Well, I'm off to the States next week for several weeks backpacking (work is on hold until I run out of money)in CA and my '95 Defender is also off to a new home. The potential replacement ..a friends 04 non turbo Forester is over my budget of £5k. He paid for a Glass's valuation and it came out at £8200 for a private sale... although he was going to sell it via the auctions to save hassle, and is now contacting the supplying dealer to see if it can be sold on a commission basis!
After owning 3 (or maybe 4) 2.0 Legacy estates I really need something with a bit more ooomph, but given my circumstances cannot afford to fuel the turbo Forester. Having carefully read several recent posts, the Legacy 2.5 '03 on seems to be the one to go for, but again looks beyond my budget. I honestly don't want to go back to work just yet!
Any other suggestions...my criteria are M/L hatch/estate, 30mpg + in combined driving,excellent reliability and decent handling, petrol or diesel. Image not necessary!
Perhaps a Mondeo 2.5 V6, late model petrol Astra estate, old style Primera 2.0 Sport (if I could find a good un) some kind of Focus??
Any suggestions please...petrol model will presumably be cheaper to repair if anything goes wrong, and I am a bit wary of high mileage TDCi diesels...perhaps unnecessarily so.
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You could go for the highest depreciators. Most value image highly, and the drop in value of used cars reflects that quite as much as reliability etc. Hyundais, Daewoos will get you all you need for pennies.
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The Astra and Primera aren't going to be quick enough. The mondeo is nice but HGF and 30mpg is only going to be possible on a run
What about a Fiat Coupe? Sounds crazy but if you buy the right one it won't depreciate and 30mpg is possible,
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OldHand, thanks for the suggestion but the Fiat coupe is not large enough. After years of having a van with my business, in addition to Legacy estates, I really need something with a decent load area.I am doing major home alterations, ongoing until at least Xmas, so space is important. If not, I would have seriously considered a Hyundai 2.0 coupe....which look tremendous and offer fine second hand value.
I thought a 2.0 turbo petrol Astra estate would be pretty quick, but finding the latest model within budget could be tricky. Bit of a Q car as well. A rapidly depreciating Mondeo 2.5 is looking best value at the moment, with (hopefully) plenty around at auction.
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OldHand
Just reread your reply. Are you saying that the Mondeo 2.5 is susceptible to HGF?
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''Life after Subaru'' - there isn't one ;-)
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That's all I needed. Someone to sow the seeds of doubt!
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I'd be very surprised if you mate got that price for his Forester - they are well rated, but even so that price seems very high for a private sale.
If you don't want another Legacy then what about a Mitsubishi Galant Estate? The V6-24V (2.5) is a sweet motor and extremely reliable. Its easy and straightforward to service and change the cambelt. Only downside is that the gearboxes tend to be rather notchy when cold. Your £5k should get you one of the last made (2003) with sensible miles. Avoid the auto's and the ones with the direct-injection petrol engines.
The Mondeo 2.5's aren't particularly well liked in the trade due to the rather large variety of things that go wrong with that engine.
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Aprilia
I too was very surprised at the price of £8200.. for a private sale. That was the figure on the information sheet printed out from Glass's though, so he assumes that it is accurate.
Many thanks for the tip re the Galant. If I go this route, would it be clear whether it was direct injection or not? The auto I can figure out myself!!
I only thought these Galant estates were available as some imported 4WD high performance turbo model. Next step Autotrader online...when I return in October the second hand Subaru market may have fallen or my Premium Bonds come up.
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The 2.5-24V is non-direct-injection. Other engines come with direct injection ('GDi') - there are well-known problems with petrol DI that I think are still to be solved, even on the VAG FSI engines. I wouldn't like to be part of VW's development programme.
Most of the Galant estates you see will be UK cars. The 4WD Japanese imports are called 'Legnums' and you'd need deep pockets to run one of those.
That Forester price looks closer to dealer price than private. Bear in mind that a car advertised at a dealer at £9k may well sell for something like £8.3k.
