Best cheap estate car :)

[dave87]

BMW Diesel lump not BMW's finest hour.

I'd disagree. Dad having had one of the BMW TD engined cars - 525tds. At the time it was one of the better diesel engines around. Not exactly groundbreaking, but good, reliable (we sold the car to some friends who had no problems way past 150/160k miles).

[BUFF]

Omega will be forever breaking.

I've had mine for 9 years (during which time it has lived outside, no garage) & it's been very reliable - more so than my sister's Volvo 850 estate.

[Shad]

You could harp on all day about reliability issues with different cars - fact is you wont ever find two the same so it's fairly meaningless, more so with things in this budget and age. Your sisters 850 may have been a bag of bolts, but mine that I've had for a year and a half has been fantastic, and all I've done is fit tyres and change oil - and given it a damn good thrashing in between, including towing up to 1200kg with it.

Good luck finding an 850 diesel, let alone one under a grand - rare as rocking horse poop.

[BUFF]

Your sisters 850 may have been a bag of bolts

she's had it since new & it's had far, far more work done to it than my Omega has (not to mention it cost 2x as much to start with).

[SilentDeath]

Why do you need an estate? I dont know if they are old enough yet.. bbbbbut saab make some nice estates.. 93 and 95 models, with a (gm?) diesel lump in the later ones. If you dont need an estate for any particular reason (like dogs) and just need lots of space, a 9000 might work..


I dont know what volvos are like.. though my uncle has had a brown.. one for about 20 years..

If it were me looking, then one of the first cars I would think about is a 306 estate.. the diesel lump is supposed to be good and should be cheap..

[Howard]

The 95 estates have silly amounts of space in the back, I can vouch for that.


I personally don't think he'll want a 306

[capt sensible]

My wife has a mondeo TD1.8 estate. Slow, sagging upholstery, regularly breaks down and constantly needs money.....
but, hey, she's good with the kids (with thanks to the late, great, Tommy Cooper)

The car is fine - go for a Ghia spec (there's no price differential at this level) and you get decent comfort, quiet, pretty good handling, a decent stereo and aircon which always seems to be more reliable than other makes. Engine is agricultural,, but then tractors live a very long time. DO MAKE SURE you have evidence of cam-belt change. Been there and have the (very expensive) T shirt to prove it.

Alternatively, find an E-class diesel Merc estate. Just about possible at £1k if you look very hard. It doesn't matter how old / how many miles, these are the last of the bomb-proof cars. I have had three, 250k miles + on each. I now run a newer E-series and if I could find an earlier model with a turbo (which revolutionises this engine) my next change would be to an older, not a newer one.

[MrP]

looking on aquto trader there are plenty of tidy volvo estates for under #250, inc a 740 turbo!!

[pendulum666]

Vauxhall Omega as said are generally great work horses and very spacious and cheap.

[hitman67]

Land Rover Discovery.

£700 will see you a tidy tdi, bags of room inside and on top with a roof rack, and amazing towing abilities.

[SilentDeath]

The 95 estates have silly amounts of space in the back, I can vouch for that.


I personally don't think he'll want a 306

why not? we only have ONE subforum dedicated to them

I did think the peugot diesel was rated quite highly.. with other makes not so reliable... And I dont think I have ever seen a honda diesel

This calls for a new thread I thinks...


edit: I might have ment 406 instead of 306... :/

[joshwa]

Volvo 850
Ford Mondeo Estate
VW Passat Estate
Subaru Legacy (I've always liked the look of these )
Jeep Cherokee (I've also always liked these )

[dkmech]

Peugeot 406, Ford Mondeo, Volvo V40 - should all be available cheaply

[Konan555]

I'm quite a fan for the 406 diesel estate in that price range. The french diesel engines of the era just appear to be that little bit better MPG/NVH wise.

The MK1/MK2 mondeo diesel motor's horrid, although that compliments the cornering quite nicely A lot of petrols driven sensibly won't do much worse on economy and petrol's cheaper in the first place.

Maybe even a push to an older pasat?

[wazi]

wot about a seat alhambra mpv/estate ?
you get more bang for your buck ?

or even a fiat multipla ...
ugly yet usefull

[Betty_Swallocks]

Both good cars but I think you'll struggle to find either at under a grand unless it's a total shed