Upgrading the snotter

[Warnie]

I have, which I use for the cash n carry runs a Nissan Almeria 1.6SLX, yes that's right an SLX, with air con and rear head rests . It's on an R plate and is battered and bruised, but still drives quite well to say it's only got a month left to live.

I need something a lot bigger, but not a van as I need the extra seats sometimes, and don't want to go down the route of swapping over my private no claims to commercial again.

Now can the ones who have lost all interest in life and have succumbed to the dreaded MPV's, advise me on the 3 I have picked which are big enough. They are:

Renault Grand Seanic 2004-
Renault Grand Espace 2002-
Ford Galaxy 2001-

My budget for new and improved (slightly) snotter is upto £2500. It will be used twice weekly for cash n carry runs and perhaps twice a month for when we do candy buffets etc for weddings. Other than that it's just pottering about making short trips.

I'm worried about the electrical issues with the Renaults and general reliability, but some people say it's a better package than the galaxy?

Or are there any others I'm missing?

[jimi]

Our family snotter is a 2001 Mondeo Estate - although youre looking at a people carrier I wouldnt discount these they are massive inside and seriously cheap. Ours has just over 100k miles, 12 months tax & ticket etc. cost £700 last summer, havent spent anything on it since and I washed it once.

[Motorrad]

Any reason an estate car won't do the job you want? Volvo estates have a shed load of room in them and are available with engines and amenities that mean you won't lose the will to live.

[Warnie]

Motorrad said:

Any reason an estate car won't do the job you want? Volvo estates have a shed load of room in them and are available with engines and amenities that mean you won't lose the will to live.

I would love an Volvo V70!, It's just not tall enough though. Will we be carrying big wooden display units in it from next month unfortunately.

[Rich A]

How about a cross-over SUV. Honda CRV, Toyota Rav4, etc?

[Phil Dicky]

Chrysler Voyager, I'm sure they are within your budget.

[dapearson]

I have an Avensis 2.0VVTi estate. Y-reg with 117k miles in green. CDX spec so leather, (fake) wood, cd changer, air con, elec sun roof, elec windows and mirrors. Pretty good history.

I bought it at the beginning of 2013. It needed new front brake calipers to get it through the MOT (£75 each). It's just had a new lambda sensor and oil/filter change.

Apart from a slight blow in the exhaust everything is as it should be.

Bodywork is dented in places and it's a bit battered looking.

It's comfy and perfect for chucking the mountain bike in the back, my wife and kid in complete with muddy wellies, and disappearing off to the local forest.

The problem is, where do i go from here? The avensis is worth about £600 with a fresh MOT. ANYTHING else seems expensive!

[Warnie]

Phil Dicky said:

Chrysler Voyager, I'm sure they are within your budget.

haven't bothered looking at these, I sort of dismissed them due to being thirsty and a bit well ....American.

Think I'm sorted on the Grand espace now, the problem is that they're aren't many available close to me here in the west midlands. I'm looking for the 2.2dci if poss, silver, grey or black so I can sign write it.

[Warnie]

I put £100 deposit down yesterday on a renault espace 2.2dci auto . It drove great comes with 6 months tax, 9 months MOT and will have cambelt, waterpump and a full service for £2200.

I then come back and have a look on google about the autobox, which is not the most relaiable of things but is nothing compared to the horror stories I've read abour the 2.2dci engine. To say it has consumed me since then is a massive understatement. I actually went to look at a 2002 galaxy tdi ghia, but it looked so bad next to the cheaper renault that I got sucked in.

The car is for my shop, and will have to move a couple of big units around once a week in between fetching stock, so I wanted a newish looking car as I want to signwrite it. But how can I signwrite something that could go pop at any minute? After a night of worrying I reckon I have 2 options. These are to sort out a warranty for it at a cost of £35 to £40 a month, or lose the £100. There are 2 warranties available, one doesn't cover wear and tear but will pay out 100% on parts and labour. The other will pay out only 50% of parts but 100% of labour and will cover wear and tear.

Gutted as the car is perfect for my needs and looks ok, it's just a shame renault could not provide it with a reliable engine.

Any advice?

[andy-xr]

Each of the Renaults are known for leaking oil, bit of a bd to fix as well. One of the reasons I went for a CMAX when I wanted a small MPV, similar engine but less leaks. Rear seats can be moved/removed if required too

[CampDavid]

A mate has a 165k mile Laguna with the 1.9 and it's been absolutely fine, I believe the issues relate to the turbo, in which case, don't rev it too much

[Warnie]

andy-xr said:

Each of the Renaults are known for leaking oil, bit of a bd to fix as well. One of the reasons I went for a CMAX when I wanted a small MPV, similar engine but less leaks. Rear seats can be moved/removed if required too

I did want a c-max, just didn't think it would be big enough for the units I need to carry. I need to find a site that gives internal dimessions of the load area.

[Warnie]

CampDavid said:

A mate has a 165k mile Laguna with the 1.9 and it's been absolutely fine, I believe the issues relate to the turbo, in which case, don't rev it too much

On other cars I've bought you can usually get at least 50-50 good and bad reviews. On this one most seem to love the design and layout, but slate it for how much it costs to run due to repairs. I reckon about 10% recommend them compared to 90% who have had major problems

[*Al*]

If you are that negative about it then lose your £100 if you must, you should be able to recoup this with stronger haggling on the next car.