Estate car max budget of 10k - BMW E90/Volvo V50/Audi A4 or?

Estate car max budget of 10k - BMW E90/Volvo V50/Audi A4 or?

Author
Discussion

jay6s

Original Poster:

10 posts

112 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all

Hi All,
Hoping i can get some advice or guidance.

Looking to buy a small estate car with a max budget of 10k

Not keen on French cars nor Ford or Vauxhall or Skoda (badge snob) My yearly mileage will be 6-9k therefore want a petrol car (all issues with DPF on modern Diesels) something that is still good on road tax and fuel economy, no more than 70,000 miles or so ideally, although would buy on condition. Like a newish car nothing older than 6 years.

Narrowed it down to the choices below:

BMW E90 estate – 318i or 320i in M sport (4 cylinder) – like the look of the car but heard a few horror stories on the engine – any opinions? Is a 4 pot BMW any good?
Volvo V50 estate – 2.0 petrol. Issue here is there old ford engines, would get a newer car then the BMW but worried that the engines are not the best and transmission is still only 5 gears, would like 6 for motorway economy.
Audi A4 1.8 TFSI B8 model (2008+)– stretching the budget as I would like a S line version.

Wild card
Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TFSI (older model) – but Mrs says its too big – parking issues so probably a no

Any other opinions on the above or any other cars I should consider?

Many Thanks
Jay

Smuler

2,286 posts

138 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
BMWs are better dynamically, so if you enjoy driving its obvious choice. Could you not get a six cylinder say 325 for 10k? On your low miles I definitely would not worry about getting one over 70k. Buy on condition not mileage. The six cylinder engines are great !

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

254 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
Volvo V70 diesel.

Shirt587

360 posts

134 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
I had this problem.

Man maths resulted in a 545i estate.

Don't go looking, you can get them surprisingly cheap...

irocfan

40,152 posts

189 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
SRT8 300C?

jay6s

Original Poster:

10 posts

112 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
I would like something economical as do lot of short journeys.

Bmw 6 cylinder would be good but not economical

Volvo v70 too big plus do not want a diesel as don't do enough miles


bigdom

2,072 posts

144 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
No engine will be economical on short journeys, just buy one with the engine you want. All cars have internet horror stories, most never come to fruition. In reality parts break and cars require servicing.

BMW, rear wheel drive, nicest car to drive.
Volvo, definitely not one of their best
Audi A4, S Line suspension, isn't pleasant, nice car in se spec.

Depends on how long you intend to keep it, the 6 cylinder engine is really the only way forward for a badge snob, anything else is window dressing.

phil_cardiff

7,041 posts

207 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
quotequote all
I was faced with exactly the same choice recently, though my budget was only 9k max.

I ended up buying a 2006 325i estate in excellent condition and 66k miles for 6.5k. I considered all of the alternatives but I wanted the best driver's car possible. My only regret is not getting a 330i but none were available within 150 miles and I needed a car in a hurry.

pointedstarman

551 posts

145 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
quotequote all
Take a look at the 5 series. Yes it's bigger but when driving it's not noticable and when parking the (standard on all models) front and rear parking sensors plus visual idrive display makes things surprisingly easy. MPG for a petrol won't differ that much from a 4 cylinder for short journeys so shouldn't be too much of a concern.