We need to change our current primera hatchback for an estate car which will be able to fit 8' x 4' plasterboard in the back and other large items. Unfortunately the budget for this is peanuts ie under a grand + whatever we can get for the primera (probably £50!). Any recommendations as to what estates this kind of thing will fit in? Not bothered about front or real wheel drive. Would prefer petrol rather than diesel. Must be cheap to repair and never go wrong :-) Also would prefer 30 mpg in normal use if possible. I know, moon on a stick but it is always worth asking if anyone knows of anything suitable!
I am assuming old slab sided volvo estates are big enough. Is the primera estate big enough as that would be our first choice?
|
|
8' would be a seriously long load bay! My Accord is very similar in size to the old Volvos, if not larger, and the load bay in that is only about 6'2" or so in length. I can't imagine even a Merc E class is going to be long enough with the tailgate closed.
|
|
if your primera is still sevicable buy a cheap trailer, so much easier to load and takes a wider variety of loads. jag.
|
|
|
Back seats would be folded down. So assuming it is about 15' - 16' long for the entire car then it seems feasible...My old fiat was about 6' long with the seats folded down and that was only a hatch.
|
|
|
|
I'm sure I can get 8x4 plasterboard into my Vectra hatch (1.8, 44mpg on a run). Can't imagine how else I got it home if it doesn't fit.
What about a roofrack?
Failing that, £250 should get you a late-90s Mondeo estate which must be the motor of choice. Or a transit? And I reckon that if the Primera has MOT it's worth £200 on eBay on a no reserve auction.
|
Perhaps it wasn't 8x4. Maybe it was only 6x3.
I think a transit is a good bet - the mechanicals last forever until the mechanical bits start falling out between the rusty bits.
Or get the plasterboard delivered.
Edited by Mapmaker on 11/09/2008 at 11:47
|
Sounds like you've had a Fiat before, so maybe you're not afraid of them. How about a Marea Weekend? You can get them as recent as an 02 plate for very little money, particularly the petrol models.
I had a petrol 1.6 Marea saloon for a few years and it never missed a beat. Teriffic car to drive too, very willing and comfy.
They also have a split tailgate - the bumper section folds down making it very easy to load.
Edited by Alanovich on 11/09/2008 at 12:04
|
Marea is the other possibility compared to a volvo. Probably similar in size. Just depends on whether you want reliability with expensive spares, or less reliability and cheap spares! The only marea I have been in the suspension was appalling and the ride was harsh (even compared to my lancia). That was a diesel one though.
|
|
|
|
Thought about roof racks but inclement weather could be a problem and you'd always have to unload it all immediately as it would disappear otherwise. With an estate you could at least leave it in the car over night if you had to. We have no sensible place to store a trailer either. Transits are definitely out as whatever we buy has to function as a reasonable car for long trips.
I have spotted a v70 estate locally for just a smidge over a grand that looks quite good.
Wickes won't let you order plasterboard online so you have to go to the store anyway so you may as well have a vehicle you can take it away in. Delivery charges are often £25-£50 a time. Couldn't find plasterboard on b&q or screwfix's site either so they aren't an option. I don't know any other builders merchants. Van hire is usually £30-£50 a day so no cheaper. If you find you make a mistake and need more it is more convenient to pop in with your own car rather than having to go through the rigmarole of further delivery or hiring a van again. If we could afford it and had the space then we'd get a transit and keep the primera but with another lot of insurance, tax, servicing and everything it would make it more expensive than just changing the car for something a bit bigger. A transit would also annoy neighbours as it would need to be parked on the street as it would be too big for the off road parking spaces we have.
|
I don't know any other builders merchants
The sort of places you're referring to are DIY sheds. Real builders merchants deliver all the time. Try yellow pages.
|
With the back seats down I don't particularly see that a hatch would be any less capable than an estate really -- surely the main difference is height more than anything.
So I'm assuming you can't get these 8x4s in with the rear seats folded down? Certainly the loading area of a Primera won't be significantly less than a Vectra.
How often are you carrying these things? Would hiring or borrowing a van not be a better option? Or delivery as mentioned.
|
Also, surely the (common and cheap) Daewoo Nubira estate is a similar size, loading-wise, to the Fiat Marea?
I've been looking at the specs and they aren't a million miles from each other.
Less troublesome (GM cambelt aside) and cheaper, so maybe worth a look.
|
I doubt even a 2/7/9 series Volvo will take an 8x4 - a good roof-rack and a tarp for wet weather, or get it delivered, or buy a trailer. Unless you'll be doing this every week for years I can't see the sense in getting a car just for this application.
