out and walk away. Never been so uncomfortable driving a car.
Genius move, you forget how bad your car was before you took it to the repairer, so when you get out of the POS into yours that he hasn't sorted 100% it still feels miles better!
Thing is, it’s not my car, it’s the family car so we all have to like it.
There's your first mistake.
It's the family car, so she has to like it. You liking it is optional.
When's this thread going to hit 1000 posts?
@cougar – how does ANYONE end up with a Scorpio?
As I said, I was under time constraints. I had to buy something today that was in-budget. (Hiya Mols.) It was the best of a bad bunch.
Honestly though, y'know... it was the version that looked like Nigel Farage, from outside it was horrific. But inside, it actually turned out to be a little bit brilliant. The seats were like armchairs, it's probably the only car I've ever had that I could cover several hundred miles in without feeling the need to stop for a stretch. The dash was lovely, all walnut insets, it was a nice place to be. The bottom-of-the-range 2L engine in the one I had was more than capable, the V6 must've been a right hooligan.
I bought it under duress but I don't regret it for a second. The one criticism I'd have would be that it was properly tail-happy, it oversteered if you sneezed. The Cosworth must have spent more time going sideways than forwards.
I nearly drove over to TCW today and asked for part-ex on something else. But I'm fairly sure this would be a terrible idea and cost much more than if I sell privately.
I thought everyone was making profits on car sales with covid pricing? Have you tried chucking in Marvin's reg on Motorway for an idea of possible return?
It's going to take some price rises to offset the premium I paid at TCW. It wasn't cheap. There are some cars on Autotrader at not far under the price I paid, and some that are a fair bit under. But most seem to be more than the online valuations.
out of interest why do you consider self-levelling a requirement? Our car is a 7 seater (so can go from pretty much nothing to 500kg of people over the rear wheels), doesn't have it, and drives fine. Sure it points a little uphill, and you probably wouldn't want to rag it, but who rags a fully loaded car anyway..
I hate the feeling of the back being too low, I end up having to re-adjust the seats and controls. I always avoid stuffing the boot when the caravan is on for this reason and that can cause problems. I don't like the way that the caravan makes the back of the car wallow about either. Of course, if it didn't exist, then I'd manage as I did on the Passat, but given that it can be had and I actually do have it right now, and it's brilliant, it'd be a shame to go back. The caravan adds about 80kg of weight to the back which isn't a lot but it's overhanging the back wheels quite a bit so has a lot more effect than 80kg inside the wheelbase.
On our holiday we stuffed the very large boot with heavy items as well as hitching the caravan, mainly the inflatable kayak and SUP, and it was absolutely fine. Even putting that stuff in the caravan would have been difficult as it's probably already on its limit in terms of weight. You don't get a lot of cargo capacity in them. In a car without any kind of suspension assist it'd have been rubbish. I added some inflatable bag things to the springs on the old car which really helped; searching again it looks like there are now even better options available so I could perhaps do similar if/when we get rid of the Merc, but built in options are better I think.
I think you need a MK2 Discovery with a One life live it sticker for your towing duties!
I think you need a MK2 Discovery
Now that's just trolling. A Disco, with all its creaks, rattles and random failures, would be in tiny pieces all over moly's floor within a week.
It’s going to take some price rises to offset the premium I paid at TCW. It wasn’t cheap. There are some cars on Autotrader at not far under the price I paid, and some that are a fair bit under. But most seem to be more than the online valuations
You might still be surprised, we sold my dads car for more than the equivalents on Auto Trader. Doesn't hurt to get a quote.
Yeah maybe I'll head over today. Out of boredom. There's a slim chance that they'll be buying up cars and keeping them a few months as futures.
MK2 Discovery with a One life live it sticker
whilst that is obviously tongue in cheek, if the remit is a large-booted, comfortable towing car then that sort of thing might not be a terrible shout. xc90? rav4 with some manufacturer-backed warranty (its 10 years/100,000 miles on toyotas if you service with them)? etc
if the remit is a large-booted, comfortable towing car then that sort of thing might not be a terrible shout.
It needs to be economical though for when it's not towing. SUVs are out of the picture really.
Have you considered a V8 bi-turbo diesel? 😉
I'm at TCW. There's a really nice Passat CC, 64 plate 56k miles and only £12.5k but it's just been sold. Should have come up yesterday when I was thinking about it!
Impulse buy coming up!
Safe option though innit, Passat.
The sale fell through so they offered it to me. Had a closer look - pretty battered paint, scuffed interior, engine nice and smooth but no flippin cruise control! Who buys an auto without cruise control? What manufacturer makes big cruiser cars without cruise as standard in 2014?
