Brickhouse

I am still in need of an automatic gearbox but need an estate car now. What automatic estates can anyone recommend for under £2,000? I do about 200 miles a week, insurance is not a problem, running costs, well the cheaper the better but not a huge issue!

bj928

i,ve got a merc E320 cdi estate auto, i only paid £500 for it, lovely mileage eater, not so good on diesel round town being auto, but on a run i can get 45 mpg showing on the computer, parts are also cheap for the older mercs, the mercs do rust a bit so buy wisely, engines are bulit to last, C class are smaller but nice

jonfoc

Passat 1.9 PD tdi. Done 100k in 3 years can't fault mine

STeve

iTrader: (11)

plenty of focus auto estates out there

Brickhouse

Any particular engines to avoid with the Focus 1-PD ?

100k in 3 years, so over 30k a year......Bloody 'ell jonfoc you do some serious mileage!! Was looking earlier at Passat B5.5 PD estates and at the top of the Ebay page is suggests other cars, one being an Audi estate, almost sure they are the same engine as the Passat and same chassis?

STeve

iTrader: (11)

like with any car mate just check servicing, smaller petrol engine ones can struggle but tdci or 1.8/2.0 should be fine either in mk1 facelift form or mk2 , auto gearbox is pretty bulletproof and parts etc should you need them are all cheap, saw one last week 08 plate ghia auto which went for £1700

Dal_

iTrader: (2)

Volvo V70 estate. Bomb proof and capable of stellar mileage with an automatic being quite common.

High mile one: £375 for 272,000 miles
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ice-asc&page=1

£1690 for 83,900 miles:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...mileage&page=1

Can probably find a decent diesel one with automatic for not much if you look longer than the 2 minutes I just did.. lol

Supercharge6

I agree with Dal - go for a Swede...

Volvo v70 estate or Saab 95 estate - bullet proof and will last longer than pretty much anything else...

Research your engines though as some are better than others..

95 Aero is a rocket on the motorway as is the v70r..

Cheap as chips and 200K+ miles is no problem on these cars if they are looked after..

burnzy

Bomb proof apart from the issue of the core plug behind the flywheel that has a habit of popping out that caps off the high pressure side of the oil gallery meaning once it goes you loose all your oil in a matter of seconds and because an auto will more than likely have never had the engine and box apart yet most won't have been changed for an updated part.

Well documented on the internet as I looked into it and was one of the reasons I stayed clear of the Volvo and went for a Merc, the PD engines are good but the CVT gearboxes are not, fords 4 speed iirc really suffers with mpg figures (in the mondeo anyway) the w210 Merc that you'll find for your price range will more than likely be rotten as most of them are, I had a real dilemma finding a big estate that was auto, I ended up buying a 190k w211 e-class 320cdi, not without its faults like SBC failure but I think I got the better end of the stick with it.

Edit: if it's diesel your after that is, I guess if petrol is acceptable then you have a lot more options and volvo's are probably a good bet just not in d5 guise.

jonfoc

My passat is on 215k it still returns over 50mpg on a run. Just change the oil and filters regularly and these engines are known to do 500,000 miles. Mines still on the original clutch and turbo too!

jonfoc

Yeah virtually same car. It's the pump deuce engine you want not the later version.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Mondeo

gcfcos

Best cars I've ever had had been e36 bmws. Can get some nice touring automatics that have been tastefully updated/modified

Fil

i bought a 1995 (W124) 320E a few months back for 1500, only done 172K, leather , aircon, cruise control, 7 seats, lovely to drive ( waft about in )

STeve

iTrader: (11)

says the man who went out for a pint of milk and came back with a 7 series bmw

Brickhouse

Thanks greatly for the help/advice

I do love the MK3 Mondeo's as have one at the mo' but its a hatchback, a 2.5 V6 Auto, lucky to get anything past 22MPG as most of my driving is city and country lane driving. I read into the MK3 Mondeo diesels and many reports are saying how the injectors fail and that its an expensive job?

Looking at the Volvo V70 autos, seems to have good reports and they are huge, infact would I need an HGV1 licence to be able to drive one

Saab's, they are getting reviews that they have the same engine as the Vauxhall Vectra? I dont know how good these engines are but hope the chassis is not based on the Vectra as they are not the best cars to drive......Had a hatchback Vectra for a few weeks some years ago, had to sell it as the handling was terrible, it was an SRI version too.

Never driven a Merc so dont know anything about them apart from they have the class appeal to them, also in my 24 years of driving I have never owned a RWD car, from what I have read there is no difference to a FWD car as in handling wise unless really pushed to the limit and then they act differently, also what about RWD cars in the winter, read many stories of the likes of BMW's, Merc's etc being stuck in winter.....What confuses me is that BMW etc come from Germany and they have far worse winters than us and they still manage to get about?

Fil

thats all down to tyres, most abroad run two sets of tyres.

Si74

iTrader: (1)

Honda Accord Tourer, had a 2ltr auto and now have a 2.4, gutsy on petrol but otherwise, I love it!

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

My brother on laws mk3 mondy diesel has over 177k on it and hes had no problems with his.

slammedorion

I'll be shot down on here for this...
But for your budget I'd suggest looking at Vectra C estates...

If you went diesel budget for a dpf, and egr delete...
Don't think you'll buy much newer for your money.

Adam-M

Fuck that lol

Brickhouse

Excellent help, thanks.

I must admit I did look up a Vectra Estate Auto! I had a Vectra B SRI V6 some years ago and hated it (I thought it was a C) There is a Vectra estate on Ebay at the moment and it is a 3.2 V6, so fuel costs maybe an issue but being that sized engine it must go well......But I wonder if it is like the Vectra B, any corners and you die I found straight line performance of my B to be good but handling was crap.

Also there are 2 more that have popped up whilst looking through Ebay......

A Scooby Impreza Wagon Auto classic shape, its to 2.0 Sport so the non-turbo.....Wonder how good these are on fuel, and if they go wrong how easy/expensive they are to fix as the engines look really strange, I cant even see the spark plugs on them from any of the engine pics?!

And lastly..... A Land Rover Freelander Td4 auto, again, I know nothing at all about these engines. Also it would be the first car I have ever owned that is high, dont know if I would like the ride height as always had cars fairly low to the ground?

gcfcos

I used to look after a Subaru sport for a customer and it wasnt the best on fuel but seemed robust enough. Its a flat 4 engine so the spark plugs are on the sides of the engine. The none turbo ones from my experience seem very reliable. I also look after a couple of td4 Land Rovers and there both autos. Apart from regular servicing I've never had to do anything major on them. The petrol ones on the other hand steer well clear!