UKC

Looking to buy an estate. What's more reliable? (Reliability is probably the most important factor for me). 

In reply to anonymous123:

Seat Exeo!

 

:P

In reply to anonymous123:

I thought you couldn’t afford to get your rock shoes resoled?!

What about a Skoda Octavia or Superb? Golf and Passat, respectively, with a different badge. 

In reply to anonymous123:

I've had 2 very reliable Audi cars. My current A7 is on 67k miles and has no work since new, only two sets of tyres and is on original brakes.

The Passat is boring.

 

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Well, I can definitely afford it, but refuse to pay (I guess I'm just a cheapskate!). 

Ah, I've heard Octavia's are good

 

In reply to anonymous123: Toyota avensis gets a name for bombproof, nice and comfy unless you like ear’oling round corners

 

In reply to anonymous123:

Good rockshoes will make a difference to how hard you climb. Not a place to skimp!

A car doesn’t matter as long as it doesn’t break on the way to the crag!

I drove an Octavia 4x4 for a while. Well fun.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Having owned both an Octavia and A4 estate of the same vintage (53 plates), I much prefer the latter. Everything about it just feels a bit more solid, hard-wearing and generally nicer. Seats go flat in the Audi without the need for the odd boot box and it seems to be sightly different in geometry, meaning I can get my bouder pad flat to sleep on in it (Ocun Moonwalk in traverse "mode"). Regularly had issues with the Skoda (generally engine, but also central locking), of which I've had none with the Audi. Admittedly I'm comparing apples and oranges a little - the Audi is 1.9tdi whereas the Skoda was a vRS, but n of 1 is clearly at play anyway.

Plus you can drive like a tw*t in an Audi, as it's expected from you

In reply to anonymous123:

Subaru Legacy. If looked after absolutely bomb proof, and inexpensive to buy. Huge boot.

In reply to anonymous123:

Cant speak for the Passat although I've had a golf estate and while it was good it wasn't a patch on the Audi a4 estate I've had for the past 4 years. Its easily been my favourite car that I have ever owned. its now 10 years old with a over 100,000 miles and still is a great driving car and feels like almost new.

In the 4 years I've had it absolutely  nothing has gone wrong with it although I do keep it well serviced and maintained.

The big issue is if something does go wrong then repairs are expensive and they are known for flywheel problems among other issues.

The back seats don't fold fully flat so you need to be a bit creative if you are sleeping in the back but its roomy enough for me at 5 feet 9.

I've got the 2 litre tdi and its got bags of power and handles really well and I would buy another without doubt.

I've always bought cars about the 5 year old mark and driven them till they are around the ten year old mark and this is the first car I've owned and had no issues at all regarding repairs. Tyres and exhaust apart.

In reply to anonymous123:

I had a Passat estate, had recurring issues with electric handbrake- vowed never to have a motor with one again!

In reply to anonymous123:

I've never known anyone own a reliable VW of any sort (me included).  I'm sticking with Peugeot Diesels for now.

In reply to steveanthony:

I also had a VW Passat Estate. Unreliable bag of shite. Never again.

In reply to steveanthony:

I'm not a fan and never have been.  Why?

T.

In reply to Hugh Cottam:

I had 4 of those, probably did 100k miles in each?

Three were great, not a single problem, great fuel consumption, still in good nick when I got rid of them, despite the best efforts of 3xkids and dog.

Talking of dogs, the last one was fine to 80k miles and then it suffered the exhaust value issue. VW decided that as I had missed one service interval by 5k miles the warranty was invalid. 

Loads of hassle later they finally agreed to pay half, I was left with a bill over £1000.

I did like them and don't have a downer on VW despite that experience, but given the dosh I would buy the Audi.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

We had an 09 Legacy as the family hack until quite recently. Not the modern wide and unprepossessing model, but the flat 6 apotheosis of the 04-09 generation. A huge boot but slim and wieldy form made it the perfect car for Yorkshire back lanes. Terrible mpg but a brilliant car.

