Opinions on fiat marea weekend please

JohnBoy

On the lookout for a new car

budget is 6,500 absolute tops

must be an estate

would like turbo diesel

I also want something that can handle reasonably well and yet be reasonably comfortable (i've had two peugeot 405 estates)

I do 30K-40K miles annually and a lot of that is with work so i need something reliable. and preferably of less than 80K miles on the clock if diesel 60 if petrol

I've looked at a late MK3 golf tdi estate with full electrics, horrible drive and the garage wants 5,500 for it, madness

I've looked at a couple of mondeo's 98-00 and they don't inspire massive confidence in their ability to carry high mileage, any i've seen at around 100k looked rough enough and the diesels are just too expensive

I don't like the 97 on passat

the avensis has grown on me as a car(never thought i'd say that), could do with more gee but they're too expensive anyway

I'm avoiding the 406 as much out of fear of the running costs as that I fancy a change

don't like the three series and the a4 is unavailable in my price range with low mileage (and i drove one before and hated it, but i'll not judge a car on just one example)

the focus estates are just in my price range and I hope to look at a diesel one in the next few days, petrol would want to be a 1.6

so i sent my auld lad off looking for cars at the weekend cos he was bored and the only thing that jumped out was a fiat marea weekend (estate) 2000 i think 33k miles 1.6 petrol for five grand

now that's hard to argue with.

my initial reaction straight away was NO, but the mileage is tempting, did a bit of looking on carzone and the diesels can be picked up for tidy money.

http://tinyurl.com/698e2

what say you folks, any horror stories?

padraigcarroll

I work on Fiats and naturally see all the bad sides to these cars,
the mareas are great
only ever really see them in for wear and tear stuff like clutches, belts etc
cant go wrong with them if u ask me, and the price is usually right.

niallb

I've had a Volvo V40 (more manageable in the city than the V70,
but still a large estate) for the last two years (It's a '97) and I love it.
If you see one, give it a test drive, they're a comfortable ride,
and have a lot more poke than you'd think (Mine's a petrol, 2l though).

Two things to put you off:
1) They're a bit close to the ground.
If most of your driving is on reasonably good roads though,
not so much of a problem!

2) If you're looking for a car below 80,000 you'll pick
one of these up cheaply. The sting is the 80,000 mile service.
A V40 that's just had that done is like a new car, but it's steep.

NiallB

knifey_spoonie

I'd say your best bet for a reliable estate is a jap import like THIS

It's well looked after it has a KM speedo which if you do high milage will help and you should get it down to €5300-5400


Good luck

ds20prefecture

Would you consider a Skoda Octavia TDI estate? A lot more fun to drive than the Golf, bigger and better value. You can chip the bejaysus out of them too. You'll be hard pressed to find one at €6500, but it you do you won't regret it.

The most annoying thing on my wife's 1.6 petrol in 5 years is a little squeak from the back door - that's it after 55000 miles. Dealer servicing is costly, but all the bits are ubiquitous and there's nothing too specialised so I wouldn't worry about going to a non-dealer. Apparently they are capable of big mileages - the taxi drivers think so anyway!

Our company ran a Marea saloon for a while - dreadful car with a great engine (for it's size)

deRanged

My father has a marea, 1.6 petrol, saloon 45k on the clock.
It just passed it's first NCT. It was in for a service a few weeks ago, had a couple of small bits done plus the timing belt. Sailed through the NCT.

It's been great reliability-wise, driven long distances, including motorway driving in France.
Personally I don't find it too comfortable (not enough head room) but I'm the only one that ever complained.

There's no plans to get rid of it, just to pass it on to one of my sisters. We reckon it'll do another 4 years with no hassles.

bazz26

You should also look at something like these:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=210127

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=207942

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=131797

alias no.9

I had a fiat bravo for 2 years, I bought it when it was 5 years old with 40k on the clock and sold it 2 years later with 85k on the clock. During that time it needed the usual oil, filters, plugs, tyres and brakes. In addition to this it needed a rear suspension bushing, one shock absorber and a new clutch (the bearing failed at 78k). The only other problem with the car was the radio, which packed in. The depreciation cost over the 2 years was ~ €1500 per year which is not bad by any standards.

The reputation of fiat's are not particularly good, the reputation of vw's are remarkably good, neither one is real. When buying a second hand car, make your decision based on the condition of the particular car and the price, reputations mean very little.

JohnBoy

niallb: they're a gorgeous car, and I have considered them but I've yet to see a reasonably priced one, the s40 is easily found for tidy money, but its a challenge to get the V40 for a decent price in my experience

Knife fighter: it may be reliable, but it's also sinfully ugly, an automatic, doesn't specify turbo (not to say it doesn't have one) parts could be hard to get for it, and it's a mindnumbing corolla

ds20prefecture: I'd love one. I'd even settle for the standard hatchback if it was TDI cos the boot is massive and as a hatch it's almost as useable as an estate. good looking, great to drive cars, unfortunately they're holding their value quite well too.

bazz26: the 1.6 primera is underpowered in saloon form, I dread to think what it's like in an estate with a few servers in the boot. the car with the hole is too small and too expensive for what you get, good thinking outside the box though

I drove the marea this morning, not a bad looking bus, also had 47K miles on the clock, not the thirty something my dad told me. anyway I wasn't hugely impressed, twas a nice car and all, but the rear end body roll was fairly savage and not at all to my liking.

