Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 18:52
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - lucklesspedestrian

Hi

My daughter's partner is looking for a vehicle to serve as a second car and also to use in his business which involves boxes, deliveries etc but not huge amounts (bit more than a focus/golf size hatch with the back seats down but no need for a transit).

We know mpg won't be great but it's not going to be doing massive mileages. There's no kids in the picture and the requirements seem to be:

Must be petrol (no diesel), ideally able for him alone to head to the hills on the odd occassion and kip in the back, maybe seats that fold flat? Budget no more than £3K

Obviously anything at that price point is a gamble but at least the insistence on petrol is a sensible start. Will be manual too!

My thoughts are for an unfashionable petrol estate car or MPV, Mondeo estate, Zafira etc. I've read this forum long enough to know that at that kind of price point it's more about getting the best looked after vehicle around once the basic requirements are met rather than going for a specific target.

I had thought that the more common 'domestic' vehicles such as Ford/Vauxhall etc might be best as when something inevitably goes wrong (e.g. clutch or suspension) they would probably be cheaper to fix although Honda/Toyota and the Koreans might be ultimately more reliable?

Obviously there's not a right/wrong answer here but any feedback on my thought processes and suggestions as to possible vehicles would be very appeciated as always.

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 19:02
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - badbusdriver

Obviously there's not a right/wrong answer here but any feedback on my thought processes and suggestions as to possible vehicles would be very appeciated as always.

Not really, I mean petrol engine and manual gearbox along with looking for a well looked after car pretty much covers it. The rest is down to what is available in your area.

One point on the Koreans though, SLO often says that older ones, such as what you may be looking at for £3k, are not that well protected against rust, so have a good look underneath. But, TBH, I'd be doing that with any £3k purchase.

Focus hatch or estate with 1.6/1.8/2.0 petrol would be a good starting point, along with the C-Max. Maybe also the Fusion, which is a taller boxier Fiesta with a usefully bigger load area.

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 19:08
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - lucklesspedestrian

Obviously there's not a right/wrong answer here but any feedback on my thought processes and suggestions as to possible vehicles would be very appeciated as always.

Not really, I mean petrol engine and manual gearbox along with looking for a well looked after car pretty much covers it. The rest is down to what is available in your area.

One point on the Koreans though, SLO often says that older ones, such as what you may be looking at for £3k, are not that well protected against rust, so have a good look underneath. But, TBH, I'd be doing that with any £3k purchase.

Focus hatch or estate with 1.6/1.8/2.0 petrol would be a good starting point, along with the C-Max. Maybe also the Fusion, which is a taller boxier Fiesta with a usefully bigger load area.

Probably have to skip the Fusion due to the (very) occassional dossing down in it requirement, he's quite tall.

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 19:09
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - _

Go to Autotrader on this link.

choose, mpv/estates/manual/petrol382 car available. put in your own postcode and buy as close as you can, if from a dealer, in case of problems.... Quite a few zafiras. some of our local delivery drivers doing this in 3 different cars, 1 a C-max the other a Zafira, another a ratty looking mondeo estate.

Again, buy as local as you can, as at that price there won't be much warranty anyway.

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 19:27
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - badbusdriver

Probably have to skip the Fusion due to the (very) occassional dossing down in it requirement, he's quite tall.

Not necessarily. I can't remember if the 'level' matches (we used to have one), but the front passenger seat folds down in the Fusion. So potentially more length than a hatch or estate who's front seat doesn't fold down.

Edited by badbusdriver on 10/04/2021 at 19:28

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 19:30
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - lucklesspedestrian

Probably have to skip the Fusion due to the (very) occassional dossing down in it requirement, he's quite tall.

Not necessarily. I can't remember if the 'level' matches (we used to have one), but the front passenger seat folds down in the Fusion. So potentially more length than a hatch or estate who's front seat doesn't fold down.

That's useful, cheers BBD!

