Recommended an estate £5k

[Stig]

Another vote for the Subaru outback, but the 2.5SE rather than a 3.0.

35mpg easily, does everything, well equipped, pretty bombproof drivetrain.

Best car I’ve ever had. 125k miles and still going strong

[Undecided_buyer]

Fermit and Sarah said:

Could you copy and paste a link to it?

It's on the dreaded gumtree, which is playing up tonight so can't get onto it.

It's an A6 2.0 TDI S Line 2007, under 50k miles.

Full Audi service history

Is (or was ) elderly owner.

Has scratched front corner, which doesn't worry me too much as a repair price could be negotiated in.

[Undecided_buyer]

Stig said:

Another vote for the Subaru outback, but the 2.5SE rather than a 3.0.

35mpg easily, does everything, well equipped, pretty bombproof drivetrain.

Best car I’ve ever had. 125k miles and still going strong

Cheers, I'll get looking at them, haven't so far...

[Fermit and Sarah]

Undecided_buyer said:

Fermit and Sarah said:

Could you copy and paste a link to it?

It's on the dreaded gumtree, which is playing up tonight so can't get onto it.

It's an A6 2.0 TDI S Line 2007, under 50k miles.

Full Audi service history

Is (or was ) elderly owner.

Has scratched front corner, which doesn't worry me too much as a repair price could be negotiated in.

I guess this one?

https://www.gumtree.com/p/audi/black-audi-s-line-t...

If you'd prefer I remove the link just say.

[Undecided_buyer]

Fermit and Sarah said:

I guess this one?

https://www.gumtree.com/p/audi/black-audi-s-line-t...

If you'd prefer I remove the link just say.

Yep

I'm hoping for some better photos, could be worse than it looks from those grainy pics

[Fermit and Sarah]

It's worth going to see, it looks promising. It's only ever failed one MOT, which suggests it's been looked after, and that was just one the brakes. The front right alloy looks curbed, maybe also factor that in to negotiations? White leather can discolour, and needs keeping on top of cleaning if it's to stay looking nice.

In the MOT history it shows the following advisories on it's last MOT (Feb) - Offside Rear Tyre cracking in tread, fuel tank strap corroded - maybe 'notice' these points when viewing?

I don't know what to look for on these, but maybe someone else shall?

[blueg33]

Undecided_buyer said:

Stig said:

Another vote for the Subaru outback, but the 2.5SE rather than a 3.0.

35mpg easily, does everything, well equipped, pretty bombproof drivetrain.

Best car I’ve ever had. 125k miles and still going strong

Cheers, I'll get looking at them, haven't so far...

3.0l drivetrain is just as lovely, if not better. The Flat 6 boxer engine sounds great, is very smooth and pretty powerful. But 27mpg is the best it will see

[ninjag]

kurt535 said:

ninjag said:

kurt535 said:

OI! top estate second hand. reliability spot on. the day your friendly isis starts using vw/skoda/ out in the bad lands then ill start using them. till then, Jap it is. the only time ive needed anti-d's is when my Jag XJS kept busting my wallet on its light 'recommissioning' - decommissioning was more appropriate

lol yeah sorry. I'd probably say the Toyota Avensis is one of the most overlooked cars despite it's credentials.

The Accord carried a premium over the Avensis when i was looking a couple of months ago which, given my history with car abuse , i couldn't see it being worth paying up for. Auto box is weird, especially after the spot on bmw 535 I owned but, this car cost 10% of the price so beggars cant be choosers! Im spoiling it as well; Im waiting for the arrival of my 'Boot-Buddy' today to see if that can stop my rescue dog wrecking the interior with its ginger fur she loves shedding 24/7/365

Oh yes, the BMW autos are very good (well ZF). The 8 speed in my 330d was brilliant. I'm surprised that Honda didn't offer their 9 speed version for the 2.0 petrol as surely it would have been perfect for being able to keep it up in the 4000+rpm range for maximum performance rather than the longer stretches of the 5 speed auto?

[blueg33]

Undecided_buyer said:

Stig said:

Another vote for the Subaru outback, but the 2.5SE rather than a 3.0.

35mpg easily, does everything, well equipped, pretty bombproof drivetrain.

