Top Gear Monday evening:  the guys had £6,995 to spend on the UK’s cheapest car, a Nissan Pixo or something. They said, hang on, what’s available second hand for the same money?

Answer?  A Mercedes CL600  V12  2 door coupe:

and a BMW 850 Ci V8 2 door coupe:

For less than £7,000 or $12,000 !  I’ve never been aware of the BMW 850 before, but I fell instantly in love. I want one.

But another web site showed close ups of the chosen car – bit tatty. Broken grille, paint damage, deteriorating rubbers, oily engine etc. But I’m sure if you paid a bit more you’d get a good one.  The Merc? Looked good, but all Mercs look the same and they’re common around here. No thanks.

I wonder if you could go to the UK, buy a car, tour around in it for two or three months, put it into storage with a friend, go home, go back after the required 12 months of ownership and bring it home tax free?  I can dream.

A V12 version is available too. 
Expensive to service and fix though.

Btw, that was Series 17, episode 3 which went to air in Britain in 2011. We only get it at the end of 2013.