[Closed] what secondhand estate car for 10k

Subaru Legacy
Ford Mondeo

Ford Mondeo was our choice. Not a lot of boots as big, or as usable - flat and wide as well as simply big. Much less intrusion from the wheel arches than a lot of big estates.

If you truly want a big boot, the A4 and BMW3 aren't really what you're looking for. You'd want an A6 or a 5.

peteimpreza - Member

Subaru Legacy

I wouldn't have one for everyday use. Too thirsty, awkward to work on. Smaller petrol engines have no torque and need revved, bigger engines drink like a fish and still only deliver power high up the rev range, compounded by 4x4.

Lovely cars, nicer to drive than the average repmobile but maybe more a weekend thing. I suppose what you save in the purchase price vs a comparable german could be offset against running costs.

Mine would be ideal for you. 1999 Pug 306 estate with only 180000 miles on the clock. Full service history. Carries loads of crap and does it well. I'll be honest it's not worth 10k so I'll let you have it for 7k. Email in profile.

Passat?

did think of the mondeo,plenty around as well although they all seem to be tdci's
are the tdci engines o.k for short trips,not bothered on the whole economy thing just potential dpf issues(if any)

Skoda Superb.

Audi S4

I was going to say S4. Why not....treat yerself! 8)

Rockape63 - Member

I was going to say S4. Why not....treat yerself!

but need it to be used daily,[b]need a big boot[/b] for work stuff and bikes, camping gear etc.

Because silly wee boot. That's why.

Can't get a bike in the boot of an S4 without the seats folded, even with both wheels off.

Ok, not huge, but a quick search turns up a nice VRS tfsi for under £9k

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Just over £8k

[img] [/img]

Golf mk 7 estate is v good especially in DSG spec with the adaptive cruise control

well under 10k would get you perfectly adequate Octavia estate, 1.4TSI (so under the hurdle for diesel), 60 plate. That's what the 900S got replaced by last summer. Nothing fancy.

Sorry jimjam. Disagree totally. As the OP does <8,000miles I recommend the Legacy and Forester.

Epic cars. Avoid the diesel though (although your mileage doesn't require it anyway).

I drove my Foz to Germany and back at NY. My bike (sans wheels) fits in sideways in the boot.

hora - Member

Sorry jimjam. Disagree totally. As the OP does <8,000miles I recommend the Legacy and Forester.

I wouldn't disagree that they are great cars. However, every Subaru I've driven takes an age to warm up, before which the gear box is sticky and the engine is lumpy. The boxer layout means a lot of fairly basic mechanical jobs are more complex than a standard layout, eg changing spark plugs or gaskets. And then there's the engine character. As I've said all the normally aspirated engines need thrashing to get going, including the 3.0 spec b. Which makes for a fun car when you want engage in some spirited driving, but doesn't make for a relaxing day to day driver. So for a Legacy with good useable torque you go turbo import (like mine) or diesel. The diesels are riddled with issues and the turbos are f***ing nuts 😈

Having said all that I would still absolutely love a [url= http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/subaru/legacy/subaru-legacy-gt-spec-b-facelift/3622773 ]twinscroll[/url]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Get one with automatic gear whatever you choose as manual gear is so yesterday.

😆

Well, fwiw, I asked the RAC guys that came out to fix my wife's car the same question - independently, both said 'no brainier, get a Skoda Octavia or Superb estate (they said there's a reason why lots of ambulance and police use them). We were going to get a used Golf until we chatted to the fella that runs a local VAG specialist independent service place. He said if he'd got the choice of a Golf/Passat or Octavia/superb, he'd get the Skoda, as under the bodywork, they're the same car. Oh, and apparently they're more reliable and have better dealers than VW,

I'd got my eye on a Scooby, but we ended up getting a 170bhp Octavia estate, and it's been brilliant - very pleased we got it 😀

[quote=bowglie ]under the bodywork, they're the same car. Oh, and apparently they're more reliable

I suspect that those statements aren't both true - unless the bodywork breaks down.

bowglie - Member

Well, fwiw, I asked the RAC guys that came out to fix my wife's car the same question - independently, both said 'no brainier, get a Skoda Octavia or Superb estate (they said there's a reason why lots of ambulance and police use them). We were going to get a used Golf until we chatted to the fella that runs a local VAG specialist independent service place.

They are similar but quite a bit less refined in fit and finish. That wouldn't bother me in the slightest but the road/wind noise would. A comparable VW or Audi is a nicer place to be. The fact that they are cheaper too probably contributes their popularity relative to other VAG cars.

