Car choice: The fastest way to a German V8

David Stephenson is very taken with a Mercedes CL500 Coupe as they can be such great value for money – but is there an alternative home for his £5,000?

While the 645CSi (above) is a great value coupe, the CL500 (below) is an expensive car that can be bought cheaply... but beware the drawback (BMW)

A car for the head

A German V8 for not a lot of money which is also stylish? Well, yes, that could be a BMW 645CSi. This model is not just a cool coupe, it is also great value. It’s best to go for the petrol version, especially as David does not plan to do lots of miles. In that case we came across a dealer with a part exchange vehicle they were keen to move on. A 2004 model with 100,000 miles, finished in black for just under £5,000. It looked like the cream interior needed a deep clean.

(Mercedes-Benz (Mercedes-Benz)

A car for the heart

I feel that the Mercedes CL could well be the ideal option for David. It is a very impressive, continent-crushing, coupe which like the BMW can now be bought cheaply. A word of warning about expensive cars at cheap prices, though: when they go wrong they will cost a fortune a fix. A CL500 with a V8 engine is not a difficult model to find in fact. We found several at trade sellers and the very best example was a 2005 with 107,000 miles and offered for sale at £4,499. This included a three-month warranty.

If you would like James Ruppert to help with your car choice, email james@freecarmag.com. For more motoring views visit freecarmag.com