£2,500 estate: cheap, reliable, big boot, engaging to drive?

[MiniMan64]

RoVoFob said:

MiniMan64 said:

I nearly bought a blue one years ago but ended up with a 156 V6 instead. Bullet dodged me thinks

You’re not seriously saying that an Alfa was the reliable choice are you?

Hey it did 7 years of trouble free (ish) service. I wonder if the MG is still alive or not?

[RoVoFob]

MiniMan64 said:

Hey it did 7 years of trouble free (ish) service. I wonder if the MG is still alive or not?

Fair play. Think I looked at the MOT history for this MG previously and there were quite a few red flags. Especially considering that £2,200 had supposedly just been spent on it!

In comparison, I’ve been watching a £500 1998 V70 with 227k on it that has had no advisories for its last five MOTs bar one for the front tyres being low on tread and a fail for split windscreen wipers.

[namastebuzz]

I've had 9-5 Aero, V70 D5 and MG ZTT diesel.

The V70 was by far the dullest of the three and I spent a fortune on maintenance. (HOW MUCH for a wheel bearing?)

The MG was fun to drive and amazingly equipped. I loved the webasto programmable heater. The Saab was a rocket and didn't feel any smaller in capacity than the Volvo. It was also the cheapest of the three to run.

[mattyprice4004]

MiniMan64 said:

Hey it did 7 years of trouble free (ish) service. I wonder if the MG is still alive or not?

There’s a good chance it is - it’s only in recent years that the 75 / ZT dropped to below half produced being left on the road, but that’s still around 35,000 today.

Sadly the attitude seems to be to rubbish a car made on our own soil that in all honesty wasn’t that bad; I had various 75s and ZTs over the years and never had anything I’d class as a catastrophic failure in 10 years / 300,000 miles or so.

The main issues were with finding parts - but having just sold one of the UK’s larger MG Rover specialist parts suppliers, I can comfortably say that’s not really an issue anymore.

[carreauchompeur]

As a general runaround, I loved my 2007 v70 d5 and it cost, overall, buttons. Nice growly Diesel engine and after a remap the throttle response and general power was excellent.

A fun car for surprising people with on twisty roads, steering not super ‘dynamic’ but absolutely huge boot too

[Jamescrs]

If you are considering an MG ZT-T look carefully at the boot space.
I owned the saloon version a long time ago and the boot was a very awkward shape, I struggled with bulky items. The boot on the estate may be entirely different bot the boot floor shape on the saloon was awkward to say the least.

[stevemcs]

The MG is a good shout, but just above your budget you will find the Mk4 Mondeo

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-09-FORD-MONDEO-2-0...

Although the Mk3 driver better, the boot is massive too. I've had a Saab 9-5 SE and that was a great wafter, the boot was massive too but the Mk3 Mondo just pips it.

Again a little over budget and auto, probably not as sharp as the mondeo but a lot of car for the money

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Vauxhall-Vectra-2-...

Road tax needs to be checked though as some fall into the higher band

[craig_m67]

Alfa 156 Sportwagon.
Either the 2.4 5cyl derv or the v6

[RoVoFob]

namastebuzz said:

I've had 9-5 Aero, V70 D5 and MG ZTT diesel.

The V70 was by far the dullest of the three and I spent a fortune on maintenance. (HOW MUCH for a wheel bearing?)

The MG was fun to drive and amazingly equipped. I loved the webasto programmable heater. The Saab was a rocket and didn't feel any smaller in capacity than the Volvo. It was also the cheapest of the three to run.

Interesting. I always imagined the Saab would be duller than the Volvo with more of a comfort bias and a bland four-pot compared with the Volvo’s warbly five-pot. Did the V70 seem to have been well looked after when you bought it, or any obvious reason why it cost so much?

The Saab does appeal, but I think the price would be a factor in that rather than it being the car I want most - wish it had a more interesting sounding engine. MG would be a consideration, but boot is holding me back.

[RoVoFob]

carreauchompeur said:

As a general runaround, I loved my 2007 v70 d5 and it cost, overall, buttons. Nice growly Diesel engine and after a remap the throttle response and general power was excellent.

A fun car for surprising people with on twisty roads, steering not super ‘dynamic’ but absolutely huge boot too

Good to hear. I always think a five-pot warble works particularly well in diesel form - don’t really want a diesel, but decent diesel V70s seem much easier to find. T5s seem non existent at the mo or really expensive while there are barely any 2.5T or 2.4Ts around. A 2.5T would be ideal, though - practically T5 performance but much cheaper...

My dad had the original S80 2.5D - the ancient five-cylinder Audi diesel - and even that sounded excellent. I spent many weekends learning to drive in that around dad’s enormous work car park and loved that thing - apart from the handbrake that barely did anything!

