Reliable SUV/estate under £5000?

[JamesBro]

Hi there.

I come here in desperation. Mainly because I’m being very indecisive.

Just to keep it brief – I have a Skoda Octavia 2011 1.8 TSi estate which I bought for over £5,000 last year and it has some potentially catastrophic oil problems which will surely kill the engine one way or another. Basically, it was a bad buy (and an unlucky one!) and I’m going to lose money on it.

So I want to replace it and spend a little money today, but I’m not flush with spare cash at the moment.

I’m looking, therefore, for a new car – preferably on the bigger side, an SUV or an estate, to do commuting (65 mile round trip) and school runs. I really don’t want to be looking at more than £5,000. I think I can get about £2,000 for the Skoda (it has a few dents, annoyingly, so WeBuyAnyCar only quoting £1,900 ish).

Fundamentally I’m looking for reliability. I was going to try and get a second car – a cheap Focus 09 – to do the commuting and keep the Skoda doing the school runs, but I just want to get rid of it now. It’s too much of a stress. I tried some Focus’s but they all had problems with the pre-sale checks I did at the local garage. So I’m putting all my eggs in a new car basket instead.

I really want to do due diligence and give myself the best prospect of something being reliable – so no models like the Octavia with known oil problems, for example.

Could someone please help, as I’m at a loss to be honest? What’s the best, most reliable larger car I can look into for under £5,000? Am I being wildly optimistic? I don’t really care too much about style – I just want something comfortable, safe, cheap to run and reliable.

Thanks!

[anonymous-user]

Mazda CX-7 2.2d

[MrGTI6]

An Avensis, Accord or CR-V would be boring but perfect for the job. If you want something reliable, avoid most modern VAG stuff.

[Summit_Detailing]

Mondeo, Insignia, Mazda 6, Accord or Avensis - all in petrol flavour.

All much of a muchness in terms of reliability, although replacement parts for the Japanese cars tend to be a little pricier than the European contingent.

At this price point buy on service history and condition.

Happy shopping!

Cheers,

Chris

[ZX10R NIN]

2.0T Insignia SRi

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104141...

Haggle hard & you can get a 1.4T on budget but in the real world it won't be that much better than the 2.0T above:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105152...

2.0d Elite Nav make sure you flush the oil on the first service & (TBH i'd suggest doing this on all older cars as a preventative measure) every other service thereafter to make sure the pick up pipe stays clear:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105102...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105012...

SRI Nav 140

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105092...

508SW Allure pretty much bulletproof well proven drivtrain:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105182...

[stevemcs]

I'm not sure i would touch a 2.2 Mazda diesel at that price, in addition to the Insignias i'd be looking towards a 2.0 Mondeo, however at the end of the market your looking at you may have to accept things are going to go wrong.

[QuickQuack]

I'd heartily recommend Volvo V60, V70, XC70 and XC90. I've had an XC70 and an XC90 (which used to be my wife's before me) as well as other Volvos previously. The seats of the XC70 and the XC90 are superbly comfortable and the interiors, particularly of the XC90, are cavernous. I took the XC70 to 220k miles without any issues and killed it by accidentally embedding a towbar into it at 6 mph. The XC90 I finally got a bit bored with at about 150k miles. Neither has any faults other than blown light bulbs in both cars, and a couple of coil springs and wheel bearings in the XC70 after a bit of a hard life in the countryside.

There are plenty of all of the above models below £5k on Autotrader.

[JamesBro]

Thanks all - plenty to go at here.

Am I being OTT trying to avoid a diesel? I had a Gofl TDi before and had some pretty big problems with the DPF in the final few years and it killed the engine. Have been only really looking at petrol.

Looking now - the Vauxhall and Volvos are new to me for my search. Thanks.

[stevemcs]

I wouldn't actively avoid diesel unless in a low emission zone, DPF's do work but they rely on the correct oil a run once a month, regular oil changes, so no more than 12 months or 10k whichever comes first and as soon as the engine management light comes on get it looked at straight away. I would also avoid supermarket fuel.

[Jamescrs]

I'd probably look at a Vauxhall Insignia estate at your budget, we have a number of them on fleet at work with no issues other than routine maintenance.

I wouldn't go for a Volvo personally, I had a V60 on a 61 plate which was full of electrical gremlins, including door locks failing on almost every door at £300 plus per time, when you need Volvo parts they aren't cheap at all.

[DeanoC89]

Lexus RX300/350/400h?

