More Car Advice Please

[ADB]

I know we have done this before for certain smaller cars, but I need some advice on a few things and knowing we had a few people here 'in the know' regarding motors it's worth a shot:

I am handing back my company car in January and taking the cash and with two young kids was looking for an estate car in the region of £10k. I have a VW Touran at the mo and although it is useful spacewise, god is it boring to drive.

I suppose I could manage with a decent hatchback, but prefer an estate for flexibility.

There is one proviso, no Skoda's.....I know, I know but I just can't

I do about 20k miles per year both work and domestically.

Finally, any pointers about buying a second hand car would come in useful

Thanks in advance

 

[viscount17]

http://www.motors.co.uk/used/cars/toyota/avensis/bodystyle/estate/year/2007

Avensis are bullet proof - won't set the world alight

 

[Smiffy]

I know that you said "No" but to ignore something like this is a mistake. Trust me.
http://www.buyyourcar.co.uk/used-car/skoda/octavia/aol_1_554501.aspx

I wouldn't hesitate in buying one if I needed a load lugger.

 

[ADB]

Smiffy, thanks - I know head has to rule over heart when you are buying rather than taking a company car so will give this a closer look.

Viscount - the Avensis looks a decent choice....thanks





no votes for mercs, audis or beemers???

 

[USER1999]

No.

Have had 8 or 9 beemers (mainly 3 series), most from new, and they are nothing but a pain in the wallet. Fun to drive, yes, but they eat suspension bushes, and their extended warranty (which used to be the best around) is hideously expensive. They are overly complex, and not very reliable. Friend of mine had a 530 diesel, and the engine popped at 50k. Not much of an advert.

Audis I have a lot of time for, but fun to drive? No. Not had much experience of the modern ones (had a couple of older A4s, and have driven an A6), but had an old Coupe, which was a great car.

Mercs? Expensive to buy, and not the quality they used to be. Mine was old, I admit (although I bought it 3 years old), but the tin worm had really got into it. Other than the rust, I loved it, and did near 200k in my E class estate. Very prectical car, and fun to drive for a big car. Repair bills killed it in the end.
Merc dealers charge unbelievable money to even look at the car. £850 for a service? You are taking the p.

I wouldn't go French or Italian either as resale values are low, as is reliablity.

Volks Passat is always a solid performer.

 

[ADB]

Thanks Murph - must admit a Merc E Series around 2003/4 was on my radar as I like the look and my Dad had one that went round the clock a couple of times. As you mentioned, the running costs could be eye-watering though..

 

[GB72]

Not the most exciting option but what about the good old Mondeo. Cheap to buy, not expensive to fix, reliable and a decent amount of kit in them. Even the boot on the non estate model is huge.

If you are looking for fun to drive, I used to have the ST version and it was great.

 

[bigslice]

if you like the build quality of the vw group cars, then it would be silly to discount skoda. my uncle changed from a 53 passat to the jetta. inside the same space. looked in the new passat inside bigger. jetta less heavy than passat and you will get a good one for less than 10k. also for a bit of fun DSG gearbox(has launch control)
in the classifieds of vw driver there is 2003 plate passat 4 litre W8 4motion tiptronic estate 40000 miles for 7k. 275bhp limited to 164mph

 

[MikeH]

I wouldnt profess to be 'in the know' in an MWJ or smiffy way but on personal experience I would have to put a shout in the Volvo XC60.
Good looker, loads of space in the back and boot, well kitted out, decent economy and good residuals
I switched up to an XC90 in July (more space but hideous economy and not as good a drive) but defintely going to go back to a XC60 next year
Prior to the Volvo my previous 6 cars before that were all Audis (A4 and A6 avants and an allroad) and I thought I would never drive anything else but an Audi but the Volvos have been really impressive

 

[ADB]

I wouldnt profess to be 'in the know' in an MWJ or smiffy way but on personal experience I would have to put a shout in the Volvo XC60.
Good looker, loads of space in the back and boot, well kitted out, decent economy and good residuals
I switched up to an XC90 in July (more space but hideous economy and not as good a drive) but defintely going to go back to a XC60 next year
Prior to the Volvo my previous 6 cars before that were all Audis (A4 and A6 avants and an allroad) and I thought I would never drive anything else but an Audi but the Volvos have been really impressive

Thanks for the recommendation Mike, that looks like a nice car.............shame it's only about £15k over budget

note to self.....need a better job

 

[Smiffy]

Viscount - the Avensis looks a decent choice....thanks

We have the franchise. Very reliable. Not bad looking. Lots of kit. But about as exciting as a dishwasher.

S-K-O-D-A.
Like going over to Ping, it just seems wrong. But then when you weigh up all the pros and cons it's a logical choice.

 

[surefire]

Merc dealers charge unbelievable money to even look at the car. £850 for a service? You are taking the p.

Just curious, but what dealership was this?

I go to Mercedes Benz of Guildford, which I would expect to be pretty high up on the expense scale, being in the depths of stockbroker belt Surrey, but I have never paid even close to this sort of money for a service.

Also if you do go for a Merc over 5 years old, you get free MOTs and 10% off parts and 40% off labour charges. Not sure how freely the dealerships advertise this though, so might be a case of don't ask, don't get.

As a disclaimer, I am not a car expert or recommending anything, just point out some details which may (or more likely) may not be useful!

 

[USER1999]

The dealer would have been Watford, about 8 years ago. It didn't see much of the dealerships after that. Nice car. If it wasn't for the rust, I would probably still have it. E300TDS Estate. Couldn't afford one this time around. Silly money.

 

[thecraw]

Volvo V50, get plenty of car for your money with your budget.

