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If you can't bring yourself to become the proud owner of a reliant robin

The next best must be a Vauxhall Vectra,big,reliable and plenty of extra cheap ones around,and with scrapyards overflowing with any spares ever needed
 
ok Archy...lets up the ante....

What estate car should I buy? {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net
 
If you can't bring yourself to become the proud owner of a reliant robin

The next best must be a Vauxhall Vectra,big,reliable and plenty of extra cheap ones around,and with scrapyards overflowing with any spares ever needed

Well that speaks well for the reliability of Vectras!
Drove one a few times, sh!t car.
 
anyway....for those on a budget that dont mind the smell of 2 stroke oil and toxic glue vapours theres always the trusty from the east....


What estate car should I buy? {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net

I dont think I am getting the full picture
There's are no signs of any legs trailing through the chasis
 
If you want a serious suggestion for a bargain motor for the job, you could do far worse than follow my suggestion to a college in a similar situation… get Volvo 740 estate.
OK the Volvo is a bit of a plain Jane and won’t win any prizes for its styling, it’s more of child’s eye view of what car should look like. 740s are numerous and while the majority of saloons have gone to the automotive graveyard, thanks to lack of demand for large, thirsty, family saloons, however, the estate is still hugely popular in the used car market. Once a premium auto-mobile beloved by Antique Dealers and Mothers for the school run, the old Volvo is now the vehicle of choice for savvy tradesmen who can’t run a van, Window cleaners, Plasterers, Decorators and Plumbers have already realised it’s cheaper to run than a van and can still be used for the domestic duties like the school run when necessary. Most of the saloons have been broken up for spares to keep the wagons rolling, vehicles with huge mileages on the clock still going strong, consuming little oil and running as sweet as a nut.
In the Volvo 740s favour, parts are cheap and plentiful on the second hand market and still readily available new if you are so inclined, this is partly due to the fact that the 940 that replaced it, retained much of the same running gear, but also because there are still so many still in service that there is sufficient demand to continue the parts in production.
The key to 740s longevity is it supreme build quality, arguably Volvo’s very best in the past 80 years. Less corrosion than seen in the 140 and 240 series that preceded it and less complex than the 850s and 940s, the 740 is the best of all worlds; solid build and simple DIY maintenance, hence the high survival rate.
Most 740 models were powered by the tried and tested 2.3 litre four cylinder petrol engine, a powerful and responsive lump, not the most refined or economic (20-33 MPG), but, indestructibility does come at a price, this engine is legendary for it’s ability to do very high mileages, and for being totally bullet-proof. Some owners report that at about 100,000 miles the engine starts to feel loose and fully run-in, returning better MPG figures than earlier in the vehicles life.
The load carrying capacity of the 740 so loved by Antique Dealers, it will swallow whole 3-seater sofas easily with room to spare, makes it particularly attractive to the tradesman, often my mate just uses the huge space behind the rear seats when doing smaller jobs.
The interior is typically simple, hard wearing cloth upholstery and high quality plastics, with large clear instruments and robust switches that feel built to last, my mate's estate has minimal deterioration, quality throughout.
So where is the catch? I hear you ask, well there are only two weak areas, exhausts tend to trap moisture and rot quickly (after-market pattern ones particularly) if a lot of short journeys are completed, and the billowing head lining that is common on most Swedish cars, all that is needed here is re-gluing with a quality contact adhesive.
As you will have gathered my college took my advise and together we found lots of good examples, all of them were less than £500. The best of which was an F registration (1989) family car with two related previous owners, 149,000 miles on the clock, full service history by the local Volvo specialist, with 8 months MOT and 2 months Tax, in superb condition belying it’s age … all for £275… at these sort of prices the fuel cost is bearable… and my mate has had a smile on his face ever since acquiring his 740, he and his family love it.
View attachment 14103
Volvo 740 GLE
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The problem with older cars, especially the higher capacity ones, is the ridiculously high road tax costs.