In reply to anonymous123:

Had an A4 a few years back, hated it, dullest thing I've ever driven

In reply to anonymous123:

Bit of a vague question, what age, what engine you considering?

In reply to anonymous123:

I moved away from VAG motors a while ago due to various reliability issues with Diesel motors. Shame as they have some excellent design characteristics making most of their cars really user friendly.

Went back to Toyota petrol and definitely feels far more solid and so far no reliability issues. Worth a look at their estates which are big and cheap 

In reply to Andrew Lodge:

It's my first car, so I'm not too fussed about it being exciting

In reply to jezb1:

Can't afford anything less than 10 year old or <100k. Probably about £2-3k and preferably nothing bigger than 2L as insurance is still a killer even though I'm 24. 

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Good rock shoes, or tight rock shoes? As a broken (no longer ex) climber, I noticed toe joint twinges after wearing my tighter shoes, and had a 'mental leap' back to reading about older climbers getting their toe joints fused, and decided I liked walking too much to risk getting arthritic toe joints and now wear comfier shoes. They're 5:10 Approach shoes of some kind, the grey and black ones, my toe joints are important to me.  

Anyway, back to cars... Honda are meant to come tops for engine reliability, over all.

In reply to anonymous123:

For the miles & age you're looking for I think reliability is a little bit of a myth, past 100k cars need a bit of love that most don't get and they'll either need a bit of money spent regularly to pre-empt issues or you'll need to get things fixed as they break. A well looked after car with a bad reputation for reliability will be more reliable than the most well regarded car that's not been serviced properly. Like some other comments, I'm a bit prejudiced towards modern VW group cars and I've known quite a few friends have expensive problems (vw, skoda, seat, audi all the same) There's a lot of credence to the philosophy of going jap for reliability (honda, nissan, toyota) and they tend to be in a better price bracket than western cars.

If you're really on a budget and don't care about having a cool/sporty car then you can pick up some mid 2000's nissans for dirt cheap that have sub 100k miles on the clock and will probably truck along without much love or money spent on them. My first car was a 1.6 almera, cheap to insure and you can just about sleep in the back if you need. Early 2000 ford focus's are cheap and cheap to repair if not particularly well known for reliability and they have the best designed boot of that size of car, really cavernous with tiny wheel arches.

I'm kind of selling my 05 outback if you're considering that car, high miles but well serviced in D&G. If you're considering a subaru from somewhere else let me know and I'll happily tell you what to look out for. Best car I've ever owned and worked on hands down and lovely to drive. Big engines though and you might want to look at insurance before thinking about a subaru, they don't seem to care that it's a big old 4x4 estate not a suped up race car and my girlfriend struggled to get covered on it in her first year driving.

In reply to Sharp:

I have a 62 plate 1.6 manual Passat estate - it has been fine from a reliability point of view 100+K. I consider it my 'van' for work as it has a huge boot, does 60+ miles / gallon in the summer (mid 50s in the cold) and is likely safe in an accident.

It is a boring drive, the drivers foot-well is narrower than some cars and you feel constrained with big feet. 

In reply to Timmd: I did 250,000 on my Honda Accord, engine was fantastic. The rest was getting a bit tired which is why I got rid of it.  It was a great car but they aren't cheap to buy and the accord estate is really hard to find.

 

In reply to Guy:

The OP didn't say how much they have to spend, when I think about it, so is worth keeping that in mind.

https://www.motors.co.uk/used-cars/honda/accord/bodystyle/estate/

There seem to be a few here for around £5k, and 50k to 100k miles - ish.

In reply to anonymous123:

I've had a couple of older Audi 80's in the past (predecessor model to the A4) but I've had a '53 plate Passat diesel estate for the past 6 years and it's been rock solid. It's a 130 Sport TDi and is the best car I've had by quite some way. Before that, I had the saloon version, also in the 130 Sport guise, but I'd been looking for the estate for a while and when this one came along, I jumped at the opportunity.

