Most Reliable Estate Years

[kheath74]

I have a friend who is a single mother and she had the unfortunate time of breaking down on the motorway on sunday night at 2am with no AA cover! She is a club singer by the way! Currently she drives an awful Skoda Estate that cost £1500 and has had £1000 spent on it in 6 months, so I have suggested she bin the Skoda and get a Merc.

Having owned a 1990 E200 a while back I remenber how reliable that era of build was, I have been looking at

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/ms...category=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200911330237243

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/ms...category=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200908329219667

as an example of the type of car for her. She is just after reliable motoring and the space for her PA and two kids.

Any advice on the TE around the 1988-1994 years and if this might be the vehicle to do the job reliably for her?

 

[television]

The 2 in the links look good buys, after 94/95 very good cars, up to 90 are also good.

They are a lot of car for the money

 

[kheath74]

Thanks Malcolm, I have seen a few 96 Models and C Class estates too, all for under a grand which seems to me excellent value.

 

[jberks]

yes they were reliable but you're talking about a car thats nearly 20 years old now. As good as they were, they are going to suffer from old age. 20 year old pipes crack and leak, 20 year old wiring looms short and fail, 20 year ol suspension joints give way. To an enthusiast its tolerable but I personally wouldn't recommend a 20 year old car to a Woman travelling up and down motorways at night. In my mind she needs something a lot more up to date.
As you say, she's looking for a reliable box, not much bothered what.
A quick trawl on autotrader pulls up a 1998 Honda civic aerodeck estate 1.6 for £575 - you cant get more reliable than a Honda! and its 10 years younger than the merc or ..
how about a 2003 Daewoo Nubira, 58k on the clock and only £695.
Not my idea of fun but I suspect it ticks all her boxes.

 

[kheath74]

Thats a fair point! Home servicing is not her thing! Ill have to think about this a bit more, she did like the space and auto box in the TEs, but a Honda I agree will be uber reliable.

 

[roadhog]

As much as I like W124's, I wouldn't recommend one for your friend. Like jberks says, they are getting on now and are really only viable as a DIY prospect. If I had to pay a man to do all the work I do on mine to keep on top of it I wouldn't be able to run it.

 

[Micman]

Totally agree with jberks

You don't want to be recommending an old car, even if it is a Merc.

She wants the most modern car she can afford from a mainstream reliable company.

Ford Focus, VW Golf etc or trusted Japanese reliability - Toyota, Honda etc.

On a separate but similar note, my sister bought a brand spanking new Kia Picanto in 2004 for £6,500. Five years on and it's still worth between £2-3k. Can't argue at that for depreciation and the car has been ultra reliable too!