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Sat 10 Apr 2021 22:00
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - Heidfirst

2006-2008 facelifted 2nd generation (T25) Avensis 1.8 estate

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Sun 11 Apr 2021 12:12
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - Alby Back
When I first started my business, I needed a car that could carry a lot of kit and that I could sleep in the back of overnight if my journey required. No such luxuries as hotels for me back then ! Just used to find a public swimming pool to shower at in the mornings.

I bought a Mondeo estate that did me very well. Just a small thing, but one of the most useful things about that particular car was the sunroof, I could leave it open on tilt while asleep in the back of the car without the car steaming up, or the security risk of a partly open window.
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Sun 11 Apr 2021 13:04
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - badbusdriver
When I first started my business, I needed a car that could carry a lot of kit and that I could sleep in the back of overnight if my journey required. No such luxuries as hotels for me back then ! Just used to find a public swimming pool to shower at in the mornings. I bought a Mondeo estate that did me very well. Just a small thing, but one of the most useful things about that particular car was the sunroof, I could leave it open on tilt while asleep in the back of the car without the car steaming up, or the security risk of a partly open window.

Thinking about it, the difference in running costs between a Mondeo 2.0 petrol estate and a Focus 1.6/1.8/2.0 are going to be marginal at best. So for the extra space and comfort for sleeping, probably be worth going for something like that, or the Avensis mentioned earlier, rather than something smaller.

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Sun 11 Apr 2021 17:28
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - pd

If you're thinking about the Mondeo then also look at the S-Max and Galaxy which are the same car but even more practical. The Galaxy in particular. Only downside is they hold their price better so will be older / higher mileage at the same price point.

What about the car/van cross overs like a Berlingo?

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Sun 11 Apr 2021 21:26
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - S40 Man

If you're looking for a Mondeo, which I highly recommend by the way, the majority will be diesel. Mine was pretty reliable and cheap enough to fix it ought did go wrong.

I used to have a blow up mattress on mine and have a kip most afternoons before my late shift started. Very comfy.

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Sun 11 Apr 2021 21:45
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - Xileno

In my Uni days I used to go down to Dorset quite a bit and also took a blow up mattress (not a mistress...) in the back of a Volvo 700 estate. Surprisingly comfortable way to relax and saved a lot of money on proper accommodation. I had a small awning that could go at the back of the car as living space. Not so good in bad weather but I only went if the forecast was good so rarely a problem.

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Sun 11 Apr 2021 22:02
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - lucklesspedestrian

The biggest problem which I'm sure other posters on here have encountered is that when you are researching cars for a friend/colleague/family member etc they tend to give you a remit/spec then go off and do something totally different....frustrating!

if it was me, well if it was me I'd stay in a hotel/B&B, but if it WAS me then the Mondeo/Avensis suggestions would win every time. Had a Mondeo mk 4 Hatch which was a great car and if I was as they say, 'down on me uppers' then the facelift Mk2 Avensis 1.8 would be right up there as the budget 'do anything' car (flat load space too!)

The Berlingo seems to have (rightly) attracted a following so not much out there sub 3K. The Volvo is a good call, but might be effectively a write off if something goes wrong?

I will post back once he has actually purchased something and let you know, out of interest, what he ends up with. Thanks for all the input

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Sun 11 Apr 2021 22:05
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - Xileno

Volvo 700s probably all scrapped now but you might find a 900 which is more or less the same car. Still see a few around although usually quite scruffy.

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Mon 12 Apr 2021 16:43
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - badbusdriver

Volvo 700s probably all scrapped now but you might find a 900 which is more or less the same car. Still see a few around although usually quite scruffy.

Any worth saving (and some that aren't) will be snapped up for 'drift cars', my nephew is currently looking for one!

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Thu 22 Apr 2021 12:46
Unsure - Slightly unusual vehicle hunt - lucklesspedestrian

Update!

Ended up buying a 2009 Kia Ceed SW with the 1.6 petrol engine (chain cam which is handy). Apparently surprisingly spacious inside, only 66K on the clock, good service history, unspectacular MOT history, high spec and bought locally/privately from a friend of our neighbours. Also got it for just over half his maximum budget so happy all round!

Thanks again for all the advice.

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