Help me choose an estate £10k - Page 1 - Car Buying

Original Poster

202 posts

93 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

I'm considering getting rid of my current car ('08 GS300) and picking up an estate over the next 6 months. It needs to hit as many of the following criteria:

-10k budget or less. Will go to 15k for absolutely the right car, but I'll have to wait longer to save.
-Fun to drive and fast(ish)
-Big enough to carry adult passengers in the rear, dogs in the boot and carry a roof box on top (and able to carry that load without sounding like it's gonna fall apart on the motorway)
-Petrol. I don't do nearly enough miles day to day to warrant a diesel and the way things are going with the noise coming from the government, it's really putting me off them. Happy to have my mind changed of course!
-Automatic. Can't drive manuals due to a health condition
-Comfortable on long haul journeys. I don't want to move from a Lexus and regret it. I also have back problems so comfort is very important.
-Ideally AWD. The plan is to take the estate to the alps every year for our annual skiing holiday because if I have to go through Geneva airport one more time I might lose the will to live
-Reliable. I don't mind paying for expensive consumables but I don't want to be forking out for blown turbos and what not
-Lowish mileage. I will buy on condition rather than odometer but I want this car to be a workhorse and last a long time. When we have kids in the next couple of years, I want this thing to be doing the school run for years and years. In other words, it needs to be future proof (and bomb proof). I've been using 70k as the upper limit on auto trader but tbh there isn't really a good reason for that.
- Decent MPG. I average low 20s in town in my GS and mid 30s on the motorway. I don't want to go lower than that and ideally want something that is a bit more frugal, for short journey commuting (and eventual school run) reasons. And similarly, I'm paying £555 a year for tax currently, wouldn't mind that coming down either.

I know for the budget I am not going to hit every single one of the above, I am realistic. I've got my eye on the following which are local(ish) to me:

BMW 330i touring
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Concerns: RWD. Will I be fine in the alps with winter tyres and chains? Would having an xdrive (which I can barely afford) make that much more of a difference? I'll be buying winters and chains if I get an AWD anyway, am I silly to be wary of rear wheel Beemers?

Subaru Legacy GT
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Concerns: It's an import. If things go bang, am I gonna struggle to replace parts? And I've read that I need to get it remapped to run on the standard petrol we get at the pumps over here. Can any reputable ECU specialist do that or is it a right pain in the arse? And are these comfortable cruisers on long journeys or am I gonna be driving an Impreza with a big boot?

Audi A4 2.0 TFSI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Concerns: Well, it's a lot of money (to me) and I'll have to hope it hangs about for the best part of a year before I can afford it. I really don't want to be spending this much money on a car that will be used and abused, but it seems to tick a lot of boxes.

Please help! And offer suggestions if I'm missing anything glaringly obvious.

junglie

2,039 posts

237 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

Hi,

I am looking at getting another car and like the idea of a GS300 - how was the experience?

In terms of the cars you mention, the 330i is actually quite small compared to the others. Ihave owned a 330i and it is rubbish in the snow! I think winter tyres, and / or chains, plus some weight over the rear axle would see a night and day improvement but I have never tried. I have a car with 4WD which is like a mountain goat by comparison!

WhiskyDisco

1,154 posts

94 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

Stand out from the crowd and buy a Legacy.

Sporty looking: 2009 low miles, £11k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

'SE' looking: 2012, low miles, £11k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Both are 165 bhp

Original Poster

202 posts

93 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

junglie said:

I absolutely bloody love the GS. I'm a big fan of Lexus all round tbh. It's a lovely engine. Smooth, quiet but shifts if you put your foot through it. They seem indestructible too. I've only had to pay for tires in my time of ownership. It's on 72k miles at the moment and it hasn't ever had 1 single advisory on an MOT, let alone a fail. It's not the sportiest or the best at handling, but that's not why you buy a big bodied Japanese saloon. If you are after a comfy, refined saloon with a bit of oomph at your feet, I'd highly recommend it. They also come with a crazy amount of tech and gadgets. Reversing camera, sensors, bluetooth etc all came as standard. You get a lot of car for the money.

On the 330i - this is what I feared. I'm not sure I'd trust myself in a rear wheel drive up the side of the alps. I had to abandon my GS last winter and that was in the UK (though I did have summer tires and no chains, so my fault really). And if it is small in the back then that's no good. There are 3 big guys in our skiing group (me included) who would take turns driving so each would be in the back for a few hours at one point.

Original Poster

202 posts

93 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

WhiskyDisco said:

They are seriously tempting. Would standing out from the crowd even further in a JDM import be too much hassle? If so, I might just go for the 2.5 as you suggest. And how are they reliability wise? Do Subaru share their compatriots' reputation?

WhiskyDisco

1,154 posts

94 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

I've not run a Subaru Legacy but my parents ran a X registered Forester for about 10 years. It was very reliable and only required annual servicing. In the end it was rust that caused them to sell it/trade it. Theirs was ginger, and manual with velour seats!

ElectricSoup

8,202 posts

171 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

This one's got Volvo XC70 written all over it.

Jeffbrfly

63 posts

95 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 4x4..

junglie

2,039 posts

237 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

Jeffbrfly said:

Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 4x4..

This. There is, or was recently, a nice example for £9,999 from a dealer.

Original Poster

202 posts

93 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

ElectricSoup said:

This one's got Volvo XC70 written all over it.

Never even considered Volvo! I'll look into this

Original Poster

202 posts

93 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

Jeffbrfly said:

Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 4x4..

Didn't even know that existed! Had a look on auto trader and only one came up at just shy of 15k. I'll keep digging but looks a cracker

junglie

2,039 posts

237 months

Thursday 28th June 2018

Just had a look and the Skoda Superb I was looking at has gone.

What about a Volvo V70 T6? Straight 6 with a turbo, AWD, lots of space, handsome, reliable.....

Original Poster

202 posts

93 months