Please recommend me a diesel, estate, economical, reliable. Looks not important (nor gadgetry). And most importantly any idea what I need to pay to get something reliable that wont cost massively for a few years.
Ta

Avoid a Honda accord tourer. I have a six year old one and the rear brakes destroy discs, rear calipers seize, tailgat stopped opening (luckily picked up under extended warranty but £800 repair otherwise), abs/vsa control unit failed. Apart from that it’s great. I really expect a far more reliable car from Honda.

Octavia used to be the car of choice on here. Many have now moved “up” to Audi, I think…

I’ve just got an Octavia Estate and it has a huge boot. I’ve removed the 2nd boot floor to give even more space.

All the items that normally fill the boot and the between kids/footwell in my old Vectra fitted in the boot and there was still space to spare.

It’s the 1.6 Elegance and I got 59mpg average driving to Cornwall and back with 2xAdults, 2xKids, 1xKids bike, 1 Vango Tigris 600 tent and all the bedding/assorted paraphernalia that goes with it.

It’s cost me £13000 for a 60 plate with 20,000 on the clock, but –

My insurance has dropped by £30 per month

VED is £30 per year

£65 to fill up with fuel every fortnight;350 miles per week, instead of £85 every 10 days (getting close to half the cost)

I have the hatchback octavia 54 plate with a 1.9tdi. Happily get 60+mpg and plan to change to the estate version when the time comes. Anything from that year on is the mk2 heard nothing but praise for them.

my octavia used to do 60mpg was well. Only note of caution is that the electrics can get a bit dodgy, particularly in the doors etc.

Budget? Ultra cheap, reliable and basic would be a lower mileage 306 td estate, love mine, bought it at 99k for £300 several years ago, has cost me less than a grand in servicing and maintainance since then, It’s been my most reliable car ever owned, and now has 166k on the clock. I do an 80 mile return commute in it and get 55mpg. Boot space is cavernous too, considering it based on a fairly small car. Just serviced it today, don’t expect to change it this year, or hopefully the next…

Thanks folks. Any views on fabia estates?

I have a Roomster. Based on a fabia, but taller. Means you can get bikes in quite easy. I get two bikes in upright with just the front wheel off. All back seats fold or can be removed totally making a van. I average 55mpg on runs, low VED and insurance. Get the basic model pretty cheap. Or the one I have with the full glass roof, makes it a nice place to sit. Love mine.

Ford Mondeo estate huge car , solid and reliable, diesel easily does 40mpg, I had one for 3 years never a single problem.

Avoid Buy a Honda accord tourer. I have a six seven year old one and the rear brakes destroy discs, rear calipers seize,need a bit of careful maintenance from time to time, tailgate stopped opening works perfectly , abs/vsa control unit failed is the same as on many Mazda and VAG cars that also have the same problem that can be fixed for under £300 quid instead of spending £1600 on a new one. Apart from that it’s great. I really expect a far more such a reliable car from Honda.

Just for balance, like…..

Focus Estate. Not as huge as the Monsdeo, but better mpg, and still takes 2 bikes with wheels on easily.

Love mine.

APF

+1 for the Octavia estate and even the VRS TDi model turns in 48mpg on average or 52 if driven sensibly / 40 if ragged about.

I spent £1200 on a Focus estate 2 years ago, it’s been badtempered at times but then, it was 10 years and 100000 miles old and it’d been neglected at points. But returned ridiculous mpg, swallowed bikes and kit… If I was buying another, I’d spend more for good condition but you can get a good one for around this price.

See also: Mondeo, if you want bigger, and don’t mind bigger. A service history with “DMF replacement” in it would be good though if it’s done a decent amount of miles.

My 2005 Mondeo hatchback boot was waaaay bigger than my 2006 Octy estate boot. Could fit a bike in with the wheels off quite comfortably in the Mondeo. Requires some serious effort to do the same in the Octy.

You could park an Octavia in the back of a Mondeo Not just about size, also usable space- the flat entry of the Fords and the width of the boot makes all the difference.

Audi A4 avant? My 98 lasted till 2010 with only a spark plug change. You could pick up an 04 plate for around 5k and if you find a one in decent condition it shouldn’t need anything done on it for years – providing you find one which has had a timing belt chance.

I get around 50-60mpg on every day pootling and it is large enough to comfortably take 3 folk with downhill bikes.

pretty much any recent diesel skoda and your away.
The audi/vw equiv of each are obviously nicer in every respect except when it comes to part costs. £245 for a new A/C compressor from skoda, £415 from audi. For exactly the same part, made in same factory, for same engine. Don’t get me wrong, I like audi’s, but the stealerships are mostly an overpriced waste of space.

Also just about any TDCi powered ford will see you right. 2005> focus estates with the 1.6 tdci (£30 a year tax! and dirty cheap insurance) come up for way cheaper than they should be and they are a hoot to drive, but can still give you 55/60mpg even when your not trying.

I have just sold an 2003 130bhp Passat TDI. Paid £3,500 for it 2 years ago with 58k on the clock. Has been pretty reliable, but be warned servicing costs have mounted up.

I never changed cam belt (we sold it with 93k on the clock, so it was due). Regardless of this I spent circa £1.5k in servicing costs over the two years and there were some additional work that I would need to have had done if it was still mine in 6 months, which I recon was another £600 + as a minimum.

Still, probably cheapest motoring I will ever have. Have a company car now, so paying £££ tax for a thirsty Nissan Juke turbo petrol. Passats are quite common on ebay and according to the garage people keep TDIs going for 150k + no problem (they were servicing an Audi A4 TDI with 250k on the clock, still fine).

Also had a Mondeo TDI hatch (about 7 years ago, great car, put a large bike in the back with no need for wheel removal). Would happily have another.

If I were buying a newer car, I would be tempted by a number from the Skoda range, including Roomster, Octavia estate or Fabia estate. I have had roof racks on my Passat (and now Juke), so this has knackered fuel economy, but big estates swallow a bike no problem and some of the skodas can be had with clever upright bike mount things, so you can keep the bike upright in the back, fork bolted to a qr skewer.