New car ideas

[SimonT]

Hi All,

A colleague of mine has posed a challenge which I thought I'd share with you. He currently owns an S reg 2L Modeo and wants to change it (mechanics are getting ropey).

So his spec is:

Large (ish) car (he's 6'5" and 17st) mainly for a driver and two adult passengers. Large boot space to take his sub aqua stuff around with him. Some grunt in it. Here's the killer, his budget is only around £5-6000.

The obvious choices are an estate Modeo or similar. But, I'm sure you guys could recommend something different (he's on his 3rd Modeo already).

Over to you....

Thanks

Simon

[robthehungrymonkey]

Volvo V40/S40.

All the models are very cheap and good value IMO. When I sold my previous car, i needed an everyday car to complement the future westy purchase. I ended up with a p reg V40 estate (1.8 - very slow! for £700. Bargain.

And they faster versions aren't that much more. You could get a really nice T5 or somethign for £5K

[Hammy]

Sorry, got to be another Mondeo I'm afraid ( i'm only on my second but do not know what I'd rather have for the equiv cash) - Cheap to buy and run, good dealer network, cheap parts etc. Nice to drive....

The later car (Mk2 ?) is a much better drive than the older one and more powerful/economical size for size. Faster than equivalent BMW round theTop Gear track.

[cidersurfer]

Omega estate?

[JeffC]

have I got just the car for him ..     bargain alert...

Ive just taken in px a Volvo S80 , 2.4 170 bhp Auto se, car was nearly £30,000  new   , now 6 years old (2000 v reg )    fully loaded spec from new inc..pearl silver met. full  heated  leather seats  , dual climate pack  , winter pack , alloys, cruise , mfw  /... build quality to rival a Bmw, one of the quietest cars ive driven and the  best bit he can have £3000 change from his budget to put towards a Westy        

[MVS]

Skoda Octavia vRS estate (previous generation) 1.8 turbo.

[Martin Keene]

I thought that, but had a quick look on autotrader and you'll be struggling. There was only half a dozen vRS's below £6k in the whole country and no estates...

[SimonT]

Thanks chaps,

I've passed on your recommendations to my colleague. I too thought about Volvo's. I used to own a 440 Turbo years ago which was actually a nice car to drive (and very quick) but it had rubbish electrics and did this wonderful trick of completely dying whilst driving. It lost the engine, all electrics, power steering the lot - not nice on a dark country lane! I assume they're a lot better now. What's the service and maintenance costs like, they always used to be high IIRC.

I suspect he'll get another Mondeo though.

Simon

[robthehungrymonkey]

Thanks chaps,

I've passed on your recommendations to my colleague. I too thought about Volvo's. I used to own a 440 Turbo years ago which was actually a nice car to drive (and very quick) but it had rubbish electrics and did this wonderful trick of completely dying whilst driving. It lost the engine, all electrics, power steering the lot - not nice on a dark country lane! I assume they're a lot better now. What's the service and maintenance costs like, they always used to be high IIRC.

I suspect he'll get another Mondeo though.

Simon

Volvo parts and servicing is quite expensive. But if you're only going to spend £5k on a car, you wouldn't go to a main dealer though would you?

Regarding the reliability - When I sold my last car, it was RAC inspected, the bloke doing the inspection mentioned (after seeing my other car in the drive) that the previous day he'd seen a Volvo S40 that was previously owned by a company that had two offices, one in London and one in Edinburgh. Apparently the car literally went from London to Edinburgh wen someone else jumped in before the car had cooled down and drove it back. The car had doen 980,000 miles on it;s original engine and gearbox!