Welcome to the topsy-turvy used car market of 2021, where values for most vehicles are on the up and demand for pre-abused vans is hysterically high.
Now, I know that you don’t come here for light commercial vehicle updates, but I’ve been working with the trades a lot recently. In particular, a plumbing relative went from an MOT-fail Ford Transit to an emergency Ford Transit Connect. The truth is that a diddy Connect doesn’t have space for all the stuff that such a tradesman needs.
Tempted as I am to recommend MPVs that could double as a van with windows, let’s not go in that boring direction. He’s a plumber and he’s loaded, so I reckon he should buy a new van and something he can really enjoy on his rare days off.
I’m thinking a cabriolet: a great big, large-engined, wonderfully indulgent motor in which he won’t have to worry about getting copper pipes stuck under his feet.
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How about a BMW 6 Series Convertible? These are rather affordable now, and our plumber can certainly afford the £8995 that will get him into a 2004 645 CSi with just 50,000 miles. Everything is standard, the mileage is warranted and it has a full service history. It’s not the cheapest one, but then you wouldn’t want that.
He might really want a Jaguar, though. I seem to be stumbling over many an XJS at the moment, and these are on the classic rise. They can be a pile of trouble, so you want one without any gaps in its history.
Care and a physical inspection are needed, but as an initial online swoop, a 1987 5.3 V12 looked fairly fabulous. The dealer’s website has no fewer than 100 photos to flick through. The mileage is a fairly marginal 56,000 and the fuel bills won’t faze the plumber, nor will all that pipework if it ever needs fixing. It even has a factory rear hard top, which isn’t just rare but also looks great and makes the car so much easier to use all year round. A £12,500 asking price is eminently reasonable.
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Had an hour with a BMW 630i about 14 yrs ago, I liked it, but really needed four proper seats, now that I'm almost passenger free in the rear, maybe something like this would be fun.
Ooooh. Brave pills needed for a diesel engine that has only done 10k a year and is well known to go badly wrong.