7 seater or large SUV ? under £3000 ish

7 seater or large SUV ? under £3000 ish

Author
Discussion

Bill940

Original Poster:

15 posts

7 months

Sunday 7th April
quotequote all
Looking for a used 7 seater for under £3k. its a 2nd car, and the 2nd rear row of seats will very rarely if at all BUT allows a big , HIGH boot for my 3 alsations ( Yes 3.. one is small though )

We had an old discovery which was ok but engine died. As per a couple of other posts on this forum we too looked at estates but they are surprisingly low in terms of boot height.

We would consider a 4x4 as per the discovery. I am guessing we will do about 6,000 miles a year will be mainly driving locally and maybe within an hour of home.

We have already been to a few garages and seen a few SUV/MPV's but we've no idea whats going to cost us an arm and a leg to keep going

I know diesel engine can be a bit funny for short journeys but if we could find one without a DPF then I would consider that also as we are likely to give it a blast every week or so.


We have thought about the following

VW Sharan ( petrol or early 1.9 / 2.0 tdi )
VW Touran ( petrol or early 1.9 / 2.0 tdi )
Mazda5 ( Petrol )
Ford S-Max ( Petrol )
..Maybe Vauxhall Zafira ( petrol or diesel )

Sorry if this repeats some of the questions asked before but the other posts seemed a bit different

cheers











PositronicRay

27,508 posts

190 months

Sunday 7th April
quotequote all
A few yrs ago a pal went from a sharan to a disco. The sharan was better in every way.

soad

33,441 posts

183 months

Sunday 7th April
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Mercedes ML? Some are rusty though.

ChocolateFrog

28,539 posts

180 months

Sunday 7th April
quotequote all
That's a very small budget these days. Buying on condition is going to be key.

An XC90 might be worth adding to the list.

Peanut130

179 posts

88 months

Sunday 7th April
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fiat 500l 7 seater cheap to run £30 tax

Mad Maximus

473 posts

10 months

Sunday 7th April
quotequote all
Xc90 prefaclift.

Check the gearbox, check the prop doesn’t spin by hand, check the engine bay for leaks and check the cambelt date. They’ll have some miles but don’t let that put you off.

No dpf to worry about, they clean up nice and are very comfy.

We love our 2005.

dandam

228 posts

159 months

Sunday 7th April
quotequote all
I've had a xc90 and a discovery, replaced them with a s-max, and now a galaxy.

Found the s-max and galaxy to be great cars, far cheaper to run than either the LR or the Volvo, very reliable and really big once you drop the seats. Entry height is far lower too.

Id consider a Sharan or Alhambra too, similar size.

Mad Maximus

473 posts

10 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
dandam said:
I've had a xc90 and a discovery, replaced them with a s-max, and now a galaxy.

Found the s-max and galaxy to be great cars, far cheaper to run than either the LR or the Volvo, very reliable and really big once you drop the seats. Entry height is far lower too.

Id consider a Sharan or Alhambra too, similar size.
Opposite for me. We had a mk2 galaxy (same as s max) and it was a mare. Volvos been tip top touch wood.

RedAndy

1,262 posts

161 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
older volvo xc90, or maybe one of those Chrysler voyager things (also available in kia flavour) but not an auto


Bill940

Original Poster:

15 posts

7 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
Mad Maximus said:
Xc90 prefaclift.

Check the gearbox, check the prop doesn’t spin by hand, check the engine bay for leaks and check the cambelt date. They’ll have some miles but don’t let that put you off.

No dpf to worry about, they clean up nice and are very comfy.

We love our 2005.
I did think of the XC90 but honestly I am no mechanic so I wouldnt have a clue with what you want me to check ..It would like a needle in a haystack for me

Bill940

Original Poster:

15 posts

7 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
dandam said:
I've had a xc90 and a discovery, replaced them with a s-max, and now a galaxy.

Found the s-max and galaxy to be great cars, far cheaper to run than either the LR or the Volvo, very reliable and really big once you drop the seats. Entry height is far lower too.

Id consider a Sharan or Alhambra too, similar size.
What would say about the s-max vs the galaxy ?

Bill940

Original Poster:

15 posts

7 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
RedAndy said:
older volvo xc90, or maybe one of those Chrysler voyager things (also available in kia flavour) but not an auto
Auto or manual XC90 ?

66HFM

491 posts

32 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
We previously had an 05 XC90, which was a good solid car although the infotainment system went wrong, which cost £1300 to fix, as also controlled a whole load of other items, so needed to be done. Just make sure its the nigh on indestructible 2.4 D5 engine, which most were and auto. Check for cambelt replacement (108k / 10years) and gearbox service, as they are NOT sealed for life...

Replaced it with a Disco 3, which was a moneypit! D3 replaced by a Disco 4, which was chalk and cheese, a much better car than the D3, although they cost £1k for anyone to lift the bonnet...
We also had a Volvo V70, with pop up rear facing seats, the most comfortable car I've ever owned and definitely an option.

Good luck!

Bill940

Original Poster:

15 posts

7 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
66HFM said:
We previously had an 05 XC90, which was a good solid car although the infotainment system went wrong, which cost £1300 to fix, as also controlled a whole load of other items, so needed to be done. Just make sure its the nigh on indestructible 2.4 D5 engine, which most were and auto. Check for cambelt replacement (108k / 10years) and gearbox service, as they are NOT sealed for life...

Replaced it with a Disco 3, which was a moneypit! D3 replaced by a Disco 4, which was chalk and cheese, a much better car than the D3, although they cost £1k for anyone to lift the bonnet...
We also had a Volvo V70, with pop up rear facing seats, the most comfortable car I've ever owned and definitely an option.

Good luck!
Thanks.. I would have a V70 but my wife hates them so thats a no no

Bill940

Original Poster:

15 posts

7 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all


I really like the look of the orlando until I went on the forum and all the UK owners were scathing about parts

e.g.

...I live in England and parts are a night mare I have a 2.0 diesel ltz and it's took a month to source a clutch

....we dont have the 2l diesel here, saddly. and parts here are impossible to find, or really expensive

...same here in England mate been in garage over a month were you from mate

Mad Maximus

473 posts

10 months

Monday 8th April
quotequote all
Bill940 said:
Mad Maximus said:
Xc90 prefaclift.

Check the gearbox, check the prop doesn’t spin by hand, check the engine bay for leaks and check the cambelt date. They’ll have some miles but don’t let that put you off.

No dpf to worry about, they clean up nice and are very comfy.

We love our 2005.
I did think of the XC90 but honestly I am no mechanic so I wouldnt have a clue with what you want me to check ..It would like a needle in a haystack for me
It’s mostly simple stuff but honestly at this end of the market for a big car you either have to

get stuck in and learn a little bit
have deep monthly pockets to keep on top of it
or be lucky and whatever you get will be reliable.

You’re more capable than you think. You just need a little bit of time, research and YouTube.