Pre-2000 car with best ride quality?

[manalishi]

My current comfy barge is a '93 W124 280E. I like it but I'm thinking about changing to something a little more modern, and at the same time going up a notch in terms of ride quality, power and toys (climate control, etc).

It'll be a second car for weekend trips (daily drive is an Aygo). And I'm trying to stick to pre-2000 cars for lower road tax. So... any suggestions?

Obvious thoughts are Lexus LS400, maybe GS300. Honda Legend? Don't know much about Jaguars (reliability?), have previously read good things about Rover 75 ride quality (again q of reliability?). Or maybe there's a Saab? Volvo S80?

On the MB front, I had wondered about an E500 (I know that a few - Japanese imports? - had the early MB climate control option), but I've always assumed the ride quality is a step down from W124 norms once Porsche had tweaked the suspension for performance?

 

[wemorgan]

Lots of interesting choices out there. What's your budget? 4 doors? Engine preference?

Rover 75 with BMW diesel engine should be reliable with smooth ride.
Saab's 95 other than Aero tend to be quite soft with body roll IMHO.
Merc CLK if you fancy a coupe, is very capable motorway cruiser.

 

[d w124]

A 500e with factory spec is very good ride,but the climate is a bit rare.GS300 though is a very nice ride but when it goes wrong lol,but hey so does the S class.

 

[flango]

What about an Audi A8 not that bad on fuel and if it's only for weekends? The V8's are gorgeous

 

[jeremytaylor]

For the best ride quality, it has to be a big Citroen.

 

[Lugy]

How much are you spending?

I'd be biased into saying a W140. A late Saab 9000 Aero would be next on the list, power, comfort, practicality, value, classic status, loads of toys and very easy to retro fit other toys and of course the best seats of any car ever. The best all round car ever IMO.

I guess 15k over 6 months in my CSE says quite a lot. Only around 2k of that was commuting

 

[manalishi]

Budget is around £5000, and I may be tempted to spend twice that for something very special (the aforementioned E500 with climate). Want something that's done most of the depreciating.

Don't need 4 doors.

Hadn't really thought about an A8. Not been in one... sort of overlooked it because the (lesser) VAGs I have been in were a bit stiff. Not relaxing.

A Citroen C6 should be magic-carpet like, but there's no way I'd buy one with my own money!

 

[d w124]

A member here is selling his E36 AMG salon,don`t know if it has climate though

 

[Gridlock]

A8 or, surprisingly (if you can live without dealers) the 75 is a very good drive for your requirements. Lexus also nice if you can live with Japanese-level interior refinement (ie, beige plastic).

I wish I could recommend a Jag but I can't. Having said that, if I were you I'd buy a tidy XJR in dark metallic blue with cream leather (but without the leaping cat on the bonnet!)

 

[JonnyCJ]

CL with ABC Sport switched on

 

[Lugy]

Budget is around £5000, and I may be tempted to spend twice that for something very special (the aforementioned E500 with climate). Want something that's done most of the depreciating.

Don't need 4 doors.

Hadn't really thought about an A8. Not been in one... sort of overlooked it because the (lesser) VAGs I have been in were a bit stiff. Not relaxing.

A Citroen C6 should be magic-carpet like, but there's no way I'd buy one with my own money!

Ah, that opens up a whole new ball park!

I'd still say an S500 though, £5k would get a really nice one I'd think.

 

[Seamster15]

An old 740i V8 is an impressive car and 5k witll buy you some the best on offer....

 

[Tan]

W140 S-class without a doubt.

My Dad has an S280 and it is absolutely beautiful to drive, so comfortable and effortless to drive. One of the V8's would be just perfect.

If you can live with 4 seats and 2 doors then a CL 420 or 500 would be a good choice.

 

[manalishi]

W140... there's just something stopping me from wanting one. It's just too much of a statement. Does that sound weird?

And I worry a bit about the (likelihood) x (cost) of fixing MB's fanciest toys compared to (for example) the same for the Lexus LS400. And the W140s seem to carry on the same rust issues as earlier MBs.

Have now looked at some write ups of the older shape A8 and the Saab 9-5, and there seem to be some reliability issues for both (judging from the owner reviews at Parkers, etc). Ought to find out more about the 7 series. Got as far as engine troubles for the 4.0 and stopped reading.

The E36 is possible (if so I'd go for the E36C), but like the E500, I've always assumed the AMG-tweaked underpinnings means that the ride quality is a backwards step from my bog-standard W124 (?) Although I'd like a little more power (my 280E has about 190bhp, I think), I'm not looking for tightened up handling, steering or low profile tyres.

The more I look, the more my heart says "E500", while my head says "LS430"...

 

[Wizeng]

My last car was a Volvo S80 and the ride was excellent, get one of the 5 cylinder diesels and it will go forever, My petrol one had only done 186000 miles.

 

[219]

If a comfortable ride is what you're after , you might need to go older rather than newer .

Earlier models , like the W123 and W116 had a softer , more comfortable , ride - mainly thanks to not running on ultra low profile tyres as modern cars tend to - once you get below about 70 series tyres there isn't much of a sidewall to soak up bumps from the road and so on . There is a trade off between comfort and handling , with most modern cars biased more towards handling .

A good W126 ( and five grand will buy you a VERY good one ) will give all the comfort you want , with plenty of toys , still a modern car that can be driven every day but perhaps not quite so ostentatious as a W140 . Whilst some cars in the lower price range have rust issues , there are plenty of good ones out there and can be easily found with some of the specialist dealers .

Again , if the W140 is a bit too imposing , the newer W220 series is very good and much more modest in appearance , although more complex and sometimes big bills can arise if something like airmatic suspension goes wrong . I have seen examples of these for sale within your budget and a neighbour of mine has an S 500L which he bought for a lot less , but then did have a £2K bill to fix his suspension after two of the rams needed replacement !

You'd probably just about get into an older Rolls Royce for that sort of money - a Silver Spirit or Shadow would be very comfortable but could easily be a money pit .

 

[Charles Morgan]

Having been the owner of a Bentley Turbo R from 86 I would avoid sub£10k Rolls Royce/Bentley Spirits/Shadows/Turbos etc like the plague. These are very complicated cars with potential for a huge number of problems and I would only buy the most cherished with cast iron maintenance histories. Just a horrible money pit and mine was considerably more expensive to buy. The Turbos aren't that comfortable either with a hard ride.

For that sort of money I would go Merc/BMW E39/Jaguar for comfort.

 

[macscrooge]

I can confirm that the Saab 9-5 Aero is a very comfortable way to travel - firm suspension but fantastic seats.

I suspect the Volvo S80 might be worth a look - the seats in my 850 and 940 Volvos were excellent (the Saab's variable seat heating trumps them) and the (early) S80s I have driven were very smooth.

A Lexus LS is tempting but I expect a £5 example might be a bit of a time bomb as far as fixing it is concerned. Saying that, I knew a bloke a few years ago who paid £2k for an early LS and binned it a year later when the exhaust fell off!

Let us know what you end up with.