I bought it at 112k from a friend who'd had it quite a few years and it's now done just a touch under 150k miles. The only big thing I had to do - and I knew this when I bought it - was to fit a new gearbox, so I did the clutch, flywheel etc at the same time. I've also had the timing belt, water pump etc done. The car is super reliable and starts first time, every time, is really comfortable on long journeys and has a big boot where the seats can fold flat. Because it pre-dates the DPF requirement, the engine in it is totally bombproof; it's incredibly torquey and will accelerate quickly in 6th gear at 70mph. I've driven a few of the newer models and they pack nowhere near as much punch as this PD engine.

FYI, I'm also based in Glasgow so you're welcome to have a peek and and poke around if you're so inclined. PM through here.

 

EDIT: should have said, the onboard computer indicates I'm getting a long term average of 50mpg. I get about 500-550 miles on a tank of fuel.

In reply to anonymous123:

We’ve had two 1.9 tdi Skoda Fabia estates. Both brought with around 100k on the clock for £2k. The first died after five years with 236k and the second is still going strong with over 150k on the clock.

In reply to anonymous123:the big pain for all VAG vehicles inc. Octavia is the electronic handbrake which is a notorious component that seizes and is hugely costly: most mechancis dislike it too. I’ve had 2x front and rear (simultaneaously). The rear cost £700 for what used to be a new brake cable, plenty of grease and a good mechanic’s time of about 1x hour. Try and find a manufacturer which offers a handbrake.  

 

In reply to anonymous123:

Spoke to a couple of people today about estate cars, one a mechanic and one a recovery driver both said the same thing, independent of each other. Both said Ford Mondeo (not what i was expecting) recovery driver said the only time he sees them is if they have a flat tyre or run out of fuel. Mentioned the VAG amongst others and he just shook his head laughing.

I can definitely say that mercedes e class estates are absolute s**t, second one terminally failed today.

In reply to artif:

Another vote for Ford, You get a lot of car with a Mondeo but the Focus is more nimble. Class leading handling and fun to drive. Im on my 3rd Focus estate the last 2 being 2L 140hp they still will return 58mpg on a motorway run at 75mph & 45mph normal. Parts are so cheap com paired with audi/vw  

In reply to anonymous123:

I think I'm leaning more towards the ford mondeo now; seems to get you less miles/less years aged for the same money compared to VW, Audi, but I'll keep in mind what you all said when it comes to putting the money down. Thanks!

In reply to anonymous123:

Quick shout out for Saab 9-3 and 9-5 estates. In Aero spec, you still get a lot of car for your money. Equivalent VAG motor would cost ££££ more.

In reply to anonymous123:

I put 180k on an 11 plate VW Passat, and it was the least reliable car I've had. Ten weeks in the garage was a particular low point.

I've subsequently put 150k on a 64/15 plate Octavia, and it spent the total of one morning in the garage having front shock absorbers replaced.

Guess where my money would go...

In reply to anonymous123:

VW Passat or Audi A4

Depends on how closely you want to tailgate. VW's are good for a couple of meters, however the Audi wins hands down with a following distance measured in centimetres.

 

 

In reply to anonymous123:

I bought a 08 2.7TDI A4 last year for a price that was well worth a punt.

It’s a nice car, but you really need to buy a VAGCOM unit and be able to understand the warning messages, or spend £100's at an Audi distributor.

It’s 10 years old, some of the electrical connections are getting a bit dodgy so it spends more time linked up to my laptop than I would like.

It’s done 166K miles and has just had to have the DPF replaced. Luckily my local mechanic agreed to do it (if it had been a 2.0L and had to drop the gearbox, he wouldn’t have).

So basically a nice car, but way too complicated.

Currently planning my next car – Renault Zoe is favourite at the moment, but buying a French car really goes against the grain (French cars = Electrical problems). Here we go again.
 

In reply to anonymous123:

i'm on my third mondeo estate - all 2.0 deisels.

i do about 25k a year, i'm shit at getting them serviced - 40k was the last gap - and both the previous ones got to 200k before they started to feel a bit tired and the prospect of proper time and money needing to be spent on them reared its head.

you'll get a newer mondeo with less miles on the clock and that will be cheaper to fix for whatever budget you've got.