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minimadmotorman

minimadmotorman

minimadmotorman

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11 Dec 2009
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Barnsley
UPDATE: Skip to the bottom to see new thoughts

So! My company car (Audi A3) is not going to be renewed and I'll need to buy my own wheels from March next year.

I want to start researching my options so that I can get a feel for what to look for when I come to buy.

As a family car we currently have an 04 A4 Avant 1.8t which is doing a decent-ish job as a family wagon (we've just had twins!) but both the boot and rear space leaves a little to be desired and is full by the time we have the twins, buggy & shopping in it, I'm not sure we will be able to go on family outings with it as we also have a dog!

My budget is small-ish but somewhat flexible (Say up to up to £2-3k ideally but I could stretch to £4k-ish if the right car presents). I don't need anything too economical as if I have to travel for work a hire car will be provided (which I reckon will probably cost the company more than a company car will as I'm likely to one for 2-3 days every week!).

I guess I have a few options, we will be keeping the A4 as we've spent a bit of money on it and are very happy with it in general.

1. Buy a budget runabout for myself (focus, golf so the twins can go in the back) and get a roof box for the A4 for outings (we tend to holiday self catering in the UK)? Suggestions?

2. Buy a large estate car as my runaround and family outing mobile. Again looking for suggestions?? E39, C5 A6, Mondeo (is it much bigger than A4??), any other thoughts??

3. Some other sort of vehicle? People carrier (is my life over?), T4 style minibus/dayvan.
 
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as you have said you don't need anything too economical and therefore assume mileage will be below average:

focus petrol (titanium/ghia would be nice)

more for your money than a diesel focus and less to go wrong. Bonus is that it doesn't sound like a tractor either.
 
minimadmotorman said:
1. Buy a budget runabout for myself (focus, golf so the twins can go in the back) and get a roof box for the A4 for outings (we tend to holiday self catering in the UK)? Suggestions?

2. Buy a large estate car as my runaround and family outing mobile. Again looking for suggestions?? E39, C5 A6, Mondeo (is it much bigger than A4??), any other thoughts??

3. Some other sort of vehicle? People carrier (is my life over?), T4 style minibus/dayvan.
Click to expand...

You're asking us these questions, but to be fair only you can tell us what sort of car you would rather have!

Do you want a Focus-sized hatchback, an executive saloon, or a people carrier?
 
Howard said:
You're asking us these questions, but to be fair only you can tell us what sort of car you would rather have!

Do you want a Focus-sized hatchback, an executive saloon, or a people carrier?
Click to expand...

You are indeed correct Howard. But for now I am looking for thoughts within those containers. If I could have anything I think I would have a 530 SE E39 tourer at the minute but part of me thinks (in my price bracket) it wouldn't be practical enough reliability wise (throw big bills).
 
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How handy are you? Its fairly unlikely to throw anything catastrophic at you, but if you want a sport in touring guise the choice will be very limited - to the point where you might have to pick the best of an average bunch and make sure its got the common failure points sorted yourself.
 
Fairly handy. Built several of my own classic mini's including engine builds.
Given the tools I could probably do most jobs.

In all honesty "if" I went for an E39 tourer it wouldn't have to be a sport and it wouldn't strictly have to be a 530. I'd be happy with 528, 525 and maybe even a 523 if I had to :-)

Unfortunately I keep getting "sensible" thoughts and petrol Mondeo/Focus come to mind but I know I would hate them!
 
If you don't mind an SE then I think you'll have a bit more luck. The 3 litre is worth it over the 2.5 and absolutely worth having over the 528

Its more a case of accepting they're old and adjusting expectations tbh, if you're happy to spend every couple of weekends either sorting or doing some preventative maintenance on it you'll be fine.

They're put together very logically so you'll have no trouble
 
Ok then! Definate change of requirement here as I've been looking into our travel schemes at work and I can use my own car for business mileage which pays 45p per mile up to 10,000 miles and 25p per mile thereafter.

There is no limitation on the age or type of vehicle.

I've checked and I have done just under 10,000 business miles per annum for the last 3 years so I think it may be worth me doing this.

So I'm looking for a reliable estate diesel barge up to V-MAX £5k as with my personal mileage I'll probably be pushing close to 20k as it will take over family duties from the A4. I'd also like to keep it at least 3 years-ish.

Comfort and space being the key, don't really care about performance. I used to have a 1.9TDI B6 Passat SE which I regularly cleared 1000 miles a week in comfortable so part of me fancies an estate version of that or a Highline.

Looking for suggestions of cars in a similar class/cost. Not keen on TDCI Mondeo's as I hear a lot of horror stories of injectors, flywheels and turbo's failing (correct me if I am wrong)
 
Good cars, bit fugly in estate form for the model you'll be looking at and the ctdi isn't the most economical diseasel in the world but you'll be buying a relatively modern, well put together car for not a lot of money. It's usually easy to find them with a decent spec too.
 
How much more usable space will you really get compared to the avant?

Shame to go from the A4 to Accord, can you not get an A6 avant in budget?
 
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