New long term car £6-8k

[Taeb]

Hello all, currently own a 2008 Focus that I have had 5 years, it's been reliable but I fancy something new for the near future especially when I have a child.

I have thought of so many cars, Avensis Estate, Insignia 1.4T or 1.8, Mondeo 1.5T, Octavia Estate 1.4TSI

My list of needs are as follows

Safety
Petrol (do only around 9-10k miles PA)
No known issues so reliability is a must, not a badge snob.
Cruise control or adaptive cruise.
Parking sensors or camera.

I know Lexus are super reliable but not keen on their repair costs/servicing and tax bands.

[OutInTheShed]

I could be looking at similar requirements, I'd like an estate that is good for the next 'several' years for under £8k.

It's not easy.
I'm a bit more diesel market, because I do very few short journeys, I tend to leave my car on the drive for a week then do either 50 miles round trip, 130 miles each way or more.

There is a lot of utter junk in the estate car market at 4/5/6k at the moment. High mileage cars, cars with tired interiors, rusty cars, cars with notorious self destruct tendencies. A lot of cars at this price point are 'due' for a clutch replacement and/or an expensive timing belt/chain.
Looking up to £8k is not a lot better.
Some questions inlcude:
Do you need ULEZ compatibility?
How much sre you comfortable with as an annual depreciation and maintenance bill?
What are the garages near you like for supporting anything a bit unusual?
What's your appetite for risk?
What's your attitude to mpg?

There are some Peugeots and other french contraptions, but a lot of them are 'not very powerful'. I can do 'driving a gutless car' and I can do 'spending £8k'. Spending £8k to drive a gutless car does not compute though!

Part of my reason for thinking '£8k' is believing I will be looking seriously at electric in a few years.
I have circumstances for not buying a BEV right now, other people might be thinking £8k is nearly four years of leasing a Honda E-ny1 or wtf it's called.

[Mad Maximus]

Taeb said:

Hello all, currently own a 2008 Focus that I have had 5 years, it's been reliable but I fancy something new for the near future especially when I have a child.

I have thought of so many cars, Avensis Estate, Insignia 1.4T or 1.8, Mondeo 1.5T, Octavia Estate 1.4TSI

My list of needs are as follows

Safety
Petrol (do only around 9-10k miles PA)
No known issues so reliability is a must, not a badge snob.
Cruise control or adaptive cruise.
Parking sensors or camera.

I know Lexus are super reliable but not keen on their repair costs/servicing and tax bands.

Stick to a manual n/a engine car and whatever you buy you won’t go far wrong.

[Taeb]

Yeah it's not easy, I don't need ULEZ compatibility, depreciation is not a big issue as I expect to keep the car for a long time.

I really would like a Corolla Estate with the petrol/hybrid but they start at around £11k.

I am really thinking of getting an Insignia but the petrol engines are a bit meh and I only do 30 mile round trips daily so the 2.0CDTI might become troublesome, then you got the oil pickup issue, DMF, DPF, EGR and the rest.

[66HFM]

Seat Leon ST Tourer or one of the Honda Civic Estate / Tourers or whatever they called the estate

[OutInTheShed]

Mad Maximus said:

Stick to a manual n/a engine car and whatever you buy you won’t go far wrong.

I think that's nonsense, there are a lot of cars in this price range which don't have many trouble-free years left in them.

[Martin_Hx]

Taeb said:

Yeah it's not easy, I don't need ULEZ compatibility, depreciation is not a big issue as I expect to keep the car for a long time.

I really would like a Corolla Estate with the petrol/hybrid but they start at around £11k.

I am really thinking of getting an Insignia but the petrol engines are a bit meh and I only do 30 mile round trips daily so the 2.0CDTI might become troublesome, then you got the oil pickup issue, DMF, DPF, EGR and the rest.

Just for context, we have had a 2L diesel insignia (2014) estate for a few years now (on 150K miles) - Doing about 10-13k a year (40-45 mpg / 55-60 on a run)

We bought it with 120 / 125k miles and its been great for short joruneys and trips away, most of the time its only doing 5-6 miles aday, sometimes 20-30 once a week and nothing has gone wrong. It will ask to do a DPF regen once every few months, if it fails to do so in normal driving.

We did the oil pickup seal thing and changed the gearbox oil (was in desperate need) and just routine servicing since

Its been a good family wagon and is nice and comfy on long trips away, with decent mpg

[Whataguy]

Taeb said:

I really would like a Corolla Estate with the petrol/hybrid but they start at around £11k.

Have you considered the late model Auris estate hybrids? They improved them over the years up until the Corolla came out.

Underneath they are 3rd generation hybrids compared to 4th generation in the Corolla, but are very reliable.

[Taeb]

What is everyones opinion on a 1.8 Petrol Insignia in Elite trim? I know the MPG wont be amazing but at least it has good room, comfort and gadgets compared to my 1.8 Focus that is a base model with only AC, plus I can get the Insignia for 4-5k.

I would get the 2.0 Diesel if it wasn't for the oil pickup seal issue and the fact I do only a 30 mile round trip daily with a mixture of urban/a-roads.

[georgeyboy12345]

Avoid the 1.4T Vauxhalls they have reliability issues, go for the 1.8.

Not sure 8 grand will bag you a good 1.4 TSI Octavia estate either.

Japanese cars will be most reliable, here are a couple

Honda Civic Tourer 1.8 i-VTEC
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312144...


