What shed to keep me going for up to six months?

[JagYouAre]

Hi Folks,

The main family car is going back (Jag XF Sportbrake) but we are not looking to get the next main wagon until some time next year, when we are hoping to get into a California (of the VW variety) or similar. I need a short term car for shed money (under £2k is a must) that will meet the following criteria:

1) Safe - this is the priority, it needs to not be a death trap as this will be used to transport the family on any occasion we can't use the 911 (basically any time we need to take doggo or luggage).

2) Size - we are a family of three, including 6 year old, plus dog. It needs to be comfortable for all and have back doors (doggo is a seat dog, not a boot dog). Preferably estate or SUV type shape.

3) Reliable - I don't want the false economy of offloading a perfectly good PCP car for a cheap stbox that only costs more in repairs than monthly lease costs would. I'll be looking for something with a lengthy MOT (6m +) and a reasonable history, however I have no idea what tends to age well which is where you expert car buyers come in

4) Cheap - Cheap to buy (<£2k), cheap to run (tax, insurance), cheap to fix if (when) things fall off. Not too fussed on economy, can't be worse that the outgoing Jag or the 911. Doesn't need to hold its 'value' I'm not above scapping it when the time comes.

Other than that, I'm not too fussed really. I'm quite looking forward to getting into a bit of shedding for a bit, not caring where it gets parked, or about dings, curbing, washing etc. It will be quite liberating (though not sure the wife is fully on board yet!) Petrol or diesel is fine. I never go into London so ULEZ not a factor. Mileage, manual/auto all non-issues. I would like it to have at least a reasonable amount of poke, but not essential.

I had a quick scout about and seems to be several A4 Avant, V50/60, Honda CR-V at first glance but as mentioned above, I am not mechanically minded enough to know what stands the test of time and what doesn't. There's a couple of old Land Rovers which would no doubt serve as great dog wagons, but reliability scares me.

So... over to you!

[a311]

2K can still get something decent these days. If it's genuinely only for 6 to 12 months I'd just search close to you and see what the cleanest car that fits your brief is with 12 months MOT and evidence of major things being done in the not to decent past so you don't get a ticking time bomb .Anything remotely interesting at this level seems to be spares or repair. It's the new shed money where the joy is once it's not economical to keep on the road you throw it away.

I did similar recently as I couldn't be arsed travelling too far but had more budget.

Jeep Patriot:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304025...

3 Series estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310213...

Forester:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309162...

Octavia

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309272...

Qaushqai

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310253...

V8 X5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310213...

Mazda CX7

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310223...

[Bannock]

Vauxhall Astra or Vectra estate, 1.8 petrol.

See the thread by PHer "7 5 7" for details.

Or, Toyota Avensis.

[7 5 7]

Problem is, you'll never want to go back to "not running" a shed, it's totally liberating and an utter joy to get off the merry go round.

There are many cars under that £2k budget, but my personal favorite shed of choice at the moment is petrol 1.8 Vauxhalls, a Vectra or Insignia estate are gargantuan cars, cheap to buy, safe, easy to fix, and cheap to run.

Have a look at the "Joy of running a shed thread on here" it's a great source of info, where shedders can mingle and be cool together.

[JagYouAre]

7 5 7 said:

Problem is, you'll never want to go back to "not running" a shed, it's totally liberating and an utter joy to get off the merry go round.

There are many cars under that £2k budget, but my personal favorite shed of choice at the moment is petrol 1.8 Vauxhalls, a Vectra or Insignia estate are gargantuan cars, cheap to buy, safe, easy to fix, and cheap to run.

Have a look at the "Joy of running a shed thread on here" it's a great source of info, where shedders can mingle and be cool together.

That is fine by me

Thanks for the replies so far - some great food for thought!

I'm really looking forward to some proper shed researching this weekend.

[Skyrocket21]

Way under budget, going to be a steal or a nightmare, it's the older 1.9 tdi so should be more reliable, they still have problems, no dpf, ulez unfriendly, they score extremely highly on Europ N cap because they have some solid high strength steel on the shell, a beautiful Seat Altea XL 1.9 tdi, it may well have problems i.e. clutch etc looks like newish tyres £1,295 £200 road tax, https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310293... and it's extremely slow, 12.4 seconds to 60 so might be unsafe in that regard, the newer onwards 1.6 2.0 cr from late 2009 have dpfs diesel gate etc. Avoid the BKD 2.0 tdi 16v 04-09 because they have a hex drive oil pump that wears out mmmmm and the petrol burns a litre of oil every 400 miles or less yikes!.

Anyway I'm sure an old Mercedes, BMW or Japanese car would be better, buy on condition etc.

[JagYouAre]

Skyrocket21 said:

Way under budget, going to be a steal or a nightmare, it's the older 1.9 tdi so should be more reliable, they still have problems, no dpf, ulez unfriendly, they score extremely highly on Europ N cap because they have some solid high strength steel on the shell, a beautiful Seat Altea XL 1.9 tdi, it may well have problems i.e. clutch etc looks like newish tyres £1,295 £200 road tax, https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310293... and it's extremely slow, 12.4 seconds to 60 so might be unsafe in that regard, the newer onwards 1.6 2.0 cr from late 2009 have dpfs diesel gate etc. Avoid the BKD 2.0 tdi 16v 04-09 because they have a hex drive oil pump that wears out mmmmm and the petrol burns a litre of oil every 400 miles or less yikes!.

Anyway I'm sure an old Mercedes, BMW or Japanese car would be better, buy on condition etc.

Lol you are really selling that to me We did used to have a Leon of the same vintage, hateful thing, so I'll probably steer clear of that.

I'm currently looking over the various Vauxhalls as per 7 5 7's suggestions, however this Cashcow is speaking to me for some reason - seems reasonably clean and some nice features. A little over budget and what looks like at least three different no-name brand tyres which could be interesting. Anyone got any thoughts on these?

Nissan Qashqai