You could buy/get a couple of pieces of 8x4 ply to use as support and cover for the plasterboard, of course, which would keep the worst off.
|
|
|
I can't get 8x4 in my Xantia estate so you are really going to struggle - unless you byu a Transit - but any at the £1k mark are likely to be seriously tired I would think. Easiest way is to get the local builder's merchant to deliver it!
|
|
|
|
|
You won't get an 8x4 in an estate car. Stick it on the roofrack (you would be best off making a frame to sit the PB on), in a cheap tarpaulin (£6-ish), or preferably use a trailer - you don't need a big trailer to carry a huge payload, some are be stored in small places with their wheels/sides folded in, on end. These are very useful. Make sure the sheets are secured properly, you don't want the wind lifting them!
Note, if you leave PB at an angle, or supported only at the end/edge, it will distort quite quickly.
Try proper builders merchants (e.g. Jewson's). DIY outlets tend to be rather mickey mouse outfits in comparison. You might get free delivery, it depends on who, where, quantity.
|
Another vote for trying a proper builder's merchant. Travis Perkins is my own favourite. Mind you get them to knock the prices down well below "list" though. Tell them you'll be buying a lot and ask to open a cash account - so they know you're coming.
|
|
Like mapamker says, I'd try Travis Perkins, or maybe Jewsons. I very much doubt if an 8x4 sheet would fit it any estate car, certainly wouldn't fit in my Omega estate, which was pretty big.
|
|
|
I should have said "try a folding trailer" more obviously than burying it in text.
Travis Perkings will give you a "cash card" which will give at least some discount, many BMs have such a facility. Largely, it's a matter of just asking what they can give you. Jewson's IMO is about the best, together with Buildbase. TP (and it must be said, others) are trying to get more DIY trade. There're huge discounts off list, and for many things a proper BM will have better stock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I used to have a Mk2 Mondeo 1.8 LX estate. Brilliant car, large flat load space and even bigger when the seats were folded. 30+mpg and easy to maintain and service. Easily pick up an 80k miler for between £600 -£900. The engines are good for over 100k if looked after. Better than the diesel variant.
|
|
Skorpio, agree it's a brilliant load lugger. But like mine, I bet you the load bay is not more that about 6' long, even with seats down. OP needs 8', and I just don't think he'll get that in any estate car.
|
|
|
Ah, but given that it seems that even a very big car won't do what the OP needs it to, it would seem to me sensible to keep the Primera (which is just as solid, good to drive, and easy to maintain as the Mondeo is) until it gives up the ghost.
That Mondeo will be good for a lot more than 100K -- my Primera is 220K and counting -- engine still silent at idle and not consuming/leaking oil/coolant.
In fact, I'm not sure how old the OP's Primera is, but if the bodywork isn't rusty it might have a *very* long life ahead of it. My car is a 2000 model; I see 1990/91 H/J plate cars, admittedly usually a bit tatty, on the roads all the time. I live in the NE, so a certain amount of local loyalty is inevitable, but these cars do last a very long time. My car might have another ten years ahead of it, and it's only worth about £800.
|
I'll have a look at Jewsons or Travis Perkins. Only been using Wickes as it is the one we have heard of!
Primera is a P reg. Drive shafts are dodgy and the gearbox is making awful noises so I don't know how long it will last. Also rear suspension is a bit weak with age so loading up heavy stuff might not do it much good. Rust is only visible on the bonnet where some muppet has bounced something heavy across it and dented it.
Citroen Berlingo is probably the most 'vanny' we'd get really.
|
If the 'box is going to kill it, then destroying the rear suspension first won't really matter...
Wickes is a DIY store like B&Q.
|
|
|
I'll have a look at Jewsons or Travis Perkins
Don't restrict yourself to the big names, and look at the Yellow Pages. Many building supplies companies are quite small, and many areas don't have a local branch of the big chains. E.g. in West Yorkshire, Naylor Myers has about ten branches, but there's no Jewsons near me.
My nearest Naylor Myers has staff who know their products, good prices (even without any trade discount), and they are don't patronise female customers. Unlike Wickes etc they help load things like bags of sand into the car, and I try to avoid Wickes if at all possible. Naylor Myers also run a small fleet of delivery vehicles, and deliver locally at very reasonable prices, so the trade people all use their deliveries. None of the small local builders here carry in their own materials, it's all delivered by NM.
I'm sure that if you check in your area you'll find a similar outfit, a builders supplier geared primarily towards the small builder. You can pay less, save injuring yourself by loading big or heavy items onto a trolley then into your car (and out of it again at home), have better advice available than you'll get in the DIY sheds ... and you buy a car that suits your other needs rather than trying to misuse a car as a van.
|
|
|
Try this for size TB ~ tinyurl.com/56ya83
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ordinary estates won't do. What you need is one of these:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2005-05-07_Citromobile...G
|
|
|
