3k to spend, and a little help needed please.....

[Mattyo76]

So, I currently have a BMW X3, which has more or less had it!
Just done 193k and it’s the 2.5 petrol...so not done bad I guess...
However, time to move on, what should I be looking at/buy please guys?

I’m a single, widowed Dad of 2 young beautiful daughters of 7 and 5, so obviously I’m looking for safety for them first. We do a lot of surfing, rock climbing and skiing as a family of 3, so I need an estate or 4X4, and I also work for myself so classy or “nice presants” to customers is also a must, and I’d quite like sat nag if poss, but not priority.

So far I’m looking at:
Old BMW X5
Subaru Legacy Outback
BMW 5 Series Estate
Mercedes C class estate
Alfa 159 Sportwagon
Another BMW X3
Or Volvo XC70\90

Or anything else you guys could recommend.....

Any ideas what else I should look at, please....

Many thanks, from a desperate Dad....
Matt x

[bearman68]

My personal advice - scrub any of the BMW's and Merc's. I see so many broken ones in my line of work.
Volvo V50 2.0 tdi.
Mondeo. In fact pretty much anything Ford that fits the bill.
Worth considering a C5? / 508?
If you've been used to paying 2.5 petrol prices, maybe a Lexus would suit.

[ericmcn]

bearman68 said:

My personal advice - scrub any of the BMW's and Merc's. I see so many broken ones in my line of work.
Volvo V50 2.0 tdi.
Mondeo. In fact pretty much anything Ford that fits the bill.
Worth considering a C5? / 508?
If you've been used to paying 2.5 petrol prices, maybe a Lexus would suit.

Lexus dont have AWD, i can give a nod to the Legacy outback however - it would probably be the best of the bunch listed and most reliable but the only way to know is for the OP to go test drive some of them and let him decide himself.

Just dont get a diesel Subaru....

[Cerdo Espada]

Get an XC70 D5. With your budget you should get a very decent P2 car perhaps even an SE Lux with some nice features such as heated F&R screens, Nav, heated electric leather seats, Xenons, Dolby Pro Logic etc.
Total safety, power and comfort.
I'm currently looking for another one.

[2gins]

If you're looking at estates with 2.5 petrol costs as the benchmark and a secondary requirement for a bit of class, £3k should get you a very nice SAAB 9-5 HOT, said a Saabist.

[Section 8]

2.5 Petrol auto . 92k. Nav, elec fold mirrors,leather,heated seats,cruise control and panoramic roof.

Nissan x trail. I have a Primera as a work/runabout car and if it’s anything to go by then Nissans are super reliable. It won’t die as much as I try !! Never driven one of these but it looks like something to add to the list.£3295 btw .

Edited by Section 8 on Sunday 20th January 04:48

[alabbasi]

Maybe a Mercedes Benz W211 Wagon, especially if it has the inline 6. Should be solid.

[MrAverage]

My money would (and has) go on something like: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CR-V-ex-cdti-2007...f:0

I'd avoid old German motors, as they can end up a complete money pit.

Go Japense or korean if you can deal with the badge.

[Patrick1964]

I’d agree that an X-Trail is worth looking at - I’ve had three and they were all fantastic. Avoid the 2.2 dci though as this is the Renault engine and is troublesome. The later 2.0 diesel is great.

[bearman68]

Sorry, thought the requirement was for an estate OR 4x4.

That has to limit the options to a Toyota Rav 4 (but the 2.0 d4d not the 2.2), or a Cr-v.
I suppose a Korean thingy might be OK. <yawn>

It has to be said I have a soft spot for Jeep, but I'm not sure they can really be recommended.

[ZX10R NIN]

With your budget I'd look past the Germans as you'd be looking at an older car or a newer cars with mileage nearer to what you have with your X3 also the SUV's at this price point are more likely to throw up a few expensive bills, with the age of the cars you're looking navigation isn't really a must as it will be well out of date a decent or Garmin or TomTom will be much better.

