4x4 estate car

I am looking to buy an estate car that is 4x4 and diesel, I have somewhere between £10000 and £13000 to spend. I seem to be looking at either a Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer or Outback or Skoda Octavia Estate 4x4 or Skoda Octavia Scout or possibly an Audi A4 Avant Quattro.

It seems the car I'm looking at in that price range will have 40000 to 60000 miles on the clock but depending on which make the registration dates will vary! I generally do somewhere between 25000 and 30000 miles each year.

Can you help with which of these cars gives better value when it comes to running costs, service costs and parts costs? Also very importantly, which vehicle will give me solid reliability?

Asked on 14 July 2011 by Pumori

Answered by Honest John
The original Legacy diesel had a few dual mass flywheel and diesel particulate filter problems but I haven't heard of them recently (probably because so few were sold). With Audis the price is 25% status, so not the best value for money. The Octavia Scout has the usual VAG diesel engine and dual mass flywheel problems but might be your best bet.
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