# car choice help, upto 15k



## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

right i currently own a 230bhp mini jcw and need to sell it as its too small and impractical for me.
im 25 own a dog and have a house with building work going on

my current choices are (with reasons)

1, 330d e90 - decent fuel efficiency, 4 door for dog, decent size boot
2, 123d bmw - mate can sell it me for good price, quick, good fuel, but 3 door
3, ford kuga titanium - GF likes these, good size good fuel, and good for dog
4, range rover vogue - large, big'ish boot, -- terrible on fuel


can anyone give me any advice or suggest anything else


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

You'll be better off posting this in the motoring zone matey :thumb:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=184


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

good shout sorry forget these sections were there


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Out of those four the kuga or the rangie, wild cards, skoda superb estate, the dog would love it. Or a freelander or Kia portage. The Hyundai Santa fe is a bargin too


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## LittleMissTracy (May 17, 2012)

Keep the mini and get an old Mondeo estate for the dog that you can spend an age detailing:thumb:


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

i did look at the freelander's 
BUT

for same money the KUGA is cheaper to tax and insure so swayed me that way. 

its annoying because all are different cars in their own way. but all hard to split up


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## davec (Mar 5, 2012)

audi rs6 avant? ticks all boxes for me (well apart from mpg tax etc!)


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Brand new fabia vrs estate. Boots much bigger than you think and vat free offer just come back on. £15 k get you one with few extras!

Here's mine.


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Xc90?

V70?

V50?




Sent from a fat fingered Jobsian phone user.


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## AGRE (Sep 25, 2008)

Quite like that :thumb:


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## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

How about octavia ?? You can get some good deal on nearly brand new one


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## MEH4N (Mar 15, 2012)

mondeo or focus estate? good for the money


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

330d Tourer or e60 530d


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

I have a near 2 year old as well and it's more than practical enough. Boots bigger than the 1 series anyway.


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## minimadgriff (Jul 8, 2007)

Highly recommend the kuga, I have he 4wd Titanium and it is great. Boot is smaller than you would think for its size but with the seats down there is loads of room.

Cabin is very spacious, as standard they come with lots of good extras/gadgets. 

Drives really well and handling is very car like, handles nothing like a wallowy 4x4.

MPG isn't anywhere near as good as the book says though. My journey to work and back should be 40+ according to figures. 36/38 is more realistic. Best I have seen on a run is 44. This doesn't really bother me though.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

What about the Octavia Scout ?


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Octavia vrs they have 0% vat which makes them about 17500 i believe, id love to recommend you one but after the absolutely terrible customer service from Skoda themselves i would never buy another especially the new mk2 fabia vrs the most unreliable car iv ever touched


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

Beamer Beamer Beamer !


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Second that I wouldn't reccomend a Skoda purely on customer service alone it's shocking.


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Grizzle said:


> Second that I wouldn't reccomend a Skoda purely on customer service alone it's shocking.


Hahaha I have to agree knowing what you have been through!

Sent from a fat fingered Jobsian phone user.


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## JA1987 (Jul 3, 2012)

Passat estate, saloon or cc.

Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2


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## Matt1982 (Apr 24, 2012)

The E90 330d- You won't regret it!!!!!!


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

robertdon777 said:


> 330d Tourer or e60 530d


This post saved me looking on autotrader, it'd be the 5 for me.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Grizzle said:


> Second that I wouldn't reccomend a Skoda purely on customer service alone it's shocking.


I wouldn't recommend any car based on customer service. Never once driving various brands have I even found a main dealer I'm happy with.

The issues caused by BMW in Aberdeen are the worst of any.

If you don't do big miles and still want a performance car, you can't do much better than a BMW 335i.

You can pick up one for really good money and they are not that expensive to run.

You can run one for about the same as a hot hatch and none are anywhere near as fast or have the same class.

They will do 35mpg+ on a run and a lot of normal drivers average 28mpg.

Servicing and insurance are also cheaper than you think. It was less to insure my 335i than any of the hot hatchbacks with the exception of the Mazda 3MPS.

At £15k you will be looking at the N54 engined version and should be new enough to fall into the lower road tax band.

3 litres of twin turbo BMW for hot hatch money should make it an easy decision.

They also respond well to a remap if you head down that route.


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Grizzle said:


> Second that I wouldn't reccomend a Skoda purely on customer service alone it's shocking.


