Well as you may know i had a little incident in the car a few weeks ago, and my rover has been written off, so we have to buy a new one out budget is about 1200 but i need something with a boot space for a buggy and dog cage:rolleyes: any suggestions? i've seen a nice vauxhall astra but the mots only untill Jan, i'm always weary of cars with short mots. I quite like peugoet (SP) 306s? worst thing is we only have a week from the time the cheque comes and then then take back the hire car so times not on ourside.

I have a Peugeot 306 estate, have had it since new. It is a great car with a very large boot for it's size.  Infact I have been looking for a new car and can't find anything the size of the 306 with the same amount of boot space.

I too have a 306.  It is a work horse.  Carries everything but the kitchen sink to the shows with me.  My parents have the Skoda Octavia estate, that too has an ample boot.

I have a VW Passat and could not recomend it enough. Loads of boot space and split rear seats so you can  have one or two or all three back seats down. I find if I need to put a cage in I can get a fairly large one in on the folded down double seat in the back and still have the use of the boot for big dogs. I can get three full grown Bernese in the back for short journeys although I do fold the seats down if we are going further then 1/2 hour trip. I also had a boot liner fitted for it and it makes a huge difference to how clean I can keep it for "Posh" trips out!!

i really like the Peugeot 306 estate but i don't think they are in our price range

I think when you're looking to spend the sort of money you are, you can't really go out with a car in mind. The best thing to do is simply get the motormart, or look at the supermart online and shortlist all cars in your price range that say they are hatchback or estate. Google them if you're not sure what they look like. I've often ended up with (and been really pleased with) a car I originally wouldn't have thought of. Good Luck with your search :)

Thanks Jane good advice

Well, I have had a vauxhall estate, that had good space, although i found it a bit thirsty but could have been its age, the best one though by far was an old Volvo  estate. I was lucky being its 3rd owner (it was ancient) and it had only a genuine 34,000 on the clock with MOTs from all its life to prove it. They are funny to look at, but fantastic workhorses and have tons of room in the back before you drop the seats! Comfy to drive too, and didnt have a love affair with petrol stations :D They come quite cheap.

In Sweden of course a lot of dog people have Volvo estates, and they DO last for ages. We are just about to get a new (as in second hand) car, and have been wandering around the car parks at championship shows to find what ones have most space for dogs LOL. We've come to the conclusion a Volvo estate V70 is what we'll get. So many of the newer estates seem to have much less boot space than older models we noticed! But this one is okay. (We currently have a 1998 Ford Mondeo estate and most seem smaller than that, but the newer Mondeos are smaller too!) We don't want a van (even though in many ways it would make sense) so it must have space enough in the back.

I've got a volvo v70 D5 and would recommend one.  the fuel consumption is execellent (average over 45 mpg) and it has never let me down. Its my second volvo and love the comfort that they give

Jill

Here is a review of the V70 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/used_car_reviews/article460801.ece?CMP=KNC-IX7429721604&HBX_PK=volvo+v70&HBX_OU=50

Here is a video review: http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-review-video-alt.aspx?RT=137

I agree about Volvo estates - OH has had two, the first did 310,000 miles in ten years :D The second would have done similar if it was written off (by someone driving into the rear) when it was about 7 :) :) OH regretted not replacing it by another when he bought his Passat estate (although he is happy with it now).

Daisy

well we went and saw the vaxhaull astra, its a 1.6 16v 98 reg 85k and oh really likes it, but i think it maybe a bit hightly priced at 1400 and he says he won't drop, its got nice alloys say oh :rolleyes:

I'd say it was a little high even if the car is in great condition. Parkers quote £1250 for good condition and £420 for poor condition if buying privately. Of course thats just a rough guide, but you can use it to haggle :)  Another bargaining point could be the mileage, there are lots of that year with much lower mileage (around 50 -60k). I wouldn't mind 85k if it was diesel but on a petrol it's a bit high.

Sometimes with older cars you need to look at not just the book price, but the life it has had. A full service history, backed up with Mots, and not many owners, together with a car in good overall mechanical condition (get a RAC check, always worth it, unless you know a good mechanic to check it over) and clean and tidy interior and body, may be worth paying that bit extra for. especially if you want to keep it for a long time, so depreation won't matter that much to you, but a long trouble free life will.

Alloys for the boys eh ;)

alloys look nice but its one other thing to scratch esp when i park i'm going to keep searching, oh's friend is a machanic and said hes going to look about talk to friend and call today, we only have a week untill the hire car goes back thankyou all, helpful as always