Need a cheap, economical estate...

[sickboy]

OK, I am sure this has been done before but searches aren't throwing up quite what i want..

I may be working in Germany soon, will be driving there 1400 miles round trip and need a cheap to insure, very reliable, economical, spacious and dependable estate car for the job, diesel or petrol.

Now Mtop contenders at the moment are, in no particula:r order

Peugeot 405 (dad had one of these, used to sip fuel and go on for ever... until the head gasket blew!!)
Peugeot 406  (high mileage and tried and tested)
Volvo 850 (not sure how cheap this might be to run, but I like them)
Saab 9000 or 95 (no idea what they're like, any ideas? I gather over 40mpg for a 1.9tiid 95 which is good)
Something Japanese, but can't bring an estate to mind....

Any input, suggestions and constructive criticism much appreciated!!!

[nomad]

Passat Estate
I have family who do a lot of driving in Europe, their Passat is a real workhorse, very comfortable, loads of carry capacity.
The only thing I know nothing about is the fuel consumption.

[slater]

405s are the best cars ever made. I find they want alot to insure them but when you have a bosch and it will run on anything sticky it really doesn't matter.. Electrics are the main trouble area I find. They do some funny things sometimes but you can get around it most of the time if you know what your doing.

[domino1971]

Hi there mate seen an audi a6 c4 avant on Gumtree it's a petrol one. With I think 130,000 looked very clean. Pity it wasn't a 2.5 diesel. It was 400.00 pounds. These cars are very robust and will carry a great deal.hope this helps.

[davidpallister]

what about a Honda Accord estate?

[shin2chin]

I went through this search a few months ago and ended up with a BMW E39 touring.

Great value at the moment, all the toys for luxury cruising with the family.

Get one with good history and as long as the jacking points are solid they should be reasonably trouble free. Great parts availability too.

[SamJ]

Mondeo? There is a reason they were rep cars.
I get about 40mpg out of my mk3 on a run, ac, cruise, all of that. Pretty cheap and easy to get hold of these days.

[62herald]

+1 for the passat, or alternatively a rover 75 tourer diesel? Prices low, m47 bmw engine........

[v8wagon]

+2 Passat estate.
Bought my B5.5 new in 2003 - now done 285,000 miles, never had anything wrong with it - still on its original clutch, exhaust etc etc. Just pads,discs, tyres and CV joints - that's about it.
Does 45-ish to the gallon - about 50 in France - dunno why but it does. Excellent car.
other than that - Audi A6 C5 - I've got a 1.9 TDi too - 02 plate - goes like SOAS cos it's been re-mapped to 180-BHP although the MPG's dropped off a bit - still does close to 40.
More lux than a Passat and slightly longer - mine's got Audi Sport suspension, meaning it's lowered, 17s, Bose, elec sunroof tow stuff - value's around a grand - can't really beat that! Selling soon as I want a Quattro to tow my caravan.....
Don't get a petrol - got one of those too = Audi A6 2.4 V6 - used to do around 27-MPG now dropped to 18-ish - that's why it's parked!
Also have an A4 with the 2.0 TDi engine - fast and economical but the oil pump system's fragile....

[winchman]

Its a 4 horse race
405 if you can find one, the one with the intercooler on top of the engine did more MPG no idea why?
406 getting scarce but good
Passat another good one
Now the one you may not have considered
Picasso, cheap, massive boot as seats unclip, 45mpg around town
I was offered a nice full service history one two years ago, I laughed, then drove it, unclipped the seats and its the best work horse I have ever had, no street cred, comfy slow and reliable

[BellyBuilder]

What about a Honda Stream or a Toyota Carina estate? Both have an older owner profile and are not going to be thrashed.

[Colonelk]

I still love this thing TBH, especially since chipping it. It was a slug before, and would do mid-high 30s mpg on a run.

With the chip its much quicker and getting 40+ mpg.

Comfy, huge and so far has proven very reliable.

[sickboy]

This is all sound advice guys, thank you! I tend to shy away from German cars on account of previous bad experiences. Another thing; can anyone vouch for diesel mk5 Escort estates?

[absolutepony]

Is a Civic Aerodeck big and frugal enough?

[s1105117]

Diesel mk5 escort, cant be that many of those around! I believe they have the same 1.8td engine i have in my mk1 mondeo, and in various older fords, if so thats bukletproof. I would say an old mondeo (mk1/2/3), mine (touchwood) has been excellent, or the 405 pug.

[paul99]

Cheap Mondeos are cheap for a reason. Diesels are having a lot of injector issues, and expensive to fix.
Had a Diesel Mk 5 Escort as a hired one when new, good at the time. 20 years on....

Will be hard to beat a Saab in terms of bang for buck. Volvo 850/original shape V70 hold value and go on forever.....

[edk83]

Beemer E36 Estate for coolness?

Or if you want more modern I have an 06 Laguna Estate as my daily, big cheap and comfy - Paid £400 for a low mileage one with a noisy vvc pulley. Changed the pulley and cam belt / pump for £160 and its spot on.

[misteralz]

E39 touring, W124TE, B5 A4 Avant? Living and working in Germany, you want something German.

[Midland Performance & Retro]

Subaru Legacy.

The bog standard 2.0 is economical enough on a run. Hugely spacious, good to drive and bombproof

[tomshep]

I just scored a W124 300d 24V Estate. Power sunroof, Leather, aircon, leccy driver's seat, alloys, towbar and all the bodywork done, paid for by an owner who got fed up with throwing money at it (£3k+ in last nine months) having owned it for 14 years. New set of 5 Continentals, new battery, oil and air filters branded MB, new rear suspension and wheel bearings, new disks and pads, etc. Just fixed the aerial mast, gave it a handful of instrument bulbs and got the fuel sender sending before putting it to use.
Don't like it as much as my old C class but it has presence, and retro appeal in spades while returning 38MPG with great smoothness.
Daily driver at present until I decide to buy something smaller or do a superDiesel upgrade on it.
Plenty of cheaper ones about if you want a 250D. The build and design quality are both primitive; the electronics are usually a wave over with a soldering iron to fix them, but the solidity and durability are like a Saab 99 or Stonehenge. It is very comfortable, tracks dead straight and once you get over the fact it isn't a modern point and squirt machine, it can be hustled about with contempt for its bulk and ton and three quarters. And it is bloomin' massive. Not quite a CX Safari (bless their sacred memory) but quite big enough to lose a galaxy or two in.