He said if he'd got the choice of a Golf/Passat or Octavia/superb, he'd get the Skoda, as under the bodywork, they're the same car. Oh, and apparently they're more reliable and have better dealers than VW,

Under the bonnet they are the same car, but the Skoda is somehow more reliable?

Agree on the gearbox- reminds me of the MX5's. However the sound they make from the transmission etc etc. They way they pull mid curve. Roundabouts etc you feel like your being pulled round by an invisible chain. Turbo other cars feels like shoved. True description?

Seat Exeo estate. Previous gen Audi A4 for less pennies.

Spot the difference in the work car park;

[URL= http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m215/me96kka/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0092_zpswcwm6ggw.jp g" target="_blank">http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m215/me96kka/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0092_zpswcwm6ggw.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Neither are parked across two bays or on the grass verge.

Both Seat Exeos.

Nearly right...

Are they the same under the bodywork and more reliable?

Hora, yes agree. The only problem is that UK spec legacys never got the engines they needed ie the 2.5 turbo as found in the impreza and forester.

both Seats, if one was an Audi it'd have an Orange 5 on the roof.

Seat Exeo estate.

they're all diesel though 🙁

aracer - Member
Are they the same under the bodywork and more reliable?

Probably. When the intercooler pipe failed on my Ibiza, I was talking to the flat bed driver and he reckoned that out of the Ibiza, Polo & Fabia, they saw far fewer Fabias in for repair than the other two.

thomthumb - Member
Seat Exeo estate.
they're all diesel though

Didn't realise that!

Stumpy01 - have they paved over the car park at Peaslake then?

Shall I mention an AMG merc, as I always do? I mean; the op hasn't explicitly stated that he doesn't want a tyre shredding V8.

Jag X type ?

ElShalimo - Member

Jag X type ?

You mean a Mondeo in a party frock?

[quote=jimjam ]Shall I mention an AMG merc, as I always do? I mean; the op hasn't explicitly stated that he doesn't want a tyre shredding V8.

Far enough under budget he'll even be able to afford to run it for a while
http://www.yorkshirecarcentre.co.uk/used-cars/mercedes-benz-amg-5-4-e55-amg-5dr-goole-201501150180631

The red leather inserts do it for me.

It depends if you are a VWAG lover or not. If you want a car that is cheap to run and massive then the Mondeo estate is your vehicle of choice. The luggage space is much bigger than the A4 or Passat.

I like the Seat- the only 'problem' is the interior is more like the A4 for space?

If I was going down the VAG route I'd definitely have an A6 estate 😀

gribble - Member

Stumpy01 - have they paved over the car park at Peaslake then?

I don't think so - unless Peaslake car park is in an industrial estate just of the A14 in Cambridgeshire.
Apparently they are thinking of dredging the peas out of the lake though, so it will soon just be called Lake.

Stumpy- you'd like peaslake - great riding round there (mtb and road).

(Plus you could park your car there in the Executive trail Directors boxes) 😀

I think what the VAG repair guy meant by the 'more reliable' comment was that Skoda dealers are more likely to fix any problems first time, whereas the VW dealers can be hit & miss - that might just be down to the local VW dealers around here tho.
He mentioned that the production lines for some of the Skoda models are newer than those at the VW plants - not sure how this affects reliability, but the fit & finish on my OH's new Skoda is the same as the ex-demo Polos that were looking at; the Skod has all the same kit as a Polo, but just a bit plainer looking inside.
Road noise wise, yes, I've found it depends on tyres, the OE Contis on our Octavia were v.noisy, but current Nokians are noticeably qiueter - tho I've experienced this with Pugs, Fords and Beemers too, so nothing new there 🙂

BMW 5 series estate petrol?

Probably nicer to drive than anything mentioned so far and the estate class is dominated by diesels which will probably have high miles.

For space the only thing that beats the superb is an e class estate, or a T5 van.

Edit: also consider a v70 petrol I guess.

Audi S4

Er, no. In the OP's price range you'll be looking at a B6/7 V8 ones which just aren't very good. They sound nice, but they're not great to drive. The B8 one is a different kettle of fish.

I'd be looking at an E60 with a six pot petrol engine at around £10k.

[i]you'll be looking at a B6/7 V8 ones

The B8 one

at an E60 [/i]

what is this language he speaks?? 😯

Is it [b]really[/b] necessary?

