Hi all,
I'm looking for recommendations for a diesel estate and have at most £5k to spend. Economy and size v important to me, toys (eg air con etc) nice but not essential.
Am thinking something like a skoda octavia estate, maybe 99-01 with 90k miles or so on it? Any others worth trying? For some reason I am put off focuses or anything french (bad experience with a xsara a while back) but not for any really good reason. Can anyone give me some decent pointers? Renault Laguna estates any good? See quite a few high milers about. Maybe a high mile Passat estate?
Any tips gratefully received...
Cheers - Jules
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Passat v Octavia, I would go for the Octavia. You will get a newer and lower mileage car yet the underlying engineering is the same.
Laguna - bit more of a gamble, can be very good though if full service history and you get a warranty. 1.9dCi a lovely engine. Check everything works particularly on the higher spec models that have all the toys.
What about a Vectra or Mondeo? General consensus seems to be that the Ford is more reliable but my brother has Vauxhalls and thinks they're very good.
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Like Xileno, I think your first choice of Skoda is a sound one although I'm not sure the Octavia is really a "big" estate as I think it is based on the Golf not the Passat floorpan and you say size is important. The Laguna isn't that big either - the Megane estate has more space. If you're considering French then I might be tempted to look at the 406 which is good value and they come well equipped but a bit more of a risk. The Mondeo is big but you might struggle to get the TDCi (best avoid the TDDi) engine at £5K. As economy is your other key criteria then the VW engines will give you better mpg which leads back to Skoda. Let us know how you get on.
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Hi Jules, all sensible thinking and choices, the Octavia is on the Bora platform so is a tad bigger than the Golf, and in estate version is nearly as big as the Audi A6 avant.
Have you thought about an old shape Astra estate? Obviously not as big as a Vectra/Mondeo, but they depreciate like flaming Zeppelins and you should be able to get one with a lower mileage then the Octavia. I *think* the 1.7 TDi is a development of the Isuzu unit, and therefore is pretty well developed, and should do all that you require without fuss or excitement. There's a 2.0 tdi too.
I've got the 1.8 16v petrol Astra estate, the Barchetta being less adapted for the baby on the way, and am really pleased with it, particularly at the price (99/T, 84k, 2400 pounds).
Good luck whatever you do. The guys on the site will give you some v.sound advice - just watch out for Renault Family's blinkered love of all things French.....(only kidding RF)
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>The Mondeo is big but you might struggle to get the TDCi (best avoid the TDDi) engine at £5K.
Nice looking 51 115ps TDCi estate on Autotrader with a Birmingham dealer, asking for £5250, and only 65k.
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Hmm. My old man has got that engine in his Mondeo estate, Duratorq I think it's called, and it ain't a patch on the 130ps motor. Really spoils the car IMHO. Not as economical either.
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Plenty of C5 HDIs for that price.
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Hey guys thanks for all the advice. Hadn't thought about 406 or Astra estates, will have a look. I've heard there are big reliability issues with the Mondeo diesel engines, but then again you hear reliability problems about all cars if you listen only to the people that had those problems.
I'm going to have a look at an Octavia tdi estate tomorrow, will let you know how I get on. They seem to hold their value pretty well though so I'm not sure they are *such* a good buy for the money. 5k only just gets me a private one and I'm not sure whether I want to buy private again, no warranty etc. or go dealer.
There's a nice looking 90k miles golf estate on auto trader at the moment though for 4.75k which I might go and look at as well - we'll see.
Thanks again!
Jules
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Hi all,
Got an Octavia in the end. £5200, 2000W, 80k TDI, goes very nicely, got it from an independent dealer. Drives a very great deal better than a £4750 99T Passat TDI that I drove on Sunday and also much better than a £5000 99T Golf TDI that I took for a spin yesterday.
Nice car, I'm happy. My 50 min commute to work today, avg 9mph (love london traffic) got nearly 40mpg, the old XJR would struggle to get 10mpg in similar conditions. OK so it's a different driving experience but in the interest of saving money, the move I think is a good one.
Cheers - Jules
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>The Mondeo is big but you might struggle to get the TDCi (best avoid the TDDi) engine at £5K.
The TDDi is OK, more refined than the Vauxhall DTi for instance.
Nice looking 51 115ps TDCi estate on Autotrader with a Birmingham dealer, asking for £5250, and only 65k.
A 51 plate would be either a 130 TDCi or a 115 TDDi, the 115 TDCi was not introduced until later in 2002, at that price it is probably a 115 TDDi.
Agree re Vectras and Astras though I would go for a petrol if a Vauxhall of that age. A Vectra CDX or SRi estate 2001-02 could be good value and well equipped.
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