Some help needed in choosing a new car plz( electric e350e or diesels )

[mav01987]

Hello Guys

Happy Friday.

So I have a dilemma I just recently changed jobs and i am now traveling 80 miles a day 5x a week and I have a 2014 e55 which I have found isn't too bad on fuel as 90% of my journey is on the motorways but as you can tell it is drinking fuel too much for my liking so i have come to the conclusion i have to sell the vehicle and buy something more economical

I was looking at a 2019 e53 but the price of these are quite high for my liking so i am looking at maybe a fully loaded 2017-2019 ( due to price) e350e or a diesel 2015-2017, the problem is I have no idea in regards to reliability of each vehicle and maintenance also I don't like depreciation as i intend to keep the car for around 2 years and maybe move to these half AMG cars (e53) so really need help, suggestions, or opinions from owners would be heavily appreciated.

P.s after 29 august my area will become ulez so it will have to be ulez compliant

Thanks

 

[markjay]

A ULEZ compliant Diesel car will likely be fitted with the AdBlue system, and if you're looking for reliability than this won't work for you.

The Hybrids are OK (a friend has the E350e and is very happy with it), but obviously a hybrid car will always be more complicated and therefore potentially less reliable than an ICE-only car.

As for the E53, great car, but again not cheap to repair if things go wrong.

Any non-AMG petrol engined E-Class will probably be your best bet if reliability and cost of repaired is your main priority.

 

[mav01987]

A ULEZ compliant Diesel car will likely be fitted with the AdBlue system, and if you're looking for reliability than this won't work for you.

The Hybrids are OK (a friend has the E350e and is very happy with it), but obviously a hybrid car will always be more complicated and therefore potentially less reliable than an ICE-only car.

As for the E53, great car, but again not cheap to repair if things go wrong.

Any non-AMG petrol engined E-Class will probably be your best bet if reliability and cost of repaired is your main priority.

yh i was originally looking at a 2015 e250 shape but the mpg isnt great compared to a diesel and seems to be very rare car to come about as you have said i do need reliability and fuel efficiency, if maintenance is on par with my e55 thats not a problem

 

[ALFAitalia]

A diesel or a hybrid?......no thanks to either!!....and that's from someone who currently driving a derv! I would not buy one now though.....IMO its going to be a good way of loosing money very soon. In the current world its got to be pure EV (thats a no from me!) or a petrol engine....but in your case perhaps one a bit more economical than your current one!

 

[mav01987]

A diesel or a hybrid?......no thanks to either!!....and that's from someone who currently driving a derv! I would not buy one now though.....IMO its going to be a good way of loosing money very soon. In the current world its got to be pure EV (thats a no from me!) or a petrol engine....but in your case perhaps one a bit more economical than your current one!

yh, i have heard EV are going to plummet in price very soon so hold out on buying one. my original thinking was a 2015 e250 petrol but cant seem to find any never mind one in good condition

 

[fabes]

80 miles a day would be prime diesel territory though, if the ad blu system was reliable (I can't comment).

Aren't some 350cdis EU6 without ad blu or am I imagining it (E or S class saloon or e coupe...)?

You state you don't like depreciation but doing circa 30k a year will halve the value of any car you get, bear that in mind.

You could get a 'beater' for that and a toy for the weekends (I wouldn't, but you could as your spending nigh on 3 hours a day of your life in the commuter car) but you could.

What's acceptable mpg to you?

 

[mav01987]

80 miles a day would be prime diesel territory though, if the ad blu system was reliable (I can't comment).

Aren't some 350cdis EU6 without ad blu or am I imagining it (E or S class saloon or e coupe...)?

You state you don't like depreciation but doing circa 30k a year will halve the value of any car you get, bear that in mind.

You could get a 'beater' for that and a toy for the weekends (I wouldn't, but you could as your spending nigh on 3 hours a day of your life in the commuter car) but you could.

What's acceptable mpg to you?

yh I just spoke to one of my mechanics and his opinion was if I buy a diesels buy brand new and only keep for 2-3 years as ad blue causes problems along with dpf & NOC sensors etc.

But yea the mpg of diesels is extremally appealing but I do need reliability and comfort so hence looking for e class saloon, 2015,2016 shape falls within budget nicely.

I don't like depreciation but fully agree I am going to get a heavy hit and in my opinion i would lose less on a 2015 shape then i would on a 2019 shape for example.

