£3500 Estate

[anonymous-user]

Morning All,

I'm on the lookout for an estate to replace my Swift Sport, fairly modest budget of £3500. I don't do mega miles so fuel economy isn't a massive issue.

I'm due to look at a 2007 Bmw 325d se touring that is local, 114000 miles, full Bmw history etc. However I've read quite a few horror stories of big bills on the e9x cars. Also I don't really need a diesel. 325i or 330i would be ideal, but I can't find any for my budget.

I've also been looking at Subaru Legacy and Foresters, living in rural Devon the 4wd would come in handy now and again.

Volvos are a possibility, but I don't really need the size of a v70 and the v50 doesn't really float my boat.

I'm struggling to think of many other options so I'm appealing to the PH masses to point me in the direction of something that isn't completely dull.

Cheers

[vtecyo]

Legacy.

Go nuts and get an older GTB Turbo.

[designforlife]

Nissan Stagea
Toyota Crown Athlete V
Toyota Caldina
Mitsubishi Airtrek Turbo R

[H6Nathan]

Legacy all day. I ran a £3.5k Legacy 3.0R Estate for about 60k miles and it was great. Fuel economy mid 20's but chain driven understressed flat 6 was reliable and different. Auto boxes not super responsive, but it was comfy, quick enough and different.

Get one with evidence of regular oil changes and make sure the tyres match and are a decent brand. Thats about it really.

[Jamescrs]

Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Insignia are obvious choices for me at that budget, you would have your pic of spec and colour and both are relatively cheap to maintain.

I owned a BMW e91 estate mine was the 320i and people slate those engines but to be honest the engine was the most reliable part of the car, a common issue in estates is the wiring loom from the main body of the car into the boot door wears through at the hinge as it isn't adequately protected and the wires break. I started having issues with lights not working and I pulled back the cover to find loads of damaged wires, I repaired them all and moved the car on shortly after.

I had issues with the radio not working because the aerial is built into the rear window and that wore out, got a big quote for that repair but fitted DAB instead.

The drivers door card had a weird finish to it on the arm rest part which peeled badly, always looked a mess.

Edit- Another issue was the opening mechanism on the rear window hatch, that failed but thankfully not long into my ownership so selling garage rectified that

Theres probably other issues I've forgotten currently.

I wouldn't buy another BMW E9x apart from maybe an E92 M3 as that would be worth the hassle

Edited by Jamescrs on Thursday 21st November 11:20

Edited by Jamescrs on Thursday 21st November 11:20

Edited by Jamescrs on Thursday 21st November 11:22

[emperorburger]

Seat Exeo.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

I've owned an E91 330i M-Sport and been looking for reasons not to get another. Unfortunately I can't justify running a 3l straight six around town and didn't fancy a 320i but everything else about the car I thought was excellent. Agree about the weird coating on the door handle switch trim - VW of the same era did the same. Easily swapped though if you're bothered.

[ninjag]

I'd be wanting reliability at this price point, would prefer petrol but a few diesels that come to mind:

Honda Accord 2.2 i-DTEC ES GT Tourer

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

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

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


Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D T4

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


Mazda6 2.2 D Sport

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

[anonymous-user]

Cheers for the advice so far.

With reagards to the Bmw the electrical issues are the things that puts me off. Mechanical repairs aren't an issue for me really, but I really don't want to be chasing electrical faults all of the time.

I suppose that's where the Japanese cars are better, it's just finding a Legacy within a reasonable distance from me in budget.

[Sir Snaz]

afla 159 sportwagon

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

jag xtype estate

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

[anonymous-user]

SAAB 9-3 maybe worth a look

[ZX10R NIN]

Vauxhall Signum

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

2.0T Insignia Elite

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

SRI

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

AWD 9-3 Aero

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

9-3 Vector

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

Aero

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

ST220

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

2.5T Mondeo Ghia

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

Titanium

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

2.4 Accord EX

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

2.0T Skoda VRS

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

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

C200 Sport

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

C180 Sport

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

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

3.0 Legacy

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

[loskie]

does a honda crv count as an estate?

[Mr Tidy]

OP, where were you in April when I sold my E91 325i Touring for £2,500?

OK it had done 139K miles, but it had full BMW SH and I gave it a new electric water pump and battery.

I only sold it because I managed to find an E90 330i with the split/fold rear seat option.

[anonymous-user]

Mr Tidy said:

OP, where were you in April when I sold my E91 325i Touring for £2,500?

OK it had done 139K miles, but it had full BMW SH and I gave it a new electric water pump and battery.

I only sold it because I managed to find an E90 330i with the split/fold rear seat option.

That would have been ideal!!

There is a 325i auto in Plymouth on eBay, low mileage, but needs a headlight replacing due to water ingress and has a decent size scrape on the front bumper. Also it doesn't have leather. It's on £2500 at the moment.

[ollyh1988]

I’ve got an E90 325i.

Mixed feelings on the car right now as I’ve spent quite a bit on worn out parts - but you’d expect that with age and miles.

The engine is really nice but I only see about 26mpg combined, maybe 33 on a longer trip. Auto gearbox really suits it. Like my last 330i, they do use oil, but it’s well within the tolerances BMW state.

Just wish mine had been in a more interesting spec than silver with black leather!

[CrunkleFloop]

Consider a W124 (S124) Mercedes?

I'm about to sell mine, Was wanting around £4k but would take around £3,500 for a PHer.

12mths MOT, runs like a swiss watch and only likely to increase in value.

[Mr Tidy]

That W124 looks great, and if kept in good fettle I can't see it losing value - they are great cars.

[anonymous-user]

First of all thankyou all for your help and suggestions.

I went to view the 325d yesterday, it really bugs me that people list cars as 'immaculate' and 'like new' when the reality is far from that. So that was a no go.

But I have bought a car.

In true PH fashion I've deviated from the original plan and gone for something completely different from the brief. But it does at least have a big boot, so hopefully the doggo should be happy enough.

It's a 2008 Honda Civic Type R, 73000 miles, full history and in very good condition. I'll pop a picture below (everyone likes pictures).

Once again thanks all.

[Joelonghair]

Nice! Around about your stated budget?