??????? Total nonsense,the road tax on a 5.7 litre post 73 corvette is the same as a 1.6 escort at £220 a year.
If your comparing it to post 2001 vehicles then possibly but still not wholly accurate as very few 2001 models qualify for cheap tax and then your into 2005 onwards which for his requirements and £800 is unlikely.
Its only vehicles 2006 onwards with emissions over 225 g/km that cost the top rate.
Pre 2001 and under 1500 cc is under £120 a year to tax so pretty much the same as my 57 reg ford ka.
My suggestions either a 406 td/hdi estate (the former with a Bosch pump is able to run on veg) as these are good for 300000 miles with few major issues,focus petrol (not diesel at that budget,pump/injector issues) or vw passat are superb,particularly the tdi,very strong engines but expect to pay a premium for them,I've seen 200000+ milers going for way over your budget.
Cant go far wrong with a good spec Astra 1.7 td or 1.8 ecotec,their mechanically very strong but have been known to rust so find a good one body wise then concern yourself with the mechanicals which are really simple to work on.
Vectra?got a bit of a bad rep and absolute zero street cred but I've seen a few do big miles without to many issues and they are scrap money now.
Volvo v40 are a good bus,perhaps a touch small for your tools all the time and even ****roen xsaras are a very cheap alternative with the same 1.9td/2.0hdi as the pug family but significantly cheaper,petrols really are for nothing and are often a good alternative as the diesels tend to have double the miles on them.
Something you may not have thought of but make a cracking wagon in ghia form particularly are the ford galaxy tdi's,it's a vw motor which is totally bombproof and they nip along well with great mpg,7 seats that are removable and when folded down are like a big van,plenty of spares as its vw/seat as well bar a few bits of trim.
The 740 above is an immensely good motor,8,000,000 antique dealers can't be wrong or whatever figure it is but they will be very thirsty and can look a bit uncool for a young man like yourself.
Ooh,just came to me and perfect for everything,mk2 mondeo td estate,not mk3,lots of issues with them,but the older types.
Again go for ghia/high spec one and your made,I had the v6 estate for free and it was an awesome car,the load capacity is incredible.only reason I sold it was cos of fuel consumption.
 
What estate car should I buy? {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net


My old man had one of these for years, wouldn't get rid of it even after buying newer cars. its also the 1st car i drove, 10 years old seat pushed back standing up so that i could reach the pedals.
 
If you want a serious suggestion for a bargain motor for the job, you could do far worse than follow my suggestion to a college in a similar situation… get Volvo 740 estate.
OK the Volvo is a bit of a plain Jane and won’t win any prizes for its styling, it’s more of child’s eye view of what car should look like. 740s are numerous and while the majority of saloons have gone to the automotive graveyard, thanks to lack of demand for large, thirsty, family saloons, however, the estate is still hugely popular in the used car market. Once a premium auto-mobile beloved by Antique Dealers and Mothers for the school run, the old Volvo is now the vehicle of choice for savvy tradesmen who can’t run a van, Window cleaners, Plasterers, Decorators and Plumbers have already realised it’s cheaper to run than a van and can still be used for the domestic duties like the school run when necessary. Most of the saloons have been broken up for spares to keep the wagons rolling, vehicles with huge mileages on the clock still going strong, consuming little oil and running as sweet as a nut.
In the Volvo 740s favour, parts are cheap and plentiful on the second hand market and still readily available new if you are so inclined, this is partly due to the fact that the 940 that replaced it, retained much of the same running gear, but also because there are still so many still in service that there is sufficient demand to continue the parts in production.
The key to 740s longevity is it supreme build quality, arguably Volvo’s very best in the past 80 years. Less corrosion than seen in the 140 and 240 series that preceded it and less complex than the 850s and 940s, the 740 is the best of all worlds; solid build and simple DIY maintenance, hence the high survival rate.
Most 740 models were powered by the tried and tested 2.3 litre four cylinder petrol engine, a powerful and responsive lump, not the most refined or economic (20-33 MPG), but, indestructibility does come at a price, this engine is legendary for it’s ability to do very high mileages, and for being totally bullet-proof. Some owners report that at about 100,000 miles the engine starts to feel loose and fully run-in, returning better MPG figures than earlier in the vehicles life.
The load carrying capacity of the 740 so loved by Antique Dealers, it will swallow whole 3-seater sofas easily with room to spare, makes it particularly attractive to the tradesman, often my mate just uses the huge space behind the rear seats when doing smaller jobs.
The interior is typically simple, hard wearing cloth upholstery and high quality plastics, with large clear instruments and robust switches that feel built to last, my mate's estate has minimal deterioration, quality throughout.
So where is the catch? I hear you ask, well there are only two weak areas, exhausts tend to trap moisture and rot quickly (after-market pattern ones particularly) if a lot of short journeys are completed, and the billowing head lining that is common on most Swedish cars, all that is needed here is re-gluing with a quality contact adhesive.
As you will have gathered my college took my advise and together we found lots of good examples, all of them were less than £500. The best of which was an F registration (1989) family car with two related previous owners, 149,000 miles on the clock, full service history by the local Volvo specialist, with 8 months MOT and 2 months Tax, in superb condition belying it’s age … all for £275… at these sort of prices the fuel cost is bearable… and my mate has had a smile on his face ever since acquiring his 740, he and his family love it.
View attachment 14103
Volvo 740 GLE

I've got a friend that swears by these, his last one had 410,000 on when retired (due to being to tatty!) also 250,000 of these were long distance towing as this was his business, he said he could put up with the fuel consumption (circa 24mpg with old e-type on tow) thanks to the money and hassle he saved on repairs (or lack of them!)
 

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