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2 people plus bikes? I'll just leave this here:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/honda-civic-room-in-the-back-for-bikes
Do you really need an estate?
Also, you'll be hard pressed to find a modern car where access in the engine bay to headlights is easy.
Yes you can! I can think of loads - our Galaxy and Seat Ibiza, our old Touran and Yaris, father in laws V40, mates Pug etc etc. I think there are a few that are duff...
In my Civic going down to Morzine - 2 people + 2 bikes, one being an XXL 29er (and the passenger XXL in length 😀 ), plus bags, tools, spares inc spare tyres.
All quite comfortable.
With a Skoda and BMW in our household I would recommend a Mondeo, my previous one was fantastic and very reliable. Citroen C5 is very nice and my mate swears by his but it is a big car. If the other half can't park she'll hate it. Toyota Avensis dull but reliable.
Alright, so the Accord is looking like the best option so far.
If it's two people plus bikes, you really don't need a car that big.
As said above 1.8 petrol Avensis Tourer. Nothing else will come close for reliability. Not bad to drive, people will let you out at junctions! At your budget you could go pre DPF diesel 2006 or earlier but I would stay with petrol.
Accords are reliable but the petrol ones are really thirsty however you drive.
I'll keep it in mind. It's good to have 2/3 choices in case one of them isn't available at the time I'm buying or isn't quite right.
Speaking of not quite right. How come there is an Accord with under 70000 miles on the clock. The other one I can see is at the same price, but has 30000 miles more on the clock despite being the same age. Is there something spec wise I am not seeing?
There's definitely a big distinction between reliability and 'build quality'. I'm another Civic owner, and it seems impossible to kill it, but at the same time it feels cheaply built and slightly unrefined. It's almost bizarre.
It's been great though, and I'm thinking about an Accord next.
Accords are reliable but the petrol ones are really thirsty however you drive.
Have you owned one? Most places I've read says about 30mpg, which to me, isn't bad at all for a big engined (relatively), big petrol car.
I get about 35-40mpg from my accord on an average run, it's a 2.0Vtec. They are all over the place price wise but you should get a good one for 4ish there's loads around so don't rush.
So why are people so anti-diesel if your mileage is moderate? I wouldn't go looking for one in particular, but didn't have much choice once I'd settled on the vehicle. I get good economy and it's not given any trouble.
Just had a quick look at autotrader for sub £4K estates near me. While I'm a fan of Honda's etc. it's difficult to ignore stuff like a 2008 Focus estate with under 60K mileage for £3500, or a 2008 diesel Mondeo with 88K. There are plenty of cheap Saab estates now as well.
I get about 35-40mpg from my accord on an average run, it's a 2.0Vtec.
Didn't realise there was a 2.0 model. 40mpg is not bad at all. The older generations are 2.2 and 2.4 only I think.
I got around 30mpg average on my 2.0 Accord Estate which I thought was fine. My driving style isn't particularly one that gives good mpg either.
The previous accord tourer was a 2.0 or 2.4. If you could get that one I posted for 4k that's a decent buy but frankly I'd get an older one for less money as there's no real advantage in spending more, 3k is more than enough for a good one.