Its terrible how they don't value customers at all, im doing everything i can for bad press


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## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

As mentioned the Kuga is a great car but smaller than you think on the inside. Its much smaller than the focus on the inside. I had a similar situation had a Focus ST3 (225 bhp) but needed a sporty larger car as I now have two children. I went for the ford mondeo titanium X sport which has the same engine as the new focus st (240bhp) and for me and my needs it ticks all the boxes. Its fastish (0-60 in 7.5 secs), economy is 32 mpg at the moment on the computer with mixed driving and its huge! The boot is massive and easily swallows up all the child and baby gear. It also come in an estate version which I think looks pretty cool. I haven't got any pic of mine yet but the link below show what it looks like:-

http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/Mondeo/Photosanddownloads/mdp=i1204973604995


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## allan1888 (Aug 29, 2009)

rob_vrs said:


> Its terrible how they don't value customers at all, im doing everything i can for bad press


In any dealings I have had with skoda customer service I have never had an issue with them. I know yourself and grizzle have had nothing but problems with them and I'm sure there are more people too. But in my personal experience I ain't had any issues with them sometimes is the dealers who are at fault more than skoda CS


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

allan1888 said:


> In any dealings I have had with skoda customer service I have never had an issue with them. I know yourself and grizzle have had nothing but problems with them and I'm sure there are more people too. But in my personal experience I ain't had any issues with them sometimes is the dealers who are at fault more than skoda CS


Yeah i think its down to individual case and whether they give a positive outcome or not. My dealer is spot on its just what skoda executive team said to me that really made them lose me as a future customer


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

rob_vrs said:


> Yeah i think its down to individual case and whether they give a positive outcome or not. My dealer is spot on its just what skoda executive team said to me that really made them lose me as a future customer


What did they say Rob ?


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

alexj said:


> What did they say Rob ?


That they are not going to do anymore than they need and that they will not invest in my future purchases, its a long story where i had a problematic fabia for 7 months and apart from them accepting to take the car back they have done absolutley nothing for me and bluntly refused and dont believe they need to do anymore, there is more ins and outs like i wrote a 3 page letter to them and never got back to me after 6 weeks i had to chase them down etc etc


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

rob_vrs said:


> Yeah i think its down to individual case and whether they give a positive outcome or not. My dealer is spot on its just what skoda executive team said to me that really made them lose me as a future customer


When you buy the car it is the dealer you have the issue with not the manufacturer.

My last car when I was doing big miles was an 09 Citroen C5 2.0HDi and I had a crazy amount of trouble with it.

The main dealer who I bought it from was useless and I contacted both trading standards and Citroen.

Citroen were very fast to tell me that I should only be contacting the dealer as that is who I bought the car from. They would assist the dealer in repairing the car if the dealer approached them.

Trading standards pointed out that my contract is with the dealer who I and not the manufacturer too.

The dealer in the end was forced to do a deal for me to get rid of the car and it had nothing to do with Citroen.


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Kerr said:


> When you buy the car it is the dealer you have the issue with not the manufacturer.
> 
> My last car when I was doing big miles was an 09 Citroen C5 2.0HDi and I had a crazy amount of trouble with it.
> 
> ...


It was definatley skoda i had the issue with as this was all about funding due to a car replacement where the funding comes from skoda not the dealer


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Should've done what I did and send an email to the head of Skoda uk. Google it and found his address. 

To my amazement one of his higher up than CS teams took over and eventually got it sorted!


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

ardandy said:


> Should've done what I did and send an email to the head of Skoda uk. Google it and found his address.
> 
> To my amazement one of his higher up than CS teams took over and eventually got it sorted!


Was it the executive team by any chance? Thats who iv been in contact with which is the Next highest part above CS and they are the ones who didn't contact me and i had to chase them


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

i thought creating this thread could help haha. 

looks like the 1series (at good price is out of the window) 
330d or kuga are the biggest contenders, albeit at opposite ends of the spectrum. 

ive never had a hard choice before chosing a car

saxo vtr that ended up a vts and throttle bodied and now the mini that have both been cars ive always wanted. 
had a few inbetween normal cars like fiestas etc.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Things happened after I wanted an official response before I went to court. It got bounced back and told to get resolved as whoever writes official letters didn't want it going any further.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

OP, have you been in a BMW 123 D Chipped, with a milltek exhaust, they shift like the clamper's, plus are well planted on the road, and massive amount's of torque through the narrow power band, great engines and a great hoot of fun to drive, class engines, twin turbo.


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

Trip tdi said:


> OP, have you been in a BMW 123 D Chipped, with a milltek exhaust, they shift like the clamper's, plus are well planted on the road, and massive amount's of torque through the narrow power band, great engines and a great hoot of fun to drive, class engines, twin turbo.


no not been in a chipped one although AMD are litteraly 3mile from my door it was a consideration of mine if i bought the car.
just have to convince the GF of an alternative to the KUGA


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

its unbelievable, no one seems to be regulating the industry properly

and its a massive industry !

