Eurrrrgh… 🙁

After quite a long time of being car free we’ve decided to broaden our horizons this summer and delve back into the murky, stressful and expensive world of owning a motor..

What’s the current thinking..?

Probably something Japanese and petrol would be best for reliability

Size ?

larger 5 door really Been looking at Audi A4s so far

Mazda 6 ?

I bought a passat estate 4 years ago for ?800 it’s done 30k miles. Lots of heavy loads to the tip, fully loaded camping trips etc and it’s never let us down (frantically touches wood 😆 ). Its had nothing but brake discs pads, a cheap exhaust and basic service buts, oil, filters and plugs.
Its a non turbo petrol, mechanic mate said the engine is so simple do oil filter and it’ll just go and go!

Personal for not much money I’d avoid a high mileage diesel imo they often seem to be problematic

@yunki you’ll pay a premium for an A4, if you want something German see if you can find a Golf Estate or a Passat as suggested above (larger and more practical than an Audi too). My ex BIL had a Toyota Avensis estate, decent size and Japanese reliability. Also you could look for Toyota Verso models.

Others may think I’m mad for this suggestion but a Citroën C5 estate. They are more reliable than people think and you could fit a reasonably sized planet or a couple of moons in the boot.

Cheap for the amount of car you get. That or a Mondeo.

larger 5 door really Been looking at Audi A4s so far

A4 is not that large.

Take a look at Toyotas and Mazda 6 as well as Mondeo and passat.

Got to be an Avensis, surely?

1.8 petrol Avensis

Audi A4 is only the size of a focus ..as above avensis 1.8 would be good but some had problems with high oil consumption

singlecrack – Member
Audi A4 is only the size of a focus ..as above avensis 1.8 would be good but some had problems with high oil consumption
POSTED 3 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Fixed 2003 onwards isn’t it?

I wouldnt be surprised if the load space shape was more useful in a Focus.

I quite like the C5 mentioned above, but a lot of people don’t trust citroens.

Saab 9-5 ?

I ran a 3l petrol for 30k miles, minimal servicing it. Only needed a new battery in the couple of year that I had it. Big engine mean’t it was cheap (£900), got 28mpg and could nudge above 30mpg on a run.

Others may think I’m mad for this suggestion but a Citroën C5 estate. They are more reliable than people think and you could fit a reasonably sized planet or a couple of moons in the boot.

+1, huge inside, super comfortable, no rust. I’ve done 60000 miles in mine, now up to 130000 showing no signs of death. Hankering after a Passat 1.9tdi replacement, but I simply want to see how far the Citroen goes.

I quite like the C5 mentioned above, but a lot of people don’t trust citroens.

They’re no less reliable than anything German.
I’ve had 13 since 1980 and the only one that let me down was a BX . My fault though for ignoring the recall…
They keep going forever, though bits do drop off until there’s just 4 wheels, an engine and steering wheel left…

Got to be a 1.8 petrol Avensis. Better to drive than the 2.0l petrol, lighter and better handling. Quite good on fuel for a big car. If you wait till it dies before you buy something else you’ll end up leaving it in your will! They are quite dull though.

Avensis or Pug 406 estate. Some of those buggers go on for 300k and can be fixed with a hammer most of the time!

Theres a Ford Focus Estate down the road in the village for £400.. It’s V redg in metallic green, looks like a well cared for car..
If it went pop you could certainly get the bits for them and easy fix I reckon.
Ohh, it’s MOT’d for a year too (so it says on the A4 sheet in the window)

i reckon an easy search on Gumtree or eBay would net you something well cheap and in good enough condition..

Mondeo, unless you’re really good at packing – then you might get away with a Focus.

But I’d still get a Mondeo, they’re so nice to drive.

2 litre petrol engine quite powerful enough, very reliable and not too thirsty.

Size matters here… If you want something big, it rules out a lot of options (and not all of them small cars; some decent sized estates have fairly disappinting boots, v40s and octavias and that. The 2 Avensises we’ve had for fleet cars are a bit unimpressive on that score too.

