[Parkwood]

I had an EQC and now have an EQE, both were reliable but the EQE has had some silly niggling problems with not loading OTA but nothing that has stopped the car at any point also I do not believe American build quality is as good as German (I know it should be in a factory designed with all the same techniques etc) as I had 2 door handles fail and a piece of windscreen trim fall off…shoddy.
The EQC was faultless over 30k but I am not sure it is the car for you, range was no issue for me but it is not the best out there, and charging is limited to 11kw max AC and 110kw max DC. Towing limited is 1800kg BUT a lot of the cars in the UK market were hanging around during the COVID hiatus and there seems to be some issues with the batteries having suffered (it is an 8yr 150km I think warranty) have a look at MBEQ forum there are a few disgruntled owners there.
The EQE is also only 1800kg towing but some are 22kw Ac and max charge is 170kw DC. I love my car best car I have ever owned. Later models (mine is 23) seem to cope with the OTA better. Not as many issues popping up apart from the software oddities yet as with the EQC (but the EQC is an older car). If you could track one down it could be worth a punt and the battery warranty has been extended to 10 yrs cannot recall the mileage.
It is a shame that you need to change now as I think the new GLC EQ will be an excellent car and has the potential to be the best in it’s class Though it too will have a gearbox this time (neither the EQC or EQE do so that cannot fail at least😉). it will not be available until next year and as ever it is often wise to let the first builds go through the system…..my error with my EQE I think.
Overall I still think the EQ range were pretty well sorted when they came to market but all cars are complex these days and many of the software issues for example that affect mine no doubt affect ICE too as they were not drive related but rather either ancillary (ambient lighting) or the dreaded OTA.
Get why people recommend the Model Y but to me it is an incredibly ugly car and not at all sure it would match the ride comfort of any of the big German 3 which is why so many of us do not even consider Tesla (and that is before we think about any other criteria like who we want to spend our money with!).
So wanting a comfortable SUV to enable a more active lifestyle there is not a great deal of choice sadly.

 

[Siimo]

Over 26 years of car ownership I had 2 out of the 11 (4 of them EVs) cars I have owned that had catastrophic engine or gearbox issues. Both were petrol cars, one had about 55,000 and the other about 90,000 miles on them. I just put both failures down to luck of the draw.

The brand I have sworn off is Nissan. I had a terrible Qashqai that had a catalogue of 14 faults from minor to major in the 15 months I owned it. Only 1 of them (AC re gassed) was ever fixed and that was temporary. When the AC failed again and Nissan said it was stone damage and was not covered under warranty, I just sold it. I was never as happy to take a £10,000 loss selling something on in my life.

A couple of my friends has just had to write off a 6 year old petrol Qashqai after an engine failure that would be more than current value to fix.

 

[HughF]

Buys unreliable German tat, complains when it breaks down….. 😂

Maxis eTerron9 does what you want, buy one at 2yrs old and it’ll be £25k because it’s overpriced and Chinese, and most brits want some sort of German wankpanzerwagen

 

[FrankS57]

Don't know what your budget is, but have you looked at the BM iX, 2nd hand similar prices to an X5, same with the iX1 (similar prices to it's ICE models).

 

[Favguy]

People mentioning Musk whilst thinking about a Tesla is a bit baffling. If you base car buying decisions on the perceived morality of the company or political leanings of a CEO you'll quickly run out of options!

Not in the case of Tesla. Musk is a unique threat in that he is actively working to bring about hard right authoritarian regimes across the west. He's supported the Neo Nazi AFD in Germany, had a large part in getting Trump elected with all the terrible issues that has brought for the US and whole wider world and the latest horror, supporting Tommy Robinson in calling for civil war in the UK and the overthrow of our government. Even writing that, it's hard to believe, but it's all facts.

None of us should be supporting a company headed up by and financing this vile and dangerous man.

 

[KuuKulgur]

You seem to be one of the few people for whom a phev would actually make sense.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Buys unreliable German tat, complains when it breaks down….. 😂

Maxis eTerron9 does what you want, buy one at 2yrs old and it’ll be £25k because it’s overpriced and Chinese, and most brits want some sort of German wankpanzerwagen

What a load of utter twaddle.

