Best estate car for a £2,500 budget?

I'm far from an expert on cars so I'm struggling to whittle down options for a used estate car.

I'm a musician driving about 15,000 miles a year. I'd like a petrol car as a lot of jobs are in London. I don't have that much gear to carry so the boot space I need is more for my family (two kids under two) and cage for my dog, so boot doesn't have to be huge but sufficient. I realise it's not much of a budget but I've been looking at the BMW 3 Series Touring Estate, Audi Avant both around 2004ish which seems to be where my budget lands for a car with around 100,000 miles on the clock.

Times are tough so I need to spend my budget wisely as my current car (2003 Renault Laguna estate) is a nightmare and always something going wrong.

Asked on 30 August 2022 by Adam Sosner

Answered by Andrew Brady

Unfortunately your £2,500 budget won't go very far in the current (inflated) market. If you're careful, though, and don't scrimp on servicing and maintenance costs, you should be able to find a reliable and practical family car within budget. We'd recommend searching for private sales of estate cars near you and not necessarily concentrating too much on a particular model - you'd be better buying on condition and service history at this price point. It's probably worth avoiding premium brands like Audi and BMW, though - they're no more reliable than mainstream alternatives and your budget won't go as far. A petrol Toyota Avensis could be a sensible purchase, if you can find one, or a Honda Accord.

Tags: family estate buying a used car buying an estate estate cars

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