Sorry back to the original post

You'll have some fun with 15K


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

The 1 series is pretty small inside. Not much space for rear passengers. They also are not anywhere near the same quality of the bigger 3 series.

Personally none of the 4 pot diesel engines are anywhere near smooth enough either and the sound is more intrusive in the 1 series than the 3 too.

Many BMW drivers consider the 330d the best all-round BMW.

I couldn't find myself buying a Kuga over a BMW.


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

Kerr said:


> The 1 series is pretty small inside. Not much space for rear passengers. They also are not anywhere near the same quality of the bigger 3 series.
> 
> Personally none of the 4 pot diesel engines are anywhere near smooth enough either and the sound is more intrusive in the 1 series than the 3 too.
> 
> ...


this is my point. i would like the bmw after owning 
a saxo, new fiesta etc and then the mini, german build quality is so much better and like said the 330d is highly rccomended ive test driven one and loved every second of it albeit alot different to the supercharged mini.

BUT

having been in my uncles kuga its very smooth i think it feels quite a good size inside. and quite a nice interior.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I couldn't own a BMW over a kuga ... As for German build quality ..... Hmmmmmmm


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Czech build quality is where it's at!


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## N2eav (Sep 30, 2011)

Ardandy I have to agree the Czech quality s great far better than its rival vw.


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## N2eav (Sep 30, 2011)

Reading all Bout people's complaints about skoda service I can say it down to the dealer as my local one not goo but Dundee is. And if they were bad how can they win so much awards for there customer service from auto express.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

If it has to be German and estate my money would go here ....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/1/radius/1500/postcode/pe92wn?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/pe92wn/page/2/radius/1500?logcode=p

Or if you could up the budget ...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../radius/1500/postcode/pe92wn/page/1?logcode=p


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

N2eav said:


> Reading all Bout people's complaints about skoda service I can say it down to the dealer as my local one not goo but Dundee is. And if they were bad how can they win so much awards for there customer service from auto express.


They have not had 1 award for customer services, there awards are for cars and customer satisfaction so yes maybe 8/10 times theres cars are fine and run perfect and people are happy with them its those who get the rubbish cars they dont do anything about


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

Kerr said:


> The 1 series is pretty small inside. Not much space for rear passengers. They also are not anywhere near the same quality of the bigger 3 series.
> 
> Personally none of the 4 pot diesel engines are anywhere near smooth enough either and the sound is more intrusive in the 1 series than the 3 too.
> 
> ...


I disagree, but its all very subjective

After driving the VW PD 2.0 TDI for 3 months

the BMW 320D is extremely smooth and refined

an absolute joy in comparison to the bag of spanners


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

You can't compare a PD bag engine to a BMW one. Better comparison would be he newer CR TDI's.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

The new CR Passats are very nice, sooooo much better than the 140pd lump i had in my A3 and Golf


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## ShiningScotsman (Jun 20, 2012)

Going down the perhaps more practical route but what about

Subaru Forestor.....

Vaxhaull Antara
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/5/postcode/ml52fb/radius/1501?logcode=p

Dodge Nitro - lot of metal here to detail :thumb:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/ml52fb/radius/1501/page/4?logcode=p


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

Kia Sportage, a friend has one and loves it, under £15k, less than a year old which means it still has 6 years manufacturers warranty left.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201228478517636/sort/default/usedcars/model/sportage/make/kia/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/radius/1500/page/1/postcode/dh78tx/advert-type/standard-listing?logcode=ucnnp


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

ShiningScotsman said:


> Going down the perhaps more practical route but what about
> 
> Subaru Forestor.....
> 
> ...


god that Nitro looks horrible


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

ardandy said:


> You can't compare a PD bag engine to a BMW one. Better comparison would be he newer CR TDI's.


I can the VW I had was a 58 plate, the BMW I now have is an 07

There was a grand difference both same mileage, both main dealer, £10k (VW) and £11k (BMW)

I think this shows how far behind VW are with their technology, its all about marketing !


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

bidderman1969 said:


> god that Nitro looks horrible


I've not seen an interior and gearknob like that since the 80s.


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

Been looking about still as I still can't decide what I want and a new spanner in the works is a X3 3.0d sport. Can get quite a nice one for around 13k 

The reason I like is the interior is quite nice, sat nav, also 7.7secs to 60 means it isn't going to be to sluggish. 

This ticks all my boxes and I don't drive like a stereotypical BMW driver 
So other than that is there any real reasons to avoid?


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

the looks?

plus was the x3 build not sub contracted out in the early versions?


