Diesel Estate under 4yrs around 5k

lazer-zxr

Hi forumfriends, your help and opinions will be greatly appreciated.
I need to get a new car over christmas with the following criteria:

Needs to pull a caravan.
Needs to be a large estate car
Needs to be less than 4yrs old this Jan (so looking at 11 plate or newer)
I have around 5.5k.

Insignias, Mondeos, Avensis, 508SWs ..... Here are a few Ive found:

Mondeos:
£5.5k 100kmiles
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201510017415766?page=1&postcode=NE33%203NE&price-to=5500&keywords=tow&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&search-target=usedcars&sort=default&price-from=3000&minimum-seats=5&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&radius=1501&fuel-type=diesel&body-type=estate&logcode=p

Another with towbar!:
http://www.autofinishcarsales.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mondeo-2-0-tdci-zetec-5dr-thetford-201510067553762

£4.5k 130kmiles:
http://www.ng15cars.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mondeo-2-0-tdci-zetec-5dr-nottingham-201510238076408

Avensis:
£5.2k, 166k miles
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201511168751567?price-from=3000&minimum-seats=5&page=1&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&radius=1501&search-target=usedcars&fuel-type=diesel&sort=default&postcode=ne333ne&body-type=estate&price-to=5500&make=toyota&logcode=p

Insignia:
£3.9k 172kmiles
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506013934943?fuel-type=diesel&body-type=estate&radius=1501&price-to=5500&page=1&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&sort=default&price-from=3000&postcode=NE33%203NE&search-target=usedcars&minimum-seats=5&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&make=vauxhall&model=insignia&logcode=p

Another:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201512089298858?search-target=usedcars&make=vauxhall&minimum-seats=5&price-from=3000&sort=default&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&price-to=5500&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&model=insignia&fuel-type=diesel&postcode=ne333ne&page=1&radius=1501&body-type=estate&logcode=p

Peugeot:
£3.9k 120k miles:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201512159464063?fuel-type=diesel&body-type=estate&radius=100&postcode=NE33%203NE&price-to=5500&page=1&search-target=usedcars&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&sort=default&price-from=3000&logcode=p

Passat £4.9k 135k miles: £30 Tax!
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201510197962556?body-type=estate&price-to=5500&postcode=NE33%203NE&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&model=passat&price-from=3000&search-target=usedcars&fuel-type=diesel&radius=1501&sort=default&page=1&make=volkswagen&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&minimum-seats=5&logcode=p

Or something else?
Superb £4.7k ... heard VAG cars are expensive to maintain?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201512029156620?price-to=5500&postcode=NE33%203NE&fuel-type=diesel&search-target=usedcars&radius=1501&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&price-from=3000&body-type=estate&page=1&sort=default&make=skoda&model=superb&minimum-seats=5&maximum-age=up_to_4_years_old&logcode=p

Any help or advice is welcomed.
Looking to buy over Christmas period.
Thanks.

bigjl

The Superb or Mondeo would be my choice.

I wouldn't buy one that already has a towbar though.

Best to start off with something that has never towed.

After looking at the Superb you are looking at I would go Mondeo.

Buying a car with the best part of 170k in 4 years to use for towing strikes me as asking for trouble.

Especially since you could buy a three year old ex lease Superb at an Auction for around £5500/7000 depending on the mileage.

You are aware that the Passat and Superb you have listed have just over 100bhp? As such they would have trouble getting themselves up a hill let alone pull a caravan.

The Mondeo has 140bhp

One other thing, all those cars will have come from Auction and then had roughly £1000/1250 stuck on the price.

Use this price as a way to see if you are getting a good deal.
http://www.cargiant.co.uk/mobile/detail.asp?id=745540&mk=Ford&md=Mondeo

100k on a 12 plate but Titanium spec rather than the more common Zetec or Edge.

£6500. So would have been within or very close your budget at Auction.

motorguy

I've a 2010 Insignia 160BHP CDTI SRI.

Might be worth seeking out an SRi or another model thats 160BHP - it gets you more power and a sixth gear.

forgotmyname

Mondeo 130k mile one... Providing the service history stacks up with some receipts and the car shows signs of being well looked after.

They tow very well.

patman99

I've seen an old Citreon BX 1.9TD towing a twin-axle caravan with no issues at all so a 100BHP car would have no problems at all.

