Recommendation for large estate car or similar

[Lacquer Peel]

One way to avoid a fail is to buy a car that's already broken.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Not a hearse, repeat not a hearse

 

very spacious ambulance, accommodating either two Washington stretchers or two coffins side by side

 

So a hearse then...

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Private-Ambulance-Not-Hearse-or-Limousine-/122510730799?hash=item1c8635662f:g:PBUAAOSwKytZI0Ll

 

Ford BA Falcon/Fairlane, Ex Australia? Very odd in the UK

 

(Sorry for being off topic)

[tommytwo]

Be careful if you end up with a Citroen C5 and the battery goes flat.  Do not try and start it using a booster pack as it can fry the electronics due to a voltage spike. This happened to a friend.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Id be all over that Fairlane, although removing the hearse floor might be a good idea before Mrs sees it. From memory Coleman Milne imported loads to chop up , but offered standard estates to funeral directors for collection cars.

I tend to look either a bit above or a lot below your budget and although last summersAudi 100 Avant holiday wheels was great , I didn't even consider a modern A6 for a work car and bought a2011 V70 , which I love.

If you're bored of Volvos I'd second Longblackcoat and recommend a late W211 Merc.

[Jim Bell]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122508376754

 

 

 

 

Youre welcome.

[Rovorsche]

One way to avoid a fail is to buy a car that's already broken.

Isn't that called a project ?

 

Here is a project that meets the "Large" criteria quite well.

Currently on  £595 leaving enough money to get the LPG witchcraft removed for re-sale.

 

[puddlethumper]

Isn't that called a project ?

 

Here is a project that meets the "Large" criteria quite well.

Currently on  £595 leaving enough money to get the LPG witchcraft removed for re-sale.

 

Has wood !  Well, plastic trying to be, probably. Shite points I suppose.

[Rovorsche]

For £95 over your budget its hard to argue against a two door, V8, finest golden beige HOVERCAR!

 

Lincoln Land-Yacht

 

We have a Shogun Sport 3.0 bought a year old in 2006, in ten years it has needed the usual servicing and one exhaust manifold.   The chassis rails have been repainted as they were looking crusty.

Cannot fault the Mitsi otherwise, its a bit retro in places, the wipers are slow but its a safety feature, you slow down when its raining, so you can see!

[Lacquer Peel]

Is the V6 tail happy? Even the diesel Challenger is

 

 

Great for plowing snow.

[dieselnutjob]

I have three teenage kids so I bought this

[Rovorsche]

In the wet, if you are pressing on in the manner of a commited helmsman, it will exhibit a bit of tread shuffle, succumb to the laws of physics that require a moment of clarity and a dab of oppo to get it back in line.

 

Minty.

 

 

 

The doors do seem to be a magnet for supermarket spackers though and have picked up many dents from the incurably clumsy but it still looks great with a good coat of wax.

The alloys could do with refinishing but I cant seem to get the "20 quid a wheel" that Mike Brewer seemed to find every episode.

[dieselnutjob]

before the Jag I had one of these for years

It had more room in the back and a bigger boot, but half the power.

[Junkman]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Granada-Mk2-2-0-LX-Estate-/282490337978

[sierraman]

Reliability is a tricky one. Frankly, I think any car can bite you on the arse occasionally, which is why I buy cheap. That way, I'm not disappointed if there's a FAIL.

Up to a point, it's a tricky one, you might drop on a good car for £4-500 but most stuff at that money is a pile of dogger. I'd say a grand more likely gets you something that's a much larger chance of seeing a few years out.

[garethj]

Agreed with Sierraman, I've found that buying a really good example of something that isn't "premium" helps, if there's a load of old dross for £800 then upping the budget by £500 gets you the best one in the country.  Of something pretty shit.

 

Cheers for the suggestions, usually stuff I hadn't thought about.

 

I had one of those Granadas 30 years ago, it was the saloon and in champagne beige metallic.  It was fast compared to my 1300 Beetle but not compared to much else, and while it had loads of room the lack of aircon would make a family trip to France a bit unpleasant, and continually chasing rust would eat into my weekends which are a bit thin already.

 

I hadn't thought of the Pug, is that a 607?  Knowing the depreciation of large French cars I could probably pick up a 2015 model for my budget, but are they generally reliable?  Frequent trips to the dealers make my skin go clammy and the local mechanic probably won't want to touch it.

 

A Citroen C5 is probably similar but more so?

 

An old Jaguar would be lovely, and I've had a couple.  But a £50,000 car that's starting to wear out doesn't sound like good news.

 

LOLZ at the Lincoln, but is that likely to get me 30mpg down the motorway and be a reliable daily driver?

 

The hearse / not a hearse looks fantastic, but can you really convert it back to an estate car or will there always be mysterious holes where they had to remove the original car's trim?  Going down the breaker's yard for the plastic trim around the boot isn't likely to end well.

[uk_senator]

I`d say stick to the devil you know, you`ve said its been the perfect car, just because you`ve had it a couple of years doesnt mean its gonna suddenly implode. You`d be better of spending £5-800 on doing any bits that need doing instead of buying an unknown quantity for double that IMHO.

[xkjagnz]

SAAB hatchbacks are like the tardis (a late 9000 would fit the bill probably) I have had 2 and driven from Andover to north of Inverness with 5 adults 2 dogs and luggage swallowed in it

I would personally avoid the subarus like the plague - i have also had 2 of them and both OMGHGF'd which is an engine out job, also very thirsty and you need a 2.5 or 3 litre to make decent progress

[Rocket88]

Volvo 7/9 series......or Octavia estate, which are surprisingly commodious........

[dieselnutjob]

Yes it's a 607.  They are a wide car, the interior width is the same as the XJ but the exterior is 1" narrower so it's better packaging.

The 607 boot is huge and the rear seats fold down, and you can get 3m long copper pipes and the like in them by poking them through to the the front passenger footwell.

 

Estate cars are great, and I loved having them but to be honest once the kids got beyond needing prams and bikes all the time the extra luggage space was used only 1% of the time.  A towbar mounted bike rack and a roof rack is then able to cover 90% of that 1%.  For the last 0.1% (such as dump runs) I use the wife's Freelander or a trailer.

 

My kids are now 14(nearly), 16, 18 and we are getting to the point that it isn't that often that all three are with us.  They get more independent and make their own plans.

 

This is a photo of the XJ with one large suitcase and five handluggage as loaded to go to Gatwick airport.

 

 

Jag people said that it couldn't be done but I beg to differ...

[Loathecliff]

Newbie, but with vast untapped wisdom (cough): you have to keep the Volvo, if only to find out why it hasn't gone expensively wrong yet. (I'd buy one if the things had an Aisin-Warner box, but the Saab 9-5 Aero has. Darned good on fuel too; if one can refrain from picking on innocent super cars).

[garethj]

As Mrs_garethj is French, any French car is at a disadvantage. Like most British people having a BL car suggested to them.

 

Today I went to see a Honda CRV at a local garage. The salesman started it up with a boot full of throttle which wasn't a good opener, no engine sounds good without oil pressure. It had the engine management light on and I wondered about its claimed 100,000 miles with the pedal rubbers worn and the numbers almost totally gone from the top of the gearstick.

 

I had a look under the bonnet to find the radiator grill was loose and there were signs of very splashed fluid in the engine bay, absolutely everywhere. There was a hydraulic fitting missing from the clutch too.

 

I'm sure Hondas deserve their quality reputation but this one had been abused.

 

I can see why people buy new cars, in fact I think it's a ploy by the manufacturers to keep garages like this in business to drive people into new cars.