Need A Workhorse
 

Morning All

Hopefully going to be starting a new job soon and going to involve a bit more travelling. Chances are i am not going to get a van or car so i am looking for a reliable workhorse that will munch the miles with no complaints.

Dont want to spend much more than a grand max as its just going to get driven into the ground.

Been looking at Volvo 850 Estates as it seems you can pick them up for less than a grand now :D and they are comfy and go on and on as far as i know.
Anyone had any experience with the 850 estates?. Or any other suggestions, not bothered if its manual or auto as its going to be mainly motorway driving anyway.

No crazy suggestions like the T5 or anything performance related, just a good motorway mile muncher.

Passat, estate or saloon, diesel of course, or a diesel Golf if its big enough.

did have a think about them too, but struggling to find a decent ish one at the same price. seems the 850's are much less and still in very good condition too.
will keep searching, first thought was a passat or mondeo too and i certainly like passats.

Volvo spares very expensive and not always readily available.

are parts not available from somewhere like GSF?

any diesel german car

We've got one of these to sell
Diesel
Citroen Xantia 2.0 HDi
Only 1 former keeper
2000 (W Reg.) Electric Windows, Air Conditioning.
185k on the clock but my mechanic describes the engine as “Sweet as a nut”! Body work is in very good condition. The car will be valeted for the new owner.
Only £995 with MOT or £850 to drive away as is, but I've just realised where you are and we're just outside Durham so may not be practical.

I reckon I'd be looking towards a Passat as well. Should be able to pickup a late 90's one for under a grand - TDI would be prefered obviously.

Volvo is interesting tho. Bloke at work has an old S-reg V70 2.4/5? 5 cylinder petrol and he gets surprisingly good MPG from it (35 overall and 40+ on a run) and its got no rust on it.

looked at a couple of these as i am after a work horse to mate, found them dated as you like inside and not that nice to drive all imo of course. been looking at a omega estate just as big as the volvo if not bigger, just trying to find one local to me at the right money is proving a pain in the ass plenty if i want to drive a 6hr round trip.

been having a look around at passats and volvos online and like you say trying to find a good one nearby is a pain in the arse.

passat would be good, but i am struggling to find one at the minute.

I have had x5 Volvo's, x4 of which were 850's, x3 of which were T5's, x2 of which were chip tuned, x1 of which was a T5 estate. They are pretty straight forward to keep, I wouldn't say parts are expensive - most issues are curable and they can do monster miles. There are plenty of cheap usable cars so choose the best spec car out there with climate and cruise!

vpcuk.org and .volvoclub.org.uk are good sources of club owned cars. Avoid the council tat 10 owner cars the 1 owner FVSH stuff is still out there! Any questions, just ask.

thanks Andy will have a look on there and see if i can find a bargain.