As for 'never buy a car with a towbar already fitted'. Why not?. My car had a factory fitted towbar when the previous owner purchased it.
I can tell just by looking at the towball it has never had a trailer on it.

A lot of folks fit towbars to protect their expensive and large plastic rear bumpers.

bigjl

patman99 wrote: »

I've seen an old Citreon BX 1.9TD towing a twin-axle caravan with no issues at all so a 100BHP car would have no problems at all.

As for 'never buy a car with a towbar already fitted'. Why not?. My car had a factory fitted towbar when the previous owner purchased it.
I can tell just by looking at the towball it has never had a trailer on it.

A lot of folks fit towbars to protect their expensive and large plastic rear bumpers.

Do you have any idea how heavy a modern estate is when compared to a BX?

You say there were no issues?

Did you see it do a hill start?

What about fuel economy?

What about keeping to a sensible speed when driving up a hill?

Or not having to push the engine hard to keep moving?

Are you seriously suggesting that a 1.6 diesel Superb estate would make a better tow car than a 2.0 diesel Superb?

The 1.6 diesel has much less torque (or pulling power) 184 ft lbs versus 236 ft lbs for the 2.0.

I always thought pulling power was handy?

And the XUD engine as fitted to the BX was actually fairly torquey especially in the higher powered Turbo versions. Around 130/140 ft lbs if I remember correctly for the 1.8td, I don't think you could get the 1.9 XUD with a trunk in the BX.

To put the performance of the 1.6d into context with the 2.0d and BX.

The BX 0-60 was just under 11secs, the 0-60 of the 2.0d Superb is just over 10secs and the 0-60 of a 1.6d Superb estate is nearly 13secs.

Obviously 0-60 is not overly relevant to towing a caravan but it does show how the performance of the engines compares.


And you can tell from looking at a towbar that the car was only used to toe a trailer?

Really?

What are you the "Towball Whisperer"?

And how EXACTLY could you tell?

Apart from anything else the actual ball itself could have been changed. Which means your secret skills may prove less than useful.

Towing puts stress on lots of vehicle components.

Why would you want to be in a position when this wear is already evident?

Seems to me that is stupid. As you will likely have to replace things like clutches or rear springs and dampers.

And let's also not forget the extra strew on the bodyshell itself.

mcpitman

motorguy wrote: »

I've a 2010 Insignia 160BHP CDTI SRI.

Might be worth seeking out an SRi or another model thats 160BHP - it gets you more power and a sixth gear.

I'll 2nd the Insignia vote.

I have one, 59 plate 160 CDTi SRi.

Plenty of torque, good on fuel, comfy. I do about 35-40k miles a year in mine.

Try and get one with Sat Nav and Bluetooth built in if you can. Also see if you can get one with park sensors front and rear to make life easier.

patman99

Most towballs have covers fitted to prevent weathering when not in use. Pull one off and look at the towball under it.

Is it nice and clean with no guages or scratches?. If yes, then no other metal component has been in contact with it, so nothing has been towed by the car. I work in sheet metal so know how easy it is to scratch even steel.

Marktheshark

The mondeo will be due its second DMF at 120-140k miles, so a receipt for genuine ford dmf or walk.
On mondeos a newly fitted starter usually means the dmf is going and its a panic sale.

My choice would be to forget the age condition and go for a merc E320 CDI
the 07-08 can be picked up for around £5k, has 220 bhp, 0-60 in 7 seconds 149 mph and will average 38-40 mpg, it wont even feel the caravan hitched up, in fact that will be an issue, remembering you have the van on the back.
The engine is good for 300k if the oil gets done on time.

forgotmyname

E320CDO would that be the one that mixes its gearbox oil with its water and has dodgy cam bearings along with various electrical gremlins?

bigjl

patman99 wrote: »

Most towballs have covers fitted to prevent weathering when not in use. Pull one off and look at the towball under it.

Is it nice and clean with no guages or scratches?. If yes, then no other metal component has been in contact with it, so nothing has been towed by the car. I work in sheet metal so know how easy it is to scratch even steel.

And you theory is totally blown out of the water if somebody has simply changed the towball!

So it is as useful as looking at pedal rubbers/steering wheel/gearknob to gauge a cars mileage. As they can all be changed aswell.