Mid noughties outdoors-mobile for 23 year old male

Chavways

Hi Guys,

Would appreciate some suggestions on options to buy. Currently have a 2000 VW Polo 1.4 which might give up on me any day so I'm starting to search for my next car. Some criteria I've come up with that I would like:

1. Budget of approximately 2500 to 3000 euro.
2. Must be an estate and back seats must be able to fold flat or almost flat to fill the car with outdoor gear and whatnot.
3. Would prefer a diesel (1.6-1.7L) but would settle on a smaller petrol engine. I'm not overly concerned about an extra 100 or 150 euro in tax if I saved the equivalent in fuel. I'm 23 going on 24 soon so I assume a bigger engine will still affect my insurance massively.
4. I would like something moderately high spec (air con, cruise control and maybe leather seats but just something nice to drive too)

I've had a quick look around and there seems to be a lot of Audi A4 estates around but would I be correct in saying a lot of these have been driven into the ground? I like the look of the 05-06 Opel Astra estates but do these commonly come with air con and cruise control? One that's caught my eye is a Volvo V50 but I don't think the seats can fold fully flat in this. Would a Skoda Superb or Octavia be a good option?

Apologies for the spit balling, just trying to see if I'm omitting any glaring good cars from my search. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

bazz26

Being honest I'd say you will find it hard enough to get something with a small engine with those type of features. You might have to compromise on spending a bit more on engine size or do without some of those toys. Air con, leather and cruise control would be fairly rare on Astra size cars back then.

Reventon93

How about this? Its a grand more than your budget, but cheap tax which would nearly balance out the price if you bought and older car wih the €710 tax: https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-i30-2009-premium-1-6-diesel-nct-2017/13854078

If 3k is your absolute max budget, then maybe this: https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-v50/14384534 If it has all the correct paperwork for servicing and maintenance,that can be verified, you should be grand.

The main thing with high milegae cars is to see if they've been maintained properly.

colm_mcm

The i30 premium doesn't have cruise control if you get the 1.6 engine.
I suspect that's 200000 miles rather than km. it's also probably rough AF in real life, you can see it's had paint anyway.

I30 premium is a lovely car though. The mother has one.

Chavways

Thanks guys. That i30 looks really nice. Hyundais didn't even cross my mind as an option. Is it possible to fold down the seats in those? Google images results doesnt seem like its an option. Only to have them at 30 degrees or so.

Dia1988

Was going to recommend this 2008 Toyota Corolla Verso diesel with only 84000 miles

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/tayota-verso-2008/12712110

But the MOT history check shows it's done at least 202,000 miles

Be warned!!

colm_mcm

Plus it's €4200 once you add vrt.

Dia1988

colm_mcm wrote: »

Plus it's €4200 once you add vrt.

I'm sorry.

Would you consider a carvan?

Chavways

Oaklynn Old-fashioned Beanbag wrote: »

Would you consider a carvan?

Nope I don't think so. I'd be using the seats a good bit too for friends and family so don't think a van would be an option.

Chavways

Hi Guys,

Coming back to this again. Have a bit more money now and a bit more of an idea of what I want. Budget is now 5500 euro. Been looking at 2008-2010 1.9 TDI Passat estates. The seats can fold down fully flat which is what I really want and they look to be fairly solid.

I see that the mileage is high in a lot of them but that's probably to be expected being ex rep cars I imagine. Would it be worth my while looking into getting one of these from England? And would anyone have suggestions of other cars this size with a 1.9 diesel engine or smaller? Wary of going above 1.9 because of my age and the insurance cost. Thanks!

bop1977

How about this mondeo:
http://m.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Mondeo-1.6-110PS-5DR-ZETEC-5-SPEED/4245174609116021145

ba_barabus

Citroen C5

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-citroen-c5-estate-new-nct/14282688

Chavways

Thanks for the suggestions. How is the reliabil6of the C5's? Am I wrong with to still be in the minds that French cars are dodgy? Is there an easy way to find out if a cars rear sets fold fully flat without moving the drivers seats? I've just been googling images of cars to try snd find out that to date.

Also whys ths story with tax on 2008 cars pre July. I saw on the motor tax website that it was supposed to be applied back to all 2008 cars but that Mondeo says tax is 570 a year which can't be right.

polan

Chavways wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. How is the reliabil6of the C5's? Am I wrong with to still be in the minds that French cars are dodgy? Is there an easy way to find out if a cars rear sets fold fully flat without moving the drivers seats? I've just been googling images of cars to try snd find out that to date.

Also whys ths story with tax on 2008 cars pre July. I saw on the motor tax website that it was supposed to be applied back to all 2008 cars but that Mondeo says tax is 570 a year which can't be right.

2008+ doesn't automatically mean cheap tax. Mondeo/Passat DSG estates have quite high CO2 emissions, therefore putting them in the 570 tax bracket.
A 2008 Saab 9-3 1.9 TTiD Automatic is €750 to tax!

The Mondeo linked is €514 which is the CC rate for a 1.6 engine. Don't know where you got the €570.

Chavways

polan wrote: »

2008+ doesn't automatically mean cheap tax. Mondeo/Passat DSG estates have quite high CO2 emissions, therefore putting them in the 570 tax bracket.
A 2008 Saab 9-3 1.9 TTiD Automatic is €750 to tax!

The Mondeo linked is €514 which is the CC rate for a 1.6 engine. Don't know where you got the €570.

Sorry, only had time for a quick look so forgot the exact figure. I'd be hoping for cheaper tax for sure. Probably something for 390 euro or less tax a year.

bazz26

Renault Laguna III:



https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/renault-laguna-prestigeiii-1-5-diesel-estate/15134440