The Foresters hold their values pretty well, but the fly in the ointment for used Subaru values is the considerable numbers of new cars coming in from Malta/Cyprus via the car supermarkets. You can get the latest Forester X **brand new** for £14k. The official Subaru UK importers (International Motors - IM) hold import rights for most 'old' EU countries except Malta and Cyprus - they slap on about a 1/3 mark-up over the 'rest of world' cost of Subarus which makes them disproportionately expensive in the UK and opens up a nice opportunity for the supermarkets!
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Aprilia
Thanks for that information.All I need do then is find a 2.5-24V manual estate. Non currently listed on Autotrader, or on Ebay...have never bought a vehicle on Ebay and not really my cup of tea. I prefer to crawl around something like a car, or pay a professional to give it the once over. Shame none of my friends or contacts have anything coming up for sale in October...apart from a small fleet of Lagunas...need I say more.
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Leg,
Make sure you pop into some internet caffs to let us know how the trip goes...
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Probably not much opportunity up in the Sierras. I plan on backpacking the JMT, followed by the Tahoe Rim Trail, then if time allows, spend the remainder on the coast in Marin County.
Will drool over my friends cheap new Legacy wagon and Toyota Tundra 4.7 V8 pick up with bolt on camper (the small engined one), gorge on cheap Mexican food, 24 hour a day curries in SF and ridiculously cheap fruit and cheery service in the retail sector.
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All I need do then is find a 2.5-24V manual estate. Non currently listed on Autotrader
I found 3 on Autotrader (1 from 1998, 2 from 2000). Did I miss something?
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tyro
I've looked again and still cannot see any 2.5-24V V6 Galant manual estates.
Maybe old age is is no longer creeping up on me, its arrived dammit.
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Buying on ebay is no problem as long as you view first. I prefer it in a way as it takes away the pressure to make a decision there and then. You can view and test drive then go home and think on it. If it really is a minter you can offer the seller a price to stop the auction.
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I'm still finding them - one in Berkshire, one in Swansea and one in Devon. Maybe someone else can confirm either that I am not hallucinating or that Legacylad is not senile :-)
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Hold on - let me try posting a link!
tinyurl.com/3xqbvv
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I thought you wanted something with a bit of poke? The Mitsubishi is slower than a modern high power diesel and has all the charm of a Tokyo taxicab.
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A work colleague of mine used to have a Galant saloon automatic 2.5 V6. It was a lovely car. I was a passenger in it a few times and it felt rapid to me, it was very smooth and comfortable and I thought it looked rather stylish too. It had a sort of shark-snout front to it which was aggressive and distinctive. He covered an amazing mileage in it (something like 250,000 miles!!) but finally the automatic gearbox blew up and he scrapped it. He loved the car, but I think they stopped making them a few years ago because he couldn't buy another one and had a new Mondeo diesel instead. Its unreliability is a regular topic of conversation in our office! I think the workshop have it more than he does.
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OldHand
I have looked back at some old motoring mags and the performance figures for the 2.5-24V Galant are better than my previous 2.0 Legacy estates, with similar mpg.
My Defender has no charm whatsoever at 7am on a Sunday when I am driving up to the Lakes to meet friends for a long walk. Even a small amount of charm would be better than none!!
If you could suggest anything which meets my criteria I would be very grateful for your suggestions.
I shall spend time looking back at HJ's previous auction reports to see if anything catches my eye..within budget of course.
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There are plenty of lower mileage TDCI Mondeos in your price range why not buy one? They meet all your criteria and are far better than the Galant IMO. Not least because you won't pay a fortune for parts.
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what does HGF mean?
tried these, but none seem to be right!
Acronym Definition
HGF Handling Gear Fixture
HGF Harold Grinspoon Foundation
HGF Head of Global Finance
HGF Hepatocyte Growth Factor
HGF Hereditary Gingival Fibromatosis
HGF Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (Hermann Von Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres)
HGF Hermite Gaussian Function
HGF Household Goods Forwarders Tariff Bureau
HGF Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd.
HGF Human Growth Foundation
HGF Hybridoma Growth Factor
HGF Hyperglycemic-Glycogenolytic Factor
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A Focus Estate ST170 might fit the bill
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HGF = Head gasket failure
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