Mazda 6? Getting a bit dated looking now perhaps?

Mondeo, great car for the money, christ even Clarkson couldn't fault it.

 

[haplesshacker]

I'd profess to know nothing about cars, (je, I want a TVR for God's sake!).

But there is some sense here regarding the Skoda Octavia estate. Not my choice of estate, I don't like the rakish rear end. Either it's an estate or a coupe, not something inbetween. But that's just my opinion. Other than that it's a good car. Lots of toys on it as well when compared to the opposition.

Volvo V50 ecomotion or whatever it's called. Cheap on tax and fuel, and more poke than you'd imagine. But flipping small inside, think BMW 3 series issues.

If it were me. The Volvo V70 would be on the radar. Okay, not the most exciting to drive, but do seem to hold their value quite well, and with the right engine, can get a reasonable mpg as well. The thing about them is that it's classless, without looking dated overnight.

I looked at Audi's, Alfa's, VW's, Skoda's, Mondeo's, etc. And what suited me best was the V70. It's the most comfortable car I have driven, both in terms of seats and cabin noise. But, of course, one man's meat etc.

Good luck finding something anyway.

 

[full_throttle]

with a £10k budget you may be lucky and pick up one like this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201028363482799

 

[ADB]

I'd profess to know nothing about cars, (je, I want a TVR for God's sake!).

But there is some sense here regarding the Skoda Octavia estate. Not my choice of estate, I don't like the rakish rear end. Either it's an estate or a coupe, not something inbetween. But that's just my opinion. Other than that it's a good car. Lots of toys on it as well when compared to the opposition.

Volvo V50 ecomotion or whatever it's called. Cheap on tax and fuel, and more poke than you'd imagine. But flipping small inside, think BMW 3 series issues.

If it were me. The Volvo V70 would be on the radar. Okay, not the most exciting to drive, but do seem to hold their value quite well, and with the right engine, can get a reasonable mpg as well. The thing about them is that it's classless, without looking dated overnight.

I looked at Audi's, Alfa's, VW's, Skoda's, Mondeo's, etc. And what suited me best was the V70. It's the most comfortable car I have driven, both in terms of seats and cabin noise. But, of course, one man's meat etc.

Good luck finding something anyway.

Thanks Hapless - I was actually going to get a V50 as a company car before I chose the Touran - but the internal size put me off. I think they are based on a ford focus chassis so did feel a little cramped.

The V70 is a choice, although I have to weigh up whether I need that much space on a day-to-day basis. Out of interest, what would be the engine of choice for best MPG?

 

[haplesshacker]

I won't profess to being up to speed on current engine specs etc. But my friends V50 ecomotion type diesel is very good on MPG, but I think it's a recent range so you'll be unlikely to pick anything up. Though I could be wrong.

Diesel is obviously the more frugal, but if you're only doing very short journeys it won't make any difference over a petrol.

I've got the 5 cylinder 2,4 auto petrol. And gee, is it thirsty. 21 mpg for my short little hoops (very short!), but on a long run I can get 35 out of it.

It would make the TVR seem eco friendly!!

 

[MikeH]

sorry snaphook, I didnt read your original post closley enough ref budget
Two of my Audi A6 Avants were under £10k when I bought them and while you'd probably get more for your money elsewhere the Avants are really well built and from my experience v relaible. In fact there was agreat piece in Audi driver magazine with Audi ownders whose diesls had all done well in excess of 150k miles and were still running great
just had a quick look on autotrader and there's some good stuff out there - 10K seems to get you an 2.0 TDI on an 06 plate with 80-100k on the clock like this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/a.../1501?logcode=p

 

[USER1999]

I replaced my Merc recently, in a hurry, as it was dead. I always have a big estate car, and I would normally have looked at Mercs and Audis. This time round I only had about 12k to spend, and that seems to equate to around 100k mileage (ok, this isn't much for these cars, but still seems alot, considering I do quite high mileage).

So I bought a Chrysler 300C touring. £12k, for a 4 year old, 34k miles, in black.

I wanted the fire breathing 6.2 litre petrol, but these are as rare as hens teeth. They are also pretty terrible on fuel consumption, making Haplesses Volvo look parsimonious. given that I have done over 10k miles since May, I would have been bankrupt by now. Luckily there were none for sale when I wanted one.

So I bought the diesel. 3 Litre turbo. Plenty of power, a really nice noise (unusual for a diesel). I get 30 mpg normally, and up to 35 on a run (should be more, but if I am on a run, I drive pretty fast, and it isn't the most aerodynamic thing ever made).

The down side is, it's a Chrysler, who have a terrible reputation for reliability. The plastics used inside are cheap. The build quality isn't great. It is the worst car I have ever driven (by far), in terms of handling and feed back. It is HUGE, and difficult to park, with a very poor turning circle. The interior is much smaller than the exterior. It won't fit in a garage, unless you have a huge garage to match. Mine's 5 metres long, and is not long enough. Oh, and it looks like a hearse.

The up side is that it is imposing to look at (ok, I'll accept pig ugly, but it grows on you), very, very well equiped, very comfy (think over stuffed armchair comfy), pretty quiet, the engine is fantastic. And it has now only done 44k.

I have had to have my drive widened so it fits, but would have done this sometime anyway.

I have no idea where I can get it serviced, or what it will cost. It has stupid big tyres which will cost a mint. That said, as mine only has the poor mans 18" rims, it at least copes with Londons pot holes, as opposed to the 22" rims on the 6.2 (Note wifey has just bent a rim on her Beamer which will not be cheap).

Not sure where this is going, as I can't really recommend a 300C, for so many of the reasons above, but....

I love this car.