Cheap Estate for Wife ?

[spy]

Hi all,

I am considering adding a fourth car to my stable. All the current cars I have are 2+2 so really need a family sized car that is:
- spacious
- economical
- automatic
- reliable
- cheap to buy

The car will be for my wife to transport the kids and dog. One of the school trips is an approx. 40 mile round trip every day so I would like a car that is lean on the fuel. The car should have an "open boot" like a hatchback or estate for the dog.

Cars that jump to mind are:
- 3 series estate
- C class estate
- A4 estate

The reason for thinking of thos is that they generally have good auto boxes and supposedly reliable.

I do not want to pay too much to buy one (say up to £5k) so I am looking at models 5 years and older, I think.

Any recommendations from that short-list or other cars I haven't listed but should consider. In particular, any recommendations on particular C Class variants ?

 

[kwakdonut]

Think a C220 CDi Estate may probably fit the bill although I understand Volvo estates are very good (prepares to be flamed!!)

 

[spy]

Think a C220 CDi Estate may probably fit the bill although I understand Volvo estates are very good (prepares to be flamed!!)

Thanks mate.

Which Volvo estates are you referring to ?
The V70 (large) or smaller S series ?

 

[The _Don]

BMW's For Sale

E30 318i auto ?

 

[chriss428]

we have just bort a w124 (eclass) estate 7 seater we bort her very cheaply afew bodywork issues but noting that cant b sorted with a general tydy up she'll b gd as new were very happy with our buy

 

[kwakdonut]

Thanks mate.

Which Volvo estates are you referring to ?
The V70 (large) or smaller S series ?

Either I would have thought. Am not that up on the Volvo types but the V always looks enormous to me! Good range of diesel engines, solid & safe. Depends how much 'boot' area you need.

Personally, a C220 would probably be more than up to the job you require

 

[spy]

BMW's For Sale

E30 318i auto ?

Interesting car !

Not sure if the wife would take to it though although I like it !

A little over priced for a 17 year old car - I didn't think these were classed as classics !

 

[kwakdonut]

Very naughty of the dealer to add £300 for what is, I believe, a mandatory 3 month warranty!! He added £500 to the BMW soft top he has for sale too....

 

[spy]

Thanks guys, is the C220CDI the better engine out of the MB diesel range ?

I imagine they will be quite pricey, even on a 2001-03 car ?

 

[spy]

Very naughty of the dealer to add £300 for what is, I believe, a mandatory 3 month warranty!! He added £500 to the BMW soft top he has for sale too....

That's true, I believe that a trade seller is liable for the first 3 months anyway - whether they officially give you a 3 month warranty or not !

 

[kwakdonut]

For your needs, the 2.1L diesel will be more than good enough I would have thought. Have a look on Auto Trader, for £5k you should get something relatively good.

Last year, I sold my 52reg C270 saloon for £6k! 96,000 miles, FSH, fully loaded.... prices have come down since

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Try this C270 Cdi
2002 MERCEDES BENZ C270 CDI AVANTGARDE AUTO ESTATE on eBay (end time 11-Nov-10 19:23:21 GMT)

 

[kwakdonut]

I loved my 270! Fantastic 5 pot engine, pulled like a train and could still get 50mpg!

That was until I bought my E320......

 

[spy]

Try this C270 Cdi
2002 MERCEDES BENZ C270 CDI AVANTGARDE AUTO ESTATE on eBay (end time 11-Nov-10 19:23:21 GMT)

Thanks, that looks like a nice car but the fact it has had 7 owners (6 previous + current) in 8 years is a little worrying - sounds like the car could be a lemon ?

I know that on high value sports cars, large numbers of owners is common as people buy them as "toys" and change them often. On a family car like this though, I would not expect such a high tunrover - surely you would have expected at least one of the 7 owners to hold on to it for a couple of years !

What do others think ?

 

[spy]

For your needs, the 2.1L diesel will be more than good enough I would have thought. Have a look on Auto Trader, for £5k you should get something relatively good.

Last year, I sold my 52reg C270 saloon for £6k! 96,000 miles, FSH, fully loaded.... prices have come down since

What kind of mileages are these diesel engines good for ?

 

[The _Don]

250k+

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Thanks, that looks like a nice car but the fact it has had 7 owners (6 previous + current) in 8 years is a little worrying - sounds like the car could be a lemon ?

I know that on high value sports cars, large numbers of owners is common as people buy them as "toys" and change them often. On a family car like this though, I would not expect such a high tunrover - surely you would have expected at least one of the 7 owners to hold on to it for a couple of years !

What do others think ?

It helps to know the timeline of previous keepers.
For example it is not unknown for a car to change hands 3/4 times during its warranty period, so that might be the explanation?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

What kind of mileages are these diesel engines good for ?

There is one for sale on eBay with 179k

 

[BTB 500]

Body-wise, C Class Mercs should be OK from 2004 onwards as they were all galvanised from mid-2003 (build date).

We have a 96/P Audi A4 estate as our daily kids/dogs hack. This is on 131k miles now and the only significant work it's had in the last 6 years was a recon. automatic gearbox. It's the 110 bhp 1.9 TDi in SE trim and (touch wood) has been totally reliable - never failed to start or broken down (the gearbox just slipped a bit in the lower gears when that went).

We do keep an eye on cheap-ish estates for when it does kick the bucket, others on our potential shortlist are a late Volvo V40 (or possibly early V50, when they get cheap enough), and the Honda Accord Tourer.

 

[finisterre]

Do you have any photos of the wife so we can make an informed judgement?