What estate car & engine size? £3k to spend

carpool72

Hi,

Am splitting up from my OH, he's buying my half of the family car (2L Mondeo estate) from me for £3k so I'm looking for a reliable, economical replacement.

I need an estate car for the bulky equipment I carry for work, and for camping holidays etc. I do about 10,000 miles a year, a mixture of daily short school runs, 10-20 miles a couple of times a week and much longer journeys about once a month. We moved from a petrol to a diesel last time and I'm getting a lot more out of a tank so I'm thinking this is the way forward - they also seem to be lower road tax.

Thinking about Pug 307 SW but not sure about engine size - seems to be 1.6 or 2L. Would a 1.6 be enough? I'm sure it'll be fine day-day but when we go on holiday we are fully loaded with 3 people, 3 bikes & bike carrier and luggage and we're driving a good 5-6 hours.

Thanks

Netwizard

The 307 is truely the worst car ever. A friend had one and it broke down weekly. Fuel faults, anti pollution faults, engine management problemsetc.

I have a volvo 940 estate and I was always towing him home. 10, 000 miles isn't that much so don't get hung up on getting a diesel. They are expensive to repair with EGR, DMF, Injector faults. Petrol might well be cheaper in the long run.

If you have had a mondeo and are happy with it, why not get another one? You will get a good mk3 mondeo estate for £3k

Other cars to think about are:

Volvo v70
Ford focus estate
Honda accord estate

OddballJamie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Don't do it, the 1.6hdi in the 307 is the devils work, I believe it was designed to keep Peugeot garages afloat during recessions.
The 2.0hdi is almost as bad.

10,000 miles a year isn't really into diesel territory yet.

Same goes with the Focus mk2, don't touch the 1.6 or 2.0 tdci, it's the Peugeot engine, only consider the 1.8 tdci.

Octavia estate is worth a look at is you want diesel.

Prothet_of_Doom

Avoid Diesels at 10K- not worth the pain.

Left Field now- look at 53 to 57 honda accord estates. They are big, but £3K gets a good one, and will be reliable, and comfortable, and make a mondeo look like a poverty bus.

Foxy-Stoat_3

For saving money a Skoda Octavia Estate 1.9 tdi, for a nice drive Audi A4/A6 1.9 tdi.

forgotmyname

Why not buy another Mondeo estate?

2007 cars for that money.

tbourner

Definitely a Honda Accord tourer. If you can stretch another £500 or so you could get a really nice EX spec with under 100k miles. Pre-08 models don't have a DPF so no worries there and they're the quietest diesel ever, sounds almost like a petrol even at idle.

carpool72

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

Avoid Diesels at 10K- not worth the pain.

Left Field now- look at 53 to 57 honda accord estates. They are big, but £3K gets a good one, and will be reliable, and comfortable, and make a mondeo look like a poverty bus.

What pain?? Had a 1.8T petrol Passat estate before and the Mondeo has been much cheaper to run so far (had it 3 years, it's a 57 plate). Is there pain to come?

Only problem with Accord estate is the road tax band - I'm trying to get something at an F or below, or am I asking for the impossible?

Thanks for all your help... interesting about the Peugot - I was totally against them until my friend and brother each had a 207 SW and loved them.

bodgerx

tbourner wrote: »

Definitely a Honda Accord tourer. If you can stretch another £500 or so you could get a really nice EX spec with under 100k miles. Pre-08 models don't have a DPF so no worries there and they're the quietest diesel ever, sounds almost like a petrol even at idle.

Agree 100% with Accord. Rock solid car.

The Mondeo would be ok if you wanted something newer - be picky with them though, there are loads about. Avoid the 1.8 diesel.

AlexLK

You'd get a nice 1998-2002 shape (E39) BMW 5 Series for £3K with the option of a petrol or diesel engine. Will easily carry what you need it to and is a very comfortable place to be. Good luck.

bodgerx

AlexLK wrote: »

You'd get a nice 1998-2002 shape (E39) BMW 5 Series for £3K with the option of a petrol or diesel engine. Will easily carry what you need it to and is a very comfortable place to be. Good luck.

You will need luck with that suggestion!

Complicated German car over 12 years old and well out of warranty. Bring plenty of extra cash...not to mention the fact that the VED band will be nowhere near what the OP is after.