Estate - £10,000

[junglie]

Good evening,

I am looking for a new estate.

I have the following criteria:

Price - up to approx £10,000.
Size - big enough for kids plus the usual bits so 5 series / A6 / 300c size over 3 series / A4 / V50 etc.
Engine - must have 5 plus cylinders, RWD or 4x4, chain not cam belt.
Spec - as much as possible but must have sat nav.

Options:

E350 CDI (post 2012) - real world driveability with reasonable economy. Large. Good spec. I have heard of injectors, turbos, gearboxes giving up early.

E350 CGI - rare but I like big petrols. Same as the above but better reliability?

Subaru 3.0 - reliable car and more simple. Permanent 4x4. Robust. A little cheap interior wise?

Skoda Superb 3.6 - massive inside. Good enough power. Reliable. Good spec. Hard finding one.

Chrysler 300C - not amazing in terms of build but cheap for what it is.

BMW 5 Series - late E61 or early F10. Problematic and not as good as an E39?

I would love a 2012 era E500 but really rare.

Any thoughts?

[ninjag]

My neighbour had a 520 estate and I remember hating it because it visually appeared to be the longest car ever made and took up a lot of space in the street when parking. I did get an F10 (saloon) 530 M-Sport as a courtesy car for a while and remember thinking it was quite a noticeable improvement inside compared to my F30 330D M-Sport. No stuck on navi screen, everything on the dash was visible unlike the 3 series with controls hidden underneath and behind the steering wheel etc. The 5 series wasn't as nimble feeling but it definitely felt more upmarket and was a very nice drive.

My only problem with a lot of the German cars is the ridiculous bonnet size because of the engine layout. About 1/3 of the car is bonnet, and this seriously cuts into interior space. Take the F30 330D, it's actually longer than a 4th Gen Honda CRV but the rear legroom and boot capacity in the BMW was crap where the CRV has acres of space inside. That damn bonnet! lol

Something to think about I guess if space is important. What about some of the Swedish offerings?

[anonymous-user]

S6?

I've got one very nice but not cheap if things fail. Example a throttle body is c£450 from bosch or c£1k for the same part from Audi, there are 2.

Mpg c 18-22 I think.

Bit bigger than 5 series, smaller than E class

If I was doing decent mileage I'd look for a 530/535d plus a bit of light tuning

[DKL]

E55 estate. Touch older but just about in budget.

[junglie]

S6 - truly love the idea of them. High reving, large capacity V10 but the repair bills scare me a lititle (I run an E500 and R500 amongst others so get it!).

E55 - love them. Essentially a similar engine to my car’s that has been bored out and a supercharger bolted on; what’s not to like! That said, airmatic, SBC etc is a sorry.

I don’t, for one minute, suggest every complex car is ticking time bomb but it is always a worry.

I love the idea of thumping torque (big capacity diesel) and big power (big n/a petrol) or both (super / turbo charged petrol) but each have their problems.

If they would do a VXR8 estate then we are good!

[ninepoint2]

Think the Skoda Superb is a good shout TBH

[Chestrockwell]

E61 550i and keep it for life

[ZX10R NIN]

All cars have issues I can recommend the E350 in both forms they're reliable & go well but here are some other worthy options:

Insignia VXR they're big fast (they'd give an S6 a hard time) & pretty reasonable to run, a remap restores the torque Vauxhall took out:

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

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

3.6 Superb but get the timing chain checked as they're known for stretching finding an estate will be hard.

Passat R36 same issues as the above so again get any potential purchase checked:

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

E350cgi rare but worth seeking out:

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

Or you could go W211 E63:

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

3.0d XF Premium Luxury very good cars & well worth a look:

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

E350 265 Sport

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

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

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

550i M Sport but these can have valve stem seal & cam chain issues.

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

S6 Avant if you're feeling brave these can be a good buy but get everything checked & these all seem to suffer coking issues

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

3.0T A6 Avant

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

2.8 A6

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

535d SE

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

530d M Sport

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

F11 530d SE

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

M Sport

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

3.0d A6 S Line

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

[Trailhead]

The problem with the c100k miles large German execs, in particular Mercs, is you could quite easily buy a clocked 300k’er!

