Whatcar (apologies...); SUV around £5k
Discussion
My friend has just had his first little baby and is looking to upgrade their ancient clio to enable the baby gear to fit. They live down in Surrey so have a few hills etc to get out of their village, so 4x4 would be handy. He doesn't know much about cars.
They're keen on a BMW X3 or similar. She (his wife) fancies a SUV of some sort (her dad has an Aston, and her mum a Range Rover) as she has an image to uphold!
Anyway, any ideas of a smallish SUV, petrol/diesel, for pottering around Surrey in that might fit the bill. I think the perception is that a SUV is safer for the baby and easier getting it in and out etc.
They're keen on a BMW X3 or similar. She (his wife) fancies a SUV of some sort (her dad has an Aston, and her mum a Range Rover) as she has an image to uphold!
Anyway, any ideas of a smallish SUV, petrol/diesel, for pottering around Surrey in that might fit the bill. I think the perception is that a SUV is safer for the baby and easier getting it in and out etc.
RX300?
Its not my car for sale by the way!
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sa...
My wife has one however and its very good value for money overall.
Reliable, quiet, smooth, comfortable, safe, V6 sounds nice.
Dont think you would do much better for 5k, assuming mpg isnt overly important to you.
As long as the history looks decent....
Its not my car for sale by the way!
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sa...
My wife has one however and its very good value for money overall.
Reliable, quiet, smooth, comfortable, safe, V6 sounds nice.
Dont think you would do much better for 5k, assuming mpg isnt overly important to you.
As long as the history looks decent....
tannedstamina said:
My friend has just had his first little baby and is looking to upgrade their ancient clio to enable the baby gear to fit. They live down in Surrey so have a few hills etc to get out of their village, so 4x4 would be handy.
They don't need 4 wheel drive. They might want it, but they don't need it, unless Surrey has been shipped over to the Amazon basin over the weekend. 
Willy Nilly said:
They don't need 4 wheel drive. They might want it, but they don't need it, unless Surrey has been shipped over to the Amazon basin over the weekend.
I know they don't need a 4x4 - they just need an estate (potentially) with winter tyres for if it snows. However, they're not trying to buy what they need, they're buying what they want (which is a bit different!)Walter Sobchak said:
Can you get an X5 for 5k now?, my vote goes to the ML or a Land Cruiser.
Just to check, if they are upgrading an ancient clio, remind him (if he knows little about cars) that whilst great vehicles, the models above also come with potentially much higher running costs - and identifying a good local indy is probably as valuable as finding the car. tannedstamina said:
Willy Nilly said:
They don't need 4 wheel drive. They might want it, but they don't need it, unless Surrey has been shipped over to the Amazon basin over the weekend.
I know they don't need a 4x4 - they just need an estate (potentially) with winter tyres for if it snows. However, they're not trying to buy what they need, they're buying what they want (which is a bit different!)You will be able to have some fun watching them drive a shaky X3 up an icy hill with its road tyres scrabbling for grip.
Yeah, he's aware that something like a BMW is going to have higher running costs. I don't think he'd buy one if it wasn't what she wanted!
Just checking out the X3's myself - they seem like a good deal for the money. There's a few around at 60-70k mileage that look very clean. They still look very modern compared to similar ages Mercs etc. Something like a Lancruiser or Land Rover might be a bit bigger and more off-roady than what they need.
What they're pretty much looking for I think is more of a cross-over style car that wasn't made back in the day. X3 is a smaller SUV that seems to tick the boxes for what they want.
Just checking out the X3's myself - they seem like a good deal for the money. There's a few around at 60-70k mileage that look very clean. They still look very modern compared to similar ages Mercs etc. Something like a Lancruiser or Land Rover might be a bit bigger and more off-roady than what they need.
What they're pretty much looking for I think is more of a cross-over style car that wasn't made back in the day. X3 is a smaller SUV that seems to tick the boxes for what they want.
tannedstamina said:
Yeah, he's aware that something like a BMW is going to have higher running costs. I don't think he'd buy one if it wasn't what she wanted!
Just checking out the X3's myself - they seem like a good deal for the money. There's a few around at 60-70k mileage that look very clean. They still look very modern compared to similar ages Mercs etc. Something like a Lancruiser or Land Rover might be a bit bigger and more off-roady than what they need.
What they're pretty much looking for I think is more of a cross-over style car that wasn't made back in the day. X3 is a smaller SUV that seems to tick the boxes for what they want.
There is only 7 below 6 grand in PH classifieds http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Category=us...Just checking out the X3's myself - they seem like a good deal for the money. There's a few around at 60-70k mileage that look very clean. They still look very modern compared to similar ages Mercs etc. Something like a Lancruiser or Land Rover might be a bit bigger and more off-roady than what they need.
What they're pretty much looking for I think is more of a cross-over style car that wasn't made back in the day. X3 is a smaller SUV that seems to tick the boxes for what they want.
They would be better off with a FR-V or CR-V or similar if a cross over is what they want. Not sure how a lowly Japanese car would fair with the neighbours though. I have had a ride in an X£ and there isn't really much room in them
Edited by Willy Nilly on Thursday 24th October 10:34
I get the impression they want a big road car.
They aren't going off road, but want lots of space, high drive position, comfort, good crash rating to protect kid.
It's a reasonable request.
X3 is good for what they want.
You could look at a Freelander perhaps, they could tick the boxes, we especially a well specced one.
I'm guessing they don't want a full size Merc M, Land Cruiser or Disco.
They aren't going off road, but want lots of space, high drive position, comfort, good crash rating to protect kid.
It's a reasonable request.
X3 is good for what they want.
You could look at a Freelander perhaps, they could tick the boxes, we especially a well specced one.
I'm guessing they don't want a full size Merc M, Land Cruiser or Disco.
If they only have 5k to spend and a new baby, running costs maybe something to keep in mind.
Bork factor on an ML or Land Rover/X3 could prove painful.
£5,500 buys a petrol 2WD Qashqai, stick a set of winter tyres on it and noone will know the difference.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...
Bork factor on an ML or Land Rover/X3 could prove painful.
£5,500 buys a petrol 2WD Qashqai, stick a set of winter tyres on it and noone will know the difference.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...
Jazzer77 said:
If they only have 5k to spend and a new baby, running costs maybe something to keep in mind.
Bork factor on an ML or Land Rover/X3 could prove painful.
£5,500 buys a petrol 2WD Qashqai, stick a set of winter tyres on it and noone will know the difference.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...
Perfect for what they need - didn't realise these would fit close to the budget. Think originally this is what they were looking for.Bork factor on an ML or Land Rover/X3 could prove painful.
£5,500 buys a petrol 2WD Qashqai, stick a set of winter tyres on it and noone will know the difference.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...
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