OP
OP
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
Thanks folks, loads of great information.
OK - Our car history. It speaks for itself and will give a lot away.
We met back in the very early 90's. He had a Fiat Uno 45 933cc engine. No headrests, 1 wing mirror, no fog lamps - that kind of deal. It didn't take long for his Uno to get fog lamps (believe it or not it had everything except the On/Off switch which we fitted using a rear demister switch from a scrap yard), passenger wing mirror and new seats that actually had headrests. Mind you I did have fun overtaking a guy in a Mercedes going over Rannoch Moor...
I had a Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia mk 3 CVH engine fitted with the wider tyre option for better handling. My escort died after 127,000 miles which was an awful lot for that vehicle!
We then went for a Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 CDi 5 speed automatic (also a mk3 - the K reg model that only lived for 8 or 9 months). It finally died after many long years which more than 250,000 miles on the clock and it wasn't the engine that went. We must have had that car for 8 years or more when it finally died.
After that we had some fun with an Audi A4 2.8L Quattro - tiptronic gear box. It actually only died last summer when its new owner decided the cost of repair wasn't worth it any more and she couldn't really afford the fuel (She walked out on her husband of 40 years soon afterwards...) We had it for 5 or 6 years and I know it was well passed 200,000 miles when we sold it to go off and cycle around... you know the story. Temporarily we also had a Honda Accord Automatic (no idea what model but somewhere around a 2.0 engine) which was a don't touch the engine it just keeps going and going and going job.
When we got back we picked up a cheap VW Passat 1.9 TDi automatic saloon. It has been fine until the last month or so when it has picked up an alarm fault and our landlady is now complaining. Disabling the internal sensors has at least stopped the alarm going off during the night but it still goes off every time you unlock the car. Neither of us really like it except for its fuel consumption which average 50mpg on a motorway run without the bikes on the back and 45mpg otherwise. The engine is fine, the body work is fine, the least said about the electrics the better. And it is a saloon.
What we are looking for.
He wants something with equal or better mpg to the Passat diesel.
We need a large estate and it has to be an automatic.
It will have to come with or be fitted with an towbar.
And if at all possible it needs to come with heated seats (though there are alternatives available here though they are not always ideal from some of the amazon reviews about setting cars on fire and the likes
).
OK - the 2/3 killers.
1 - the budget is £2,000 (cash)
2 - it would be better if it wasn't private because ideally we need to part ex to get rid of the Passat
3 - it has to be within absolute max 30-40 miles of our home because he wants me to be able to view the vehicle (I tried for the you can do it alone option, but failed). I have the ear for engine noises that can be problems and it is me that was the car enthusiast not him The Audi was mine and he needs to know I am comfortable with the seats because that is one of the big problems I am having with the Passat. The passenger seat is not comfortable.
I am happy to look at Saab. We are quite happy to have another Audi. We are more than happy to consider Mercs (of which there seem to be plenty).
Astra estates have been ruled out as too small (new exclusion this lunchtime - don't ask), so that rules out the golf estate I had found and neither of us likes Renault the one with the fat arse.
Out of the latest batch
2 Volvos have been thrown back at me as mpg less than the passat (by 5mpg)
2 Saabs as being well Saabs (one of which is a 9-3 1.9 tdi linear dth estate)
A golf estate as being too small (probably true tbh)
Peugeot 206 estate on its mpg (but I have bad feelings about that (individual) vehicle even before a potential viewing anyhow)
A VW passat estate (probably water issues given the faults lists something passats are prone to, and I'm not that happy about it. Something feels off.)
A Merc C 200 - the fault listed has us 'concerned' despite the vehicle ticking every single requirement sadly.
...
OK - Our car history. It speaks for itself and will give a lot away.
We met back in the very early 90's. He had a Fiat Uno 45 933cc engine. No headrests, 1 wing mirror, no fog lamps - that kind of deal. It didn't take long for his Uno to get fog lamps (believe it or not it had everything except the On/Off switch which we fitted using a rear demister switch from a scrap yard), passenger wing mirror and new seats that actually had headrests. Mind you I did have fun overtaking a guy in a Mercedes going over Rannoch Moor...
I had a Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia mk 3 CVH engine fitted with the wider tyre option for better handling. My escort died after 127,000 miles which was an awful lot for that vehicle!
We then went for a Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 CDi 5 speed automatic (also a mk3 - the K reg model that only lived for 8 or 9 months). It finally died after many long years which more than 250,000 miles on the clock and it wasn't the engine that went. We must have had that car for 8 years or more when it finally died.
After that we had some fun with an Audi A4 2.8L Quattro - tiptronic gear box. It actually only died last summer when its new owner decided the cost of repair wasn't worth it any more and she couldn't really afford the fuel (She walked out on her husband of 40 years soon afterwards...) We had it for 5 or 6 years and I know it was well passed 200,000 miles when we sold it to go off and cycle around... you know the story. Temporarily we also had a Honda Accord Automatic (no idea what model but somewhere around a 2.0 engine) which was a don't touch the engine it just keeps going and going and going job.
When we got back we picked up a cheap VW Passat 1.9 TDi automatic saloon. It has been fine until the last month or so when it has picked up an alarm fault and our landlady is now complaining. Disabling the internal sensors has at least stopped the alarm going off during the night but it still goes off every time you unlock the car. Neither of us really like it except for its fuel consumption which average 50mpg on a motorway run without the bikes on the back and 45mpg otherwise. The engine is fine, the body work is fine, the least said about the electrics the better. And it is a saloon.
What we are looking for.
He wants something with equal or better mpg to the Passat diesel.
We need a large estate and it has to be an automatic.
It will have to come with or be fitted with an towbar.
And if at all possible it needs to come with heated seats (though there are alternatives available here though they are not always ideal from some of the amazon reviews about setting cars on fire and the likes
).OK - the 2/3 killers.
1 - the budget is £2,000 (cash)
2 - it would be better if it wasn't private because ideally we need to part ex to get rid of the Passat
3 - it has to be within absolute max 30-40 miles of our home because he wants me to be able to view the vehicle (I tried for the you can do it alone option, but failed). I have the ear for engine noises that can be problems and it is me that was the car enthusiast not him The Audi was mine and he needs to know I am comfortable with the seats because that is one of the big problems I am having with the Passat. The passenger seat is not comfortable.
I am happy to look at Saab. We are quite happy to have another Audi. We are more than happy to consider Mercs (of which there seem to be plenty).
Astra estates have been ruled out as too small (new exclusion this lunchtime - don't ask), so that rules out the golf estate I had found and neither of us likes Renault the one with the fat arse.
Out of the latest batch
2 Volvos have been thrown back at me as mpg less than the passat (by 5mpg)
2 Saabs as being well Saabs (one of which is a 9-3 1.9 tdi linear dth estate)
A golf estate as being too small (probably true tbh)
Peugeot 206 estate on its mpg (but I have bad feelings about that (individual) vehicle even before a potential viewing anyhow)
A VW passat estate (probably water issues given the faults lists something passats are prone to, and I'm not that happy about it. Something feels off.)
A Merc C 200 - the fault listed has us 'concerned' despite the vehicle ticking every single requirement sadly.
...