Best car I’ve ever had. 125k miles and still going strong

Cheers, I'll get looking at them, haven't so far...

But avoid the diesel - it has horrible reputation for having problems

[Fastdruid]

Undecided_buyer said:

ZX10R NIN said:

With your budget most diesel options will be non DPF models so that won't be an issue but if the majority of your journeys are short ones then you're better off with a petrol.

Thanks for your reply, appreciated.

Did DPF's not come in around 2007 ish? I'm not sure at all though, but most cars I've seen will be later than or around this time.

I probably should have said that the reasons for changing vehicle are:
to try and imporve fuel economy (& lower tax if possible!)
to get a slightly newer/more up to date car
to have something a little more 'refined' than the slightly rattly 'box' that the Xtrail is!

Unfortunately getting another 2.5 petrol doing 20mpg probably isn't going to make sense for me.

I have a Mondeo 2.5T Estate like ZX10R NIN suggested. I mostly do short round town trips and have a long term avg of 25mpg. I could get better if I didn't have a lead right foot. ;-)

My experience was that if you're doing short round town journeys is that diesel is not appreciably better. Certainly in winter. I got all of 3mpg better for example out of a Galaxy TDCI140 and I was permanently cold because it never got warm enough for the heating to work, yes it's heavier but it's also substantially slower! As soon as I took a longer journey the mpg shot up though.

There is however no comparison in refinement, the galaxy was like driving a transit. I personally would happily pay the extra for the refinement but of course everyone has different requirements, budgets and limits, hell a large petrol V12 would probably be the smoothest but not everyone can face the single digit economy!

[Undecided_buyer]

Thanks for the replies, still searching, but now at least I'm armed with some more useful information.

Not had much joy with getting much more info from the seller of the A6, but I think the door is damaged along with the bumper &wing, so probably more trouble than its worth

[Fastchas]

Undecided_buyer said:

Thanks for all the replies, food for thought.

No opinions on the A6 I mentioned?

Cheers

I had an '07 reg 3 years ago. I really liked the car, I gave it a remap which improved the power & MPG.
They do suffer a 'dip' in power when pulling away from junctions etc so much so that you have to overrev them to get away then look like a dick as it sounds a boy racer has it.
But LOADS of room, the drive is great, especially with the big console.
I got rid of my 100k miler due to repairs seemingly every month.
I'd love another, my 320d E91 is crap compared.

[Undecided_buyer]

still on the hunt, armed with all the info from this thread .

So hard to find something that fits the bill and has been properly maintained & looked after

Hoping something crops up soon!...

[Undecided_buyer]

Looking for opinions on this please, i know it has the dreaded DPF, but any other things to look out for on these?

https://ebay.us/9tDxAB

Assume it has a timing chain rather than belt?

(Edit-just seen that boot space isn't too big on these?)

and this which is much more local

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

Thanks all

Edited by Undecided_buyer on Friday 19th October 11:38

Edited by Undecided_buyer on Friday 19th October 11:54

[ZX10R NIN]

Undecided_buyer said:

Looking for opinions on this please, i know it has the dreaded DPF, but any other things to look out for on these?

https://ebay.us/9tDxAB

Assume it has a timing chain rather than belt?

(Edit-just seen that boot space isn't too big on these?)

and this which is much more local

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

Thanks all

Yes the Mercedes are chain driven but for your needs neither suit the brief & now you've had a budget creep more cars are available.

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

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

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

Although prices for the Mondeo are strong there's a reason for it.

The Mazda is still the next best option:

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

2.0T Insignia Elite

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

Accord ES GT

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

V70R

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

V70 2.5T

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

Spec B Legacy

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

Legacy 2.5

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

[boyse7en]

I looked at estates last week to replace a broken Saab. Slightly below your budget (£3000), but the models were much the same just a bit older/leggier.

I came out of a Saab 9-5 2.2 Vector Sport. Really liked it. Comfy, looks good (Vector kit), nice big boot. Engine is a bit rough round the edges but it had done 185k.

Looked at a Citroen C5 2.2 Executive. Wife liked this one. Felt very cosseted inside - lots of kit and nicely styled. 2.2 is 170hp and it felt sprightly, nice and smooth on dual carriageway thanks to the clever suspension. Big boot, electric tailgate. Few dinks, dents and missing/broken trim put us off in the end.