It's the language of dull self-proclaimed car "experts"
Instead of being human and saying 2003-2008 model they show their superiority by saying E45 (other creams are available).
Don't complain as they're doing you a favour. It's like having a virtual "TWUNT" tattoo
At least you know who to avoid now

Edit: I'm sure that they're really nice and even their mothers love them (but only after the daily 5mins of being slapped across the face for being such a disappointment)

2003-2008 model

Who the hell says "it's the 2003-2008 model"??? Surely knowing the exact years of production of a particular model is more dull than knowing it's a B7 or a B8?

It's not that difficult, really.

Not really
you can easily work out the model year from the car reg
If you're looking at cars, say a 56 plate how the hell is a non-geek going to know it's a B6 or E55 etc?

Why on earth would you be telling a non geek that your car was a B6 or E55 though? 🙄

It's used when you're speaking to someone who would know what it was, obviously.

If my mum asks what car I got I say "It's an Audi, mum. 2011 plate. A black one".

If my friend who also has an Audi and knows a bit about cars asks me what car I got I say "It's an A4 Avant, the B8 one. Black edition"

How is that hard to understand?

Just because you have no idea what it is, don't assume it's only car geeks who do.

For the summary box on the wikipedia page...it's not exactly inside information:

[img] [/img]

I like the Seat- the only 'problem' is the interior is more like the A4 for space?

I've got a Seat Exeo - they're 99% Audi B7 A4 - but there are some differences:

The looks obviously, they're not bad looking per-se, but the design doesn't work as well as the A4 version - it looks like an A4 with a Ibiza-esq grill - which it is.

The Interior is straight out of the A4 - the cabriolet oddly, but that's okay because they're the best in the industry and Seat threw the spec at it - mine has - Bose, Leather, dual air-con, reversing sensors, sat-nav, MP3 player, auto-wipers, auto-lights, Bluetooth.

The suspension is based around a revised A6 set-up, which means it's less harsh than an A4, but not quite as sharp.

There's 2 engines, a 2.0 common rail diesel, which is the current one and better than the PD engine the B7 A4 got comes in 120,140 and 170 bhp version - there's also a petrol 2.0 turbo from the Golf Gti / Skoda VRS / Audi TT everything.

It's a great car IMO - it's VAGs 4th go at that platform (Audi face lifted it it once, then seat did to make the Exeo and finally once again for the facelift) so there are no known faults left - so the steering wheel lines up with the seat and pedals unlike the early A4.

Downsides - they're cheap to buy, they cost less than the older, higher mileage A4s because not many people know about them and 'the badge' but they're depreciating wildly - I paid £15k for mine 12 months ago, it would probably come in on your budget now.

It's not really an estate, the boot is actually smaller than the saloon version - it's more of a hatchback really - a more usable space, but not massive.

There's one mechanical issue, you get the feeling the car and the engine were never designed with each other in mind, which they weren't - this shows itself when the engine is stone-cold, the clutch can judder a bit for the first few times you pull away, it feels like a clutch or DMF issue, but "they all do that sir".

Why on earth would you be telling a non geek that your car was a B6 or E55 though?

Everyone has a different level so the people above are being silly waving their high performance German willies around.
Car knowledge looks a little like this:
Level 1: it's a blue car (my Mum)
Level 2: it's a 58 plate blue Audi A1
Level 3: it's a blah blah blah.....
......
Level 10: it's an E60 with a 545bhp re-map to make me penetrate women even faster (although I've never kissed a girl, I've wasted my life on cars and I live with my maiden Aunt)

Citroen C5 Touring

Mine does great mpg masive boot, coffy as hell adn all the mod cons you could want.

It's the language of dull self-proclaimed car "experts"
Instead of being human and saying 2003-2008 model they show their superiority by saying E45 (other creams are available).

Not really - it's a pretty common way for people to to distinguish bewteen the various versions of the same model. It's not rocket science.

Nothing to do with willy waving. It's just easy to understand.

And no I've not wasted my life on cars, have kissed a girl (hell more than one) and even live with one who's not my aunt!

PS there wasn't an E60 with 545BHP... 😉

It was better when they were referred to as Mk3 Cortinas etc

Nice one El Shal ! 🙂

I was too polite! 😕

Volvo v70 - brilliant cars , huge boot and really comfortable seats- I miss my t5

Are Merc C220s any good? Plenty around for about £10k.

El shal, why is it acceptable (normal even) for you to be able to cite the specifications of every sleeping bag and tent youve never owned, yet not so for someone to hold what is in actual fact very basic knowledge about their own cars?

🙂

My point was that most people don't know a B5 from a B6. If you've owned one then you'll probably know this but statistically most people haven't owned an Audi Ax
So back to the moment when Johnny or Mary are looking at cars and they are not as clued up as you, then how will they know what that nice blue 57 plate car is?