Mondeo is always a good shout- they’re humungous, decent, very good value, and there’s always about 10 million of them on sale. At this price, being able to pick and choose is a real bonus imo, I was looking at mazda 6s, foci, mondeos, accords, outbacks and legacies and there were more Mondeos than all the rest put together, and pretty much all of them at a better spec for the same price.

Dunno if they’re in the £1500 bracket, but the Mk2 Focus Estate is actually pretty big inside. We nearly got one but my wife wanted an auto and the CVT ‘box that Ford use is utterly hateful. So we ended up with a Passat.

Ok well size isn’t everything..

I just meant summink not small really I think.. plenty of food for thought here though

thanks folks

I bought a 52 reg Honda CRV 2.0 petrol for £1200 a few months back as a temp runabout and it’s been great, thirsty though at 25mpg, but great for carrying bikes – got 5 in back with seats folded and front wheels off and 3 more on the towbar mounted carrier it came with. Really smooth and quiet to drive, really rate it even if it is an old farts car

I’d say a Focus estate they’re good cars to look at, reliable, cheap to repair and handle well.

You’ll find plenty of decent Lagunas for that money, good spec, low milage, leather seats, strong engines, lovely to drive really. Don’t buy one. They break, every single part of them breaks. Horrible, evil, sharp edge plastic where you can’t see it cars. Buy an old VW Passat. they last forever.

My Honda Accord Tourer is big, I’ve had two bikes in the boot with the seats up and the cover over.

I’d have mentioned Lagunas and Meganes, too, but the op was looking at Audis so didnt think he’d go so far down the chain towards Citroens and Renaults. We actually have a mk3 Laguna Estate its Audi A4 sized so not massive, but its been reliable and a great commuting vehicle for my wife.
We were looking at Audis and Jaguar X types but the Laguna was as nice to drive and we got an 09 plate for cheaper than 57 Jaguar with far less miles on the clock.

How about a e46 3 series? not huge inside, but very well put together.

No advertising mine yet, but have researched prices and for your budget you could get a 2001/2 325 or 330 petrol estate which will do above 30mpg ona run and are very reliable with minimal maintenance.

Depends what youa re after really, BW will be a nice play to spend time, compared to our 2006 laguna, which I agree with above posts are hateful pieces of plastic rubbish, please dont be tempted by their prices, they are that low for a reason!

Petrol Honda Stream?

406 2.0 HDI

My 54 plate 307 estate is up 4 grabs soon. 11 months test. £800

T1000 – Member
Petrol Honda Stream?

That’s a really good shout.

Ugly as Sin.
Dull as ditchwater.
Run forever.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Stream-2-0-i-VTEC-SE-Sport-7-SEATS-MPV-/251894246739?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aa6112d53

Bregante – Member

T1000 – Member
Petrol Honda Stream?

That’s a really good shout.

Ugly as Sin.
Dull as ditchwater.
Run forever.[/quote]

Go for automatic like this one. A 2005 model.

Honda Stream automatic gear

Not been mentioned yet that I can see but don’t rule out a Vectra either. About the same boot space as a Mondeo but probably cheaper to buy second hand. I have had a few over the years and found them to be quiet acceptable cars. The vintage you will be looking at for £1500 I would probably take the Vectra over the Mondeo.

Toyota Avensis?? Hideous cars. Bland, soulless underpowered. Quite probably the most boring car I have ever driven. You couldn’t pay me to own and drive one.

“Quite probably the most boring car I have ever driven” have you ever tried a Austin Meastro Clubman?

Apart from the lambda sensor and new tyres my £800 X reg octavia has worked hard and been faultless for nearly four years

No Octavias mentioned until page two! What is happening to STW?

Our Octy hatch has been brilliant for the 105000 miles that we’ve had it. Now on 140000 and mechanically pretty good. Don’t see why an estate would be any less good. Mrs JA will very likely have another Octy when the time comes (unless I can persuade her to buy a 500SL Mercedes!)

Audi A4 is only the size of a focus

An A4 is much smaller than a Focus. Girlfriends dad has an A4 estate and I have a focus Estate. Not even slightly comparable. A4 Boot is tiny.

Petrol mondeo in 1800 format or apug 406. Mines done 2 years with little issue and including repairs over the 2 years about £850 including buying it

subaru