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Hi
I live in London and use public transport for getting to and from work, I have a Clio for running the kids about and going shopping in and the various other errands but I have no way of going on car camping adventures as once the tent and kids are in the car there is no room for anything else.
Ideally I would like some sort of motorhome, but anything less that 25 years old seems to be to expensive for me so I am instead thinking in terms of a diesel estate and camping, what is the best value safe option for such a car bearing in mind it's probably only going to be used very rarely?
Looking for as cheap as possible, between 2-3k
A small trailer and a towbar will be a much much cheaper option than another car especially given the infrequent use
Motorhomes within the low emissions zone are becoming increasingly problematic.
Mondeos seem to be huge and cheap?
A small trailer and a towbar will be a much much cheaper option than another car especially given the infrequent use
A circa year 2000 pug estate.? There's loads of 306's still knocking around, you can pick them up for buttons and they are pretty solid.
Why do you want diesel?
If you're only doing low miles then a petrol option might make more sense, cheaper to buy and cheaper maintenance will offset the fuel costs. Happier to sit idle for long periods as well.
Just do a search on Autotrader, there will be loads on there.
Also, have a look at your local auction house, I buy all my cars from auction now.
Mondeos seem to be huge and cheap?
Yes they're huge and cheap, but the diesels start to get very expensive as they get old. Disintegrating DMF, blocked EGR valve, constant engine management issues, coupled with a turbo + actuator that is sold as a single (very expensive) unit means that for me, owning an old diesel Mondeo was a fraught and expensive experience. Although of course YMMV.
And old A4 or 3 series BMW might be a better bet?
And are you absolutely attached to diesel? If you're only using it occasionally then slightly fewer MPG won't be too much of an issue, when offset against cheaper maintenance costs and not blowing quite so much toxic gas into the faces of your fellow city dwellers 🙂
^^ Ah sorry just realised that the Mondeo suggestion was not from the OP. Points stand though
Old shape Mazda 6 Estate (but petrol). Massive boot, rear seats fold dead flat to create an excellent bed base and bomb proof mechanicals even at high mileage.
So undesireable you'll pick one up for £500 and cheap to insure (mine was £200 odd in inner city Manchester). Just have a scour for rust.
Either that or a big old E Class estate.
big old E Class estate.
Bingo!
VW Touran with the 1.9 Tdi engine. Simple, long lasting, no pdf filter, loads about and reliable..
Cheers guys, petrol it is then from the above.
Will go and scour Ebay some more
Buy a roof box for your Clio?
But on the wider issue:
Buying, taxing, insuring and parking a whole new car, just for the odd camping trip, seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You just need your Clio, a bike rack, and possibly a roof box.
We've done loads of family camping trips in small cars.
Used rarely, reliable. Id get a big petrol auto, not much to go wrong.
Something like this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201608146786123?
But a roof rack is probably even cheaper
Honda Accords are huge should get a tidy one in your budget
Something like this
That's crazy, £1650 for an 18 year old Volvo!
Buying, taxing, insuring and parking a whole new car, just for the odd camping trip, seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You just need your Clio, a bike rack, and possibly a roof box.
This. I love big estates, but I'd never buy one just for 'what if'.
[url= http://www.thrifty.co.uk/cgi-bin/or17?runprog=thuk&mode=page2&sess=147160217251874&trkid=20160819T112252D21725187452I81A131A190A178B72475324&src=_&enter_loc=LONDON+-+LEWISHAM&pick_up_date=20%2F08%2F2016&pu_time=12%3A00&enter_loc2=LONDON+-+LEWISHAM&return_date=27%2F08%2F2016&db_time=12%3A00&vehicle_type=B&ageyears=40&promo=Enter+code&travelab=&submitbutton=GET+QUOTE ]You can hire a new BMW 320 Estate for £357 per week.[/url]
I'm guessing that would be less than you'd pay annually just to insure your bangernomics car.
You can hire a new BMW 320 Estate for £357 per week.I'm guessing that would be less than you'd pay annually just to insure your bangernomics car.
That's a good point. IME any car costs around £700 - £1000 a year just for tax, insurance and basic servicing. That's before any repair work or fuel.