Mazda 6 Tourer 2.0 Skyactiv-G
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306028...

[valiant]

Engine is a bit wheezy. Quite a bit of weight to lug around and you end up flooring it everywhere just to make progress which knackers your mpg. Reliable enough though.

2.0t is obviously a much more suited engine and the fuel penalty isn’t that much but there’s fewer of them compared to the 1.8.

Insignia is a decent all round family car and as long as you can live with the rather weak performance they’re fine cars.

[georgeyboy12345]

Whataguy said:

Taeb said:

I really would like a Corolla Estate with the petrol/hybrid but they start at around £11k.

Have you considered the late model Auris estate hybrids? They improved them over the years up until the Corolla came out.

Underneath they are 3rd generation hybrids compared to 4th generation in the Corolla, but are very reliable.

Pretty sure 11k will be bottom of the market for these. There must be lots of ex-taxi/private hire/ubers of these knocking about, I wouldn't want one of those!

Were the Auris not prone to cat theft?

[Taeb]

So the 1.8 Insignia is out kind of.. what if I up the budget and look at the new shape Insignia with the 1.5 engine?

But once we up it even more we're getting in to Corolla Estate Hybrid territory, bearing in mind I plan to keep this car 5 years+

[ZX10R NIN]

Taeb said:

Hello all, currently own a 2008 Focus that I have had 5 years, it's been reliable but I fancy something new for the near future especially when I have a child.

I have thought of so many cars, Avensis Estate, Insignia 1.4T or 1.8, Mondeo 1.5T, Octavia Estate 1.4TSI

My list of needs are as follows

Safety
Petrol (do only around 9-10k miles PA)
No known issues so reliability is a must, not a badge snob.
Cruise control or adaptive cruise.
Parking sensors or camera.

I know Lexus are super reliable but not keen on their repair costs/servicing and tax bands.

Your usage is the key issue into deciding if petrol or diesel will work for you, if you only do short journeys then petrol is the pick if you do medium journeys once every two weeks then a diesel can work.

So look at your usage to see what works for you.

I'd normally say get a Mondeo but they're not the best value at this price point.

If you're planning on having a little one I'd go for a reps car they're spacious and reliable with sensible maintenance costs.

1.5T Insignia SRI VX Line Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309011...

If you don't mind a CAT N (do your checks) then you'll get a low mileage car for your budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403127...

Or for a fair bit less than your max budget you'll get a very nice low mileage previous gen 2.0T Insignia Elite Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401075...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402056...

1.6T DS5, great cars but some find the ride a bit hard so test drive one first but they're another spacious car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311033...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306058...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305297...

Mazda6 Sport Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309041...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401245...

2.0T Infiniti Q50 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308070...

If a diesel can work for you then take a look at these:

Mondeo Titanium:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403137...

Q50 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403097...

2.0d Insignia SRI VX Line Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401175...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401085...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303014...

DS5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403117...

All the above can be maintained by a good Indy for sensible money (the Infiniti's will be the most expensive as they have Mercedes drivetrains) all are reliable so you just need to see what works for you.

[Taeb]

Coming back to this thread and REALLY considering a 2.0cdti Insignia but worried about my use, I currently do 30 miles round trip daily which is mostly urban/a-roads, and once or twice a month I do a couple of 150 mile round trips, then there's the oil pickup seal, does anyone know where I can get that done and how long that would last? or should I just deal with bad mpg/slightly slower car and get the 1.8 petrol to avoid these issues plus DMF/DPF issues.

[ZX10R NIN]

Taeb said:

Coming back to this thread and REALLY considering a 2.0cdti Insignia but worried about my use, I currently do 30 miles round trip daily which is mostly urban/a-roads, and once or twice a month I do a couple of 150 mile round trips, then there's the oil pickup seal, does anyone know where I can get that done and how long that would last? or should I just deal with bad mpg/slightly slower car and get the 1.8 petrol to avoid these issues plus DMF/DPF issues.

Go with the 1.5T I linked to, or go for the older gen with the 2.0t which will give you the go you want & still be decent on fuel:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403187...

[mrpbailey]

Taeb said:

Coming back to this thread and REALLY considering a 2.0cdti Insignia but worried about my use, I currently do 30 miles round trip daily which is mostly urban/a-roads, and once or twice a month I do a couple of 150 mile round trips, then there's the oil pickup seal, does anyone know where I can get that done and how long that would last? or should I just deal with bad mpg/slightly slower car and get the 1.8 petrol to avoid these issues plus DMF/DPF issues.

MB Motors in Keighley do the pickup seal for approx £200 (inc. oil & filter).

[7 5 7]

1.8 petrol Insignia, yes it needs it neck ringing to get any performance out of it, but it's a far more reliable, simpler engine than the 2.0cdti and economy is not as bad as the many say once cruising, the diesels can have quite a few problems with the normal diesel bits and bobs, so pick wisely...Flywheels/clutch are very expensive due to where they are on the car, injectors are a pain also my mechanic constantly tells me when one arrives in the bay.

I run the same engine in the older Vectra as a high miler, been quite happy with it for past 2 years.

Edited by 7 5 7 on Saturday 23 March 20:13

[Ilovejapcrap]

Mazda 6

[Taeb]

What's everyones opinion on the Lexus IS300H 2014 onwards model?

Seems stylish, reliable (I think), pretty spacious, fast enough and amazing MPG, I am guessing the battery could be really expensive if it has issues or needs a replacement?