Spec me a family wagon

If you liked the x5 BMW are currently doing a deal for the next week for a 18 plate, 0 deposit,0%apr,3 years free servicing from £399 per month on pcp. (I don’t work there I have just been looking on there site):D

They weren’t bad, at approx £30-35 plus extended warranty I’d be plumping for a Discovery 4 though. Where did you see 399? My local dealer is having an offer weekend next week but I can’t see that deal. I expect good deals to land though as the model is run out.
 
I wouldn't touch a JLR without a warranty, so if you get an approved Discovery, it'll come with 2 years warranty. Expect somewhere around £1500 per year after that. Sounds a lot, sure, but 5 figure bills aren't as uncommon as they should be.

My money would go on a SWB VW T6 transporter. 8-9 seats, plenty boot space, low depreciation. Sure, it's a van, but it's a nice one, that will keep its value better than just about anything else that has been, or will be suggested.

I did have a look at a few on PH but I couldn’t get my head round the spec. You see a lot of them hurtling up the M6 towards the lakes. Imagine it will be a pain around town though!

Are they actually a UK car/van? (Edit: Googling shows I should be looking for a Caravelle?)
 
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I did have a look at a few on PH but I couldn’t get my head round the spec. You see a lot of them hurtling up the M6 towards the lakes. Imagine it will be a pain around town though!

Are they actually a UK car/van? (Edit: Googling shows I should be looking for a Caravelle?)
Caravelle is the top-spec. Transporter is more commercial, so has lower spec and fixed bench seats, etc.

Get one with the BiTurbo and they don't half shift. Followed one out of Hamburg a few months ago at over 130mph indicated.
 
Right, so I think I'm now down to three:

Kodiaq - got a good deal on new with contribution offer, would take finance and pay off, even with depreciation this is by far cheapest 'per month' cost over 5 years, like the car, will do everything I want (plus I can pick up a petrol variant to align with mileage) but it's obviously not as special as a used 50-60-70k car. Would need to order this in the next couple of days to get it in time so puts a bit of pressure on me.
Discovery 4 - more I look in to this the more my heart wants it, from a head perspective it's evil, looking at closer to 35k for a reasonable one and assuming keeping for 5 years and factoring in JLR warranty, big services and depreciation this is top of the list in terms of cost
XC90 - there are a few Momentum and R-Design 2015 plates floating around in budget, I still need to drive one but costs are somewhere between the above two.

I do like the T6 idea too but as mentioned, the residuals are evil (for me as the buyer) and to find a decent spec one seems to be closer to 40k... unless I'm looking in the wrong place. Also think it might be a bit OTT for 'normal' non-weekend use.
 
The 1.4 has massive shortages at the moment so try and go for the 2.0tsi. Depending on dealer you may be lucky with 1.4 but on a tiguan forum people have been waiting for 6 months+. My mum got it in 2 months but i believe the dealer we used had slots available very soon so we were lucky. The 1.4 is a really good engine though combined with dsg

Would not be surprised if VAG were prioritising volkswagen and audi 1.4 before skoda and seat
 
I was originally told up to 16 weeks but then told towards end of May/start of June - I guess the issue is you can't really tell until you order and get a build week. If they came back and said 6 months+ (which they haven't yet) then it makes my decision really easy (and my future of being on first names with the JLR service dept a likelihood) :)
 
If you order you won't get a build week anyway with this engine, you will have to speak to skoda live chat and they will give you unconfirmed build week which could be way off the actual build date or the exact date. We were quoted first week of march 2018 but was built in week 1 September 2017 lol
 
It almost makes it a tactical play to order with a 1.4 and then shift to 2.0 on a deeply discounted rate to maintain the sale... if they were after the volume... but then I'd imagine my particular dealership wouldn't be as they seem to do well.
 
Discovery 4 is a great vehicle, but be aware that whilst many of the reliability issues that earlier Discos of the same shape suffered have been solved, even the latest one has a few common problems. One such is that the drain tubes for the sunroof (not sure if this is specific to the panoramic roof) are prone to blocking and the first you'll know about it is wet carpets in the foot wells. My dad had a brand new 15 plate Disco that suffered this problem and the dealer never managed to actually fix it, despite taking it back in several times and fixing the actual water-related damage.

They are fairly thirsty, though probably no more so than other similarly sized vehicles, VED is expensive and the technology inside is dated, though the interior itself is very nice indeed.

My dad ended up changing to the new Disco Sport, which still has the third seating row albeit with a bit less space and no room at all in the boot if you utilise the third row, where the old disco still has some space behind the third row of seats.
 
Thanks - having a read around it appears 'something' will go wrong, probably multiple times which is offputting as I've never really had any major issues with the cars I've owned (touch wood... :rolleyes:). I looked at the Disco Sport but it didn't grab me (+ rear two seats were really cramped and as you've said, zero boot space).
 
I looked at those a while ago but discounted without driving. From a read around it looked like it was a jack of all/master of none type of solution, ie. second row of seats being cramped, third row of seats being tiny and awkward to get to, ride being harsh and lacking the driving feel BMW is known for. Whilst the SMAX and Alhambra aren't exciting nor premium, they are ok with a leather trim and nail the three across the back/general MPV-ness.

Would be interested to know if anyone has prodded one more closely.
 
I do have an Alhambra, albeit the older generation, at a 2007. What it does very well is move 7 people. But, almost regardless of what choose, 7 people plus any reasonable amount of luggage wont work. There just isn't the room. There is a small amount of space behind the 3rd row in a Q7 or a Discovery, but it is small. Not enough if you were taking some reasonable luggage, to the airport for example, or fitting a pram in there, unless it folded pretty flat, and you could sit it on its edge or something. But enough for a few day bags maybe. But, they are good for carrying the people, as the third row does have a lot of space. I'm a fat fool at 5ft8, and feel there is ample room there for me (my alhambra, and the D4 when I tested one out for a weekend).

This is why I suggested a T6 or even a late T5.1, you get the people carrying, AND still have the space for reasonable amounts of luggage, be that suitcases, or bikes or whatever. The SWB models wont be a huge amount bigger than the likes of an Alhambra or Discovery on the actual road. And while the strong residual values make them expensive to buy, you wont lose as much as you would with almost everything else on offer. You could get a T6 shuttle, less than a year old, with almost £10k off list price (~£25k), but then it'll barely depreciate over the next 2-3 years or so. Certainly less than the likes of a D4 or a Q7, X5 or Kodiaq or whatever. Look at example of T5's that are 10 years old with upto 150k on them, they are still £10k+. They are still quite expensive. Meaning you could buy one, stick 100k on it over 10 years, and it'll cost you, in depreciation, less than £1500 per year. You would lose that £15k in 3-4 years on these other suggestions. Compare that to the depreciation curve on a 1 year old X5 / Q7 / Discovery over 10 years, and you would lose significantly more. Although they will be more luxurious, they wont be as spacious, which it sounds like you want / need.

Or, alternatively, there is the Mercedes R-Class. Probably only 6 seats IIRC, but more of an estate feel to it, and might be a better fit in general, if you don't actually want more of a van, or massive 4x4 with massive 4x4 running costs.
 
Belated update, thanks for all the advice!

Landed on a 2 year old Q7 (4M), 272bhp 3.0 S Line - pick it up next week. It was just the right blend of car usability with space at an.. 'ok' price :)
 
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