They do, but then again, I think used cars of late have either risen in price, or become worse for the money you're expected to pay. Depending on how you look at it. Not so long ago (2-3yrs or thereabouts), there were a plethora of very acceptable, average mileage (60-90k) cars in the £1-2.5k bracket.
Recent examples for me include:
- 2.5 V6 Jag x-type, 1 owner, 44k, almost immaculate with one lady owner - £2600.
- Saab 9-5 aero, 1 owner + dealer, 65k, again unmarked inside and out £2150
- Omega CDX estate, 1 owner + dealer, 50k, £1400, excellent condition inside and out (far too expensive by the standards of the forum but objectively not bad imho)
These sort of cars just don't seem to be out there now, most in the <£3k bracket seem to be either dogs, not well maintained/serviced or have been to the moon and back - twice. :/
I am not sure what it is, but certainly seems to be the case. Thinking about it, I sold the Saab at 80k, for £75 more than I paid for it, and lost about £400 on the x-type - sold with over 70k on it.
Perhaps I was just lucky?
I really like the W211 facelift ones (around 56 onwards) - A went to see a few E320 CDI's estates, but what appeared 'mint' on adverts were dogs on arrival
How did you find the interior quality/seat comfort? I've never sat in one, but the seats look pretty Omega-ish (wide, comfy and not in the least bit sporty
).
Another school of thought for me was to buy a <3y/o V70 D5 with low mileage (20k maybe). It seems these cars hold on to their value like a yorkshireman with deep pockets and short arms! Probably spend not a lot more than running a shed in the long run.