 

[L-EON]

I had an EQC and now have an EQE, both were reliable but the EQE has had some silly niggling problems with not loading OTA but nothing that has stopped the car at any point also I do not believe American build quality is as good as German (I know it should be in a factory designed with all the same techniques etc) as I had 2 door handles fail and a piece of windscreen trim fall off…shoddy.
The EQC was faultless over 30k but I am not sure it is the car for you, range was no issue for me but it is not the best out there, and charging is limited to 11kw max AC and 110kw max DC. Towing limited is 1800kg BUT a lot of the cars in the UK market were hanging around during the COVID hiatus and there seems to be some issues with the batteries having suffered (it is an 8yr 150km I think warranty) have a look at MBEQ forum there are a few disgruntled owners there.
The EQE is also only 1800kg towing but some are 22kw Ac and max charge is 170kw DC. I love my car best car I have ever owned. Later models (mine is 23) seem to cope with the OTA better. Not as many issues popping up apart from the software oddities yet as with the EQC (but the EQC is an older car). If you could track one down it could be worth a punt and the battery warranty has been extended to 10 yrs cannot recall the mileage.
It is a shame that you need to change now as I think the new GLC EQ will be an excellent car and has the potential to be the best in it’s class Though it too will have a gearbox this time (neither the EQC or EQE do so that cannot fail at least😉). it will not be available until next year and as ever it is often wise to let the first builds go through the system…..my error with my EQE I think.
Overall I still think the EQ range were pretty well sorted when they came to market but all cars are complex these days and many of the software issues for example that affect mine no doubt affect ICE too as they were not drive related but rather either ancillary (ambient lighting) or the dreaded OTA.
Get why people recommend the Model Y but to me it is an incredibly ugly car and not at all sure it would match the ride comfort of any of the big German 3 which is why so many of us do not even consider Tesla (and that is before we think about any other criteria like who we want to spend our money with!).
So wanting a comfortable SUV to enable a more active lifestyle there is not a great deal of choice sadly.

As you know was thinking about going EQC 400 next, I'm wondering if I should maybe hold out for a couple a of years and pick up a EQE SUV when the prices are lower.

I hear you on the Model Y, I don't like the looks and I know it just won't feel as solid as a German equivalent.

The BMW IX looks (front grill) are starting to warm on me and I know they are meant to be deemed reliable.

I don't know maybe I should bite the bullet and see if I can just buy the e-tron from the lease company for the right money (i mean a lot of it has been replaced now so it's almost a new car lol), if it doesn't go pop or cost anything extensive for 2-3 years then really i've had my monies worth vs leasing costs.

 

[ian.taylor16250]

Just to clarify my comments, I worked at Listers Audi for a while( now at ford) ,my nextdoor neighbour is mechanic at our local Merc dealer, and neighbour 4 doors down is mechanic at BMW dealer. Quite unusual for a road of 35 houses I guess. So we know about each others brand issues.

 

[ferretusmaximus]

Drive train: ICE 2,000 moving parts. EV 20 moving parts. Which has the most points of failure? Modern cars appear to suffer most with software issues which affects both. Whether you get a good one or bad one seems to be a matter of luck especially in the used market as you have no idea how the car was treated by previous owners. EV car ranges are on the increase while ICE decreases which dictates where all the manufacturer investment goes, so hopefully a nice new EV SUV will come along for you soon.

 

[L-EON]

Just to clarify my comments, I worked at Listers Audi for a while( now at ford) ,my nextdoor neighbour is mechanic at our local Merc dealer, and neighbour 4 doors down is mechanic at BMW dealer. Quite unusual for a road of 35 houses I guess. So we know about each others brand issues.

My friend bought one of the first Ford Mustang 5.0 litre V8 Mach 1's in the country when they first came out. Bright Red, Black Racing stripes the whole deal.

When he first had it day 1, he came out of Morrisons to see two police officers in the carpark, Police car park parked next to it and them peering through the windows.

He gingerly approached the car asked if everything was ok, they said yeah we're just admiring the car as they haven't seen on before. When they realised it was his car they asked if they could sit in it and take picture lol.

Anyway my friend doesn't really do a lot of mileage and to be honest I'm not sure why he even bought the car as he's not a massive petrol head, works from home and only really goes to the pub via taxis's.

After about 1 year and 3000 miles the car started making some really bad engine noises, he took it into Ford, they got some engine guy from London over as were obviously fairly concerned by what they thought/heard. After much time without out the car and Ford fairly upset by it all, they replaced the entire engine.

I'm not entirely sure what the actual failure was and they seemed to not really want to give my friend explicit details.

 

[stonekeeper]

Massively incorrect, had many ICE cars with failures and spent a lot of money fixing them, however I've never had a ICE 4.5 year old vehicle with 50k miles thats had a catastrophic failure.*

Edit thinking about it, my Merc CLS 55AMG which was eye wateringly expensive when new, did require a new supercharger after 4.5 years, there was a manufacturing issue with the two £30 bearings that held one of the compressor screws. Merc goodwilled this as were genuinely shocked by the failure and probably reclaimed it form the bearing company.*

**I didn't purchase the car from new and bought it later on, but I guess that untimely it could have been me it failed on.

