Big family estates are holding their value better than the trendy MPVs on the used car market at the moment. Is it a sign that the recent economic troubles have made people switch from the fashionable-looking MPVs to the sensible feeling car that their Dad’s used to drive?
I have no idea, but if you plan to hang on to your car for a while its clear that buying a large family estate makes more sense right now that buying an MPV. While you spend a bit more, you lose a lot less. So here are three nice big family estates that you can buy with an average budget:
Mercedes E-Class
Image quality and reliability. The early E up to 1995 was the last of the old school Mercedes brilliantly built and now cheap. Later versions more affordable especially big petrols.
Most economical: E220 Cdi
Best used buy:E240
UsedCarExpert.com checks: 22
Used Car Expert magazine price: A 2000 Mercedes E-Class E240 with average miles of 67199 on the clock will be around £6814.
Volvo V70
State of the art estate. Plenty of space of course and only now are values starting to drop to truly affordable levels. Very comfy and practical.
Most economical: 2.5 D5
Best used buy: 2.5 D5
UsedCarExpert.com checks: 18
Used Car Expert magazine price: A 2001 Volvo V70 D5 S 2.4 with average miles of 83015 on the clock will be around £5436.
BMW 5-Series
Brilliantly engineered and built the best prestige saloon/estate you can buy. Very comfortable and great to drive with prices of petrol models dropping by the day.
Most economical: 525d
Best used buy: 525tds
UsedCarExpert.com checks: 25
Used Car Expert magazine price: A 2001 BMW 5-Series 525 tds with average miles of 99768 on the clock will be around £5,959.