My First What Car Thread
Discussion
The appearance of a conrod in the engine bay of our Espace suggests that it's time to look for an alternative. Time therefore to test PH's powers of creativity and wishful thinking.
We currently have a dead 2005 Grand Espace 2.2dci, a 2001/200k mile SAAB 9-5 2.0lpt estate and a 1973 Scimitar hillclimb/sprint car on a 4-wheel trailer.
We need to cover the following:
A) School runs: 10 mile round trip, country roads, no traffic, wife plus 2 11 year-olds and the odd tuba. Wife drives quite hard, but don't tell her you heard that from me.
B) Commute: 60 mile round trip, country roads, no traffic, me on my tod. Must be able to chuck a bicycle in the car quickly and easily - in the car, not on it. I've been doing this trip for more than ten years, and short of working from home it's my ideal commute: it can be a complete hoon or a quiet potter as the mood strikes.
C) Family trips: anything from 5 - 500 miles, 2 adults, 1 13 year-old and 2 11 year-olds.
D) France: non-stop from Somerset to the Pyrenees, twice a year. The family fly out and I meet them there. Call it 1,100 miles each way, solo with two weeks' gear for five people, plus 500 miles of trips 5-up while we're out there.
E) Hillclimbs: towing the 1000kg Scimitar on its 500kg trailer, 100 - 300 mile rounds trips, grass paddock at the far end. Tool chest and trolley jack in the boot.
F) Work appointments: 100 - 600 mile round trips, couple of times a month. Just me.
A and B happen at the same time, so we need at least two vehicles. Up to now the Espace has done A, C and D and the SAAB has done B, E and F - although it's really at its limit with the towing.
The Espace is utterly dead - it might just be worth repairing to sell, but it's almost certainly scrap fodder. Either way it's going. The SAAB has been brilliant - needs a new turbo but that's a £400 DIY job. It has not really missed a beat in its 200k miles and it ought to soldier on for another year or two on the commute and my work travel, but it probably won't survive another summer of towing and certainly would be a major gamble to take to France. And it's worth zip. Both average low 30s mpg, with 40 from the Espace on long trips - and I wouldn't want to do any worse than that.
So...we need a combination of vehicles to cover all of the above. We've been doing it with two, but there's room for three. Budget is £500 a month - could go on lease payments, could service a £15k loan, could do something more creative.
I can't see myself ever being persuaded to spend money on another Renault, and the only diesel engine I have ever owned has just failed to last 100k miles from new, but aside from that I'm open to all suggestions. (Except that one.)
Virtual pint for the best idea. Real pint if you live near me and like 6X.
We currently have a dead 2005 Grand Espace 2.2dci, a 2001/200k mile SAAB 9-5 2.0lpt estate and a 1973 Scimitar hillclimb/sprint car on a 4-wheel trailer.
We need to cover the following:
A) School runs: 10 mile round trip, country roads, no traffic, wife plus 2 11 year-olds and the odd tuba. Wife drives quite hard, but don't tell her you heard that from me.
B) Commute: 60 mile round trip, country roads, no traffic, me on my tod. Must be able to chuck a bicycle in the car quickly and easily - in the car, not on it. I've been doing this trip for more than ten years, and short of working from home it's my ideal commute: it can be a complete hoon or a quiet potter as the mood strikes.
C) Family trips: anything from 5 - 500 miles, 2 adults, 1 13 year-old and 2 11 year-olds.
D) France: non-stop from Somerset to the Pyrenees, twice a year. The family fly out and I meet them there. Call it 1,100 miles each way, solo with two weeks' gear for five people, plus 500 miles of trips 5-up while we're out there.
E) Hillclimbs: towing the 1000kg Scimitar on its 500kg trailer, 100 - 300 mile rounds trips, grass paddock at the far end. Tool chest and trolley jack in the boot.
F) Work appointments: 100 - 600 mile round trips, couple of times a month. Just me.
A and B happen at the same time, so we need at least two vehicles. Up to now the Espace has done A, C and D and the SAAB has done B, E and F - although it's really at its limit with the towing.
The Espace is utterly dead - it might just be worth repairing to sell, but it's almost certainly scrap fodder. Either way it's going. The SAAB has been brilliant - needs a new turbo but that's a £400 DIY job. It has not really missed a beat in its 200k miles and it ought to soldier on for another year or two on the commute and my work travel, but it probably won't survive another summer of towing and certainly would be a major gamble to take to France. And it's worth zip. Both average low 30s mpg, with 40 from the Espace on long trips - and I wouldn't want to do any worse than that.
So...we need a combination of vehicles to cover all of the above. We've been doing it with two, but there's room for three. Budget is £500 a month - could go on lease payments, could service a £15k loan, could do something more creative.
I can't see myself ever being persuaded to spend money on another Renault, and the only diesel engine I have ever owned has just failed to last 100k miles from new, but aside from that I'm open to all suggestions. (Except that one.)
Virtual pint for the best idea. Real pint if you live near me and like 6X.
Hmm. Not sure I'd enjoy using the Defender for anything other than towing - but my experience doesn't extend much beyond green ones with canvass tops.
Struggling to see past either an S-Max 2.5T plus a compact estate - 9-3 Aero or Octavia, say - although 5-cyl S-Maxes are very thin on the ground, or a Discovery plus a wing and a prayer to keep the current SAAB going.
Struggling to see past either an S-Max 2.5T plus a compact estate - 9-3 Aero or Octavia, say - although 5-cyl S-Maxes are very thin on the ground, or a Discovery plus a wing and a prayer to keep the current SAAB going.
If you want 40mpg from the family towing wagon on a run, it's going to have to be a diesel.
A, C, D, E, Honda CRV. Latest model (without exterior spare wheel) from about 8-10k. Previous one for 5 or 6k good too. Will never die and good residuals. Small fuel tanks though, that's the ONLY complaint I have with ours.
Your car, use the Saab til it dies then get an annual-or-so procession of V-engined petrol barges and barge estates from the 1-5 thread
A few quid on petrol and bork fund more fun than depreciation
A, C, D, E, Honda CRV. Latest model (without exterior spare wheel) from about 8-10k. Previous one for 5 or 6k good too. Will never die and good residuals. Small fuel tanks though, that's the ONLY complaint I have with ours.
Your car, use the Saab til it dies then get an annual-or-so procession of V-engined petrol barges and barge estates from the 1-5 thread
A few quid on petrol and bork fund more fun than depreciation richardxjr said:
If you want 40mpg from the family towing wagon on a run, it's going to have to be a diesel.
A, C, D, E, Honda CRV. Latest model (without exterior spare wheel) from about 8-10k. Previous one for 5 or 6k good too. Will never die and good residuals. Small fuel tanks though, that's the ONLY complaint I have with ours.
Your car, use the Saab til it dies then get an annual-or-so procession of V-engined petrol barges and barge estates from the 1-5 thread A few quid on petrol and bork fund more fun than depreciation
I like Hondas, by and large. Old man has a CR-V, I think it's a 10-plate. I'll have to try it for size.A, C, D, E, Honda CRV. Latest model (without exterior spare wheel) from about 8-10k. Previous one for 5 or 6k good too. Will never die and good residuals. Small fuel tanks though, that's the ONLY complaint I have with ours.
Your car, use the Saab til it dies then get an annual-or-so procession of V-engined petrol barges and barge estates from the 1-5 thread
A few quid on petrol and bork fund more fun than depreciation As for barging, I've never really liked the idea, but - I guess that's more or less what I'm doing with the 9-5, just not thought of it that way. [Heads off to look for E39 540 wagon].
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