Hi All
I'm looking to buy an estate with about a 6K budget.
So far I'm considering a Volvo V40, a Pug 406, or a Focus.
Anyone got any opinions, or other recommendations.
I would prefer a diesel due to economy, but an economical petrol could suffice.
Thanks in advance.
Carl
|
406 is far and away the biggest, Focus will handle the best althought the 406 isn't bad. As for the Volvo, er, well never been in one so can't comment - sorry.
Focus economical (old TDDi presumably at the price) but very unrefined. Pug should be better but reliability might be an issue judging by my own.
What about a Toyota Avensis? - even the petrol ones are pretty economical (I used to get over 40mpg from a 1.8 hatch), and reliability seems to be good.
|
The V40 is one of the worst jokes in the industry. Designed by the swedish, built by the dutch using parts from Mitsubish and Renault. Shocking ride, poor finish, unreliable, expensive to run and own. Look nice though.
Focus v. 406 Just one question, why not the Mondeo? You'll get more for your money, although running costs will be higher than for a Focus. Certainly the 406 has a patchy record on reliability. A friend forked out the best part of £6k for a highish miles 3yr old and has so far had the head rebuilt, a new turbo and countless niggles.
Agree with the suggestion of looking at an Avensis. Also consider the Primera if you can find one.
|
The V40 is one of the worst jokes in the industry. Designed by the swedish, built by the dutch using parts from Mitsubish and Renault. Shocking ride, poor finish, unreliable, expensive to run and own. Look nice though.
A friend has a T-Reg V40. Ride a bit harsh (I like nice soft French cars) and rear seats rather cramped, but otherwise v comfortable and seems nicely fnished -- and gorgeous to look at and easy to drive.
|
|
Have a look in the car by car breakdown......
|
|
What about a newer Xsara HDI Estate?
|
|
|
|
|
Someone at work had gearbox problems on a W reg 1.8 Avensis, the gearbox started crunching shifts in 4th and then a couple of months later punched a hole in the gearbox casing. Found that most second hand gearboxes were also faulty! Generic problem?
|
From car-by-car breakdown (really must think of a better name than that...) for the Avensis
Some reports of premature clutch and gearbox failures.
No Dosh
mailto:Alan_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
|
|
Old shape Primera Estate. 1.8 gives approx 40mpg combined. Should be able to get a late 2001 model for 6K. Good drive, good reliability and i think it is chain cam.
|
|
How important is load space? The Astra is cavernous.
|
|
|
|
I have a 98R Avensis estate which has been excellent. It now has 108K and no problems at all. Very quiet, V good economy - only downside is the handling which isn't the best.
As for the gearbox problems - there are lots of Avensises around and there hasn't been any talk of it on here.
MB
|
|
MB. Just diversifying from the subject a bit,but just as a matter of interest ,what brand oil/oil filter are you using on your Avensis.
|
No Dosh - 3 posts and not even a MENTION of the Alfa sport wagon - you really are slacking :-) (or are you just keeping them to your self? My mate used to have a 145 Cloveleaf, and really regrets selling it - 5 years on! It went like stink, but drank like a fish with diabetes :-)))
To the original poster - if you like driving do NOT buy an Avensis - the handling is truly awful! Oh, and is that a Toyota with a reliability problem - oh, no it's 01/04!!
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
|
No Dosh - 3 posts and not even a MENTION of the Alfa sport wagon - you really are slacking :-)
He wants an estate car. The definition of the 156 sportwagon is 5door sports coupe ;o)
|
|
|
|
I use Toyota filters and the semi-synth oil that they told me to use.
Thinking about the gearbox problem - I was wondering at what mileage the one mentioned above had gone at - I suspect that if you buy a high mileage/ 3 year old car - any weakness in that area would have shown itself up by then...but that maybe nonsense?
MB
|
|
MB. Thanks for your reply. What I was really interested in was the actual brand of oil you use/recommended.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I agree with Artful Dodger re 406. It's a lot of car for the money and handling is good - but ask yourself if you really need all that space? It is the longest in its class - or any class I suspect - and a bit of a handful in multi-storey c/parks and the like. HDi is very smooth and economical, pleasure to drive if performance isn't important, but it does not seem to me to be screwed together very well - quality of finish is a let-down for what is otherwise an excellent car. (Plus point is that it tows well, in spite of limited power.)
