Recommend me a grown-up car

[russ77]

Thank you all for the advice. There are a couple of themes developing. I will look at the Subaru, which I had considered briefly. There's actually a dealer at the end of my road. Prices there are fierce though. My wife is afraid of them after her brother in law was woken one night by someone with a knife that wanted the Impreza parked on his driveway.

Volvos I see as being like jazz music. I appreciate them from a distance but there's so much of it I wouldn't know where to begin.

We had Audis for a few years and they were nicely put together. Again, they seem costly but probably worth it.

I couldn't have a Land Rover after all the cruel things I've said to relatives about theirs. Couldn't have a Range Rover after my brother in law spent £270 on petroleum getting to Yorkshire and back.

I will stop looking at Fords and French cars (last two Renaults I've had have blown up). Shame as I was brought up in Citroens.

Will let you know how I get on in the new year. Thanks again! T..

 

[John J]

Citroen would be my recommendation.
Between my business and family we currently run 31 of them with very little problems.
Much much cheaper than German cars as well and represent much better value for money

 

[sheard]

I would also suggest a Porsche Cayenne or a Macan- those are practical other than the fact that you wouldn't want to scratch it.

 

[legrandefromage]

Landrover rely on a Ford/ French derived v6, Ford V8 and french 2.2 diesels each with their own documented issues. At that price range you will start to see the sag in the rear suspension that is turning out to be a real arse to fix for Discovery 3/4 RR and RR Sport owners.

Aged VW Toureg and Porsche Cayennes can suffer from 4x4 selector problems within one of the multi ecu's.

Stick with something relatively common and with a good service history. Theres a big gap in fleet buying from around 2008 to 2012 so theres a shortage of cars at this age pushing prices up.

I tried to dissuade a friend from blowing £5k on an 2008 Golf TDI. A potential bargain but with 180,000 on the clock it has since needed £1200 of work on suspension and the fuel system out of its loosely described 'warranty'.

Since October 2015, legislation has been tightened up considerably and the buyer is far more protected. So whatever you do buy, drive it like you stole it for a couple of days, if anything drops off, it should be fixed if you like the car or reject it if you dont.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/201 ... ts/enacted

 

[Adruzzz]

Steer clear of:

Ford. At that price there are upcoming can-bus faults that are infuriating to fix

Vauxhall. Weird electrical faults plus certain models setting fire to themselves

Wife friendly:
Nissan Cashcow - avoid wheezy 1.5Dci but women love the ride height

Kia Sportage - again high ride height and good reliability

All rounders:

Mazda 6 - make sure for good service history

Skodas are good value

I'd look at a Nissan X-Trail, its a Renault engine (complete with a flaky turbo) but generally reliable, a bit masculine but wife friendly enough if she wants to drive it. Look for the highest spec models.

Seat have niggly faults but are good value

Volvo are an odd mix of Ford and VW and share the same engine issues as Ford. Higher up, its VW engines so less issues.

Cant think of much else but £7k buys a brrrrand new Dacia?

http://www.dacia.co.uk/vehicles/logan-mcv/configurator/

What he said^^^^ :xmas-big-grin:

 

[Mike Muz]

Re:

Watching this thread closely, lots of knowledge from LGF. Not that I'd have that much to spend.
Maybe nearer £3k when the time comes. Passats seem like a good choice

Mike

(the birthday boy)!

 

[Leighcal]

Really these days whatever car you buy used is going to develop faults. It's just a risk you take buying used. My other half is the only one that drives in our house and our family car is a Renault megane 1.5dci 106bhp. It's dynamique so has electric windows, air con, etc. Ok the Windows don't always work if it's been raining And she drinks a bit of oil now but bought it 8 months ago with 160k on it and now touching 190k and all we've had to do is top oil up and get a new tyre for mot. We gave £790 for it when we bought it so we won't lose too much even if we sell it next year. It's a 07 model so is facelift megane 2 and tbh it's not a bad motor to be in. Good on motorway. Set cruise control and it just saunters along at 70-80 in 6th but if you put your foot down it will still move. Round town we get about 47mpg and a run is around 60 so it's cheap to run.
I don't really like French and tried putting her off it but tbh it's been less hassle than previous Ford's/Vauxhall and audi.

 

[legrandefromage]

At that price level, under a grand, the world is your oyster.

I live in that world as I do around 500 to 1300 miles a week. Current squeeze is a 1998 Mercedes 300TD. Bought at 60k in June, its now on 82k with only tyres and an oil top up.

It will need a ball joint doing fairly soon, £16 from Eurocarparts plus I'll get it serviced for the upcoming 'winter'.

 

[twosheds]

Re:

Can't see if it has been mentioned, but with a budget of £7k I would take a look at a Honda FR-V.
6 proper seats, (3 in the front), decent sized boot, stacks of features like climate control, and cup holders , bomb proof reliability and they go on forever!

Bruce

 

[LikeClockwork]

Re: Re:

Can't see if it has been mentioned, but with a budget of £7k I would take a look at a Honda FR-V.
6 proper seats, (3 in the front), decent sized boot, stacks of features like climate control, and cup holders , bomb proof reliability and they go on forever!

Bruce

Good call! 'pect LGF will now come along to shoot that one down in flames too.....

Friends have had them, as you say, seem to go on forever with no issues with the ones I've known.