I currently drive an 04 Leon 130 TDI bought almost a year ago with c.10k on the clock - have topped 30k miles this year and this will continue for the forseeable future as my job involves a lot of driving.
Problem -Love the car but a 5 month old baby has proved what a bad choice on the practicality front this car was last year.
1 - boot space nowhere near enough to comfortably fit in buggy and other travel essentials on a trip. Frequent trips to London for few days at a time has brought this into sharp focus. The car effectively becomes a 3 seater as luggage spills over onto the rear passenger set.
2- leg room for the front seat passenger woeful when the baby seat is installed behind. My partner tops 6" and is desperately uncomfotable on any trips of 15 miles or more.
Am leaning towards a diesel estate - as being able to put buggy in lengthways would be a joy, along with other luggage.
No finance outstanding on the Leon - I paid cash. I am undure what I would pick up part-ex - rear OS door has a dent in it which I have been quoted £600 to repair - but I have £1500 on top of what I will get in part-ex to purchese the right car this time.
I know this is not the best way to run a car, and I am going to be losing heavily on the deal, but I think I will just have to put this one down as a lesson learnt.
Your suggestions for suitable vehicles within this budget to look at would be great. has to be a diesel due to heavy mileage that I get through.
Thanks
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There may be some reasonab le deals on the old Passat TDi Estates around about now if you want to stay with VAG cars, plenty of room I would imagine and good for motorway use. Someone who posts occasionally here uses a Passat estate to do circa 100,000 miles per year!
If you're not keen on that then there is the obligatory Mondeo Estate, cheap to buy nearly new, roomy, good drive and well respected engine. (If I didn't suggest it someone else would)
How old are you willing to go with your purchase? It might make a difference to what a re reasonable suggestions, I'm assuming you mightn't want anything much older than an 04 reg...
Blue
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Ideally don't want to go older than an 04 reg. I like VAG cars, but am flexible.
Would be willing to go back further if I was getting exceptionally good value.
Thanks
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Hmm, how much is the Leon worth in part ex? £8k? I would think a Passat estate would be ideal, if not maybe a slightly older Volvo V70? Ideal load lugger, comfy etc...
Or how about a top spec Primera Estate, 2.2Dci?
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My partner tops 6" (six foot I hope !)
Easy - Vauxhall Signum. No doubt someone will be along in a minute to suggest a Mondeo TDiDiDCCii or whatever ;-)
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Never fear, I am here to offer the predictable suggestion of a Mondeo Ghia X TDCi 130 Estate or hatch.
Fits everything - great turbodiesel engine, reliable, good to drive, nice interior and absolutely loaded with kit - cruise, climate, heated and air conditionined leather interior, CD changer, basically everything you need and a pile of stuff you never knew you needed.
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All these suggestions are very helpful. I think I need to focus in more carefully on budget though.
Basically I have a maximum cost to change of £1500 against my 04 Leon. I think £8k is realistically the most I can expect so that would give me a £9500 ceiling, if 8k is achieved. I don't want to take any finance even for a grand or two.
I am not exactly Mr Asseritve at the showrom and I reckon I have paid over the odds mopre often than not on all of my cars.
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The word "focus" might be the clue here. I've used these as work rleated hire cars.
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Ah misposted, meant to say plenty of boot space, a nice MK5 Astra another choice, probably cheaper than the Focus..
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Peugeot 306/406 estate with a good HDi engine?
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"2002 02 CITROEN C5 2.2 HDi Exclusive SE Estate 5 Door Estate
Hurrican Grey, 44500 Miles, 1 Registered Keeper, Remote Central Locking, Electric Windows, Electric Sunroof, Electric Mirrors, ABS, Traction Control, Air Conditioning, Climate Control, Power Steering, Drivers Airbag, Passenger Airbag, Side Airbags, Cruise Control, Immobiliser, Full Leather Interior, Alloy Wheels,Colour Sat Navigation UKs LARGEST SELECTION OF CITROEN C5s, £9250 "
Any good?????
Citroen centre
www.citroencentre.co.uk/#
I have no connection with this firm other than having bought a car from them (and received good service) about 3 years ago.
