£5000 estate

[TheThing]

Hi all, I was going to go for another soft roader but I have noticed that you can get a lot more for your money with an estate car. Can anyone recommend what to go for with a budget £5000. Have looked at;

Saab 9-3
Skoda Octavia/superb
Ford mondeo
3 series
V50/70
Mazda 6

Ideally I would like an octavia vrs estate but they seem to be like hens teeth. Anything else I should consider. Thanks in advance. I Should also mention that I dont want huge running costs, so nothing thats going to be 500 odd quid a year to tax. Realiability and practicality are the priorities.

Edited by TheThing on Saturday 23 March 14:31

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say that the 2.5T Mondeo is the best FWD steer of the lot whilst being loaded with kit, in Titanium X spec, but they are hard to find.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the Mazda6 TS2

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[TheThing]

Good shouts. Cheers. The more I look the more im likeing the mondeos. Whats the build quality like on them? Having owned a few fords I have yet to own one that hasn't had tin worm.

[ZX10R NIN]

TheThing said:

Good shouts. Cheers. The more I look the more im likeing the mondeos. Whats the build quality like on them? Having owned a few fords I have yet to own one that hasn't had tin worm.

It's a good as a Passat/Skoda etc, as for rust this shouldn't be an issue unless it's been badly looked after or had a poor repair carried out.

[TheThing]

Thanks agian. What about the potential for borkage? Is there anything that I need to be aware of thats going to go bang?

[ZX10R NIN]

No borkage issues with these.

[LarsG]

Mondeo, cheap to run, cheap to repair, drives really well and is plenty big enough.

As for quality, if looked after with regular oils changes they go forever. Titanium spec is probably good to go for but nothing wrong with the zetec.

Keep an eye on the MK4 from 2007.

Edited by LarsG on Sunday 24th March 19:07

[Mr Tidy]

I bought a some what leggy 2006 BMW 325i Touring last year for about 60% of your budget, and loved it.

RWD in a sea of FWD - worked for me!

[ilikejam]

A sub £5k Mondeo 2.5 Titanium X is in the running to be my next motor - estate if possible but the hatch would be fine enough. They seem to come up fairly regularly, but by fück they don't half come in some rank colours - various shades of pale green, brown and granddad blues. Did nobody just order a black or white one?!

[TheThing]

Going to go and look at one tommorow. Cambelt has not been done. Anyone got a rough price for the job?

[Shiv_P]

TheThing said:

Going to go and look at one tommorow. Cambelt has not been done. Anyone got a rough price for the job?

On a focus ST with same engine I was quoted £140 + parts from my local indy

[TheThing]

Thanks for the advice guys

[Wacky Racer]

You will get a decent Insignia Estate for that kind of money, certainly worth looking at, with no rust issues as far as I am aware.

[ZX10R NIN]

How was the one you went to look at?

[TheThing]

ZX10R NIN said:

How was the one you went to look at?

Deposit payed. Pick it up next weekend. Cant wait. It will be nice to own a proper car again after 3 years of driving a soft roader. Thanks again for the advice.

[ZX10R NIN]

No problem, glad you got sorted.

[p1stonhead]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd say that the 2.5T Mondeo is the best FWD steer of the lot whilst being loaded with kit, in Titanium X spec, but they are hard to find.

I bought one 3 weeks ago. Brilliant car and lovely engine. Fantastic value. Rare as anything though!

Boot could swallow another whole car

Edited by p1stonhead on Monday 1st April 13:08