Family car budget 12k.

bigadaj

DigForVictory wrote: »

Had I not been in an enduring relationship with the Ford Mondeo I was ready to flirt with an Octavia.
The huge boot space, three diagonal belts across the back (took 3 car seats, now accommodates 3 teenagers) and the good safety rep, plus the huge numbers on the roads [so abundant supplies of spares & wide choice 2nd hand] kept me loyal though.
Give the Octavia a go, and then try a Mondeo. It'll clarify your thinking on the Octavia at any rate!

You need to be careful, the exhaust pipe can get very hot you know.

bigjl

iainscomputer wrote: »

I run my cars until they are quite old, I still really enjoy driving it & Ive had it 7 years. They are not a common car & I've seen more than a couple with blown engines.
Spares prices , headlight £360, full exhaust £1k, full set drop links £350, windscreen washer jet £30! I managed to either buy abroad or 2nd hand & saved myself a lot of cash.

You can get Whiteline updated drop links for just over £200 a pair.

The spares prices is a problem and very likely the reason my 04 Legacy was stolen and not recovered.

I wouldn't buy parts such as an exhaust from Subaru in the same way I wouldn't buy an exhaust for any other car from a Main Dealer though to be honest.

Though if the Op can live with the fuel consumption a 2.0R would be another alternative, mine was the single cam 2.0 with an Auto box and I averaged mid to high 30's fairly easily.

If economy is needed an LPG conversion is an idea, though a mate did that and had a burnt out valve, and I am fairly certain he had FlashLube.

johnbhoy10

Thanks again guys.

I have used honestjohn before and quite like that site. I typed in some key words for requirements and guess what came up no 1......Octavia. I think i'll also look at Mondeos as these had also crossed my mind and i think it came up as an alternative. I'll also do a bit of digging on Subarus and the Avensis.

Like i said, i know nothing about motors but used to talk to dealers on a daily basis in my old job and a lot of them used to say the best bang for your buck was generally German or certain Japanese. Toyota was one of them. Just their opinion of course.

cheers again.

iainscomputer

bigjl wrote: »

You can get Whiteline updated drop links for just over £200 a pair.

The spares prices is a problem and very likely the reason my 04 Legacy was stolen and not recovered.

I wouldn't buy parts such as an exhaust from Subaru in the same way I wouldn't buy an exhaust for any other car from a Main Dealer though to be honest.

Though if the Op can live with the fuel consumption a 2.0R would be another alternative, mine was the single cam 2.0 with an Auto box and I averaged mid to high 30's fairly easily.

If economy is needed an LPG conversion is an idea, though a mate did that and had a burnt out valve, and I am fairly certain he had FlashLube.

I bought genuine drop links from the US for £90 & the exhaust I had made in SS for £350. I bought a 2nd hand bumper for £100 after my wife bashed it. The problem is they are not common enough for the pattern parts people to make parts for it.
But I can get 45 mpg on a run, I also got 36 mpg all the way to Italy with a roofbox & fully loaded for 3 weeks skiing, and it's a 2.5 petrol.

Good luck OP on whatever you choose:)

daveyjp

If I didn't know about cars and wanted a stress free ownership experience it would either be a Ford as they are cheap to fix or anything Japanese (except Nissan due to Ren-oh-no tie up) as they know how to build cars to last.

Anything by Skoda, VW wouldn't feature. Marketing over reality.

Renegade_JL

I'd suggest a second-hand Porsche Boxster: £10k will get a good example.

Use the remaining £2k for bicycles and bus passes for the kids.

johnbhoy10

Was in Glasgow yesterday and managed a wee nosey around a forecourt without getting any hassle as they were closed. I do like the look of both the Octavia and Superb. Also appeared to be a lot of Rapids on show which i'm guessing is model between Fabia and Octavia going by the size.

I know all motors have their issues but are there any particular versions of the Octavia/Superb that are worth body swerving. Reason i ask is i recall a mate telling me that DPF's were the worse thing they ever did and it's stuck with me.

Mind you, my current Bora is a 1.9TDI so i'm guessing it's got one and i've just being lucky up to now! That's mostly small commutes as well so i think i really did dodge a bullet.

If it's any help i will prob do aroung 10k a year on mostly small journeys but very occasional longer trips of a few hundred miles. That's it!

BeenThroughItAll

johnbhoy10 wrote: »

Was in Glasgow yesterday and managed a wee nosey around a forecourt without getting any hassle as they were closed. I do like the look of both the Octavia and Superb. Also appeared to be a lot of Rapids on show which i'm guessing is model between Fabia and Octavia going by the size.

I know all motors have their issues but are there any particular versions of the Octavia/Superb that are worth body swerving. Reason i ask is i recall a mate telling me that DPF's were the worse thing they ever did and it's stuck with me.

Mind you, my current Bora is a 1.9TDI so i'm guessing it's got one and i've just being lucky up to now! That's mostly small commutes as well so i think i really did dodge a bullet.

If it's any help i will prob do aroung 10k a year on mostly small journeys but very occasional longer trips of a few hundred miles. That's it!

Probably best stick to a petrol then, with that driving profile.

Your Bora will not be fitted with a DPF, only a catalytic converter.

bigjl

The 1.9tdi engine is more reliable than the later 2.0tdi. Strange as that may sound. A mate used to MOT and service loads of Taxis from Epping Forest and loads of drivers had Passats and Octavias. Some had 2.0tdi's and they very quickly changed to the "inferior" 1.9tdi. I assume they were PD engines rather than the older direct injection version.

Definitely no DOF on your Bora.

You can find cars as new as 08plate without a DPF, my old V50 didn't have one and it was an 08, I think it was built in late 07 and it was a low specced one (S I think)

Actually if you can find a non DPF V50 2.0D in good nick they are an excellent family car, had mine for nearly 3 years and did loads of miles with just servicing and tyres (it did need the AC fan replacing which is a common fault, it's a Focus part)

bigjl

iainscomputer wrote: »

I bought genuine drop links from the US for £90 & the exhaust I had made in SS for £350. I bought a 2nd hand bumper for £100 after my wife bashed it. The problem is they are not common enough for the pattern parts people to make parts for it.
But I can get 45 mpg on a run, I also got 36 mpg all the way to Italy with a roofbox & fully loaded for 3 weeks skiing, and it's a 2.5 petrol.

Good luck OP on whatever you choose:)

It is strange how you can buy parts from the US for less than the UK cost.

I bought interior door handles for my Pathfinder from a US website, the US spec handles had an extra locking switch that was not used on Uk versions but the plastic piece that shears on the Uk ones is made of metal on US versions and is a lot more robust.