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Phil
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Nearly 10 grand for a four year old C5!!!!!!
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Quite a few there for about £7k ish also - I just quoted the first I came across (which does at least have plenty of bits and bobs and only 44k miles). Anyway - is a C5 worth considering?
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Phil
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Regarding the dent on the door - maybe there is a ding doctor near you who could pop it out for less than the 600 quid quoted. I think there is a list of specialists on the FAQ section.
Good luck with the change of motor.
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"Peugeot 306/406 estate with a good HDi engine?"
The 406 won?t solve the baby seat problem. We?ve got two baby seats in the back (of my 406), I?m six-two and I find it a real problem. My wife?s tall too, she has to sit so far forward she can?t get the glove box open.
How about a 607, acres bigger and well within budget?
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Not the most dynamic choice but the 607 is a real mile muncher on the motorways.
An English neighbour of my folks in the south of France has one - the 2.2dti - and loves it - on the autoroute at least!
The boot is simply colossal too, at least for a saloon.
It´s not liked on this forum though.
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It?s not liked be the UK market in general which does mean great bargains
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Mazda6 estate with highly praised and apparently very handy/practical one-touch rear seat collapsing mechanism called "Karakuri", as far as I remember. Check out HJ's road test and CBCB on left.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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How about the Leon's slightly larger and frumpier sibling, the Skoda Octavia? Buggies do fit in lengthways, and you'll feel at home behind the wheel as it's pretty similar.
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Decent enough C5 diesel estates can be found for £4-5k - less for older high mileage examples. They're massive and very practical but maybe not eveyones cup of tea.
A big factor in options is what age and mileage you are prepared to go to.
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Certainly some suggestions to get my teeth into here.
To answer the questions - am prepared to go back to 02 I think - mileage up to a max of 50k. Don't want to be in the situation of having to change in the next 5 years if possible. It is likely that I will run up 150K+ of motorway miles during this time. I am annoyed with myself for going with the Leon last year - I should have known it was not wise with a baby on the way.
Almost bought an Octavia hatch last time, but eventually went in favour of the Seat against the Skoda and a Golf. Wasn't willing to shell out the premium for the VW badge, and for whatever subliminal reason fancied the Leon more than the Octavia - probably because it looks like a younger persons car than the saloon/hatch cross looks of the Skoda.
I like the Octavia estate, in much the same way as I like the Passat Estate - but not so keen on the old shaped Octavia estate (irrational I know).
My partner hates saloon cars full stop so it is either a hatch or estate - I am leaning towards the estate - although I know large hatches would be a step forward from the space constrained Leon.
Have never fancied a French car - but the Laguna Sport Tourer is on the short-list and the Citroen looks Ok. The problem I have is that everytime I think French - I think poor driving experience, and reliability issues.
I owned a Fiat many moons ago - and loved the car. Am almost tempted by the Stilo multi-wagon but know that would probably be a bad bad move.
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How about a VW built here?
tinyurl.com/4xthy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I too would suggest the Octavia - you might even find the hatch roomy enough as it has a huge boot, but the estate is evn more so. You should be able to get an '04 within your budget: I'm not sure when they started putting the TDI 130 engine into the Octavia, but it's worth asking.
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>Have never fancied a French car - but the Laguna Sport Tourer
>is on the short-list and the Citroen looks Ok. The problem I
>have is that everytime I think French - I think poor driving
>experience, and reliability issues.
Please do think seriously before chosing the Laguna.
It is not a universal favourite on this forum. I've always owned French, Pug or Citroen, but never Renault, so thought they were being harsh.
However, a good friend of mine is getting rid of hers (150 brake diesel) after two years because of a string of failiures requiring garage attention. They have completely lost faith in it, which is a shame, because when it worked it was great. The problem was that it didn't work well very often. It was bought new, and they are now being offered tearfully low part-ex offers from all the dealers.
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C5 hatch is probably usefully cheaper, and still plenty big enough to take a pushchair.
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"Help me to pick the right car this time"
So what did we do wrong last time...?
:-)
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Not a Laguna ,C5's are brilliant.Nissan primera estate
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