[Tannedbaldhead]

What about the Jaguar XF estate?

[junglie]

Thank you for the replies so far (especially ZX10 for his standard comprehensive reply).

My thoughts:

Insignia VXR - great on paper but not sold on the interior (never really been a fan of Vauxhall interiors). Timing chain stretch plagued these, along with the SAAB Turbo X, so it is finding one with it done.

E350 CGI - the black one posted is only 5 miles from me so I am going to view that and see.

Audi A6 - like these, I think, but not sure if I would want the older version. My other half has a new A3 and I think I may get interior envy!

E55 AMG - a new one has just cropped up without being a silly price. If it has had the usual airmatic replacement etc then it may be worth a look.

I know I am asking for it all but I am spending more than usual. Affordability is not an issue, more bang for buck. My cheap cars are great and I always am safe in the knowledge that they can be treated as disposable!

[ZX10R NIN]

junglie said:

Thank you for the replies so far (especially ZX10 for his standard comprehensive reply).

My thoughts:

Insignia VXR - great on paper but not sold on the interior (never really been a fan of Vauxhall interiors). Timing chain stretch plagued these, along with the SAAB Turbo X, so it is finding one with it done.

E350 CGI - the black one posted is only 5 miles from me so I am going to view that and see.

Audi A6 - like these, I think, but not sure if I would want the older version. My other half has a new A3 and I think I may get interior envy!

E55 AMG - a new one has just cropped up without being a silly price. If it has had the usual airmatic replacement etc then it may be worth a look.

I know I am asking for it all but I am spending more than usual. Affordability is not an issue, more bang for buck. My cheap cars are great and I always am safe in the knowledge that they can be treated as disposable!

The VXR's timing chain issues were sorted in 2010 so a 2011 car onwards will be fine but if you're not a fan of the interior then it'll be a no go.

If you can stretch for it the E63 is a more reliable option than the 55 but the 55's are very robust, now if you could find a W212 E500 then you'd be cooking on gas but they're like hens teeth to find.

[junglie]

I missed out on a 212 E500 about 2 years ago and still upset

The older 306 hp in my E500 saloon goes well; another 100 hp on top (almost) wold be grand!

[ZX10R NIN]

Lol I'm still upset with you dithering on that 5.5 CLK500 & me not just snapping it out from under your nose there'll always be the ones that got away.

[junglie]

I missed out on a 212 E500 about 2 years ago and still upset

The older 306 hp in my E500 saloon goes well; another 100 hp on top (almost) wold be grand!

[junglie]

ZX10R NIN said:

Lol I'm still upset with you dithering on that 5.5 CLK500 & me not just snapping it out from under your nose there'll always be the ones that got away.

It was a beauty but just not what I needed at the time.

If an E500 (5.5) comes along may I please have it first!

[bolide]

I bought an F11 525 Diesel Touring a year ago to replace an E39. Reliability has been fine and, although it's not as together as a drivers car as the E39, it's streets ahead in many areas

The 525 Diesel was a 30-litre 6-pot till 2011 when it was replaced by a 4-cylinder twincharger engine. But who wants a four-cylinder engine?

You'll find it incredibly hard to find a six-cylinder auto F11 but they are worth seeking out. It's also worth finding one in a decent spec

Nick Froome

[Oh Behave]

I bought a '59 plate E61 530d MSport (estate) and have run it for 22k miles now. Hasn't missed a beat, has a good turn of pace and very comfy. I paid just over 10k for it from BMW 20 months ago but for the price I couldn't find much that beats it, its a great all rounder. 535d would have been nice but finding a good one is difficult. 550i might be worth a look too but these are pretty rare.

[Jay500]

Without trying to hijack the thread, as I am looking for similar, does the 525d 4 cylinder not have the chain thingy problems that the 2.0d has?

[rat840771]

For that money I just got a cracking A6 Avant 3.0tdi Quattro, cracking car but it does like a drink!

Edited by rat840771 on Tuesday 27th November 22:13