Big cars, Small engines | BMW 7-Series News & FAQs

Fancy splashing out on a luxury car? Now might be a good time to take advantage of spiralling fuel prices, unemployed bankers and economic uncertainty. Big motors have never been so cheap. For obvious reasons the trend in the market is for the smaller engine versions of cars such as the BMW 7-series and the Mercedes S-Class to hold on to their value much better than the big, V8 powered variants of the same car. The diesel models are even better at resisting depreciation.

Just check out the price pages to see the disparity between a 2003 BMW 730SE and a 745SE from the same year. Or better still compare a 2004 Audi A8 3.0TDI with a 4.2LWB petrol. This can be viewed one of two ways. Either buy a smaller engine version to maintain value or see the big petrol models for the bargain they are. They are often loaded with extras and, as a rule, the mileage is lower – petrol cars of this type are very rarely used as upmarket taxis unlike their diesel brethren. It is now possible to by a low mileage, well looked after Mercedes S430 for less than £10000. That is the definition of ‘a lot of car for the money’.

By: Tom Greenwood