[RoVoFob]

Jamescrs said:

If you are considering an MG ZT-T look carefully at the boot space.
I owned the saloon version a long time ago and the boot was a very awkward shape, I struggled with bulky items. The boot on the estate may be entirely different bot the boot floor shape on the saloon was awkward to say the least.

It does appeal, but everything I’ve read has said the boot’s tiny, so it’s not in the running. Had a back-to-back drive in a ZT 190 and my BMW 325ti years back, though and was amazed how similar they felt. Lovely sound but not too much in the way of get-up-and-go!

[sjc]

RoVoFob said:

MiniMan64 said:

I’m just gonna go ahead and ignore your requirements for reliability and not needing to spend money

V6 MG

Go on, live dangerously...

Love it!

I have been watching this. The fact they’ve ‘just’ spent £2,200 on it and it’s worth £1,000 tells you how much the rest of the car is worth, right?

My dad test drove a MG ZT 190 saloon when they were new and I remember the sound - it was glorious.

Had this V6 nearly a year, was less than half your budget.

Thread here ..

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[sjc]

RoVoFob said:

MiniMan64 said:

I’m just gonna go ahead and ignore your requirements for reliability and not needing to spend money

V6 MG

Go on, live dangerously...

Love it!

I have been watching this. The fact they’ve ‘just’ spent £2,200 on it and it’s worth £1,000 tells you how much the rest of the car is worth, right?

My dad test drove a MG ZT 190 saloon when they were new and I remember the sound - it was glorious.

The bill for £2200 could easily just be a big 3 belt service every 90k miles or 6 years) waterpump,discs, pads, tyres and a bit of suspension refresh etc. If that’s the case, someone was prepared to spend big time future proof it, so it would be worth doing some homework. With all that stuff done, could be a great grand gamble. (Low spec car and aftermarket tailpipe aside !!)

[RoVoFob]

craig_m67 said:

Alfa 156 Sportwagon.
Either the 2.4 5cyl derv or the v6

The boot is barely bigger than my 1 Series and that’s hardly big! Would love a Busso, though, and it still looks great.

[stevemcs]

Or there is the x type...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-Jaguar-X-Type-Sove...

[RoVoFob]

sjc said:

Had this V6 nearly a year, was less than half your budget.

Thread here ..

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Oof, that looks fantastic. Stop tempting me! Not big enough, I think.

[RoVoFob]

stevemcs said:

The MG is a good shout, but just above your budget you will find the Mk4 Mondeo

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-09-FORD-MONDEO-2-0...

Although the Mk3 driver better, the boot is massive too. I've had a Saab 9-5 SE and that was a great wafter, the boot was massive too but the Mk3 Mondo just pips it.

Again a little over budget and auto, probably not as sharp as the mondeo but a lot of car for the money

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Vauxhall-Vectra-2-...

Road tax needs to be checked though as some fall into the higher band

Mk4 Mondeo 2.5T is top of the maybe list. Doesn’t appeal on paper - the cabin is really ugly to me - but sure it’d win me over on a drive. Might track one down when test driving is possible again...

The auto box puts me off the Vectra, but an ex-police 2.8 V6 manual I’ve found really appeals - such a great Q car in white and the boot is gigantic. Lower tax on ex-police cars, too, I think. While a test drive might sell the Mondeo, I fear it might put me off the Vectra though.

[RoVoFob]

sjc said:

The bill for £2200 could easily just be a big 3 belt service every 90k miles or 6 years) waterpump,discs, pads, tyres and a bit of suspension refresh etc. If that’s the case, someone was prepared to spend big time future proof it, so it would be worth doing some homework. With all that stuff done, could be a great grand gamble. (Low spec car and aftermarket tailpipe aside !!)

True. Think I looked at the MOT history for this one and there seemed to be all sorts of problem areas. If they’ve addressed most of those could definitely be a good buy. It’s the boot that stops me looking into it.

[sjc]

RoVoFob said:

Oof, that looks fantastic. Stop tempting me! Not big enough, I think.

What is it you’re carrying?! All my work stuff goes in it.Alfa much smaller.The only thing I drove ( and I drove loads and ended back in another 75 based V6), which was significantly bigger was the V70, a car that other than the size is quite possibly the most overrated cult car I’ve ever driven.The D5 is gruff( 5 cyl or not), the non-turbo petrols struggled to move the thing, the turning circle was horrendous, the pillars created dreadful blind spots and the allegedly comfy seats didn’t go high enough under thigh to offer any support.

Edited by sjc on Sunday 28th February 12:39

[RoVoFob]

stevemcs said:

Or there is the x type...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-Jaguar-X-Type-Sove...

Yes. I have thought about these. Am always surprised at how good they look with the right spec.

Seem to have a surprisingly big boot but a very narrow opening, which cancels out the volume. Plus, my dad would tease me as I spent years slating his old X-Type - though that was mainly because it had a Transit engine...