So the quest continues, Like i say I'm hoping to test drive a focus diesel estate tomorrow or thursday and I have high hopes for that as I'm a big fan of the handling of the regular five door hatch

in the meantime my trusty renault 19 gap filler car goes in for it's NCT tomorrow, don't know what to expect really but we shall see how it goes.

ds20prefecture

JohnBoy wrote:

So the quest continues,

Would you consider a Citroën Xantia estate? In HDI form they are very robust, and the Hydractive suspension actually works! Great ride comfort and great handling. Poor resale value means you get a lot of car for your money. Some parts of the servicing are quite specialised (suspension, steering) but there are no shortage of Citroën dealers and specialists.

If you were very adventurous you could go for an XM estate. These cars are vast, you can pick up a clean diesel one for pocket money and they are one of the most comfortable cars on the road. Butt ugly though

Paul (MN)

I drove 2 focus estates, one diesel and was impressed by them both. I think they are a great car.

I think a pal picked up a low mileage 1.4 estate about 6 months ago , 00D, for 9995 with a trade in.

I drove the 1.4 estate and it was fine for pootling around in but I guess the 1.6 would be better.

BrookieD

i would not touch another Marea again if you paid me.
I had a new 99 model 1.9 TDI and it was the worst car i have ever owned. Trim was useless kept breaking, window door seals on the rear doors kept sliding off ever few days and catching the front doors when you open them! After 8 months it got a very bad rev problem where the car would lose revs and then gain them back after a few seconds, fault was never found in 3 dealerships and my stepdad who is a greasemonkey had no joy. I swaped it for a 92 Volvo 960 estate at the end of the day.

nope if you have any sence stay well clear

JohnBoy

ds20prefecture wrote:

Would you consider a Citroën Xantia estate? In HDI form they are very robust, and the Hydractive suspension actually works! Great ride comfort and great handling. Poor resale value means you get a lot of car for your money. Some parts of the servicing are quite specialised (suspension, steering) but there are no shortage of Citroën dealers and specialists.

If you were very adventurous you could go for an XM estate. These cars are vast, you can pick up a clean diesel one for pocket money and they are one of the most comfortable cars on the road. Butt ugly though

Didn't like the one xantia i ever drove, but that was an older one and a bit rough, very boatlike suspension don't they? I like the looks, but the cornering doesn't appeal so much.

not many hdi estates on the buyandsell in my range anyway

ds20prefecture

JohnBoy wrote:

Didn't like the one xantia i ever drove, but that was an older one and a bit rough, very boatlike suspension don't they? I like the looks, but the cornering doesn't appeal so much.

The cornering on the hydractive models is absolutely flat, yet with a pillow-soft ride. I suppose it's down to personal preference, but I personally prefer good ride comfort to good on-the-limit handling in an estate car. Either way the Xantia fits the bill. The 110 engine is particularly good, but the 90 is no slouch either.

not many hdi estates on the buyandsell in my range anyway

There are lots of hatchbacks on carzone, but it's a good sized boot.
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=203672
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=190263
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=190446
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=190834
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=168079
http://www.cbg.ie/Car_detail.asp?CBGID=273916&ID=16644854&frmFilter=

Here's an estate
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=204425
They haven't put a huge amount of effort into pitching it, have they?

Try Noel Dolphin at 01 - 8333619, he's a Citroen specialist (not dealer) and might have something suitable.

Some "interesting" alternatives from the Citroën club in the UK :
Xantia 3.0 V6 24V Exclusive Auto
1997 'R' Reg. Fast comfy fun! Metallic Blue with Black leather.Excellent condition,full service history,new MOT,Aircon,Cruise and CD Autochanger.£1795. For photos and more details e-mail shaunlilley@yahoo.co.uk or phone 01707 274433.(Herts) ...

XM 2.5TD Exclusive,1994 (M) Emerald Green metallic.Suede/cloth interior,air con,alloys,cruise etc.155K miles but full comprehensive service history.Taxed and tested.Good condition. £1250 ono. Set of 16" 6 spoke alloy wheels/tyres for XM.Good condition.£150.Tel:- 01609 776620 or 07979 034224.(North Yorks) ...

1995 2.5 Turbo Diesel Estate (XM).FSH,New clutch, radiators and spheres in last 12 months.Dark metallic Green.117K miles.Fitted towbar.Tax and MOT till April.Good condition.Car no longer needed due to a new van for work.£2300 o.n.o.Tel Gareth on 01633 896178.Car in South Wales.

JohnBoy

ds20prefecture wrote:

The cornering on the hydractive models is absolutely flat, yet with a pillow-soft ride. I suppose it's down to personal preference, but I personally prefer good ride comfort to good on-the-limit handling in an estate car. Either way the Xantia fits the bill. The 110 engine is particularly good, but the 90 is no slouch either.

I want the best of both worlds, the peugeot could out handle a lot of newer cars never mind most cars from the mid nineties yet still rode super smooth.

I've always liked the XM and the estates are massive, but they're nigh on impossible to find with low mileage. I want to get 60K miles with only routine servicing, and I'm not going to get that from an XM that already has 120K on the clock.

But a xantia estate is on my list of things to drive if I see a HDi reasonably priced, and I'll take a saloon for a spin anyway out of curiousity.

I seriously need to call up to al hayes and see what he's got lying about in the field of cars