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Ie, reliable, ageing well and not depreciating any more? Not too fussed about petrol or diesel and only have 13 mile round trip to work.
V70 or the last model Accord?
I love my aged Volvo V70, 2.5TDi.. big comfy heated leather seats 212,000miles and still going (serviced annually) sits at 70ish on cruise control, and auto, as im a lazy old man, not to mention a boot that swallows bikes and everything else ive had to move/carry
I am quite attracted to the previous Accord, ugly swine that it is. That 2.4 petrol must last forever and they are cheap.
Volvo V70, yep, like them too.
Unless you've got a seriously rare and expensive beast, "depreciation" and "car" exist in the same space.
Pick something that has lost most of its value already and run it into the ground.
I've the previous shape Accord. Brilliant biking bus.
Rear seats fold flat, easily takes a bike with both wheels on. Or two bikes with both wheels removed can fit in the boot and the cover over the top.
Mines just the 2.0 petrol, had it 18 months. I was buying on price- I had £2k and wanted a big petrol estate. I'd be tempted to go for the 2.4 if I was looking for one now.
[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-MERCEDES-BENZ-300TE-4-MATIC-FANTASTIC-CONDITION-/272016097923 ]W124 Merc estate[/url]
Mine's rougher than this and at almost 200k, but I'd drive it anywhere tomorrow. And it'd get there.
Non-4WD versions plentiful if the complexity worries you.
Gotta be a b5 Passat.
The Honda will fall apart before the engine and then you can sell the K24 for a decent sum if you took care of it. If I was going for a petrol the Honda K series would be it.
Don't those old Mercs rust? And is the Passat b5 the mk4 Golf era? If so, I like that shape but good ones go for strong money.
Don't those old Mercs rust?
Less than T4s!
Most older cars rust, but W124s tend to do it cosmetically on the arches and tailgates, so it's easy to get a good one and it rarely kills the car. Values are only going one way and classic car insurance is cheap so you can afford to spend a little to keep it looking top notch.
Accords are a good shout Jase - we nearly bought an old shape Accord S-Type estate with the 2.4 petrol a few years back when we found out Jo was pregnant with Noel. Was a nice, well put together car. Bet the petrols especially can be picked up for pence now.
Whats happening with the T4? Don't tell me - you're going to fit air suspension and respray it etc?
Audi A6 circa 99-02 age. Amazing cars and I think the interior is nicer than the newer ones.
The vans a keeper but Woodsters right, it will need the rust sorting at some point. This is just prep for when the wife's ageing Stilo goes pop.. It's got nearly 100,000 miles on the clock which is surely a record for a Stilo!
Whatever we get will never beat the Fiat. It cost £6500 new, we got £1600 back on it 5yrs ago when a wagon slid into it and pushed the bump roughly back out & the only thing that's ever gone wrong is the indicator stalks. It's a 53 plate and we'll be keeping it till it dies. It might do another decade yet..
How big does it need to be Jas? Honda Jazz is massive inside with the seats down, they fold completely flat so it becomes like a mini van. Economical, mega-reliable and cheap to repair. I'm looking for one!
Given your fondness for Crocs, you can't be too bothered about how you'd look driving one 😉
Not very cool I'll agree but I'm on my third Ford S-Max and I can't rate it highly enough for biking purposes.
Easily get three bikes plus people and gear inside with only taking the front wheels out.
I regularly car-camp in it. The seats go flat and it's long enough to fit a full size air bed plus your bike gear etc.
On a number of occasions I've ferried the lads from digs to the pub 6 at a time when we're on trips away. It's extremely versatile.
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Woody2000, I'd go for the 7 seat Cube if I wanted the Crocs look...
+1 for a V70
I'd never really considered one before seeing them recommended on here. I bought one with a FSH that was cosmetically 'used' with the expectation that I wouldn't be upset if it me who who would trash it some more.
I've spent about another £500 on parts. New wishbones, timing belt and water pump, an alternator and a couple of sensors.
I've been to France and back in it and a couple of trips from Fife to London and it's been fantastic.
If you can find a local independent Volvo specialist you can go wrong if you don't want to spanner on it yourself.
Speaking of Honda accords, I have a potentially dying car and was just perusing [url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201510027444361?body-type=estate&onesearchad=used&postcode=ca125rw&sort=atcustom&search-target=usedcars&seller-type=private_adverts&page=1&radius=50&logcode=p ]This[/url]
Can anyone shed any light on that one at that price? Decent buy?
Looks good TomB- I got £1400 for mine trade-in (also a 2004 2.0 SE with 88k miles) in December. Ace cars, now got a Civic which is very practical in different ways. As above, bike in the boot with the load cover hiding it is ace!
Have to check these out, we after something like these.
Passat or Octavia would be my suggestion, definitely petrol versions if you have a short regular commute
As JAmbo said Passat b5/5.5 just can't go wrong.
I pondered this after selling my T4, I've had VW vans for years now and not paid any depreciation on a van for a decade. I've become accustomed to it.
I went for a Hilux surf, reliable, roomy, very shallow depreciation curve (I hope...)
Presumably the Volvo could be bought as a 7 seater too, which could be handy.