I'd say if you're looking for a practical car that works as a very good family car as well as being presentable to clients it's hard to look past the Mondeo in Titanium X spec:

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

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

ST220

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

2.5 N/A Mazda6 Sport

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

Diesel options:

Titanium X

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

Accord EX

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

The VFM option & the car that has loads of space is the Citroen C5 VTR+:

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

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

407SW (these are the same as the above but have higher residuals) Sport/SE

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

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

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

[ericmcn]

ZX10R NIN said:

With your budget I'd look past the Germans as you'd be looking at an older car or a newer cars with mileage nearer to what you have with your X3 also the SUV's at this price point are more likely to throw up a few expensive bills, with the age of the cars you're looking navigation isn't really a must as it will be well out of date a decent or Garmin or TomTom will be much better.

what part of 4X4 dont people understand? from the cars mentioned i would quickly scratch off German cars unless you like unexpected bills, the Japanese ones i would go for either a Subaru Legacy Estate or a Nissan X Trail - 3/4k would get a decent one and reliability should not be an issue once they have good service records

Mattyo76 said:

so I need an estate or 4X4, and I also work for myself so classy or “nice presants” to customers is also a must, and I’d quite like sat nag if poss, but not priority.

So far I’m looking at:
Old BMW X5
Subaru Legacy Outback
BMW 5 Series Estate
Mercedes C class estate
Alfa 159 Sportwagon
Another BMW X3
Or Volvo XC70\90

Or anything else you guys could recommend.....

Any ideas what else I should look at, please....

Many thanks, from a desperate Dad....
Matt x

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

What about -

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

or

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

safe as houses, and extremely comfy, especially the former.

[ZX10R NIN]

ericmcn said:

ZX10R NIN said:

With your budget I'd look past the Germans as you'd be looking at an older car or a newer cars with mileage nearer to what you have with your X3 also the SUV's at this price point are more likely to throw up a few expensive bills, with the age of the cars you're looking navigation isn't really a must as it will be well out of date a decent or Garmin or TomTom will be much better.

what part of 4X4 dont people understand? from the cars mentioned i would quickly scratch off German cars unless you like unexpected bills, the Japanese ones i would go for either a Subaru Legacy Estate or a Nissan X Trail - 3/4k would get a decent one and reliability should not be an issue once they have good service records

So, I currently have a BMW X3, which has more or less had it!
Just done 193k and it’s the 2.5 petrol...so not done bad I guess...
However, time to move on, what should I be looking at/buy please guys?

I’m a single, widowed Dad of 2 young beautiful daughters of 7 and 5, so obviously I’m looking for safety for them first. We do a lot of surfing, rock climbing and skiing as a family of 3, so I need an estate or 4X4, and I also work for myself so classy OR “nice presents” to customers is also a must, and I’d quite like sat nav if poss, but not priority.

Eric read the OP's opening statement he states Estate or 4x4, so maybe it's you that doesn't understand, the OP even lists:

5 series 159 etc none of which are 4x4.

[TheJimi]

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

What about -

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

With a 6 month warranty, that seems like a pretty good buy, imo.

[Joe5y]

We've had an old X5 (2006 E83 model) for years now and love it for lugging the boy's bits in, dumping in car parks and generally abusing. On c120,000 miles and the only thing that has gone wrong is a water jacket (£150 fix). Worth noting it has been remapped to within an inch of its life too but yet it keeps going.

[Jamescrs]

I'd definitely be thinking of something with a Volvo badge personally for your budget, probably a V70 would fit your needs best.

I looked at XC90's myself and while the engines seem as good as you would expect a number of owners claimed big bills in other areas of the car which don't seem to affect the rest of the Volvo range. I bought a V60 T4 myself but I don't think you would find a V60 in budget so I'd go for the larger V70.

[TheJimi]

What's the Bork-Factor / running costs on the V70 & XC70?

[GreatGranny]

For £3k I wouldn't go for an XC90 as they can suffer 4WD and gearbox issues which are expensive to sort.

I've had 2 but they were both £8-10k and were 100% reliable in the time I had them (3 & 4 years).

V70 would be my choice.

Don't worry too much about mileage but make sure they are up to date with services and belts etc..