Ford Mondeo 2.0 Ghia. Odd blue interior was a bit questionable, but comfy enough. Felt big to drive. Didn't feel special in any way though. It may well be the best handling car in its class, but I have a motorbike for fun so just need a family wagon and handling is well down the list of requirements.

Honda Accord 2.2 Exec. Big, not as spacious cabin as the Mondeo, but for the same money was lower mileage and had leather, sat nav, electric boot, multi CD etc. Boot has extra storage in spare wheel well (comes with a compressor and goop for punctures) and boot is as big as Mondeo. Feels very solid, nothing creaks or rattles or feels like it will fall off. Engine smoothest by far. Very quiet on the motorway on the way home. Good MPG (we're averaging just under 40mpg mostly around town and country lanes)

Other ones that we looked at and dismissed without a test drive were the Audi A4 (too small), Vauxhall Insignia (just couldn't), Toyota Avensis (got two as company cars for work and they lack any sort of personality or interest) and another Saab 9-5 (wife wanted something different)

[Undecided_buyer]

ZX10R NIN said:

Yes the Mercedes are chain driven but for your needs neither suit the brief & now you've had a budget creep more cars are available...

Thanks for the suggestions.

Yes budget could go to 6k for the right car

The biggest problem is getting my brain round the fact that I should maybe go for a petrol again... In my mind if I go for another big car (which I need) with a petrol engine, then I'm not much better off than my 2.5L Xtrail getting 20MPG & paying £309+ 'tax'.

Looking at the above suggestions if the official urban MPG is less than 30 (real world less obviously), then it's putting me off.

[Undecided_buyer]

boyse7en said:

I looked at estates last week to replace a broken Saab. Slightly below your budget (£3000), but the models were much the same just a bit older/leggier.

I came out of a Saab 9-5 2.2 Vector Sport. Really liked it. Comfy, looks good (Vector kit), nice big boot. Engine is a bit rough round the edges but it had done 185k.

Looked at a Citroen C5 2.2 Executive. Wife liked this one. Felt very cosseted inside - lots of kit and nicely styled. 2.2 is 170hp and it felt sprightly, nice and smooth on dual carriageway thanks to the clever suspension. Big boot, electric tailgate. Few dinks, dents and missing/broken trim put us off in the end.

Ford Mondeo 2.0 Ghia. Odd blue interior was a bit questionable, but comfy enough. Felt big to drive. Didn't feel special in any way though. It may well be the best handling car in its class, but I have a motorbike for fun so just need a family wagon and handling is well down the list of requirements.

Honda Accord 2.2 Exec. Big, not as spacious cabin as the Mondeo, but for the same money was lower mileage and had leather, sat nav, electric boot, multi CD etc. Boot has extra storage in spare wheel well (comes with a compressor and goop for punctures) and boot is as big as Mondeo. Feels very solid, nothing creaks or rattles or feels like it will fall off. Engine smoothest by far. Very quiet on the motorway on the way home. Good MPG (we're averaging just under 40mpg mostly around town and country lanes)

Other ones that we looked at and dismissed without a test drive were the Audi A4 (too small), Vauxhall Insignia (just couldn't), Toyota Avensis (got two as company cars for work and they lack any sort of personality or interest) and another Saab 9-5 (wife wanted something different)

Thank you, excuse my ignorance, are they diesels?

Is the Accord the older body style?

Cheers

[boyse7en]

Undecided_buyer said:

Thank you, excuse my ignorance, are they diesels?

Is the Accord the older body style?

Cheers

Yes they were all diesels.
I wasn't fussed either way particularly, would probably have preferred a petrol, but there just aren't many around - none in my budget locally at all. I had to drive 100 miles to see the ones I did! Devon has many advantages, but choice of cars to buy is not one of them.

[Fastdruid]

ZX10R NIN said:

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

Although prices for the Mondeo are strong there's a reason for it.

Hmmm, that's both IMO strong money (I paid the same for a slightly lower mileage car...5 years ago) and modified. At the very least the wheels aren't original (it came with 18in's).