Estate, auto, £5-8k - any ideas?

Yeah I'm keeping my xc70 as a second car until it dies for real and just fixing things as they come up. This end of the market has put me off buying anything nowadays, not that I've ever been much of a car enthusiast (previous car was a corolla estate that succumbed to the rust).
 
Concur with most here. At that price point on the market these days - you're going to be just taking a gamble.
Maybe you will get lucky and you're buying a car that someone wants to shift for a genuine reason. Or you are just buying someone else's problem.
Only one way to find out unfortunately.

For me, it's a risk worth taking - but this completely depends on the person.
 
There's no "magic figure" sadly, you could easily buy a lemon or a great car and the price could be identical. In the end you have to see the car in person, talk to the previous owner and get a "feel" for how well the car has been treated previously and then once you find a car, do some research on common faults for it. Even with all that info at the very end its still pure luck/guesswork to get your "Problem free for 5 years", as thats a long time with potentially a lot of miles (60k miles based on UK average 12k miles a year).
 
danlightbulb said:
So how much do you need to spend to get a good car that will be problem free for 5 years?
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Totally open ended question but i'd say around 12-14k nowadays? (i'd have said about 8k pre pandemic...) That'd get you into something less than 5 years old with lowish miles, as long as you pick something sensible with proven reliability say a Toyota corolla or something i'd bet that'd be pretty trouble free for a fairly long time.
 
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I'm in a similar boat as the OP, my 520d F11 is getting on a bit now (185,000 miles) so I've looked at dropping £20,000 on something a bit newer. Every time I have a look I end up giving up. Yes my car is high mileage but I've owned it for most of that and the interior is immaculate. It is also paid off. I'd be paying £500+ per month for what is basically the same car that could be an even bigger shed than I already have. I just end up deciding that for the most part keeping what I have already on the road is the cheaper option.
 
Based off experience, My suggestion is a Honda Accord, I've had 2 and both have been flawless during my ownership, Both have only ever required Basic Maintenance and servicing.

First was a 7th Gen 2003 2.0i Auto which we got many many years ago, only moved it on as the rear got quite rusty and it needed a brake master cylinder which ended up costing more than the car was worth, got rid at like 170k-180k miles, engine would have easily lasted well past 200k.

My Current car is an 8th Gen 2009 2.4i Manual, Got it about 4 years ago at 70k miles now on 110k, its passed all its MOT during my ownership, gets serviced every year and I see no reason why this car won't last me another 5 years/100k miles.

They've very comfortable cars, Though a 5sp Auto, its very smooth and not that slow to shift at all (Obviously nothing compared to DCT or modern ZF boxes), though I drove a New Nissan Qashqai with the CVT box and the old Accord Auto was miles better than that rubbish Nissan is offering.

EX trim you'll get nice big comfy leather heated seats, decent enough audio, though they offer bluetooth its unfortunately only for making phone calls, 8th gen cars do offer AUX/USB connection.

If it wasn't for the fact that Honda stopped selling the Accord in the UK, I more than likely would have a 9th/10th gen cars at some point.
 
Uncle_Gravy said:
Based off experience, My suggestion is a Honda Accord, I've had 2 and both have been flawless during my ownership, Both have only ever required Basic Maintenance and servicing.

First was a 7th Gen 2003 2.0i Auto which we got many many years ago, only moved it on as the rear got quite rusty and it needed a brake master cylinder which ended up costing more than the car was worth, got rid at like 170k-180k miles, engine would have easily lasted well past 200k.

My Current car is an 8th Gen 2009 2.4i Manual, Got it about 4 years ago at 70k miles now on 110k, its passed all its MOT during my ownership, gets serviced every year and I see no reason why this car won't last me another 5 years/100k miles.

They've very comfortable cars, Though a 5sp Auto, its very smooth and not that slow to shift at all (Obviously nothing compared to DCT or modern ZF boxes), though I drove a New Nissan Qashqai with the CVT box and the old Accord Auto was miles better than that rubbish Nissan is offering.

EX trim you'll get nice big comfy leather heated seats, decent enough audio, though they offer bluetooth its unfortunately only for making phone calls, 8th gen cars do offer AUX/USB connection.

If it wasn't for the fact that Honda stopped selling the Accord in the UK, I more than likely would have a 9th/10th gen cars at some point.
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I would 2nd this

Honda would be an excellent choice.

Ive got a 2010 2L Petrol ES GT Manual bought it on 117k and now on 157k. 95% of those mile have been hard once doing food deliveries. I have spent circa 2.5k on it in maintenance but thats mainly due to the poor roads here in northern ireland. That might sound like A LOT but this includes New genuine Honda clutch kit, Full set of front a rear shocks and springs (kyb/eiback), top mounts, and full set of front upper and lower arms ball joints and ARBs front and rear

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They are quite rare the 2.4 Type S or there is also the 2.2 diesel variant.
 
I had an Accord 2.4 petrol previously, mechanically good but went rusty at the back quite badly.

I'd have another but availability is poor. Obviously the gen7 era cars are getting very old now and mostly have the same rust issues at the rear arches.

The gen8's are very few in number. Very rare to see a 2.4 petrol so it's either a 2 litre petrol or 2.2 diesel. I'm not sure on the reputation of either of these.

My mileage and motorway commute warrants a diesel but I've been put off by diesel horror stories.
 
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danlightbulb said:
Obviously the gen7 era cars are getting very old now and mostly have the same rust issues at the rear arches.

The gen8's are very few in number. Very rare to see a 2.4 petrol
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Yes, and yes.

Reason our 7th gen went due to rust.

And it took me a while to find a decent gen8 2.4i with a manual. I love it, its great to drive, revvy, the gearing is just right so you don't have to do the typical Honda drop down a couple gears to get the car moving, and its miles more reliable than the old Z4 it replaced....which admittedly I was young and dumb with a shoestring salary when I got that car.:D


I have no comments on the diesels as I've never owned a diesel car, and I don't like diesels in general.
 
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