[SA Chris]

Sounds like best possible outcome.

[teestub]

Good outcome!

£8.5k doesn’t get you much in transporterland, be looking at something written off, old or with moon mileage?

[Paul B]

£8.5k for a Transporter is shed money mad as that may be.

[spidermonkey09]

Yeah fair comment, that is totally mental though!

[SA Chris]

Engine warning light on Focus (some vague intermittent ABS fault according to diagnostics) and seized front brake caliper on T5, on the same day (yesterday). Should have bought a lottery ticket today..

[Fultonius]

You're not driving the alps are you?

[Dingdong]

Any suggestions for vans around the $5-10k mark?

Don’t mind if mileage is around 100k or so, just looking for most reliable ones…

[SA Chris]

You're not driving the alps are you?

No, but leaving the stress of sorting them out for wife to deal with...

[Paul B]

The AllRoad has sh*t itself again.

It's looking like a ride height sensor but it's a reminder of the constant threat of big bills if you choose to run an older car that cost a small fortune when new... but V6 etc.

My trusted local garage closed last year which isn't ideal.

 

[User deactivated.]

I've been playing the bangernomics game for a while (for our second car anyway) and the most recent pile of shit has died.

My views on value have changed a bit, and I've decided to get something a bit nicer and more reliable. For me, peak value seems to be around 5-7 years old with 50-100k miles (10-20k per year), and no more than 2 owners. It seems this will cost around £8-12k. The car will mostly be used for going climbing, work (meetings / site inspections often a long way e.g. Stirling this week and Brighton in a couple of weeks!) and ferrying the kids around. I want an estate that's big enough to get a few pads in and is comfortable, quiet, and ideally has Android Auto for google maps.

I've always turned my nose up at the more premium cars, but I stumbled across the Audi A4 Avant 2.0 TDI and amazingly they're a similar price to Mondeos/Passats/Mazda 6's/etc., quite a bit nicer inside and extremely frugal. Perhaps they're £500-1000 more when comparing like-for-like age/mileage. After doing a bit of research, the reliability doesn't seem bad and I've found an immaculate 1 owner 2018 model with a good spec (heated leather, etc, etc) from a private seller who appears to have really taken care of it. If i'm concerend with reliability, should I forget about the Audi and buy a boring Toyota Avensis (for a similar price!), or is this still a relatively sensible choice? Of course, i'm aware that if something does go wrong, it will cost more to fix and with modern diesels there's always going to be some element of luck.

Paul B's post is worrying, but i'm definitely not looking at a 4 wheel drive V6 here!

[Paul B]

It's the same TDI engine across the VAG group cars regardless so you're not going to get better reliability out of a Golf/Passat/Octavia/A4 etc.

You can get some amazingly well equipped Superb Estates (not that I've been looking..  ). During the pandemic a client insisted I was needed on site for a meeting at the far end of Cornwall (from the NW). I drove the A6 down by myself and it was a dream on that kind of journey (auto, air suspension, V6 and a very nice cabin).

Look into the gearbox issues if you're going automatic (the gearbox ECU likes to fail and damage ensues; this is not cheap to fix). This happens on a range of VAG boxes including the 7 speed slush box (I had this) and the DSGs too.

Peewee's Avensis (07?) which he recently swapped for a '14 plate 520d Touring was bulletproof after a fair chunk of miles and was pretty well equipped. He'd recently fitted an AA head unit that looked factory for not much money.

I can fault scan the Audi using a Carista dongle and a free app (ELM Car Scanner). If you're ok with tech it seems like a bargain for £20-30.

[Johnny Brown]

I've got a 2007 Audi 2.0TDi, doubt it's the same engine but had no problems despite it never sounding great. The DMF and/or clutch have been a common failure point, Jim's A4 DMF failed as we arrived in Font which was a fucking pain, I'm on my third clutch at 160K and wheel bearings are going one by one. Other issue is fault sensors which seem to have generally shorter lifespan than the part they sense, while there are no sensors on important bits like the clutch/ DMF. Still feels premium and I still enjoy driving it, cab is great and overall would recommend, looking at replacing with same or A4 avant. A4 might be a bit smaller in boot and back than your alternatives?  Cheapest of the premium saloons I think (maybe Lexus?) but I see no advantages in a BMW or Merc.

[SA Chris]

Engine warning light on Focus (some vague intermittent ABS fault according to diagnostics) and seized front brake caliper on T5, on the same day (yesterday). Should have bought a lottery ticket today..

Then guy pointed out while fixing the caliper that there is a knocking coming from flywheel and should probably replace assembly. Cue another big bill. Hopefully that's it for now...

[Tom de Gay]

My 2007 A4 3.0 Tdi required new intake manifold flaps at 57k miles, at great expense. It was a good car for munching up the motorway miles, pretty efficient and could do London to Leeds and back without refuelling. Room in the boot for a couple of pads. The 2013 petrol Q3 which replaced it has been OK on the whole, other than a minor meltdown caused by a failed ABS sensor.

[Tom de Gay]

A mate ran his Toyota hatchback to >250k miles, doing around 20–30k/year. It was held together with bits of gaffa tape in the end.

