Moving from a 75 to a beemer; thoughts

[Anon3]

Originally Posted by The Rovering Member

That isn't a fact at all. It's your opinion based on your needs & circumstances.
I can use my 1969 P6 as a daily car & it's extremely practical for me to do so, the same goes for my 75.

Horses for courses.

It's a fact based on my opinion

Even the 2 litre P6 isn't comparable in any way, as it actually had decent torque where it matters.

I don't know which version of the 75 you're driving, but I'll bet it certainly isn't the V6 2.0 combined with an autobox, which is what I'm comparing things too.
Feel free to correct me, if I'm guessing wrong

[The Rovering Member]

No, mines a manual 1.8, l made a conscious decision to avoid the larger engine on cost grounds such as maintenance, insurance..... etc. Much as l'd like a V6. But in a few years the extension of the London ULEZ will preclude any 75 being practical to me on cost grounds as none of them will avoid the daily charge & at that point l'll likely sell mine. That probability however doesn't make them in any way incapable of performing their designed function in the same way that just because more modern vehicles exist now, older cars don't require replacement simply due to their age.
I enter a motorway as easily in my 75 as l do in my P6 (or P5 or P4 come to that). Without disparaging your driving skills in any way I think problems entering a motorway are generally more to do with the driver than the vehicle (& l see plenty of problems in my line of work) & any 75 is more than up to the job, even the diesels. You could have changed to a 2.5 which would have given you a useful increase in acceleration though without improving your fuel consumption of course but by the sounds of it, this would be more than offset by likely maintenance costs of the BMW.
Something only becomes 'old fashioned' if you are concerned about fashion in the first place so to say that the cars are too old fashioned to use in the real world is a viewpoint with validity to those who hold that viewpoint but not to those who don't. It's an objective position, not a fact.
If l do sell mine l'll likely put my four-pot P6 into exclusive daily use again. It's extremely old fashioned in design terms but in my opinion that's a very good reason for using it daily in the 'real world' & on my daily commute which more often than not involves the M11, M25 & A13. Busy roads which she handles as well as the 1.8 does. I certainly don't & won't get 50mpg but that's my choice.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Anon3

I'd probably agree with that, in the scheme of things.
Mercs do indeed seem a bit more laid back in their design.
But they're still mostly black.
I hate black interiors, plain and simple.

I have to disagree about the classy interiors though.
"Modern" just doesn't do it for me and I think things have gone backwards.
It's all far too clinical and efficient, imo.

I consider the interior of this CLK to be very classy.

http://www.wildingmotors.com/09-clk320cdi-sport-8650

But, I guess there is classy and there is classy.

[Rickoshea]

Always think the interior of a Merc looks incomplete without meter on the dash!

[Anon3]

Originally Posted by The Rovering Member

I enter a motorway as easily in my 75 as l do in my P6 (or P5 or P4 come to that). Without disparaging your driving skills in any way I think problems entering a motorway are generally more to do with the driver than the vehicle (& l see plenty of problems in my line of work) & any 75 is more than up to the job, even the diesels.

I don't think you understand.
I often enter M6, J6 going south, which involves a climb. If I don't give it 3/4 throttle, I'm invariably going around 40 mph.
It's just tedious.

You're perhaps right; "old fashioned" is not the right description.
Inadequate for my needs is probably better wording.

I'll just sum things up in one sentence;
The woman (my missus' friend) who's bought the car, drove it home and immediately phoned my missus to tell her how she liked it, but how slow it was.

[spongeh]

Well this weekend the super reliable 50k mile E92 threw it's timing chain (N43 petrol engine) and is currently in the local dealers having a £2k engine repair ... think I'll stick with my old 140k mile 75

[Simondi]

I cant speak about BMW as i have never driven one.

I do on the other hand do most of my driving in a 63 plate Autis Hybrid Tourer ( company car).
Its a very comfortable drive, the dashboard isnt exciting but is well designed. Im not a fan of CVT but it does make the driving dead easy.
The Auris is clearly a more modern car although i do think my ZT gives it a good run gor the money.
Coukd i use my ZT as a daily runner - yes apart from the fuel cost the Auris regularly returns between 55&60 mpg.
The thing is i know im in a vety fortune position where i don't need to use my ZT ( or TF) as a daily driver. I can use them solely for pleasure.
If i didn't have the company car what would i do? To be honest I'd buy an old Ford Focus or Mondeo and run them till they dropped.

[coab]

As stated Ive had a few BMW 320d M sports since ZT ownership and loved them. They are not an armchair wafter as much as the ZT but something a bit more modern and slightly Germanic in design.
Parts are very expensive but if your driving an older one a company in London called Global parts break 100s of them and are very reasonable. Ive purchased a set of injectors for £100 and were perfect.
I switched to my ST for a change but would have another beemer if I could afford one under 80k miles. They tend to be very expensive after those miles unlike the older ones topping 200k before any hassle.

[The Rovering Member]

Originally Posted by Anon3

I don't think you understand.
I often enter M6, J6 going south, which involves a climb. If I don't give it 3/4 throttle, I'm invariably going around 40 mph.
It's just tedious.

You're perhaps right; "old fashioned" is not the right description.
Inadequate for my needs is probably better wording.

Yes, that description fits a lot better.

Though l must say, l'll very often enter a motorway on 3/4 to full throttle if required. I follow Alan Clarke's maxim that no-one will rear-end you if you're travelling faster than them.