£6500 workhorse

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Tue 2 Jun 2015 09:44
£6500 workhorse - olimax

Morning all,

I have around £6500 to buy an estate car for work and personal use. I work as a farm vet and will do around 30,000 miles a year so looking for something fairly low miles (<60,000) to last at least 3 years.

Diesels only obviously.

I'm thinking passat or v70 from around 2006-8 vintage.

Someone also threw a curveball of an accord estate a while ago which I must admit I have no experience of.

I fancy someting a bit bigger than the golf/octavia axis and while I know that mechanically they are reliable, I have seen and driven too many fords in the job to know that the interiors don't stand up to the battering and things do tend to start going on them after around 5 years (though I suppose that is possible for anything really).

Anyone any better suggestions or advice on buying the ones mentioned above?

Many thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Jun 2015 09:59
£6500 workhorse - Bromptonaut

Citroen Berlingo (or its Peugeot sibling?)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Jun 2015 10:33
£6500 workhorse - olimax

Ah yes, apologies. Should have mentioned vans are out due to needing to take more than 1 student around from time to time. Also need the dogs in the car and don't want to put them in a load area.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Jun 2015 10:55
£6500 workhorse - Trilogy

The Berlingo Multispace isn't a van. www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20150509330...p

How about a Subaru Legacy? 4WD estate so perfect for your job .

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Jun 2015 13:08
£6500 workhorse - skidpan

Kia Ceed SW.

We have had one for almost 5 years now and had no issues. Its bigger inside than a Focus, the load area is the same volume as a Mondeo. The 1.6 CRdi is a real peach and over 40,000 miles its averaged 51 mpg in mixed use.

The best parts from your perspective would be the garantee and price. Get one with a full service history (preferably Kia) and you will get the warranty to a full 7 years. As for price they are about the same as a Focus but the extra space and warranty make them a far better buy.

For example ours is a 2010 "60" plate car with 40,000 and since we don't use it as much as we should currently (have 2 other cars and the wife has retired - it only gets used for wifes trips to MIL and holidays) we are thinking of selling it soon. Similar cars at dealer are being listed for about £6800 and privately about £5800.

Perfect for your budget and needs.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Jun 2015 13:19
£6500 workhorse - slkfanboy

I think if my experence of farm tracks and the outdoors is anything to go by, A Kia Ceed of Fucus's suspension would have your brains in mush by the end of the first week!

The Volvo V70 or Subaru forest would be good options. The Volvo would be solid with loads of space and the engine vary capable of high mileage.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Jun 2015 13:18
£6500 workhorse - Bromptonaut

Ah yes, apologies. Should have mentioned vans are out due to needing to take more than 1 student around from time to time. Also need the dogs in the car and don't want to put them in a load area.

I meant the Multispace version of the Berlingo which is a full five seater. IIRC the Pug version is a Partner Teepee.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide