Matelot Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Hi!,Next Easter when I am in France I'm thinking of purchasing a second hand estate car to leave at my French home. I would like to get a reliable diesel vehicle to use for transportation of dogs, vin 'en vrac', [:P] etc. Does any member have some good suggestions of what make and model to look for?Any advice would be very welcome!Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 OK, I know this is a UK site, but in terms of engine sizes and basic models, they are pretty much the same country to country although the options and specs may differ.http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-comparison.aspxHere you can enter up to three different cars (say a Pug, a Renault and a Citroen) and get an unbiased view. By estate, is that what you really want or perhaps you might look at a van-based car such as a Renault Kangoo, or a mini-MPV like the Picasso (which is in fact based on a Berlingo chassis, not the Xsara as it's former name might suggest.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eslier Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Depends how much you want to spend I suppose. It would be best to stick with Citroen, Peugeot or Renault as it will be far easier to get spares or have repairs done efficiently. Mid-size MPVs are not really suitable for dogs but you might find an old espace with only five seats that might be ideal. Otherwise, Laguna estate, Xantia estate, 406 estate or maybe, if you want something a little newer a Citroen C5. You will find that there are far more diesel versions around anyway in France but expect to pay a lot more than you would for a similar model in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Laguna 2.2l 4-6 year old model have a habit of destroying their gear boxes at around 150.000kmHappened to a friend of mine, and when my 1.9 gears developed a problem (pin loose in linkage) the garage admitted as much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 [quote user="Eslier"]It would be best to stick with Citroen, Peugeot or Renault as it will be far easier to get spares or have repairs done efficiently. [/quote]I can't believe you just said that Eslier. This is the 21st century you know.[:D]So all the Fords, Vw's etc etc should just be dismissed because they ain't French? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 My local garagiste certainly has no problems servicing a Skoda. However, if you're buying second hand stick to a German or a French diesel as some older Nips etc are behind on diesel technology. Modern Nissans have Renault diesel engines in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan le Fey Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 We bought a (then) year old Renault Megane diesel station wagon/estate when we arrived here in 2001 and it is still going well now. We use it to carry our two Great Danes with us almost everywhere we go along with all the usual bits & bobs, weekly shopping etc and find it does the job very well. Also, despite the occasional slagging off we hear from UK iro Renault, we have found them to be really good here. Example: we read about a little recall with Meganes soon after we got it so we spoke to the dealer to see if it applied to the estate version, he said he would check. He came back to us next day to say that Renault were not sure but said to change "it" (forgotten what "it" was) anyway just to be sure. When we picked it up after they had fixed it, he said that they had also changed the battery and the place where it sits as the battery had been a bit cracked and acid had leaked out and corroded the shelf thingy where it lives. All FOC and with a smile. I can live with service like that.[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 How about a Lada - plenty of those about [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I'll be looking for a left hooker diesel estate at some point in the near future and I'm planning to have a look in Germany for it.I'm told that because the Germans love their indigenous VW's, BMW's, Merc's etc. so much 3 to 5 year old French cars are unpopular and can be very good value for money, lets see.......!EDITHow does this compare to similar in France ? http://cgi.ebay.de/Citroen-Picasso-HDi-Turbo-Diesel-Euro-3_W0QQitemZ290090735111QQihZ019QQcategoryZ9801QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemEDIT 2This looks like a pretty good dea, delivered to UK as well:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SKODA-FELICIA-DIESEL-ESTATE-LHD-LEFT-HAND-DRIVE_W0QQitemZ140093166695QQihZ004QQcategoryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaud Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 There is a 2nd hand dealer in Belgium who pops up on eBay (if you imput Left-hand drive) who seems able to source not so old cars at more reasonable prices. He seems plausable and could be worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliveau Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Xantia or 406 with the HDI 1.9 engine, or cheaper, 405 1.9 turbo dieselMy 406 is cheaper to service at a main dealer here than in UK, despite 19.5% TVAPeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chezstevens Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Why not cut out the middleman. TGV to Liege or Brussels for 100 euros then .... www.autoscout24.be/ . Save yourself a bomb. Check that dealer says TVA deductible.regardsVern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matelot Posted March 12, 2007 Author Share Posted March 12, 2007 Thanks to everyone who replied. Some useful information here.Salut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 [quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="Eslier"]It would be best to stick with Citroen, Peugeot or Renault as it will be far easier to get spares or have repairs done efficiently. [/quote]I can't believe you just said that Eslier. This is the 21st century you know.[:D]So all the Fords, Vw's etc etc should just be dismissed because they ain't French?[/quote]Just to put this in perspective I can bicycle back from three local Peugeot dealers, at least two Citreon dealers and three Renault dealers. Ford, Skoda and VW are a good 50 minute drives away and many interesting dealers are the wrong side of both the Gironde and the DordogneYou can also buy most consumables which I would replace myself like brake pads, batteries and cam belts either from the hypermarkets or from the auto centres.I would avoid PSA current generation with as they seem to have taken a step backwards as regards electrical reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audois Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Be careful of buying a car in Belgium, I almost tracked a car down there to then have a long conversation with the salesman who told me I'd need to make two visits, the second one being almost a month later due to Belgian paperwork; just wasn't worth it for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chezstevens Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Absolutely - I would take the bike over for the first visit using Calais day trip. Then later in the month Ryanair to Liege (park bike for free at Stanstead), cross country on the return to help bed in the engine, say hi to the family and chill for a couple of days then Poitiers to Stanstead. I am used to working 16 hr days flying so not a huge hassle. Changing our car at some point over next 3-4 years, once pursestrings loosened by SWMBO, so will give info then. Our current car was originally a german registered LHD Scenic that has been registered twice in France, twice in the UK and once in Gibraltar. regardsVern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 A straight 6 or a V8 I can buy into but a 2CV always sounds like it is going to die between ignition cycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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