Saab 9-5 estate – loadsa room, comfy, good to drive IMO and cheap as chips. Avoid the 2 litre and 2.3 light pressure petrol turbos – bit slothful, not v economic, and prone to engine breather problems. Go for either the petrol Aero (sh*t off a shovel) or the 2.2 TiD (noisy but pokey enough and v reliable engine – I have a 9-3 TiD @ 155K and the only cost has been a replacement turbo @145K.) 2.2 TiD better than later 1.9 TiD, which is less reliable.

LPG Audi A6 Avante
Loads more here including BMWs, Fords, Skodas, Land Rovers.

Rover 75/ MG ZT-T +1

I’ve got the 75 tourer it’s plenty big enough, full leather ,heated seats,climate control , cruise, all the toys , driven very sensibly(below 70mph on the motorway) I’ve had over 54mpg out of it fully loaded that’s measured properly not going on the trip computer.have got nearly 40mpg on short journeys over winter.

there’s plenty of spares about for them , rear windows for some saloons are thin on the ground and 1 or 2 other bits that can be salvaged from scrappers easily.

The diesels have a couple of things to look out for. Clutches are quite expensive (circa £900 for replacement) so anything over 100K check it’s been replaced , in tank fuel pump on earlier models (you should be able to hear it prime when the ignition is turned on ,listen at driver side rear seat) and the MAF sensor starts to go out of spec dramatically after 50K.

I paid 5K for mine 4 years ago and have only needed to replace wear and tear parts (front wishbones/bushes, rear coil springs ect), it’s a nice place to be on a long journey.

I think it’s often the case of what we want to use it for. Bike trips? A van. Family trips – a Mondeo. Trips with a dog – an Octavia. There are few cars that are utter junk nowadays, it’s your luck and access to spares that should dictate what you buy.
Don’t forget whatever you go for we’ll slaughter you for it. Enjoy!
BTW If a Volvo 850 was younger I’d be looking at one.

Dekadanse – I’d love a Saab 9-5 Aero. I had 3x 900 T-16S and 2x 9000 Aero/Carlsson and loved ’em. Also had a 9-3 2.2TiD which though ultra reliable I hated coz I thought the engine was crap in terms of driveability. Problem with the 9-5 is that most of the engines are unreliable and the 3.0 TD is the worst. For an economical one you’d need an Aero running LPG – which don’t crop up too often.

Ox – ta for the heads up. Interesting.

Carlosg – more useful info. Cheers.

Hairychested – Well luckily I have a van for MTBing and a VW Camper for trips. This’ll be for work related mileage, dogs, shopping, family visits etc.

I’ll probably end up buying something no-one’s mentioned – like an Alfa 156 Sportwagon (!) – and get slaughtered for sure 🙂

Whatever you do don’t buy a Prius. Alfa on the other hand, or a Lancia…

I turned up to by a (ahem!) road bike at some bloke’s house a few weeks ago and he had one very similar to the pic in his garage – it was totally mint.

I spent far more time looking at the car than I did checking the bike.

Clarkson always goes on about how everyone should own an Alfa at least once and I never have 🙁

Well – got one.

(Nearly bought an Immaculate 51 plate Passat Sport TDi 130, Leather FSH One owner, 88k and £3k but someone beat me to it. Thanks for the info mboy)

Anyway, took the suggestion of Rover75/MG ZT-T seriously and got a 54 plate MG ZT-T CDTi+ 135 with 75k for just over my £2.5k limit. It’s in Monogram Chagalle (blue to you and me) with full leather, Satnav/TV, Harmon Kardon Audio, Xenon Lights, 18″ Alloys, Climate and – get this – a Webasto Diesel Heater that you program to come on in the morning so it’s toasty when you get in!

I was buying it from a distance so got a bod from the Rover75/MG ZT forums, Jezza, to go and take a look. (Jezza has TEN Rover 75s!) I knew he was a spotter when he called me up after looking at pics in the ad and said, “Well the car clearly doesn’t have the original rear mudflaps, those obviously aren’t OEM.”

He kindly took time from his busy Friday night and went to inspect the car and managed to e-mail me a full dossier that night for my bedtime reading. THe following morning I spoke to Jezza and an expert MG/Rover mechanic (who happened to be with him)about the car and ZTs in general. Next, did a deal with the seller over the phone and I’m flying down south to pick it up soon (and dropping in on Jezza on the way home with a case of wine).

Good things I’ve learned about MG ZTs:

They’re heavily influenced by BMW.
The BMW Engine/Gearbox is pretty strong.
There’s not too much that goes wrong.
THey handle.
THere’s a HUGE and enthusiastic body of knowledge on the web about keeping them going/getting bits.
THey get good MPG.
You can improve the CDTis with a Synergy Tuning Box and MAF compensator + EGR bypass.
The paint is ridiculously expensive. (OK, not a good thing)
They’re quite cheap coz the company is no more and people fear the Rover name.
They look quite good (IMO).

So thanks one and all for your input – had I not come on here I’d probably be buying something a lot more boring.

hah, that’s made my day….

good work fella!

Now that’s how to buy a motor, well done, hope all turns out good.

that looks like a quality bus how huge is it in the back?

That’s an amazing amount of car for around £2.5k, good choice.

I want my car to have a pre-heat program for the mornings now!

Good to hear feedback from a what….. thread too (not that I contributed but would’ve if I’d seen it first time round).

Enjoy when you get it.

Sweet work…

Having been on the look out for a good tourer for over 6 months that is a brilliant find – that was not listed on the 75 owners club forum where usually the best cars pop up so you did very well to find it. That definitly is the most car you can get for the money, great find!!!!

Saccades – Member

hah, that’s made my day….

Well you put me on to the idea first so cheers for that. It also means I’ll blame you ENTIRELY if anything ever goes wrong with it 😀

parkesie – Member

that looks like a quality bus how huge is it in the back?

Actually they’re not quite as big inside as they appear from the outside. Rover employed some sort of “reverse tardis” engineering methinks. Still sizeable though.

stevemtb – Member

I want my car to have a pre-heat program for the mornings now!

Yeah it’s funny – lots of the MG Zts/75s have the Webastos fitted to just come on when you turn on the ignition if the temp is below 5C but only a few had them timer or remote controlled. (I sound like an anorak already.)

mundiesmiester – Member

…the 75 owners club forum where usually the best cars pop up

Well it’s not perfect, there’s a scratch on one door and a few rattles etc. Plus those non-OEM mudflaps off course! There was an amazing, immaculate, ZT-T on the forums end Jan for £2450 with all the stuff mine has plus a Synergy 2 but never saw it ’til after. I’m not an MG buff so wasn’t too worried about it not being pristine – just quick, comfy, reliable, economical transport that’s also fun to drive.

(Hopefully it won’t blow up on the M6 on the way home.)

Saccades

I know this will be ignored but what about MG/Rover ZT-T/75?

Hah! I just remembered that bit 😆

Hairychested and carlosg were also 75/ZT fans – I’ll blame them too.

carlosg – Member

The diesels have a couple of things to look out for. Clutches are quite expensive (circa £900 for replacement) so anything over 100K check it’s been replaced………. MAF sensor starts to go out of spec dramatically after 50K.

The car’s had a new clutch in the past 6 months (which was a strong buying point) and I’ll fit a Synergy 2a at some point which can compensate for a dodgy MAF and also allow use of a cheaper Pierburg MAF (£50) – as well as boosting power and torque. 😀