All the toys including sunroof, heated leather, premium sound system, power boot etc. Being a Lexus it'll rarely go wrong, too.

[JamesBro]

Those Lexus's look fun! But the tax seems pretty high (think I saw £600?!) and the MPG pretty low I guess?

[DeanoC89]

JamesBro said:

Those Lexus's look fun! But the tax seems pretty high (think I saw £600?!) and the MPG pretty low I guess?

I've got an RX400h and it seems to do 30 mpg regardless of where and how I drive ie town/mway etc. Tax is £295 yr due to emissions being a bit lower as its a hybrid.

Don't be too concerned about the batteries either, pop it to any Lexus dealer, hand over £49 and they run a hybrid health check and if it passes they warrant it for 12 months.

[georgeyboy12345]

I wouldn't go looking at a Ford if you want a safe buy with no reliability problems

Fords have had lots of problems with their coolant and catching fire, etc. Especially with their ecoboost engines.

[JamesBro]

Thanks Deano - looks really tempting, the Lexus. But I feel it's unlikely that I'd be able to find a good enough version for under £5k. Are they all automatic too?

Also thanks Georgey - happy to ignore Fords! Looking primarily at Avensis's.

[MC Bodge]

georgeyboy12345 said:

I wouldn't go looking at a Ford if you want a safe buy with no reliability problems

Fords have had lots of problems with their coolant and catching fire, etc. Especially with their ecoboost engines.

?

[DeanoC89]

JamesBro said:

Thanks Deano - looks really tempting, the Lexus. But I feel it's unlikely that I'd be able to find a good enough version for under £5k. Are they all automatic too?

Also thanks Georgey - happy to ignore Fords! Looking primarily at Avensis's.

Yes they're all automatics (CVT'S). I'm biased but they are bulletproof, spacious, cheap to run and surprisingly potent, doing the 0-60 dash in about 7 seconds. Mine is a 2009 Executive Model and it even has DVD players built into the headrests. Bought her with 115k on and I paid 5.5k from a dealer. Plenty kicking about for 5k on the Facebook page/forums. If looked after and serviced annualy, these can do 200k no problem. All I'd say is some of the earlier ones can rot the on the sills so look out for that, but thats pretty much it.

[ZX10R NIN]

MC Bodge said:

georgeyboy12345 said:

I wouldn't go looking at a Ford if you want a safe buy with no reliability problems

Fords have had lots of problems with their coolant and catching fire, etc. Especially with their ecoboost engines.

?

What are you going on about?

[RoVoFob]

JamesBro said:

Hi there.

I come here in desperation. Mainly because I’m being very indecisive.

Just to keep it brief – I have a Skoda Octavia 2011 1.8 TSi estate which I bought for over £5,000 last year and it has some potentially catastrophic oil problems which will surely kill the engine one way or another. Basically, it was a bad buy (and an unlucky one!) and I’m going to lose money on it.

So I want to replace it and spend a little money today, but I’m not flush with spare cash at the moment.

I’m looking, therefore, for a new car – preferably on the bigger side, an SUV or an estate, to do commuting (65 mile round trip) and school runs. I really don’t want to be looking at more than £5,000. I think I can get about £2,000 for the Skoda (it has a few dents, annoyingly, so WeBuyAnyCar only quoting £1,900 ish).

Fundamentally I’m looking for reliability. I was going to try and get a second car – a cheap Focus 09 – to do the commuting and keep the Skoda doing the school runs, but I just want to get rid of it now. It’s too much of a stress. I tried some Focus’s but they all had problems with the pre-sale checks I did at the local garage. So I’m putting all my eggs in a new car basket instead.

I really want to do due diligence and give myself the best prospect of something being reliable – so no models like the Octavia with known oil problems, for example.

Could someone please help, as I’m at a loss to be honest? What’s the best, most reliable larger car I can look into for under £5,000? Am I being wildly optimistic? I don’t really care too much about style – I just want something comfortable, safe, cheap to run and reliable.

Thanks!

Hi James,

Sorry to hear your predicament.

I’m surprised to hear claims about Fords bursting into flames. I’ve always found that Fords are cheap to buy and cheap to fix when things go wrong, as parts are so easy to come by. So, yes, they might not be the most reliable, but they’re normally still pretty good value overall to purchase and run.

Not sure if it’s of any interest to you, but I’ve just advertised this, which is well under your budget and might fit the bill:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105212...