We hired a motorhome for our hols this summer. Was about £700 for the week.
my passat estate !
I'm in North London
1.9tdi 130bhp
2002 black auto
110000 miles Full service cambelt done last year
tow bar fitted last year for bike carrier
Yours for £1450
Mondeo, but as above, Petrol, infrequent use is bad for diesels, especially old ones circa 10yrs ago. So you will likey bring forth the lurking inevitable problems of a car that age, injectors, egr stuff.
We've got 2 320Ds and they're great for camping, comfortably take a few bikes plus I can even get my 9'9'' cruiser board inside and drive it. Both cars have spaceship miles and nothing major has gone wrong. I'm just waiting for one to die, then the other, then we'll get something else. But it ain't happening.
My insurance is c£300 with 9yrs ncb.
I had a VW campervan but the costs (vastly) outweighed the benefits. I went on to a Corolla estate (1200cc!) and that used to take 4 of us, two mtbs, two surfboards down to SW France without a hitch.
Motorhomes within the low emissions zone are becoming increasingly problematic.Mondeos seem to be huge and cheap?
Our 20 yr old diesel Mazda camper isn't allowed into Berlin. 🙁
A roof box. Surely. We have a Skoda Fabia and just got 3 Americans, me, a bike, four lots of enormous luggage and a week's worth of bike gear from Derbyshire to Aberdeenshire and back in comfort (no bags between the rear passengers or in the footwell) with just the boot and a box and rack on the roof.
The point about the cost for a rarely used car is a good one, especially once you consider the servicing etc which I hadn't factored in.
My clio is only 6 years old but has done 100k miles on a 1.2 so I don't expect it to last forever, hence not wanting to get roofboxes or trailers for it as I will not be getting such a small car again with the kids getting older. Also, Mrs-g needs to learn to drive so the clio will at some point fairly soon be sacrificed to the gearbox destroying task of her practicing.
I think with the possibility of there being 2 drivers in the house, and with the kids getting bigger and wanting a bit more comfort on the long journeys I can justify the expense of an additional car, but yes it will be petrol.
Swap your Clio for a Passat estate. Just get a 1.9tdi version. Or the stock answer of a Skoda Octavia estate with the same engine.
Just rent a car for the odd weekends/weeks you need it.
"[i]The point about the cost for a rarely used car is a good one, especially once you consider the servicing etc which I hadn't factored in.[/i]"
You don't service bangernomics cars ! Maybe do the oil occasionally, and the essential consumables like brakes & tyres of course, but anything elective is excessive and missing the point of bangernomics.
I have a 2001 320td for commuting that's about to reach 178k miles and it's still going strong, the only repairs in nearly three years have been a fuel pump & a cat. I think I've done two oil changes.
I've also got a T4. Annually it costs more than the BMW despite doing less than 10% of the mileage. It would definitely be cheaper to hire a van a few times a year.
Yeah petrol Mondeo, probably a 2006/2007 one before they changed the body style.
Sold my 2l petrol hatchback at 10 years old (FSH, fair mileage) and only got £800-odd.
You should get a really nice one for under £1.5k.
Another vote for a petrol automatic. Abit outside your budget but I helped someone find a car recently for similar use in the London area and ended up finding a close to new condition 2009 C300 estate with full leather and under 70k miles for under £6k!
At that price range I highly recommend buying privately and judging the seller. Cars at that price from stealerships will be someones unloved webuyanyscrapcar trade in. Just leave a small budget for any imminent repairs.
The point about the cost for a rarely used car is a good one, especially once you consider the servicing etc which I hadn't factored in.My clio is only 6 years old but has done 100k miles on a 1.2 so I don't expect it to last forever, hence not wanting to get roofboxes or trailers for it as I will not be getting such a small car again with the kids getting older. Also, Mrs-g needs to learn to drive so the clio will at some point fairly soon be sacrificed to the gearbox destroying task of her practicing.
I think with the possibility of there being 2 drivers in the house, and with the kids getting bigger and wanting a bit more comfort on the long journeys I can justify the expense of an additional car, but yes it will be petrol.
You don't want the hassle and expense of getting a roof box
...
...
...so you're going to buy an extra car instead? 😀
If you just want a bigger car, why don't you trade in the Clio?