in the near future i should be looking to buy two cars.

the first is to be a family car, so 4 doors, most likely an estate for between 5-6k

must be reliable, not too bad on fuel, and reasonable insurance. so no evo's unfortunatly... thought about a 4x4 but what are tyre/part prices like for them?

looking at alfa 159 estates at the mo.... or merc 320d estate...

the second is my work run about between 2-3k. so again, must be reliable, ill be doing 100 miles a week to work and back so the more fuel economic the better, and again, cheapish to insure, so no scoobys lol

looing at a clio 182 etc maybe a toyota celica new shape, or an mr-s... but i like 'fun' cars something to fuck about with, maybe do track days etc

ideally id like something different for them, but beggars cant be choosers and all that...

so, what do you lot have in mind that i havnt thought of..?

 

First thing fella,put all thoughts of Alfa Romeos out of your mind,their still unreliable badly built pieces of shit and are only marginally better than they were in the 90's.

320d is a cracker,albeit a touch pricey but well within your range.merc the same but beware of rust on mercs,surprisingly bad for such lovely cars.

Passat/a4 avant are great motors and Volvo v70 range also superb.

Avoid 4x4 if economies an issue.I've got an ml 270cdi and it's a great bit of kit but right now 30mpg,at best round town is really hurting the wallet,tyres etc seem fine on it but fuel is a killer.

As for a reliable toy,get something turbo so there's scope to tune it a bit in the future,again I'd be looking more from the German stable but those seat Leon cupra things seem a lot of car for the money,nice 200bhp motor with respectable mileage.

Avoid French unless you want it more track than road,100 miles a day will soon see a shitty Renault fall to pieces.

Anything jap is good bar the Celica vvt thing,my mate worked in a scrappy and everyone one in there had a blown lump,at some low mileages as well,don't know why.

Civic type r look good or the less fashionable accord,still a quick q car and their out there for £3k,2 would be pushing it IMO.

From the ford range your in focus St 170 territory which are robust enough,but pretty thirsty and a tad slow.surprisingly the economy never really improves if you dawdle either,their just thirsty!!!

You could possibly get an astra coupe turbo for £3k but it's torque steer heaven/hell and perhaps not economy friendly!!!

I take it good news insurance wise then?

 

mondeo st220 diesel for your family car and would easily pull a trailor and car for track days

and a clio 172/ civic type r / fiesta st to mess about with

 

BMW 320/330D Tourer

Passat TDi Estate

Audi A4/A6 TDi Avant

Volvo V70 2.5 D5 SE - Flying machine!

Honda Accord Estate 2.2 i-CTDI Executive or Sport - My personal fave and excellent value for money. Try find one with the optional nav and wheel upgrade, electric taligate is standard. Listen out for cam chain noise as when I used to sell them I had 1 which was slightly noisy, wasn't a cheap job to rectify. Don't worry about miles, just make sure the service history is in order. 140 bhp standard and I should imagine go well with a remap. They handle very well for a large car too and are relatively quiet for a wiesel diesel

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc...ord_ictdi.html

 

you ain't gonna get a new merc at that price, so i'm assuming you are talking about the older stuff, but you can find 5 series td's about for well within your budget, plus it's a big car with plenty of space and if you find an estete it'll fit the bill perfectly

or you can look at an a6, but the badge snobery that goes with it will mean it's going to cost more than the equivalent bmw

as for smaller sportier cars, insurance will be the biggest factor here

 

i have a vauxhall monterey 3.1td 110k going cheap 550-600 mate will tow, super engine, fairly good condition long mot and a few months ticket, tow bar with twin electrics

 

very underrated - try one

 

thats a cheap 4x4! especially this time of year

 

Family car - E46 BMW 320d, great mpg, superb interior and they dont half shift

Runabout - Golf GTTDI, my brother has just bought one and its a cracking car, got it for 3k with full history and 119k on the clock

The lad who does my cnc machining has got the bmw but hgis is the 3 door sport, not sure if they do this model in a 4 door, but I can say from experience that it drives like a petrol in the way it revs and considering he boots it every where the mpg is amazing.

