Best Value New or Nearly New car - Estate
 

Mitsubishi Lancer?

Not the greatest looker, but a lot of car for ot a lot of cash. Even a brand new 2.0 litre sport is only £12k.

Downside are 9k service intervals.

Depends on the criteria Dave, but I wouldn't say a Mitsubishi is particularly good value. I would have thought something along the lines of a Skoda Octavia vRS TDI 170hp would be up there?

Skoda Octavia Vrs 170 Tdi (from The Northern Echo)

49ppp

Not interested in perfomance, I've other cars for that.

Was just thinking of a spacious family car.

Needs to be aslo be cheap and economical.

2006 Citroen Xsara Picasso 1.6 Manual, 4,500 miles, Red. 3x3 point rear seat belts, ABS, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Audio remote control, Body coloured bumpers. £6,500. ono

2006 06 Reg MITSUBISHI Lancer 1.6 Equippe 8,540 miles, Metallic Blue, 1 Owner. Electric mirrors, Radio/CD, Metallic paintwork, ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Central locking, £6,995.

My personal favorite:
2006 FORD C-Max 1.6 Style 56 reg. 5418 Miles, air con, elec door mirrors, front elec windows, radio/CD. £9,285

Hi Dave,

The chap I sit next to at work has a 55 plate Lancer estate (Equipe) and it's a great car. He can't fault it. They're very reliable, it regularly does 40mpg and I'm sure his service intervals aren't 9k. Either way, he's chuffed with it.

Matt

Vauxhall Astra cdti 150 estate!....DTUK green box= 195bhp/300lbs/ft:D
Dave

OK - I'm liking the look of the Vauxhall Signum, about 3 years old.

I need space, comfort, reliability, economy, long service intervas, a few toys, alloy wheels.


Budget 8-10k.

Signum is a great idea as long as you're not worried about "image"

The tragic resale value of Poxhalls also means the better handling Astra (latest shape) can be picked up nearly new for about a quid - a lot of car for the money and very well made (at last!).

Space - Three surfboards, horse kit (saddle, etc), a dog and me and the wife up front easily. It's huge with the seats down.
Comfort - Three hours driving without a trace of backache. Super comfortable.
Reliability - two years and 34k miles later I've had two tiny niggles, all sorted.
Economy - 45mpg on most runs. Very cheap to insure and tax (Euro 4 compliant)
Service intervals - 20k or a year.
Toys - auto lights, auto wipers, aircon, six speed, decent sounding stereo (bit fiddly though), half leather sports seats with lumbar adjust, 17" alloys with 225/45 tyres and big brakes (310mm), lowered, blacked out windows from passengers back, decent trip computer, ESP, ABD etc, etc.

£8-10k will get you a very decent one privately.

I always reckon the Astra costs a bit more than the Vectra/Signum etc.

Not concerened about image, I just want a nice comfortable family car.

Signum a good bet then - Just quite a heavy car so will burn more fuel.
1.9CDTi 150 or 3.0 diesel both decent.
There are millions of Astras on the market now - If I was looking for one I be a super aggressive haggler.
Mine's probably worth about £10k max now - Two years old, 34k miles.
Reckon you could find some bargains.

Hired a 1.9CDTi 150 Elite Veccy Estate - Now that was a damn good mile muncher and very comfy too with a wardrobe swallowing boot.
Not so keen on Veccy handling but it's better than many.

I'd look at Signums - Not many cars depreciate more so a nearly new one can be picked up for a total bargain.

For less than £8k, you can pick up on of the last Omegas (these are german btw). more comfy and spacious than a very comfy and spacious thing :D You could get an Elite that have as many gadgets as you can throw at a car. RWD too and quite refined.

Got one of those, most pleased with it. Fuel wise I get about 10ppm or less if fuel goes a bit cheaper and I don't rush. And the boot is cavernous, I got a full single divan bed in it, with room to spare.

I have had a few estates and my best to date has been the s70 volvo.. couldnt fault it.. did decent mpg..space for everything. etc etc