Might be coming into a little bit of money soon, £1000 to be exact, on the condition that I get a decent family car.

Fair enough, but I have some criteria that are need to be filled

Needs to be sub £1k, MUST BE PETROL, prefer an estate, german makes appreciated, I dont want any market fillers (focus, astra, mondeo etc.), and finally, reasonable on insurance.

was thinking a passat estate but finding a half decent petrol estate would be hard I imagine, I have however seen a BMW 323i Estate

fire away

Mk4 golf estate

I'd say BMW E36 saloon or estate. Any engine. But if you want cheap to run and reliable the 1.8 8v M43 lump is bullet proof. And if you find a saloon with the M44 1.9 16v lump then snap it up.

The 6 pots sound good and are pretty bullet proof too. But none of them give decent economy.

Don't buy an E46 on that budget. They rust worse than the E36 and they are so dependant on the electronics they can be very expensive to fix.

If you want a bit more luxury the E39 5 series BMWs are cheap now. They come with a few 6 pot engines or a nice V8. But again none of them will give you fuel economy.

Saab 9-5

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Saab-9-5-2-0t-1999-V-SE-Metallic-Black-Black-Leather-/291301076753?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item43d2e5af11

I know it's not German but it's something a bit different and as (if not more) reliable. Plus some nice tuning parts for saab turbos.

Scary thing is, if you want reliable, a 2.0 duratec mondeo is pretty hard to beat and a nice place to be. Wouldn't touch a diesel one though.

German, I can't think of anything worth buying.

How's about a Volvo?

Swedish is the way forward for cheap safe reliable luxury.

or seen as we're on a polo forum a polo 6k estate

Thanks for the recommendations chaps, that saab looks pretty cool! I'm open to volvos as thats about as perfect a "dad" car as can be, but I dont have a dog lol

Definatey recommend a Volvo 850 T5, they are FWD (boo!) but 225bhp 5 cylinder, they sound immense and there bulletproof. I'm highly considering shopping around for one. Saab's a good shout.

Weren't 850's the last rear wheel drive volvo?

No 850's were front or you could get a 4x4 version I think you were thinking of a 740 and 940 both rear wheel drive get a 850 t5 estate brilliant car or the 850R that's a 250bhp one, my t5 was great but fuel economy is 24 to 32 to the gallon. what about a Octavia estate its based on a golf floorpan, either an estate or hatchback if you can go for a vrs if you can, in fact its a no brainer.

Yeah, you're right, my bad.

Get a 960 - miss mine so much.

Passat estate or seat leon

I've got a B5 Audi A4 Avant 1.8t sport for sale in jan if u can hold on. May accept £1000 (but not on the 18" BBS RX's). Done a lot to it, mapped to 203bhp by MRC tuning a few years back. Solid reliable 'family' motor. Only selling to get my polo project (as we have a diesel mk4 golf estate too as our family motor)

PM me if your interested and I can give u more details.

I'm based in Ipswich Suffolk

That looks pretty sweet :)

That looks pretty sweet :)

Cheers bud, could be yours if u want it? dome Cambelt, water pump, oil pickup, suspension, basically loads! Should go in for many a year now has just under a years MOT too, oh and Isofix (on one side) and can turn off front passenger airbag for baby seat in front

golf mk4 estate pd130 remapped by amd are around 185 bhp and nuts

if you werent scared of mpv's you could go for the sharan vr6!

Edited 15 December, 201411 yr by wizardmanjm

That looks pretty sweet :)

Cheers bud, could be yours if u want it? dome Cambelt, water pump, oil pickup, suspension, basically loads! Should go in for many a year now has just under a years MOT too, oh and Isofix (on one side) and can turn off front passenger airbag for baby seat in front

Slight delay in picking up my Polo mk2f, so Audi will now be for sale in February :-)

I would npt recommend a BMW on that budget - at least not a circa 98 onwards car.

Both my W plate 5 series and W plate 3 had too much going wrong or wearing out in the later years.

Saab for the win!

I've seen SAAB mentioned a few times now :) darknights I'm in no rush buddy so if its still around when I get some money I'll give you a shout :)

I've seen SAAB mentioned a few times now :) darknights I'm in no rush buddy so if its still around when I get some money I'll give you a shout :)

Yeah no worries. Gonna be selling in feb now, as still waiting for the polo (slight delay)

Saab not a bad suggestion Vauxhall Vectra floorpans and mechanicals, high depreciating cars as well or dare I say it even a Vectra if you don't mind being seen in it!!! or mondeo tdci ?