Estate car or MPV ?

[smokeysmoo]

Don't judge all French cars the same, and don't judge them all based on a few's experience.

Google VW reliability and you'll see they aren't the teutonic tour de force they once were, and most VW group cars need hefty maintenance like timing belts far more often than most other modern vehicles too, (if that bothers you).

Yes I'm biased, (some know why), but get along to a French dealership, (not Renault though), and you'll be surprised at how things have changed with their cars.

 

[Sandra6]

Our VW, much as we loved it, was a definite money pit in the last two years we had it.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Skoda Octavia? Had 2 of the previous version and they were ace.

Skoda Octavia Estate.

And another vote for the Octavia here
We've got an Octavia estate, '11' plate, in the 1.6 Tdi guise (SE trim)
- SWMBO has put a fair few miles (25,000+) on it, since we bought in March, with her business trips to Cardiff/Newport/Bristol
- 50+MPG knocking about; school-runs/shopping etc..., 60-65MPG on her trips down there
- It swallows all we need to put in it, the VED is only £30/year
- The insurance is very good (sub £300 F/C, in my name, & 3 named drivers)
- It has 'sensible sized' tyres (205/60 x 15") so lots of sidewall to protect the rims & give a comfortable ride (just replaced front pair @ 31,700!)

My only criticsms of it are minor;
1. The 'organ style accelerator pedal - it allows all the wet/muck to run down onto carpet, & will undoubtedly smell/go damp in a couple of years?
2. I'd liked to have had LED tail-lights/side-lights, but they're not even available as an option on new ones
3. I'd love DAB radio (for '6 Music'), but again, it's not even offered on new ones!!! (even though it is on VW Passats)

We previously had a C-Max (1.8 petrol), & that was horrendous.
It had a roof-rails, & putting a bike on it was a silly stretch, unless steps were used, or parked next to a high kerb

Had 3 VW passat estates until I got a Volvo v70- all 2l SE diesels... now got a 1600 SE Bluemotion diesel Passat Estate.. best of the lot: 62mpg on long runs at 70 on motorway. 48mpg round about.

Looked at Superb Estate but went with Passat

Prior to buying the Octavia, we did look at Passats, but the price differential was large
I also fancied a V70, but new diesels were scarily priced

Next time though, I think it will definately be a Superb estate (hopefully a 170BHP Tdi 4x4

 

[subaqua]

[QUOTE 2161822, member: 9609"]Make sure any car you buy has a full service history, modern engines can last many hundreds of thousands miles providing they have been serviced properly. Cars in the past could often tolerate cheap oil and missed services but modern engines won't.

And if you are buying a diesel that has a "DPF" double check it has had its oil changed on time "USING THE CORRECT SPECIFICATION OIL" These oils are very expensive (£40 - £90 per change) and sometimes garages fill with cheap oil. Incorrect oil will quickly turn to sludge in engines with a DPF, the sludge then blocks up the oil feeds and that's the end of the engine

Do a google search for DPF OIL FAILED TURBO - horrendous problems with the hdi engine fitted to fords / peugeots / citreons. Incorrect oil turns to sludge blocks oil feed pipe to turbo - £2000 repair.[/quote]

generally a low ash to MB spec 229.51 will be very suitable. sadly for me on the last vehicle i owned the oil alone cost £120 , which was another reason to get rid of it.
having had a cam belt snap, and it was well withing the timeframe having been replaced less than 25K earlier, try and look for a car with a chain rather than a belt. a D5 Ovlov has a belt driven engine, the 2 litre diesel is a chain driven engine.

if i was going to have another I would get a Octavia or a Superb estate. even though they are belt driven.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Loved my old Volvo 240 GL Estate - from an era when cars were cars (or bloody great un aero dynamic bricks on wheels!)
7 seats and enough room to carry a 3 seater settee with the tailgate shut.....lots of grunt.......but 22ish mpg!
Now I drive about 25k a year, mpg is really important so I went for a Focus Diesel Estate
If I could afford a few less mpg I would have gone for the bigger Mondeo (although the Focus is nicer to drive)- but my next car will probably be the more recent 1.6 tdci Focus . (when this one dies and not before - but with 155k on the clock already, that could be anytime now)
Modern Pugs are very nice and good value too - but not as nice to drive as a Focus and only mediocre on MPG/reliability
VW's are I believe overpriced/lack equipment when compared with others - especially when compared with their counterpart Skoda's.

 

[mickle]

. . . . . . . that they were very popular with taxi drivers . . .especially, the Bluebird.

They were very popular with taxi drivers in Siberia where, except when they were being serviced, they never turned their engines off.

 

[Drago]

My brother in law has a Touran, nothing but niggly trouble all the time.

 

[Mr Celine]

The longevity of a chain, far exceeds that of a belt; in over 35 years of driving, I've never known of a chain to snap - though they did become quite noisy on a few of the original minis that I owned.

A timing chain will last the life of the engine, whereas a timing belt is a maintenance item requiring replacement every 50 - 70,000 miles

Depends on the design. VWs three cylinder petrol engine as fitted in the Polo is notorious for cam chain problems, the chain doesn't break but 'stretches' like a bicyle chain and then slips on the sprockets, which is just as terminal as if it broke.
The last timing belt I DIYd was on an Escort, £12 for the belt and about half an hour's work. A month later the water pump seized, the new belt didn't break but sheared the sprocket off the water pump!

Despite being a service item timing belts on modern cars seem to be totally inaccessible and I wouldn't DIY one now.

 

[Archie_tect]

Next time though, I think it will definately be a Superb estate (hopefully a 170BHP Tdi 4x4

Wow Richard, that will be a massively expensive and powerful car!!
I'll stick with the 1.6 diesel.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Our Passat sucked money out of my wallet like no other car, we had it from 2 to 7 years, years 3&6 all sorts of little niggly bits fell apart or off. The headlamp bulbs are damn near impossible to do yourself and any VW service or part was insanely expensive. Nice car to sit in and drive tho and very spacious but I wouldn't have another.
We've got a qashqai+2 now, overall more preferable, comfortable, quiet enough, responsive around town and cruising on the motorway. 3 kids & 3 greyhounds fit in it and it holds a bike rack well.

 

[totallyfixed]

Having survived a high speed head on crash, don't dismiss the safety rating, we have bought the same estate car again because of this.

 

[fossyant]

Very happy with Nissan and Toyota cars - parts are reasonable, garages can fix them anywhere, and very little actually goes wrong.
Had the wife's Yaris 12 years now, and my Primera 10 years. Garage bills have been tiny. Most expensive on the wifes was an exhaust £240 last week - was the original one !

Mine was the £400 a/c condensor (radiatior) - probably holed by road debris, although it goes in this week for engine management light check - likely an O2 sensor or cat .

Nissan Quashy's have a very good reputation.

 

[defy-one]

The safety element is why 2 families i know bought big heavy 4 x 4's
When a decent estate from any of the German manufacturers would have been adequate.
Does make me think about my next vehicle and transporting bikes

 

[DCLane]

We've had a couple;

Zafira 1.6 - OK, but very plasticky. LOTS of things started to go wrong with it at about 8 years old, so SWMBO changed and got a Honda Jazz.
Merc E-class estate. I've had 2; a 2 litre and a 3 litre, both petrol. Massive size, drive well but like fuel. I'd have another though if I hadn't bought a convertible.

 

[Longshot]

My wife has a latest generation Touran and it's an excellent car both in terms of driving and versatility.