It needs to be economical though for when it’s not towing. SUVs are out of the picture really.
rav4 diesel appears to be more economical than the cls. 60mpg on the combined cycle vs 55 (both numbers may be nonsense, but are probably comparible)
rav4 diesel appears to be more economical than the cls. 60mpg on the combined cycle vs 55 (both numbers may be nonsense, but are probably comparible)
I'd eat my Pirelli P-Zero 285s if those numbers were anywhere close to the real world numbers, but even if it's close to the CLS figures it's not enough given the Passats are capable of mid 60s in the real world on long trips.
I wouldn't put too much emphasis on cruise control unless its adaptive / radar controlled.
I do though. I hate not having cruise, even the standard kind.
I had cruise control retro fitted by a dude on my driveway for a couple of hundred quid to an Audi A3. Was a new stalk + some coding job. May or may not be be possible on other VAG cars. I was happy to pay someone, but sounds like the kind of thing you'd happily attempt yourself if it is possible (and you have access to a proper VAG-COM coding dongle).
Yeah just google retrofits, seems like it's an option but it does involve chasing wires through to the ECU, removing the security bolts and adding a couple of pins to the connector. From the look of the car it's the same as my old one so I should know my way around it pretty well!
Going by your description of the car it doesn't sound like it's been very well looked after, I'd walk away from it
No cruise? Beaten up pov spec, doesn't sound worth it.
Yeah I didn't get it.
It was scuffed all around door handles, as if it'd been owned by Mr T. Lots of nicer Passat Estates that age for much less. TCW really isn't cheap at all.
Another Passat today, saloon, in Newport. 2017, 60k miles, £12.5k. Really very nice inside, low road noise and comfortable, but the engine was annoyingly noisy. But lovely finish etc. However it was a 1.6 and sooo sloooow. Perhaps it just felt slow after the Merc, and normally I wouldn't be that bothered but it needs to tow a caravan. It's also the emissions scandal engine so it might not actually have 120bhp any more.
I suspect you might find that the more you look elsewhere, the more appealing your Merc becomes.
That's the wrong engine and you know it. Next!
What SlowPuncheur said. A 1.6tdi 4 cylinder diesel passat is a miserable, miserable thing.
Most things you dont like about your car would have been resolved by buying the regular, W212/W213 'T-modell' instead (the regular estate care). Particularly the ride. Mines like a RR.
Is 120 enough to pull a caravan?
Mines like a RR
Reliant Robin? 😮
Why are you looking at 1.6 engines to tow a caravan!?
Most things you dont like about your car would have been resolved by buying the regular, W212/W213 ‘T-modell’ instead (the regular estate care). Particularly the ride. Mines like a RR.
Yeah, I know - the E-Class estate has the self levelling, and it's basically the same car but made for comfort. But, unless it's spectacularly comfortable I wouldn't get it past the Mrs as she hates the styling. Plus, if I can get a much newer Passat for similar money that'd be more peace of mind. That said, I've not tried an E-Class, they might be amazing. There was one on Autotrader with the massaging seats, could be worth a try 🙂
Why are you looking at 1.6 engines to tow a caravan!?
I wasn't, specifically (obviously) I went to a big car place, saw the car, thought I'd give it a spin just to see what B8 Passats are like, and to see how slow the 1.6s actually are. TBH it was much worse than I thought it would be. It's an emissions-scandal era car, without Ad-blue, so that might've made it worse.
Have you tried bigger tyres?
if you're after a midsize estate for £12k why not get something with a manufacturer warranty? hyundai, kia, toyota all have stuff for that money that'd be pretty much worry free
Have you tried bigger tyres?
No, I want to, but it'll be a lot of money to discover she still doesn't like it. I can only go down to 18", according to the handbook and they're a rare offset so they're not particularly cheap or easy to find.
if you’re after a midsize estate for £12k why not get something with a manufacturer warranty? hyundai, kia, toyota all have stuff for that money that’d be pretty much worry free
Am I likely to find the same level of refinement and comfort? My mate had an Avensis and hated it. The other thing is that we want an auto, and VAG cars have far more available since DSGs have been so popular. I just searched for Avensises (Avenses?) nationwide and there are no autos available.
Holy Moly, it doesn’t matter what you like if mrsgrips has effective veto. She has to choose, or she has to agree to put up with what you get.
I think you are looking at things arse-about-face - surely the towing of a caravan is the main thing? So you need enough power and torque to do the job well.
We ended up with a 4WD Kuga to tow our horse-box. To me it's a hateful, wallowy barge of a thing - but it's great at towing and drives very well on a motorway. Has leather seats and loads of toys.
I just searched for Avensises (Avenses?) nationwide and there are no autos available.
I think your search is broken, autotrader throws up 76 for me. Theres a similar number of i40s and about 40 kia optimas as well.
Comfort is a fairly personal thing. Take a test drive (with your wife) before splurging this time?