So if offering advice, the usage of more friendly vocabulary will help. If I say the E56 is way better than the E43 bbecause I've had both, it doesn't really help the average punter who is looking for options and can't reconcile Exx against that nice blue car on AutoTrader

Oh and by the way I don't posses the sleeping bag and tent superpowers that you think I do.

ElShalimo
It's the language of dull self-proclaimed car "experts"
Instead of being human and saying 2003-2008 model they show their superiority by saying E45 (other creams are available).
Don't complain as they're doing you a favour. It's like having a virtual "TWUNT" tattoo
At least you know who to avoid now

Yes, I thoroughly agree. It's almost as if these people know what they are talking about and speak about it in a kind elitist of shorthand language. I mean, the OP has asked for recommendations about a car and these self proclaimed "experts" have decided to weigh in with their "knowledge". Who the hell would want to take advice from someone who speaks gibberish like that!! 🙄 😆 What matters is what brand it is and is the colour nice. I mean, £10,000 is hardly a big purchase. Who would want to waste their time googling all this gibberish to decipher it over such a paltry sum.

Anyway, I'm just back from an XC spin, just cardio, busting out a few KOMS on strava, but tomorrow I'm going for an AM jaunt so I need to tweak the lsc on my 36s and put a few more psi in my rp23. Oh and I probably need swap from my 60a Ardents to some WTB Vigilante TCS AMs and seat them on my flows. I'll probably take my spds off and stick some flatties on too as I feel like wearing my Freerider VXIs. /Sarcasm.

If the average punter reading someone's advice on STW can't be arsed using google and wants everything on a public forum spelled out for him in simpleton language so that he can understand it...well...

🙂

Someone is going to the trouble to offer very specific advice. The least you could go is google "BMW E45" (like the rest of us did at some point) and then its problem solved. The rest of the car world uses that very very simple language, you'd pick it up in no time at all if its important to you. If its not, don't read it and don't ask about it

We have a skoda estate and its a great car. But the boot isn't a great shape. You can almost as much in our Honda Jazz.

I'd try and get a Honda estate maybe

I half agree with you but most people just want simple advice like "Mondeos are great after the 2006 facelift, all the cars prior to that are made from cheese"
Once they learn more they may need more help distinguishing between versions.

I really should have put a wink after the maiden aunt comment!

Are Merc C220s any good? Plenty around for about £10k.

The just replaced style are nice but the boot is too small IMO which is a shame. Avoid the round light model (no idea what the model number is). The newer model with the more aggressive angular lights was okay but improved a lot in the 2nd revision that has just been replaced with a new model.

Honda accord is huge too and Honda petrol engines are normally bomb proof...unless they messed that one up.

The reliability thing is not just about the parts - it's also about how the car is assembled.

We've had both an 06 plate golf (the 105 TDI) and an 09 Octavia 1.4 tsi. both were second hand, the Skoda with about 30,000 more miles on it. I have to say (obviously anecdotal evidence) that the Skoda seems to have been put together far better. Less creaks and rattles, for starters. In fact - none.

Ginormous boot space. We'd have got a Superb but were living on a Victorian terraced street at the time, so parking was a bit nightmarish. We'll probably buy a Superb next.

At the time, we looked at the Mazda 6 estate (massive) and the Honda Accord Aerodeck. A 3 series bimmer also looked good, but was a bit more spendy, and likely more expensive to service and insure, if possibly funererer.

The Octavia has a big old boot and split seats, certainly on the trim level we had. I seem to remember we paid well under 10k for it, and it costs about £250 a year to insure fully comp and £126 to tax.

Audi S4
Er, no. In the OP's price range you'll be looking at a B6/7 V8 ones which just aren't very good. They sound nice, but they're not great to drive. The B8 one is a different kettle of fish.
I'd be looking at an E60 with a six pot petrol engine at around £10k.

C'mon, be a man... A B5 and a trip to MRC tuning please!

Skoda octavia scout 4x4

If you truly want a big boot, the A4 and BMW3 aren't really what you're looking for. You'd want an A6 or a 5.

If you want a car that is cheap to run and massive then the Mondeo estate is your vehicle of choice. The luggage space is much bigger than the A4 or Passat.

I've just got a 13 plate Peugeot 508 SW, I know its not German, but the initial purchase price reflects this. Its got a huge boot, all the bells and whistles, full panoramic roof so you can lust after your bike when its on the bike carrier. Dirt cheap to run and tax is low too. Love it.