I need a mid-size estate below £3K, ideally diesel. Not as big as an XM or 9-5, but no smaller than a Focus.
Reliability is the biggest criterion. I'm leaning toward Audi and Volvo.
Any suggestions?
Many Thanks - musang
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£2.5-£3K will get you a 1999 Skoda Octavia estate - a quick search of Auto Trader (using the link on your left) with a Birmingham postcode returns six petrol cars ranging from 1.6 to 2 litre, all air conditioned. Mechanically, they have plenty in common with the Audi A4.
I'd lean towards a 1.6 petrol Octavia over a diesel at this age as the diesels and 1.4s (hatchback only) are popular cabs. My father's 1.6 will give 35mpg in mixed driving and touches 40 on longer runs. £3K buys you an 80,000 miler, which should have the timing belt, tensioners and water pump changed.
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I'd second the above. I had a 2000W 2ltr Octavia estate in elegance trim. All possible toys, averaged 36mpg in mixed driving over 20000 miles. Vast boot, cheap servicing, only mechnical problem was a MAP sensor failure. Given my annual mileage at the time (12000) and the much higher cost of second hand diesels and the price of diesel itself, the petrol made more sense.
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If it's reliability you're after then you'll do far worse than buying Japanese.
3k should get you a 2000 Avensis - loved by mini-cabbers so they should be good for high mileages at low expense.
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I doubt you would regret a focus estate. Loads to choose from, very cheap servicing and the reliability is good. On top of all that they are fun to drive and there is a dealer in every town!
I have a 1.6 petrol zetec and love it.
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I would normally agree on the Focus, but if you want a diesel I think the best buy would probably be a Citroen Xsara TD/HDi...
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There's a 2001 2.5GX Subaru Legacy on Autotrader for under £3k from a dealer in Manchester. Obviously not diesel.
Am I starting to sound like the MTC of Subarus?
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I thought that was my job!
But in response to the OP's question, my only experience of this size of estate is two Ford Foci in TDDi and TDCi form in Italy on holiday in 2001 and 2002. Both were excellent cars and the TDCi was remarkably fast and both were very economical for the type of driving we were doing. I would be very happy to drive either model full time and presumably they are easy and cheap to maintain and reliable.
Have no experience of the Octavia other than having been in many many taxi's in Israel of this kind with well over 200,000 miles (not km) on them and still going strong. I know that my regular taxi driver who collects me from the airport in Tel Aviv, does about 5,000km per month or certainly six weeks and the only reason he changed his last car was it got stolen. That has plenty of room for five people and luggage and that's the hatchback.
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Work lent my a mk1 Focus TDCi Estate for a few days for a course & it was fine, just as nice to drive as the Focus hatchback but a really massive boot to carry stuff as well, TDCi lump was very rapid, I managed to clear lots of black smoke from the exhaust on the motorway, couldn't really tell it was a diesel from the performance it offered.
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I'd go for the Octavia too. If you want the next size up, there's always the Mondeo or Passat, or as someone sugested, the Avensis, or perhaps the Primera (although I don't see many Primera estates on the road).
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Thanks very much to all respondents. Gives me some useful leads.
Musang.
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Audi over volvo.
cheaper parts, more specialists, vag-com for diagnostics, better info available, better drive.
(we have an A4 and a V70 - both diesel estates)
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My choice would either be a Focus or a 306 Estate. Both are nice looking estate cars, virtually the same size and are similar in terms of price. Buy a turbo diesel version for the best compromise between performance and economy. I doubt you would get a Focus TDCi for less than £3k but you would easily get one with the older 1.8 TDi engine, which although is less refined than the TDCi, is still good in terms of economy. As for the 306 estate, you should get a well cared for 2.0 HDi for £3k- these give around 50mpg combined and are very refined. The 1.9TD 306 is a cheaper alternative to the HDi as it is one of the old-school diesels, but nevertheless is quite refined, fairly brisk and gives 45mpg.
Martin
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