What kombi/estate car to buy in Poland?

Usual dilemma, have to buy a kombi/estate for a growing family and I do not want to buy a bus like thing as I already have an opel meriva and would like something that drives like a car.

Only looking at Polish registered vehicles as I can't be arsed with the rigmarole of importing paperwork - done it once already.

Budgeting about 15k for this, so should I buy:
1) a BMW/Audi effort from 1999-2003
2) a newer model (but ultimately French/Italian) from 2005-2007
3) a bog standard workhorse - mondeo estate / octavia estate which can be fixed anywhere and relatively cheaply?

What do you think?

mullerriceman
Octavia vRS estate - speed, good interior, VW mechanicals. I ran a vRS for 7 years, best car I ever had - now running a 2005 Cayenne and it may well be the worst!!!

You could also look at a 4WD Octavia?

Octavia. Simple choice for what you want.

I don't know that VW mechanics are anything to want ... every VW we have ever had has only been 'reliable' until something important blew and it cost thousands to repair ... every single one ... talking probably 10 cars over a period of 12 years, here.

We now have BMWs, and they have the kind of solidity and craftsmanship that I think people associated with VW once.

I would go for something unlikely to break down, but nothing is ultimately reliable. If you get a BMW or Audi, couldn't you get it fixed in Germany if anything went wrong? I don't know how prices are in Poland for servicing of those marques.

If it were me, I'd go for BMW, Audi or Mercedes. They cost more because they're better.

Mercedes are not better these days at all. Older ones are built like tanks, but they also consume fuel like tanks too.


Labour costs would kill you to even consider this.


Octavia. It really is the sensible choice - they're common in Poland so repairing it won't be a problem, parts are easy to come by and plentiful and they'll just keep on going. And crucially, they'll take what Poland has to throw at it.

But are you really sure you want to buy in Poland?

To mimic the thoughts of others, it's a choice of 1) or 3). Avoid any of the cheap-and-cheerful options, as they'll not only let you down when you need them most, but will also return very little money when it comes to sell them on.

An old 5-series BMW can soldier on for half a million km, but be wary of oily leaking turbos on the diesel versions; replacing those will bankrupt you. The same goes for the more powerful Audis. Anything with the old VW 1.9 TDi engine should be rock solid though, if you're looking at older cars.

As others have commented though, think twice before you buy in Poland.

Might be a problem if the car actually has a driving related issue, mechanics are mechanics be they German, Polish or what ever. Besides the cost of driving to Germany might well be around 5 times more expensive than the fix fee. Thats a really silly idea.

i think to get a decent BM, Audi or Merc in Poland you need to be able to spend over 25,000 PLN.

Most common competitive cars these days are built well. i always check out the star rating on Autotrader and read the owners comments, some really handy info there.

I hate Mondeos and Vectras, maybe go with the Octavia, seems the best of the lot form what you listed.

Holy crap 67 miles to the gallon and a owner rating of 4.75 / 5. thats damn good.

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  Octavia 1.9 TDI