Insurance have written off my car!

Lucie_2

To cut a long story short - The insurance company have written off our 05 Volvo S40 with engine damage as they decided it would be too costly to repair. I was not expecting this at all, and consequently now have to buy a replacement. I have no idea what to get, so what are your recommendations?
Factors to consider:

• Not another Volvo
• Needs to be 1.8 or 2 litre
• Probably manual & possibly diesel, but neither of these are vital
• Hatchback preferred as never really liked the saloon of the Volvo & our other car has a very small boot
• The Volvo had a decent spec - leather seats, individual climate control, parking sensor, upgraded stereo etc, so anything too basic would feel very inferior & I'd hate it
• Spending no more than £13,000

If anyone has any bright ideas I'd consider them all. Please don't bother with the "save your money & buy an old banger" suggestions. It won't happen.

Conor_3

Mondeo TDCi Ghis X. Has all the toys. Should return over 50MPG without trying and the thick end of 60MPG if driven economically. Quite pokey as well and handle as well/better than a 3 series BMW.

hewhoisnotintheknow

buy the car off the insurance get a secondhand engine put in

thescouselander

Conor wrote: »

Mondeo TDCi Ghis X. Has all the toys. Should return over 50MPG without trying and the thick end of 60MPG if driven economically. Quite pokey as well and handle as well/better than a 3 series BMW.

Hmm, not sure about that, Modeos are a pretty uninspiring drive, certainly nothing on a 3 series especially as the Mondeo is front wheel drive while the BMW is rear wheel drive.

stumpjumper

How about a Saab 9-5 Aero estate?

All the toys, very comfy and going for buttons these days, will leave a bimmer 3 series or mundano for dust. Not too shabby on the economy for a car of it's performance/ size too.

vikingaero

Ford Focus TDCi. Amazing combination of ride quality and handling.

DirectDebacle

Have a look at these. All from the same manufacturer, same body, different badge/cred but all of good quality.

Audi A4/VW Passat/Skoda Octavia. All good solid relible engineering and very economical in diesel. Skoda is not the laughing stock it used to be and very good value for money. I was considering one of these but bought a Volvo V70 estate in the end. Was tempted with an Octavia diesel estate though. Top of the range with leather/sat nav and all the other toys and about £6000 two year old on ebay.

thescouselander

stumpjumper wrote: »

How about a Saab 9-5 Aero estate?

All the toys, very comfy and going for buttons these days, will leave a bimmer 3 series or mundano for dust. Not too shabby on the economy for a car of it's performance/ size too.

Yeah, this gets my vote too. I drove on of these a few months back, it was pretty good.

Lucie_2

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. here's where we're at:

Mondeo - The Titanium X diesel was top of our list briefly, but as thescouselander says, it's a pretty uninspiring drive. We did take one out for a test drive this afternoon, it was ok, nowt special, but I did like the push button start!

We also considered buying the Volvo from the insurance & getting a re-con engine, but they're not easy to get over here & to be honest I've lost all confidence in the car.

Saab - we seriously looked at a Saab when we bought the Volvo, but it was nothing in comparison for the same money & bits fell off the one we test drove :rolleyes:

Ford Focus TDCI - Probably too small, and not interesting enough. Automotive wallpaper.

Audi A4/VW Passat - don't come as a hatchback & we're fed up of seemingly huge saloon boot space that you can't get anything in! Can't really justify an estate with no kids/dogs.

Skoda Octavia - my Dad's car of choice. Enough said....

Top of the current list is the Vauxhall Antara, but someone has today suggested the Mazda CX7, which I'd never heard of until then.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys; in a way I'm quite pleased you're all coming up with the same ideas as we are, it means there's nothing out there we've missed!

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/774955.htm

That year is well outside Mercedes dodgy period as well. I've driven one of these, they're excellent cars.

katiecoodle

Do Which have their "£1 for a 30day trial" promo still running? Check it out becuase their car buying guide was very very useful when I was in your position a few months ago. I had a car written off & a cheque and really didn't know where to start. Also when you narrow it down to two or three different models - get yourself to a showroom & test drive them. Your opinion of comfort may differ wildly from their reviewers.