 

cheers lads. i do like the seat leon, but never driven one, also the accord estate appeals too. i looked at the beemer but they seem a tad pricey and are a bit older.

my brother has an a6 and had nothing but trouble with it, and dad has had 3x a4's that were good, but parts are very pricey.

ill have another look at the 320d, as dad has recentlt got one on a 59 plate and that is ovely. but ill be looking at an 03 or something lol.

cheers, any more suggestions welcomed

 

German estate

French hatch


sorted

 

Volvo V70 2.5 D5 SE Estate (Auto) as a family car; drove one recently, very very impressed!

maybe look at a civic type-r or clio 172/182 for a bit of fun

 

Skoda octavia vrs estate as a family car maybe the diesel one

And a zetec turbo 3dr for the fun car or a Leon cupra r

 

rs-tuner - lol

forgot to say that we do approk 7k miles a year in the family car if that helps lol.

been looking at the 320d estates and get get tidy looking ones for around £6500, buy they all have big miles 100k plus.

ill have a look at the volvo's

the missus said that the 159 looks like a hearse, not shown her the accord yet lol

i do think that the 159 is a good looking car tho

 

As has been said, BMW 3 series estate 320D 330D 328 petrol (thirsty but I love mine) are all good for your family wagon.

Charlie

 

if you only do 7k miles a year, i would say forget having a diesel - it won't be worth the premium you pay in the first place and the higher service and potential repair costs.

that is the worst advice you have ever given on this forum, german and french cars are shit.

 

Why are german cars shit?

 

i would look at some a BMW estate, if you are only doing 7k miles a year a 323/5/8 will still return decent mpg while been cheaper than a diesel. You could even look at at 5 series they are very good family cars.

A daily runner which is fun i would look at skoda vrs, focus st170, civic type r, all decent cars that can give a bit of go as well.

 

Clio 182 is a great little car. Had a blast in my mate's I borrowed for a couple of hours

 

These make a great family diesel mate, personally out of the e46 and the merc i prefer these

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...p&platform=DFA

 

Vauxhall vectra estate and a corsa.

 

not good quality.

 

Are you joking

 

 

i do not like the vectra's at all, and having driven a fair few of them, i deffo wont pay for one lol.

also the family car will be most ly driven by the wife, and having looked at the v70, they are a bit big for her lol.

the 3 series tourer is looking good at the mo tho

seen a nice clio 182 on auto trader, but its a cat D, that doesnt really put me off tbh, but i may call the trader and ask why etc.

im looking at about £500-£550 insurance on a clio 182/civic type r/seat leon cupra r etc scooby is about £800, and an evo fq320 was £770 lol hmm...

 

escort cos is also £770 insurance on a std one, but a saph is £1770 odd! fook that for a taxi

 

the link is for quiet a good motor

avangarde is the top spec and it looks like it's got the 4 pot stoppers as well

 

Last week I retailed a passat 1.9tdi se estate dec 07 57reg. 105k fvwsh ex fleet. Clean car. We ended up taking £5,750 for it. Sweet remap and would have been a tidy car for your budget and IMO better value than a 7 year old 320.

 

I really wouldn't say 100k is big miles for any modern car to be honest. You can have just as much trouble with a low mileage car as a high mileage one, IMO. It is just luck of the draw sometimes. I always buy on condition and history before mileage

 

Why do you say there not good quality ?

 

ime they are not as well built as japanese cars, and they seem to figure quite highly in roadside breakdowns.

imo, for the money, they have a very high perceived quality which is down to clever use of interior materials and advertising, but the production quality of the mechanical components does not match the perceived quality. just my opinion from working in the automotive component supply business for over 10 years having visited many engineering offices and factories globally over the years.

and as for french cars, they should be given away with a box of cereal or a happy meal, that is what i think of their quality.

 

Vectra 150 with the XP pack, simple Remap and your lookin at a nippy family car.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1501?logcode=p

Clio 172 Cup, daily drive/weekend car?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...36uw?logcode=p

 

At least we can agree on French cars

 

well, the wife has said she doesnt want a bomw as when they go wrong, they cost a lot to fix.... but i tried to explain that so most cars lol. also they are shit in the snow. not that it snows that often lol

i also spotted this that i quite like, now, im the first one to diss a french shitbox. but i like it. mostly the colour lol. says cat d, but that doesnt really put me off.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p