Occasional long distance estate ~£3k

[Haggisman]

With the Zoe now gone, we're down to a 2008 Fiesta as a family car, fine for local trips & days out, but for anything longer distance we're going to need something bigger to cart around all the paraphernalia associated with a couple of kids.

Not particularly high annual mileage, but any trips will tend to be longer (50 miles+)

Needs to be:

Big enough to stick a load of camping stuff + kid stuff in the boot
Can take a roof rack to stick a surfboard on top
Isofix compatible
Reliable (as much as a ~£3k car can be!)
Cheap parts/simple to work on

Not bothered at all about what make it is (although preferably not a BMW/Audi/Merc)
Decent fuel economy would be nice, but if it's a choice between MPG or reliability, I'd rather err on the side of reliability
Performance isn't too much of a big deal, although more would obviously be better!
Preferred manual, but happy enough to go auto if it's the best option

The old motors favourite of Mondeo seems to tick all the boxes - is that still the one to go for?
If so, which year/engine should I be looking for

Other options I guess would be:

Honda Accord
Volvo V70
Toyota Avensis
Vauxhall Vectra or Insignia

Slightly smaller, but possibly still suitable:

Skoda Octavia
Ford Focus
Volvo V50
Vauxhall Astra

Cheers!

 

[Haggisman]

No top tether, so that's not an issue. My car previous to the Zoe was a 2006 Civic, so good to know it's an improvement on that

Would you recommend a MK4 then? Or am I likely to get a "better" MK3 for the money.

Are the diesels worth avoiding at this age/mileage (turbo/DPF/DMF issues?)

 

[Haggisman]

Bit of a leftfield option, but depending on how often you make these long trips. Is hiring a car potentially a better option?

No insurance/service/maintenance/tax costs, and you get something nice and new everytime.

Obviously doesn't work if it's often, but if you're talking only a few times a year it could be an option.

I did consider this option, but with a couple of kids in the back spilling drinks and driving down narrow twisty roads to beach car parks, across muddy fields, and with damp/sandy wetsuits & towels etc. in the back I don't know if it would be a good idea! (and going for the 0 excess option adds a chunk to the cost )

Also I'm not sure the availability of roof racks for hire cars?

It's definitely worth considering, depending on the circumstances, but it looks like more than 5-6 long weekends/weeks away would end up covering the cost of the car

 

[Haggisman]

Well, obviously it all depends on what happens with this covid nonsense, but in a normal year, realistically we'd be doing 2-3 trips from Birmingham to Carlisle to visit family (400 mile round trip) for 4 - 7 days, 2-3 camping trips (roughly same distance, same duration), and the odd long weekend here and there. A rough calculation would suggest maybe 4-5k or so.

A quick look at car rental looks like ~£2-300 for those kind of trips (possibly more at popular times of year such as half term, summer, Christmas etc.?), so would cover the cost of the car in a year-18 months (although obviously insurance etc. would need to be taken into account).

 

[Haggisman]

Volvo V70 D5, great for lugging crap about, supremely comfortable, good economy, reliable, £3k will get you a very good one.

I have one currently and have to say it’s a great distance cruiser, not the best handling wise, but far more “chuckable” than you’d perhaps think!

I’m getting ~50 mpg on a mixture of town/a road driving and one of my favourite bits about it, despite being a diesel, because it’s a 5 cylinder engine it sounds great when you give it the beans!

Mine is a 54 plate, iirc ones built after this point have dpf and egr ones built pre 05 don’t which is why I specifically sought out one of this age.

Couldn’t recommend one highly enough.

This sounds promising, thanks

 

[Haggisman]

How are parts costs for the avensis? I know Ford parts are cheap as chips!

 

[Haggisman]

Yeah :s my dad was given a Zafira for awhile for business use - horrid for any distance absolutely nasty ride if you were spending hours on end in it. Knocking about town I wouldn't really fault it but hours on the motorway you'd really feel it by the time you got to your destination.

Thanks, Vauxhalls definitely off the list then!

Octavia for me - I've had 2 Octavia's now and would take them every day of the week over a Mondeo I had (and this was the top-spec "business/Titanium/X" class vehicles, not the lower end spec!)

The Octavia is quite a bit smaller though - more Focus sized, this is possibly not an issue though depending on the internal length, rear window to dash (will a 9ft board fit inside it overnight? )

 

[Haggisman]

Thanks all, so list narrowed down to:

~2010 Mondeo (2.0 TDCI?)
~2010 Avensis (1.8 petrol)
Volvo V70 D5 manual 54/05 plate if possible

 

[Haggisman]

What's a realistic mileage for the v70? Most of the ones in my budget are 120k+

 

[Haggisman]

You're looking at a car for 3 grand that was 35k+ new. It's not going to have 39k on the clock - 120k is fine.

Of course, I'm not expecting it to be on 20k or so

I meant more what's a realistic mileage for it to go up to - no point in buying one at 120k if they generally die at 125k...

 

[Haggisman]

How long is a piece of string? 120k of city centre based minicabbing and it'll be fit for the bin, 120k of trips back and forth from a holiday home in France and it'll be lovely. Mileage is a poor indicator of condition. Age is probably more useful but nothing as useful as judging each car on its merit.

Fair point

 

[Haggisman]

V70s are great but I was under the impression that their engines weren't particularly economical and they achieved around 35mpg not 50+.

Still. That or a mondeo would be a good buy I think.

It looks like that depends on whether it's the older (163 bhp) or newer (185 bhp) version (with the 185 being considerably worse). Another reason to look for a <2005 model.

Worth considering the Mazda6 estate

That's a possibility, although I had a hatch version before, and while I like the look and the drive, it was horribly thirsty for relatively poor performance. Aren't they just built on a Mondeo platform?

 

[Haggisman]

Well, I've been looking for a while, and decent looking V70 D5s seem to be basically non-existent or on the other side of the country (also ran a few insurance quotes and the ones I've found are double what I'm currently paying!).
Petrol Mondeos are pretty thin on the ground as well, other than a couple of 2.5 & 3L models which have the fuel economy of a small passenger airliner.

What about the S Max? Whilst I wouldn't need the 7 seats, they have plenty of space, and from what I've read they drive pretty much like a normal car. Or am I at risk of becoming my mother?

Another promising option is an Octavia (thanks @StevieP). Seems there are quite a few decent 1.9 diesels around my price range, and whilst not petrol, from what I can tell, the 1.9 TDI PD engine is pretty bombproof (no DPF, DMF may have issues but can be replaced with a SMF). Have spotted a decent looking one with just over 100k, had a new clutch fitted recently.