I had an ICE with 37,000 miles that had a £4,000 dual clutch gearbox failure

 

[L-EON]

Drive train: ICE 2,000 moving parts. EV 20 moving parts. Which has the most points of failure? Modern cars appear to suffer most with software issues which affects both. Whether you get a good one or bad one seems to be a matter of luck especially in the used market as you have no idea how the car was treated by previous owners. EV car ranges are on the increase while ICE decreases which dictates where all the manufacturer investment goes, so hopefully a nice new EV SUV will come along for you soon.

Yeah fully get that, the only thing is, it's all fine and dandy if you are buying something new or well under 8 years old/100k miles as if they motors or batts have an issue no drama warranty time. If you're outside of those parameters and your EV has an issue with the Batts/Motor, its bye bye time for the vehicle.

Example I could buy a 2021/23 e-tron or Merc EQC 400 for £20-25k with 50k miles on it. In 3 years i will have done just over 100k miles. If the batt/Motor goes pop im facing a massive bill/write-off.

Whilst the car seems good value at £20-25k vs the £70-80k+ when new, as soon as it gets to 100k miles or 8 years old, who would really want to buy it, the market price will plummet.

If an ICE car has an issue with its engine, its normally one/a few of the 2000+ parts that's failed, those can be fixed, parts can be sourced and garage labour rates can be chosen from the countless places. Yes it could still cost some dosh. I had to have the valve guides all replaced on my BMW 4.6i.s X5, the parts costs £300 the labour was £1800. At the same time I had them replace a load of other components as they cars engine and everything Infront of it was basically stripped back so made sense.

When an EV motor fails it's like whole new Motor time and you're at the mercy of the manufacturer on the cost of the component and their obvious mega labour rates.

If the batt goes, same story.

Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing EVs, as I've said I've been converted from ICE to EVs and I was a massive petrol head. We've currently got two EVs the e-tron and the ID.3.

I really want to continue with EVs but I also don't want to lose a shed load of money if something goes wrong. There's no way I would burn a guaranteed shed load of money/depreciation buying a new German SUV just to have a failure peace of mind.

Maybe for now the answer is to just do another re-release for a few more years, at least if the car goes wrong its covered.

I do love EVs, I've just always owned my cars and possibly at the moment for what I want it's a bit early with what's available in the used market.

 

[L-EON]

When were cars reliable and cheap to run?

Cars are a lifestyle choice that will cost a big chunk of money and getting them repaired when garages charge over £2 a minute for a trained technician to unplug and put in a new unit that is billed at more than a mobile phone but cost pence to make isnt a sensible purchase.

if you think you can get a car to run for ten years and 100,000 miles without breaking down and spending more on fuel, servicing and repairs than the initial purchase price you need a reality check.

In 1996 my Nova SR, never went wrong and would cost about £20 to fill up.

I bought a 5 year old BMW 330CI M Sport for 10K in 2007, it had 54,000 miles on it. I converted it to LPG when it got to 100,000 miles and I had to go to Oxford Uni every day from Telford.

The car is currently semi-retired and has been sitting on my friends drive since 2021 (always thought one day I'll track it or fully restore it with my son as a project).

It made it to 298,000 miles at the point I retired it. I only retired it as mechanically fine but it was starting to rust a bit at the back and the Mrs was chewing my ear having an old car. Also decided as started working from home I would use my Merc instead of the weekend toy.

The BMW 330CI is still on its original clutch (don't ask me how or why I have no idea how it still worked). The rear exhaust made it to 250,000 miles before it started to blow and I needed to replace it.

I refreshed the suspension on it around the same mileage.

Apart from the exhaust, and some suspension components being replaced it only ever needed a new radiator expansion tank, ABS speed sensors, Brake discs and pads and a new Cam Chain tensioner.

Maybe I should, get the bodywork sorted and see how far/long it can go before something goes majorly wrong.

 

[Parkwood]

As you know was thinking about going EQC 400 next, I'm wondering if I should maybe hold out for a couple a of years and pick up a EQE SUV when the prices are lower.

I hear you on the Model Y, I don't like the looks and I know it just won't feel as solid as a German equivalent.

The BMW IX looks (front grill) are starting to warm on me and I know they are meant to be deemed reliable.

I don't know maybe I should bite the bullet and see if I can just buy the e-tron from the lease company for the right money (i mean a lot of it has been replaced now so it's almost a new car lol), if it doesn't go pop or cost anything extensive for 2-3 years then really i've had my monies worth vs leasing costs.