I think my next purchase will be an Octavia - no more Pugs I'm afraid. 87K (most of which paid for by firm before I bought it) has taught me this!
Hope you find something to suit.
|
|
|
|
Hi Carl,
My brother has had a Skoda Octavia TDI 110 estate as a company car for 2 years and has been delighted with it. 50mpg+, excellent performance, tidy handling and faultless reliability to date. He considers the Octavia an ideal practical family workhorse and reccommends it to anyone looking for a mid-size estate.
|
|
OK Correct me if I'm wrong here.. but I was of the impression that Volvo estates are the one's to go for in terms of reliability spaciousness and driveability: IE, 850 V70. Are these not very good vehicles all round or would anyone disagree for whatever reasons?
|
OK Correct me if I'm wrong here.. but I was of the impression that Volvo estates are the one's to go for in terms of reliability spaciousness and driveability: IE, 850 V70. Are these not very good vehicles all round or would anyone disagree for whatever reasons?
Nowt wrong with them, if rather expensive to run. The V40 on the other hand is a Mitsubishi Carisma* estate with a Volvo badge on it and, in TD guise, a Renault engine.
(* Somebody had a laugh in the marketing dept that afternoon)
|
Sorry to be boring but the answer has to be Mondeo if you want real estate car capcity, value for money and an element of fun. I'm on my second 2 litre petrol and both have been faultless over 140,000 miles, servicing is cheap even at ford dealers, as are parts, but you'll rarely need them.
Mine always seems to return around 33mpg no matter the style of driving, so I don't think it is worth paying the extra for a diesel.
Buy one a year old and run it for 3 or 4 years and you can't go wrong.
Cheers
MPZ
|
WOW - What a response!
Thanks for all the pointers, although I'm rather dissapointed to hear the V40 is not as good as i first thought, as it's my prefered choice. I thought they were supposed to be built to last and extra strong etc etc. How about one from Volvo Cars website that offers a full 12 month warranty and complete check before being sold, that must be ok surely!!!
I'll have to look into the Avensis and Mondeo estates to see if i like them.
Cheers
Carl
|
Hmmm. The 'economy' word so no mention of the Subaru Legacy.If by economy you mean purely mpg then you won't better 33mpg which my 2.0 delivers consistently, on average, over a wide range of driving conditions.If you are driving in excess of 20k per annum then look elsewhere.
If you factor in other'economies'such as reliability,purchase at three years old, and run for the same length of time, then depreciation becomes a minor issue.Most spare parts, (if required!) can be sourced away from main dealers, although insurance costs can be heavy dependant upon your NCD and age.
Worth doing some back of envelope sums before dismissing out of hand.
Good luck with your choice.
|
|
|
|
Mine always seems to return around 33mpg no matter the style of driving, so I don't think it is worth paying the extra for a diesel.
Hmm, if the diesel averages 44mpg, it would use over a thousand gallons less over the same mileage. That's a saving of almost £4,000
Surely the petrol-engined car would have to be an awful lot cheaper to justify the extra fuel costs? Diesels generally hold their value better too, so the extra purchase cost shouldn't be written off.
There may be other reasons to choose petrol engines, but it seems to me that at this sort of mileage they must work out a lot more expensive.
|
|
How many years are you talking about? 20,000 miles - 33vs44mpg the difference is 151gallons (£550) per annum.
|
How many years are you talking about? 20,000 miles - 33vs44mpg the difference is 151gallons (£550) per annum.
I just used zarqon's figure of 140,000 miles -- should have quoted it.
On your figures, that'd be 550 X 7 = £3850, which is about the figure I calaculated -- I put it at "almost £4,000"
|
Ah. Thank you for the clarification. When you read as many posts as I do in a day, it can become a bit of a blur at times!
Sorry......
