Best CHEAP Estate or 4x4 for under £1000?

[smallzoo]

I am looking to buy a 'CHEAP' estate. Its going to be a basic workhorse for carrying our large (16st) dog and will only do around 3k miles a year

From my own experience and by looking at your reviews and others I have narrowed it down to the following which are currently on sale for between £500 and £1000 :-

Focus 1.8 or 2.0 Estate
Vauxhall Astra 1.8 Estate
Vauxhall Vectra 2.5 Estate
Hond Aerodeck 2.0 Estate
Volvo V40 Estate
Volvo V70 2.4 or T5 estate
Mercedes 250TD estate

I have also considered some 4x4's
Vauxhall Monterrey
Daihatsu Sportrak 1.6
Honda CRV
Jeep Cherokee

Any views on these

Many thanks

P.S. I currently have a Subari Outback 1999 2.5l. Nice car starting to spend money on it now and it isnt cheap to fix !

[Steffan]

Nice car and I think its still up. There is a lot of choice about.

[POORCARDEALER]

320 cdi estate

[LC2]

You'll not get a Dog in the back of a Daihatsu Sportrak with the rear seats up.
A very car like 4x4 though.

[furrywoolyhatuk]

Subaru impreza wagon will fit the bill. Can't go wrong with jap!

[big_boz]

Octavia estate 1.9TDI GLX

[smallzoo]

Dont think I would get the dog in a 320 or a imprezza.. hes enourmous

[smallzoo]

From various sources is this a fair summary

Volvo/Honda - reliable but expensive to fix !
Mercedes-Reliable but I have heard terrible in the snow !
Vectra-2.5 expensive to fix !
4x4's-Avoid unless you are lucky or have deep pockets
Astra-1.6 great..avoid 1.8

..any other suggestions ?

[Shamu]

16 stone dog?! Pics!

[smallzoo]

This is him on a very big chair..

[veevee]

smallzoo said:

Dont think I would get the dog in a 320 or a imprezza.. hes enourmous

Strike the v40 then.

What about a Saab 9-5 estate?

[-crookedtail-]

smallzoo said:

This is him on a very big chair..

[poing]

Big dog! He's amazing though, proper dog.

Having now seen him you'll need a big one. Saab 9-5, Octavia, Mondeo, Passat or V70 would be my first thoughts.

[anonymous-user]

veevee said:

Strike the v40 then.

What about a Saab 9-5 estate?

9-5.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

Fast.
Cheap to service and repair. 25-35 mpg. (Not an issue for your low mileage?)
Big enough for pretty much anything.

Edit for correct link

Edited by OpulentBob on Sunday 10th February 22:39

[Stedman]

I can't comment on others, but the 850/V70s are pretty easy to work on, if you're that way inclined

[ImpossiblyDaft]

For a grand you'd get a nice Volvo V70 but it sounds like keeping the Legacy you've got at the moment could make sense unless epic failure is coming up rather than just some little bits and pieces? Better the devil you know and all that.


One thing you might find with the 850/V70 is that the load-space is massive with length and width, but the roof is quite low compared to newer, more blob-like designs. Great cars, though.

[lightthefuse]

smallzoo said:

This is him on a very big chair..

What a beaut! V70 or E-Class estate for this one methinks!

[wiliferus]

A lex said:

If its still available, you will have to go some to beat this:


http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=172...

Edited by A lex on Sunday 10th February 19:30

This is the answer! Absolutely bag loads of car for the money, and the boot is so big your dog will have enough room to play table tennis with his mates!

Eta - also notices no mention of Mk3 Mondeo estates. I was genuinely surprised when I bought mine how cavernous it is! The 2.5 V6's are dirt cheap.

Edited by wiliferus on Sunday 10th February 22:42

[smallzoo]

Ok thanks..

So I reckon its down to

Mondeo ( excluded by accident )
V70
Saab 9-5

[Mr AJ]

smallzoo said:

This is him on a very big chair..

Forget buying a car - Just get a saddle and ride him everywhere!