Can anyone recommend an Estate for £2.5k Max?

wuckfit

Second vote for the Octavia estate. absolutely perfect. Diesel too, mostly so more mpg. what's not to like?
I used to own a Saab 9-3. now I drive an Octavia. Saab was the biggest mistake I ever made. money pit. cost a grand to put it through it's MOT at 4 years old.

plane_boy2000

I would opt for a Mondeo estate petrol at that price level. Well bult and reliable and cheep to fix when things do go wrong. In premium teritory your budget is a bit of a nightmare as you could get something really good and reliable, but more likely to be a money pit - remember that anything premium will cost a lot more to fix.

How about a passat - slightly more upmarket, but mainstream enough to not destroy your wallet. This looks OK
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201003350581212/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/make/volkswagen/model/passat/quantity-of-doors/5/price-to/3000/page/1/postcode/bs207jr/radius/40?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fusedcars%2Fpostcode%2Fbs207jr%2Fradius%2F40%2Fmake%2Fvolkswagen%2Fmodel%2Fpassat%2Fquantity-of-doors%2F5%2Fprice-to%2F3000%2Fpage%2F1%2Fsort%2Fpricedesc&logcode=p

DirectDebacle

Fully endorse the Volvo remarks. I have been running volvo estaes for over 20 yrs. Had a couple of 240s, 940GLE and now on V70 diesel. Bought 940 on a J plate in 02 for £650.00, ran it for 5 yrs and spares/repairs/MOT's totalled out to £750 in that time. Had over 250K on the clock when I got rid of it. Downside it was petrol and v. thirsty. Get one with a FSH and you should be ok with around half your £2.5k budget intact.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

plane_boy2000 wrote: »

remember that anything premium will cost a lot more to fix.

Sorry but that assertion is largely a myth.

emmell

My sister has had two volvo's, a v40 and s40 (both with mitsibushi engines, some have renault). Both cars were very reliable and the v40 had about 160,000 miles on the clock when she bought it. She loved them both but the s40 had full heated leather seats so she preferred that. I think if she was answering your question she'd say go for the volvo.
ML.

cc25

I would buy a Skoda Octavia Estate like this one on Autotrader for £2475 (2000X, one owner, full service history, 36,000 miles)Octavia Estate

Or a Vauxhall Astra , Ford Focus

plane_boy2000

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Sorry but that assertion is largely a myth.

So spares costs for Mec, BMW, Audi are the same as Ford and Vauxhall??????

stan5001

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

....Please don't get the older V40. They are horrific, and are Mitsubishis in disguise.

Nothing much wrong with the ones 1999-2004, much improved. Yes they did share a factory with Mitsubishi but the vast majority have Volvo engines and the Mistu ones are easily distinguishable (1.8l gdi engines). Highly recommended for the price.

wickyt

You'll get a nice Alfa 156 Sportwagon for that money. I brought a 2001 2.0 Veloce which had a full leather interior, @75K for £2300 a few years back. Was very responsive and great fun to drive and with the added bonus of being an estate. I'd definitely look to get another Alfa based on my experience.

Was extremely reliable (despite the reputation Alfa's have!) however you need to make sure that it's regularly serviced and that the cambelt has been replaced at the correct intervals. That particular service is generally around £500 so worth bearing in mind if you buy one which needs it changing.

mchale

Top of the range Mondeo, cracking car & cheap as chips to fix if it gets broken.