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Large estate - sub £4000
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Large estate - sub £4000
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junglie

Original Poster:

2,051 posts

246 months

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[news]
Sunday 29th March 2020
quotequote all
Good afternoon,

We are looking to replace our ST220 estate after 9 years with us.

We are lucky enough to have other cars in the household but the replacement needs to be:

- £4000 or less
- large enough for a family (A4, 3 series, C class etc too small)
- refined enough for drives across to The Netherlands five times a year
- reliable (I am happy to get an old E55 AMG but not the other half!)
- happy with some battle scars as the au pair will use it daily
- 5 cylinders or more
- probably petrol as not worried about economy and journeys not long enough routinely

I have been thinking:

- Mondeo 2.5t
- Chrysler 300c (dubious quality but fine for what we need?)
- Subaru Outback / Legacy 3.0
- Lexus of some description

Any other good ideas?

psi310398

10,989 posts

232 months

[report]
[news]
Sunday 29th March 2020
quotequote all
Isn't there quite a lot of love for the Skoda Superb estate? Should be within budget.

CoreyDog

886 posts

119 months

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[news]
Sunday 29th March 2020
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I'd be looking for a Volvo V70 T5... Have a soft spot for the big Sweds though.

junglie

Original Poster:

2,051 posts

246 months

[report]
[news]
Sunday 29th March 2020
quotequote all
I had forgotten about the E61 525i.

I tend to go for the 530 / 535 so this would be a really good fit.

Burnzyb

300 posts

206 months

[report]
[news]
Sunday 29th March 2020
quotequote all
I had an s211 e class merc and that was a great car, mine was an early L6 320cdi, had 200k miles on it and was as strong as an ox, auto box was nice and it had loads of space inside.

The superb would be good pick if you could pick one up for £4K my mate who is a vag biased mechanic doesn’t have much love for the current era of mundane vag petrols though.

I’ve currently got the 2.5t Mondeo but in hatchback variant, lovely car, would of preferred an estate though.

I’ve got an A6 C6 that’s a nice big cruiser, the S-Line has fairly hard suspension though but looks nicer and the sloping back of the tailgate does mean you loose some space with big boxy items, where you’d be fine with the mk3 Mondeo for example, petrol variant would only leave you the 3.0ish v6 and the 4.2 v8 direct injection iirc so carbon issues no doubt but I’m not overly clued up on the reliability of those engines, the v10 5.2 s6 isn’t worth considering as you’ll not get one for £4K and it’ll be a nightmare if anything goes wrong.

I’ve always fancied an E61 too, the LCI 530i is supposed to have great specs and the mpg figures are great if going by the AT stats, plus I don’t think the E61 has aged badly at all, it still looks very current in my opinion.

I’m 6’6” so appreciate the extra space from bigger cars especially with teenage youths in toe.





Tony427

2,873 posts

262 months

[report]
[news]
Sunday 29th March 2020
quotequote all
You need a Mercedes E class Diesel either 280 or 350. Utterly brilliant if you are handy with the spanners but can be a tad expensive otherwise. Even with independents.

Get a post 2006 facelift which will keep you safe from electrical gremlins and avoid the sports package as the 18" wheels are made from chocolate. Its also non DPF ( I dont know about EGR) so giving it the boot after a long roadworks sections always brings a smile as the car behind is obscured by a cloud of soot.

Mine is a company hack so is used for deliveries, either all forced on board, 121 no x 20cm x 20cm x 27 cm boxes is my record, or on a rather hefty Ivor Williams farm trailer trailer whereby its 1.8 tonne towing capacity is rewarded by over 28 mpg.

In contrast my previous XC70 did 17mpg on the same trip, although I did run it on LPG. Normal running about I get mid thirties. .

Took two aged parents ( 90 and 91) to Croatia in mine last summer ( 38 mpg on that run) and even though the traffic was horrendous the car was comfortable and created zero complaints. It also stands at 126k ( 40 k done in the last year ) and uses zero oil. LIke no top up since last oil change at 112k and according to the computer it needs an oi service in 900 miles or so. £49 bought the oil , oil filter and fuel filter for that change delivered from ECP. Might do it earler now as I have the time.

My plan is either to run this one until its fit for the scrappy, its a seaside car so there's some surface corrosion, or perhaps look for a "preloved" lease deal on a newer version should one be available post Covid 19 lockdown removal.

Just my 2p's worth.

Cheers,

Tony












junglie

Original Poster:

2,051 posts

246 months

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Sunday 29th March 2020
quotequote all
I have an S211 E500 (my cheap commuter) and it is great but had lots of work done before I got it (4 x air struts, air con compressor, pano roof mechanism etc) but was only £2500.

Just sold an R500 which was great but starting to suffer with various bits and the repairs all add up especially when it is not the ‘pride and joy’!

Not really wanting a diesel as it will be the school run chariot (15 min drive so too far to walk / cycle with young kids but not long enough to be good for the car) and they are complex compared to similar NA petrol.

The I6 320 cdi is a great engine though.
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