Estate car sub 3k but which one ?

[Chilliman]

Been looking at Merc E class, lot of car for the money. Won't be doing lots of miles in it. Doesn't have to be quick or overly economical, more smart, comfortable, and roomy... Any other suggestions ?

Cheers,

Chilli

[300bhp/ton]

Chilliman said:

Been looking at Merc E class, lot of car for the money. Won't be doing lots of miles in it. Doesn't have to be quick or overly economical, more smart, comfortable, and roomy... Any other suggestions ?

Cheers,

Chilli

erm I reckon quite a bit of scope tbh, X-Type, ZT-T, Volvo's (many of them), BMW's, Audi's, Ford's, Vauxhalls even. In fact I'd say almost every major car maker that sells in the UK probably has a contender to a greater or lesser degree

[Chilliman]

ZT-T is a good thought, I quite like the Rover 75, and I had a ZS180 as a daily for a couple of years. Just need to be sure the belts have been done and the viz valves are OK...

Was wondering if anyone could reccommend a good choice (or otherwise) from personal experience...

[cpl_payne]

Chilliman said:

Been looking at Merc E class, lot of car for the money. Won't be doing lots of miles in it. Doesn't have to be quick or overly economical, more smart, comfortable, and roomy... Any other suggestions ?

Cheers,

Chilli

Not sure how much Merc 3k buys these days. Subaru Legacy on the other hand... matches almost all criteria, apart from the 'smart'.

[300bhp/ton]

We had a Legacy, it was a bit ropey but I think they are rather good tbh. We also had a Volvo 960 which was solid solid solid and seemed to do everything well.

[ben5732]

Volvo. Got one, love it. Only FWD car ive ever liked.

[otolith]

We ended up with one of these:



Saab 9-5 Aero, very comfortable, very spacious, decent performance for a cheap barge. Not really a driver's car, but we didn't need that from it. Ours was sub-2k, I expect 3k would buy a very nice example.

[cpl_payne]

300bhp/ton said:

We had a Legacy, it was a bit ropey ...

They all do that (C)

Also, spare part prices can make Merc look like a bargain. Other than that - lots of space, unpretentious and surprisingly comfortable.

[louiebaby]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Would be the first place I'd look, or something similar...

[robsa]

How about an E39? This one is nice, and only £2k:

http://goo.gl/DbGqx



Get the 6 cylinder engine - they go on forever if maintained.

Wonderful car!

ETA: Beaten to it! LOL

[louiebaby]

If you can haggle, and would prefer a manual oil burner, how about:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

I am kinda biased, but I love mine...

[toppstuff]

Another vote for a Saab 95 here.

Great old barge. Auto, leather, heated seats, aircon, reliable, quick, quiet, costs buttons.

[falkster]

otolith said:

We ended up with one of these:



Saab 9-5 Aero, very comfortable, very spacious, decent performance for a cheap barge. Not really a driver's car, but we didn't need that from it. Ours was sub-2k, I expect 3k would buy a very nice example.

I bought my mate a 2001 9-5t for less than a grand almost 12 months ago. It's an awesome car!

My money for 3k would be a Audi Allroad - theyre great. I had one for 12 months and it never let me down, sold it to a friend and never let him down either. For 3k you might be able to get an 04 plate.

[fozzymandeus]

Mondeo! They are HUGE!

[Efbe]

Chilliman said:

Been looking at Merc E class, lot of car for the money. Won't be doing lots of miles in it. Doesn't have to be quick or overly economical, more smart, comfortable, and roomy... Any other suggestions ?

Cheers,

Chilli

what's the estate for, family, general or just looks?

how about something a little bigger, and IMO looks good and modern for the price: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JEEP-Grand-Cherokee-CRD-...

if not then my money is on the MG or E class.

[McSam]

otolith said:

We ended up with one of these:



Saab 9-5 Aero, very comfortable, very spacious, decent performance for a cheap barge. Not really a driver's car, but we didn't need that from it. Ours was sub-2k, I expect 3k would buy a very nice example.

So hard to argue with this there are oodles of them around, and you could save £1k of the budget for a remap and fuel.

[pacificf1]

lexus is300 sportcross

[captainzep]

ben5732 said:

Volvo. Got one, love it. Only FWD car ive ever liked.

Love our V70 D5. The attraction is subtle, they grow on you the more miles you do, -ergonomics, fantastic seats, D5 engine, quite fun to hustle along despite the soft chassis and numb steering.

In the last couple of weeks ours has brought building supplies and garden centre plants home, taken office rubbish to the tip, kids and dog to the beach and half a pig to be butchered. Not all at the same time. Strange but true.

Put 50k miles on it, it's good in the snow, it will sit on the motorway quiet, wafty and stable all day long and rarely gives us less than 42mpg.

Ours has been abused and the steering's groaning, dropping a smidge of oil, but it's a faithfull old hound.

Plenty of tidier/younger ones than ours for £3k.

I would: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Edited by captainzep on Tuesday 3rd April 23:46

[ben5732]

V70 T5 here. Mpg was better than expected, love the noise though the T5s ride is a little on the hard side. Changed from a E39 535i auto. Only had it about a month and already put 3k on it with 2 trips to France. Loads of poke. If you want an oil burner for range though out of all the estates you could get id say the D5 is the best allrounder and for a diesel actually still sounds rather nice.

[BorkFactor]

robsa said:

How about an E39? This one is nice, and only £2k:

http://goo.gl/DbGqx



Get the 6 cylinder engine - they go on forever if maintained.

Wonderful car!

ETA: Beaten to it! LOL

Lovely car, but that particular one has been for sale for months. As in, long before my ST24 was sold!