Thetownend.com

Im starting some car shopping at the moment, looking to buy in the next few months. Is there any car buffs you guys would recomend looking at.
Ive been looking at getting either an Audi a3, VW Golf, or a BMW 3 series
Looking at spending no more that 7k so will need to be second hand but no more that 3/4 years
Looking at something reasonably nippy, reliable and not a ton to run.

none you mention are cheap to run.and damn expensive when they go wrong

Go for a Turbo Diesel model if you want cheap to run.

Whatever you do don't go for a passat they're a living nightmare when they go wrong and can be very expensive,most seem to have a fault with the abs aswell.

I would go for toyota one of the most reliable cars going in my opinion.

Likewise, but my requirements are...

Estate car
Looking for lots of space
Ideally no more than 18 months old
Budget of £12k-£13k
Several trips to Scotland per year, so comfortable (& hopefully economical) over long distances

Thanks.

What he said. Just paid 230 Euro (about £200 ish) for 1 tyre for my A3.

To be fair costs seem cheaper in mainland Europe than the UK. I paid approx 400 Euro for Audi to service my car last year.

If you want some fun get a BMW 330i Coupe.

Get one of those little Indian cars for a laugh,

I got a 56 plate 1.3cdti Astra, they do the estate version as well, it will pull 120mph and I can get from Chard in Somerset to Dundee on under a tank full of diesel about £55, I know cos I do it 4 times a year.

ford mondeo diesel estate? should tick all the boxes

If you're going to buy a golf, don't try and buy it off of gumtree....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8222087.stm

Tata

Thanks chaps.

Any Vauxhall diesel estate will fit the bill. The new Insignia's are very nice, but a bit above your bidget at £16k for nearly new second hand.

what car.parkers etc offer good reviews on cars,price depreciation,running costs etc,etc.worth a look i'd say before taking the plunge

And Chubbs, have a look at Seat Leon Cupras. Very nice cars and should be available in your budget.

Give it a couple of months and they'll have depreciated to your value budget.

bye

 :bye:

Was waiting for that!!

Also look at Jag X type, Mazda 6

Mazda 6 is already on the shortlist.  I've heard good things.

Buy my Saab 93 TID Sport with Hirsch Chip......£9k ish   07 plate.

Fucking behave, My Passat is fucking superb, 55 to the gallon, goes like stink, fantastic finish, and reliable as fuck. No problems what so ever.

Totally irrelevant but you can get a brand new ford mustang in the US for 12k. Now that is cheap as chips.

You must be one of the lucky ones then,because i know for a fact that they have this problem.It could depend on the usage of your passat i suppose,these were all brought as fleet cars and had the same problem,it may also be that certain year to which they may have fixed the problem now,these were the 05/06 plates.

Good on fuel but so is the toyota avensis. 

My BMW has been pretty cheap, I've had it since new and its over 10 years old now and I only got hit by one nasty bill for £800 to sort the brakes out last year. Other than that its been pretty cheap and the servicing costs are reasonable - nowhere near as expensive as people think. Mind you, I did get a new engine under warranty and then there was the £5k insurance claim after a mini pile up on the M4.

Don't get a Beemer or an Audi unless you want to confirm you are a cunt.

I also like the Seat Leon Cupra's.

punto

Oi!!

its a nice motor, economical and very roomy probably only bettered by the mondeo. Had mine about a year now only thing I would say is the ride is quite hard.

As for the leon cupras since they rounded the back end i think they have got uglier and the interior is far from what you would expect.

I thought you were only asking £7k a couple of weeks ago?  :)

A non-turbo (2.0 GX) Subaru Impreza would be quite fun in that bracket, but not a cheap runner.

I looked at Golfs, A3s and a BMW1 series as well, but (whisper it) you might as well buy a decent recent Focus. You get the same amount of car for about £2.5k less, it's a decent drive and it's cheap as chips to run.

If it was coupe I would give you cash tomorrow

 :D

Ahh, mine is an 08 plate. i did hear about fuel pump problems with the 05/06 models but they have sorted them out now. 

I'll get the welder out Fred!

Well I've done the research now.  (My spreadsheet is a work of art!)  The front runners at the moment are:

  - Volkswagen Passat Estate 2.0 TDI CR 140 S
  - Mazda 6 Estate 2.0 D 140bhp TS
  - Ford Mondeo Estate 2.0 TDCI Zetec

with the Passat in first place.  (Wife not too keen on the idea of a Mondeo for some reason.)  Thanks to Russ and Fogster for their pointers!

show your mrs reviews of the mondeo and test drive one.

Think any one of those 3 will do you fine. Personally I'd probably take the Passat as its German built and I am a bit bioused driving an Audi, however my dad has always driven a Mondeo since the year dot and never once had a problem so the Ford would be a decent option as well.

For reliability you have to buy Jap. Anything made by Honda, Nissan or Toyota is not going to let you down and service costs still lower compared to BMW, VW and Audi. IMO the Honda Accord estate diesel 2.2 easily ticks all the boxes. Not the best looking car out there but still probably one of the best estates going.

I bought a 18 months old Passat Estate 2.0 TDI 6 months ago and it's great. Being German its very solid. Goes really well, good economy, carries loads. I bought it through a private sale and the 30,000 mile service at VW was £160. This will also hold it's value more than the other 2 mentioned.

Of those three, the Mazda.

The Passat won.  Picked it up from the dealer in Tunbridge Wells this morning.  57 plate with 18,000 miles on the clock.  Spent £1k more than I was hoping to, but got the SE version so I'm happy.  Sad to see my old Focus go though.

Looking out on to the driveway now, and the car looks ####ing huge!  First ever estate car and I'm suddenly feeling very middle aged.

This is a pretty good site http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/(S(hbcjvw55jaj5ta55ndmlhtqm))/Search/default.aspx

I know the feeling, I have just ordered a brand new Volvo V50 1.6D Drive-e estate, my first estate and being a Volvo means I will have a real old mans car! but the 84.9 mpg threw the balance its way over the Mondeo or Qashqui.

Beats the pants off my 21.9 mpg

Well you are fucking old, so quit moaning. Road hog...........

84.9 mpg? Are you sure? That's quite something for a 1.6 in a (fairly) hefty car.

Yes mate its the 1.6 diesel drive-e stop start, it turns the engine off at standstill and has back up batteries for the air con etc, its more economical than the Pruis overall and as you say its a fucking whopper of a car, the Civic went out of my price range in the end.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/grouptests/240172/volvo_v50_drive_startstop.html

official figures 57.7 urban, 83.1 extra urban, 72.4 combined, but on the test drive I drove at a steady 54 on cruise control and it got to 91.2 on the trip computer average mpg.

Got it ordered for delivery end of January.

And yes I am fucking old!