[slinks off into corner]
No Dosh
mailto:Alan_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
|
|
|
|
Didn't he do 2x140k miles, so £8k?
|
Just to clarify, I've done 140k miles over 5 years in 2 Mondeo 2.0 litre petrols. It would seem that on fuel alone I could have saved £4kish over 5 years, but geiven the servicing and the higher purchase cost (borrowing more money - paying more interest etc.)I was happy to stick with petrol. Also the older Mondeo diesels never got good reviews.
Now when the current one (2000x with 60k on the clock) has done another couple of years service I might be tempted to go diesel as the new TDCi's look pretty good - on the other hand I'd really like a ST220 (oh the constant battle of head v heart).
Cheers
MPZ
|
FWIW I get approximately 8-10 mpg less in my Mondeo than I would have in the TD Xantia.
Xantia: 50mpg on the Motorways, Mondeo 42mpg.
Xantia: 33-34mpg around town, Mondeo 26-27mpg.
Although i tend to use the aircon all the time with the Mondeo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How about a nissan primera they always get good write up's just a bit boring.
|
What about a Mitsubishi Galant estate (Legnum). Very popular over here. Available in 1800GDI, 2.4GDI, 2.5 V6 normally aspirated and VR-4 2.5 twin turbo intercooled 4WD with ABS, TC, AYC etc. Honest John rates the VR-4 as \"amazing\" and \"fast and safe\". Very pleased with mine, replaced a Eunos 800 (Xedos 9) as we needed an estate. More like a long, spacious comfortable sports car (260 bhp).
Pete M
|
Mondeo estate is a huge car - not the most practical thing to have around town especilly in multi-storey car parks or for parallel parking. Focus estate is much under-rated as is current-shape Astra estate which is saddled with not a particularly wonderful diesel engine although most of the petrols are fine. V40 estate is OK if you get a good one and if you don't mind those who are biased/biggoted against them - the 850 and V70 are much bigger and considerably more expensive to insure. If you want to take a risk how about a late, last-shape Laguna estate - a bit different to the 406 which itself is a fine car. There is a huge choice of different estates available, so decide just how much space/how big a car you want before narrowing your choice down further.
Good luck and happy hunting!
|
V40 estate is OK if you get a good one and if you don't mind those who are biased/biggoted against them.
What, like those that imply there are many out there that aren't "good ones"?
LOL
It doesn't depreciate faster than any other Volvo for nothing you know.
ND
|
|
Surprised nobody has mentioned the A6. 6 speed Turbo diesel for economy?
|
"Surprised nobody has mentioned the A6. 6 speed Turbo diesel for economy"
A tad expensive 2nd hand compared to Mondeo, Focus or S40.
I'd suggest you consider what the relative importance for you is of the factors discussed (price, loadspace, economy, ease-of-parking, reliability, image etc).
BTW loved ND's comment on the Sportwagon. I once, in the space of an hour, had identical conversations with an Alfa dealer and a Lexus dealer:
Peter: "The back seats need to be big enough to take a rabbit hutch."
Dealer: "What about one of those then?" (pointing)
Peter: "Mrsb doesn't like estate cars."
Dealer: (Indignant) "That's not an estate, that's a Sportswagon/Sportscross!"
|
Likewise Audi don't make estate cars. They make Avants.
PoloGirl! Get in here and explain this marketting/PR nonsense again, would you?
|
And the early 100 Avants don't look like estates either.
Not sure I understand your comments, Peter. You can buy an A6 for 6k if you want. (You can buy one for considerably less, too, come to that. In fact you can get a fully loaded A8 for under 6k, complete with polished chrome alloys.) It's just that you get a slightly older car for that amount of money; one that has proved its worth through doing more miles... The only criteria were that he had 6k, and wanted an estate. No requirements as to age/mileage etc.
|
|
|
Likewise Audi don't make estate cars. They make Avants. PoloGirl! Get in here and explain this marketting/PR nonsense again, would you?
I'm sure that she has already been required to take the Marketers' Oath, and would be subjected to a painful and lingering death if she were to reveal anything without payment of a very large sum of money.
Now, wasn't there someone here whose bags of gold are lying idle after he decided not to invest his in a new Audi? Maybe PoloGirl could be paid the fee after after all ... {grin}
|
|
|
|
|
