[J.Kydd]

Car people. Your help is needed
I'm very shortly going to have around £1500 (+/- £100) to spend on a diesel estate
 
Thoughts on this?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201508115975096

Any other recommendations?

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Quite a bit of discussion on this thread about the pros and cons of various diesel estates. http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,25762.150.html

Think you need to be prepared for some big bills if you get a high mileage Beemer. Ask Paul B. Other people will recommend Skodas, Hondas etc.

Where are you based?

[Reprobate_Rob]

Based purely on reliability -
Octavia or Passat with the 1.9 TDi PD engine if you can find it.
Or Toyota Avensis.

Don't touch anything with a PSA 1.6 diesel engine in it (Focus, Blingo/Partner etc.)

[mini]

If your looking at that era Beemer, do a quick google search for 'swirl flaps' to check if your year has them. Can lead to catastrophic engine and turbo failure if and when they fail, which they are notorious for.

Can agree with the pro's of a VAG 1.9tdi. The version in my '04 Fabia VRS, remapped, and at 120k+ mileage and it still pulls well with little / no oil useage.

[andy_e]

I've had two VAG 1.9tdi cars. Fantastic engine, it just runs and runs. Currently on a Fabia estate, I'd recommend it, it's big enough for me but wouldn't mind the Octavia!

[J.Kydd]

Thanks guys. I've had a look and it sounds like the swirl flaps issue is actually quite an easy fix
http://www.bmwswirlflaps.co.uk/swirl_flaps.html
http://www.bmwland.co.uk/swirl_flaps_bmw/swirl_flaps.pdf

I've heard lots of good about the VAG PD130 Diesel engines, but there isn't a great deal available locally at the moment (Taunton, Somerset)
I'd be happy to travel 50 miles for the right car

This looks alright, but mileage is a bit higher than I was hoping for
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507205349375

Cheers for the guidance so far

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Stretching your budget a bit but they might take a silly offer...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201508045756626

Edit: Just spotted it's petrol so may be a bit pricey to run. 

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Audi?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201508105942604

[tomtom]

Mk4 golf estate is in that category too... solid cars.. same car as octavia but less popular/common..

[J.Kydd]

This diesel Accord is looking plausible too - almost 60 miles away though
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507024851171

What's the Golf like in size compared to the Passat? Most boulder mats still fit in the boot alight with no dropping of seats?

[andy_e]

I took 4 people, 4 mats and gear to font in a mk4 Golf estate. Plenty of room for 4 mats in the boot without dropping the back seat too.

[Ally Smith]

Minor point of pedantry:

The bombproof VAG engine is the 1896cc 1.9 TDI PD, with 105PS output. My engine was running sweet at 178k miles when i got rid of a '05 Golf in March (clutch was going though, but it had lived a hard life...). The very best engine of this engine class were built by Skoda, as the Czech factories got brand new castings when taken over by VAG, where as those built in Germany were legacy castings from earlier vehicles.

The 1.9 TDI PD in the Mk4 golf was prone to some problems with variable vane turbos in the higher power output variants (130 & 150PS versions - 90 & 110 less prone to this problem).

There is also a 2.0 TDI PD from the same era with a 1968cc displacement - some VAG vehicles, especially Caddy vans get advertised as being "1.9" when in fact they are the 1968cc engine. This is an engine to avoid as the oil pump is powered by a   poorly designed rod drive (£2k+ fix, i.e. a write off)