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

Not sure hence researching with people who may know.
I don't think they look to bad


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

Not sure on the X3 but I have a mate who's sacked off 2 X5s because of running costs, I told him he was mad when he bought the second one and that he'd be crying into his empty wallet within a few months, and he was.


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

When you say running costs what exactly tyres fuel. I do 30mile a day mainly a 50mph average speed road and the x3 quote "loosely" 30 on combined run so not to terrible considering my copper s does 24 on same trip


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

gotamintvtr said:


> 1, 330d e90 - decent fuel efficiency, 4 door for dog.


Daft question,but would you really want a dog on the back seat?
I know of two people who's cars bloody stench from doing that.

What about a Seat Exeo estate, Yes it's basically an Audi A4. Just without the badge knobbery.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Mk4.5 Mondeo Estate?


















Lots of space for the dog in the boot...


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

ohhhh i love that stevey!!!! my days thats "gawjus"


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## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Searching eBay for cars 13.5k-15.5k, so far the best is this.

Doesn't really fit the bill, but will be more fun than a Mondeo Estate

Slightly closer to the brief: link


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Grizzle said:


> ohhhh i love that stevey!!!! my days thats "gawjus"


Thanks. 

IMO nice inside too if you can live with the Ford badge.


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

Would love a titanium x model ford but no where near my price bracket they are 30k cars


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

SteveTDCi said:


> I couldn't own a BMW over a kuga ... As for German build quality ..... Hmmmmmmm


Hugely overrated by the sounds of it.


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

PugIain said:


> Daft question,but would you really want a dog on the back seat?
> I know of two people who's cars bloody stench from doing that.
> 
> What about a Seat Exeo estate, Yes it's basically an Audi A4. Just without the badge knobbery.


Like the execs a friend has one good cars. Gd has decided we can't have an estate apparently too young in trying to convince her though.

Yeah the dog can go in the back we have a removable waterproof cover and he doesn't mult or anything. Current cars don't smell of him at all


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

SteveyG said:


> Thanks.
> 
> IMO nice inside too if you can live with the Ford badge.


lovely place to be in my opinion :thumb:

i'd love that :thumb:


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

I Put our dog in the back of the Skoda, it has a Town and Country seat cover and a Kurgo Backseat Barrier to stop her jumping through to the front seat.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

gotamintvtr said:


> Would love a titanium x model ford but no where near my price bracket they are 30k cars


You can pick up the pre-facelift models for £15k:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...words/sport/postcode/ss156gb/page/1?logcode=p

^^ Edit: Already has the barrier fitted on this one to stop the dog flying through the front. And adaptive cruise control :thumb:


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

I would go for Skoda Octavia VRS, solid built, reliable, punchy engines, plenty of room and a hute to drive as well, turbo charged performance.

Must admit the Mondeo up above, looks very tasty, I really like it.

As of a BMW 123D, they are quick, but the thing is they are very tight inside, but they handle like they are on rails, and chipping them even makes them go faster, very under rated engine on the market.
I've been in one chipped, and it flew like the clappers, was pulling and pulling all the way through from the narrow power band, it had no lag what so ever; it's a quick motor.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Trip tdi said:


> I would go for Skoda Octavia VRS, *solid built, reliable*, punchy engines, plenty of room and a hute to drive as well, turbo charged performance.


 really? :lol:


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

If I liked mondeos I would have one, that titanium x looks really nice, they don't make the best buy brand new but at 9 months old they are such bargains compared to bmw's and audis, they only one that comes close is the superb.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Grizzle said:


> really? :lol:


Ok, there has been a few reliability issues, especially for the 1.4 tsi engine, but the others are fine.

I find them a solid built quality, morel likly comes from what factory has made the car, I know VW have plenty of factories world wide, not sure on Skoda, thing it's Czech republic.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

SteveTDCi said:


> If I liked mondeos I would have one, that titanium x looks really nice, they don't make the best buy brand new but at 9 months old they are such bargains compared to bmw's and audis, they only one that comes close is the superb.


Yeah, I got mine around that age (5000 mi) and saved 35% off brand new with the extras :doublesho


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Tch Stamford had a black Eco boost a couple of weeks ago, if the op could get that for 15k he'd be laughing, I think it was closer to 17 though


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Grizzle said:


> My Mrs puts me in the back of the Skoda, it has a Town and Country seat cover and a Kurgo Backseat Barrier to stop me jumping through to the front seat.


Furry muff


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

As you don't seem to mind a saloon, how about a wild card car, the KIA Optima?

http://m.kia.co.uk/range/mid-sized/optima.aspx


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