Well if some of the big ticket items have been sorted it might be worth taking the risk all we can say for sure is any car from any manufacturer can be a lemon. Maybe ask what price they will sell it to you for at least you are buying a known quantity and then you can make a bit more of a risk assessment on that risk re buying an unknown secondhand EQC. I think the secondhand values of the EQE will fall when the GLC comes along and they will represent good value for the luxury they offer. I will say mine is wearing very well the paint finish and interior is such I suspect it will stay looking good for while yet despite my reservations on American build quality.

 

[L-EON]

I’ve had an extended loan of an iPace, 4 years with an eTron 55, 3 years with an i4, now in an EV6. Plenty of ICE cars, mostly Mercedes/ Audi / BMW, before that. The problem is Audi, not EVs. My eTron was hopelessly unreliable and I will never own another Audi. Lovely car, if predictably inefficient, but the number of faults and the appalling service support have put me off the brand for life.

I hear what you're saying about the Audi service, its mote like self-service.

Weirdly just hung up the phone to them trying to get an update about mine that's been with them since last wed. As ever nobody answering the phone (I shouldn't actually have to call them as they were meant to call me yesterday with an update).

My local Audi in Shrewsbury are just too small for the number of customers they have. I can't blame the guys/girls that work there as they are doing their best but ultimately, it's not a good experience for end users/owners.

Over the years I've normally delt with BMW and Mercedes in Shrewsbury, totally different experience. Whilst the Merc dealership is massive in comparison to Audi, the BMW dealer is about the same as Audi yet customer service is way better (maybe less customers so more time who knows lol).

I was fairly sure I was going to get a e-tron 55 next, I'm defo staying away unless I can buy my current one at a really keen price and ill suck up the service experience.

 

[L-EON]

Well if some of the big ticket items have been sorted it might be worth taking the risk all we can say for sure is any car from any manufacturer can be a lemon. Maybe ask what price they will sell it to you for at least you are buying a known quantity and then you can make a bit more of a risk assessment on that risk re buying an unknown secondhand EQC. I think the secondhand values of the EQE will fall when the GLC comes along and they will represent good value for the luxury they offer. I will say mine is wearing very well the paint finish and interior is such I suspect it will stay looking good for while yet despite my reservations on American build quality.

Does the EQE feel much better than the EQC as a fully purpose built EV etc?

I didn't realise Merc had an American factory, assumed they all came from Germany. I would have thought they would still be built/QA'd to the same German tolerances etc?

 

[Noraf142]

Both the EV9 and Ioniq9 have large towing capacity, decent range, and fast charging.
They are big though.

Not sure if the Lucid Gravity will be on any good lease deals, but it might also be a contender.

The french brands i don't think will meet the towing needs, but I'm not 100% on those capacities.
And then you could always go Chinese. Zeekr X7 would be a possibility then. But there are a lot of ev's to choose from

 

[TakeNobodysWordForIt]

You obviously need to go with what you think works best in your circumstances but have you thought if what your strategy would be post 2030 or 2035? Are you expecting the EV experience to become that much better or would you go for picking a good ICE and keep it going. It looks like you've done that before.

 

[L-EON]

You obviously need to go with what you think works best in your circumstances but have you thought if what your strategy would be post 2030 or 2035? Are you expecting the EV experience to become that much better or would you go for picking a good ICE and keep it going. It looks like you've done that before.

I'm assuming I won't make it to 30/35 as will get electrocuted by the EV before then (that's what some FUD said in the pub so it must be true)

Kind of hoping more companies will emerge that can repair EV motors and Batts if you encounter issues, like you can with ICE engines, instead off the default you need a new one at xxxxx price.

If you have someone drive into your beloved EV at the moment and there is structural damage, from what I'm seeing online (maybe this is all FUD sites etc) the default action is to write the vehicle off. The cars are built around the batts, there's not enough places or people qualified to touch them so its bye bye time.

Something needs to change so buying an older higher mileage used EV is not such a gamble if the motor/batt needs fixing.

I'm not sure what the data/numbers are, but there must be a substantial amount of people that do not have the means to buy/lease/PCP a new/nearly new EV/or ICE for that matter, so they need/use older higher mileage vehicles. What are these people going to do when they have a batt/motor issue that out of the 8yr/100k warrenty?

Maybe insurance companies could charge a higher premium and if the car is written off by Batt/Motor they can claim the market value of working model.

hmmmmm i may just have solved the whole problem. If I was insured against it say £250 a year extra on my premium, no issue I would be looking at 100k plus EVs.