A beater was an option but it would have to be euro 6 compliant (due to all this ULEZ expansion in august), reliable and comfortable, and in this case i would be able to keep the e55 ( genuinely do not want to sell it unless i get a 2019 e53) but then again i do not want to spend on servicing, taxing etc 2 vehicle every yr

In regards to mpg the more the better but i do not want to sacrifice reliability between a petrol, electric & diesels.

a 2015 e250 petrol is 47.90mpg ( combined) which looks really good then i looked at a 2015 e220d bluetec is 61.40mpg combined which is why i started to look at diesel's. A 2019 e350e is ideal but I have been told reliability & maintenance is high and is a bit out of budget unfortunately

a 2015 e350cdi seems to have the same mpg as a e250 petrol hence why might as well just get the petrol unless I am missed something, I know the acceleration on the e350cdi is faster which is better in my view but i would have to compare maintenance cost between the two

How do I know if its ad blue?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Have you done a list of how much your car costs to run a year: depreciation, road tax, fuel, servicing, and maybe even financing cost?

If you do the hard numbers on what you've got and the alternatives, you "might" find that actually fuel isn't that expensive, once you take depreciation and maybe finance into account.

Second point. You will find larger petrol cars hard to find. The company car tax rules meant that diesel used to be the only thing to get as a company car, so very few petrols were sold in the UK. They can be found - they just take some looking.

Final thought: does it have to be a premium saloon? If you can take a coupe, there's more choice because the demand isn't there. Or a ten year old low mileage vehicle could do the day to day, leaving the AMG for the weekend and special work days....

 

[mav01987]

Have you done a list of how much your car costs to run a year: depreciation, road tax, fuel, servicing, and maybe even financing cost?

If you do the hard numbers on what you've got and the alternatives, you "might" find that actually fuel isn't that expensive, once you take depreciation and maybe finance into account.

Second point. You will find larger petrol cars hard to find. The company car tax rules meant that diesel used to be the only thing to get as a company car, so very few petrols were sold in the UK. They can be found - they just take some looking.

Final thought: does it have to be a premium saloon? If you can take a coupe, there's more choice because the demand isn't there. Or a ten year old low mileage vehicle could do the day to day, leaving the AMG for the weekend and special work days....

On the e55 it's 21.9mpg (combined) already got 101k miles on the clock, tax £360 & then the obvious servicing and maintenance, I'm assuming maintenance cost's will go up as I am driving over longer distances as I was doing 22 miles a day with London traffic inner roads etc, now doing 80 miles a day 90% of journey on motorway no traffic averaging 60-65mph, 10% inner roads with traffic.

I was also thinking to sell the e55 & get 2005-2007 e280 or e350 for around £5k and run it for 2 yrs and just save and buy something nicer in 2 yrs but the mpg of either car isn't too much different to the e55 and the tax on the e350 is the same which i don't understand why but yea i feel i wouldn't save that much.

Also sitting at 60-65mpg is quite painful as i am overtaking lorries etc all the time and its quite a boring journey & have found it a bit more dangerous as to going 70+mph

In regards to devaluation I have not lost anything on the car in the last 5 yrs nor have I gained value due to mileage going up ( using auto trader as a comparison) so not quite sure how much i would lose on it over the next 2yrs

The reason i don't want two vehicles is because i would then have to pay tax, mot, servicing etc on two two car's

I wouldn't be taking out finance due to the high interest rates rates & leasing prices are ridiculous at the moment and considering how much miles i would put on the car I don't see this as feasible in my situation

The only reason I am looking at premium saloon is because i feel the stability on the motorway is better, not sure if i get the same comfort level in a coupe version & I always thought coupes sit lower to the ground then saloons which i don't personally low sitting vehicles

if I am wrong then a 2015 e250,e350 & e400 ( this one i would have to think longer about due to mpg) becomes an option

Please feel free to correct me if you think I am wrong especially on coupes as i have never driven one. Thanks

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

You're correct whatever your conclusion. It's all about what feels right to you.

I was just doing the rhetorical question of what are the financials?

I'm in the middle of persuading myself to "lose" a luxury saloon and go back to a family runabout plus a coupe or convertible

What'll swing it? Probably a bottle of nice wine with a friend in a bar and something interesting popping up on Autotrader.

"The attention span of a Labrador puppy...."

 

[6cyl]

Mav, just seen this thread. Will be interesting to see what you've gone for.
80 miles a day? ULEZ?
Do you have a driveway / garage, somewhere you can fit a charger?
Get the cheapest EV you like the look of that can do an advertised 110-130 miles, that'll cover winter usage and battery degradation for years.
They're very cheap to run and tax.
Our has been very reliable. Paid £9500 7 years ago. Costs us less 1/5 to run compared to the 350d we had.
Gone through 5 sets of tyres. Reduction gear oil change. 6 sets of windscreen wipers. 2 ball joints. That's it. Not even brake pads.
Haven't serviced it since it's been out of warranty. I keep any eye on the pads and the MOT checks the suspension.

It looks boring, goes well enough (has plenty of torque). Unplug it in the morning, plug it in at night.

Keep your E55.