[Paul B]

I think I've said it here before but last time I had a courtesy car from a garage in Clitheroe it was a 1.9TDI Passat with 440k miles on the clock (that had previously belonged to a customer).

The engine felt surprisingly good, the exterior wasn't bad but the interior was hilarious as all of the symbols had worn off the buttons. I think it died a year or so after.

[SA Chris]

A mate ran his Toyota hatchback to >250k miles, doing around 20–30k/year. It was held together with bits of gaffa tape in the end.

My dad had a Toyota Camry that managed similar, it was in SA, so long distance miles and dry climate though.

[James Malloch]

Any tips on knowing if a car battery is fucked? I went to move my mums car last night snd the breaks were seized (apparently it happens a lot). Anyway, my van was behind it so I couldn’t reverse to unstick them, so waited until today and now the battery is dead.

It’s an old 45Ah Halfords battery (it is filthy) and down to 7.0V

Is there a way to know whether to just replace it, or if jump starting it would do the trick? She is away for another week and I wouldn’t drive her car.

I’m tempted to just fit her a new one so it is all sorted, but if it isn't completely dead then I would jump charge and take it for a drive.

[Paul B]

What type of battery is it (/car)? Stop/start systems use AGM type and people seem to overlook this. If it's not charging to about 12.6-12.7v I'd say you have an issue. It should be 14.4v ish during charging.

If you've got a decent trickle charger you can 'recondition' batteries although I've read it's a bit of a nonsense. I have an Einhell charger but Ctek seem to be the best recommended brand.

Again, you can monitor voltage during drives with a cheap OBD dongle to check your alternator etc. is performing correctly. I should say my Audi's battery (BIG AGM) was a bit problematic when we first got it as we didn't use the car all that much and I regularly had to trickle charge it during very cold spells. It's now not an issue (runs off to touch something wooden...).

This is my charger:
https://www.einhell.co.uk/p/1002225-ce-bc-4-m/

The benefits of the Ctek are I believe that some of them have the ability to wire up their connection points into accessible places which can be useful if you have a classic or something that sits for long periods of time. My Dad's TT which he garaged for winter was a bit of a pain for this. Mine goes on the jump points under the bonnet and I can route it out via the panel gaps around the headlight! 
https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/mxs-3-8-uk

[James Malloch]

It is this one. I am guessing just a standard Lead Acid? It is just used in a normal 15 year old petrol car, not a stop start one.



When you say it should charge at 14.4V, would that be off the alternator if I jump started it from another car?

I think I can pick up a battery for under £80 so I am tempted to just replace it (though the charger could be useful for our other vehicles so maybe it is worth getting one and trying…)

[sxrxg]

Battery of that size should be available for £50ish, try eurocarparts, local motor factors. Tbh at that age I would just replace rather than trying to trickle charge back to condition. 7 volts is very low and I would expect to have to replace batteries every 5-8ish years anyway.

[Paul B]

Just check it's the correct size for the car. The air box for my T4 was over the battery and the previous owner said it was recently replaced when I bought it. I didn't check and when things got cold I was struggling to start it (I was bumping it daily). Finally I took the air box off and the battery tray was massive and the battery was not (insufficient CCA). Yours at least looks physically correct in size but Halfords never inspires confidence so check what the manufacturer requires.

I meant with your car running, it'll be putting 14.4v to your battery. You can measure this with a multimeter if you have one. Why not just jump it/bump it and see if there's a problem after a long drive?

[teestub]

I think I can pick up a battery for under £80 so I am tempted to just replace it (though the charger could be useful for our other vehicles so maybe it is worth getting one and trying…)

I used GSF car parts in Skipton for a battery before, they have a reg checker thing on their site to make sure you get the right battery.
https://www.gsfcarparts.com/

[James Malloch]

It’s not my car (it’s my mum’s) and i won’t get chance to have a long drive whilst visiting. They are on holiday so it was more to make sure it’s working when she gets home.

I’ll try and jump start and see how it is charging. If it doesn’t work I’ll just sort out a new one so it is sorted for when she gets back home. I feel guilty that it went when it was me trying to move it!

[Lopez]

At 7v the battery will now be fucked even if it wasn't fucked before. Might be possible to revive it but it won't hold charge and will eventually die promptly for good, leaving her stranded in the worst case scenario.

Wet lead acid batteries also need topping up water and that looks like it's never had a top up, so would be another nail in the coffin. Might want to get a sealed lead acid instead (EFB,AGM, etc) for ease/lack of maintenance.

Paul's tip to check and make sure the alternator is charging is a good call. With a battery in good nick and not fully emptied out the voltage should read between 13.8 and 14.4 when running the engine as he mentions, depending how much charge is on it, but it won't be anywhere close to that with a battery at 7v until you got a fair bit of charge on it.

Best place to get batteries is Tayna https://www.tayna.co.uk/

Edit: And a top tip. When you buy a new battery (or get it delivered) check the mfg date and charge. Any older than 6 months, or lower voltage than 12.4v, reject it