Young family friendly classic car

I chose a Volvo 940 estate, had it 14 years now. It was a non turbo auto but soon became a turbo manual so isn't as boring as it was. They aren't overly complicated and while a few parts are now difficult to get, non air con heater valves being one of them. One issue I found was that the seat belts in the back are a bit short for some child seats.
Your other choices might be new enough to have isofix fixings though.

Old Swedes were considered. Pre-98 preference, that way classic insurance is possible.

850 T5 would be cool.

Isofix didn't arrive until mid/late 2000s


Short belts can be overcome by using extenders. I'll need a new baby seat anyway, as our 2 are identical and isofix only.

I have a P38 and it's by no means slow - although it drinks fuel but then again I don't do lot of mileage in it - tows like a train - all the room & comfort you would ever need however to find a nice low mileage one is a challenge but they are now climbing in price - mine was shipped in from Japan

Saw your thread, looks mint.

Few around the 120-130k mark. DSE preferred, manual.

MPG don't bother me, got Saab for daily use and Mrs has fn2 type R.

P38 would be holidays and days out, when we have jnr and junk

Not sure if it ticks the 'retro enough' box given your fleet, but Saab 9-3s are worth a look. I'm about to almost give away my 'vert as it has a few issues, but the prices out there are rock bottom for even decent cars.

From my 2.0l FPT (185 bhp turbo) I got about 30-35 mpg and that was on a mix of weeks of short drives to work (car barely warming up) and longer B-road blasts with a heavy right foot. On a long drive through France at M-way legal speeds iirc I was touching 40 mpg.

No real rust issues that I've seen. Engine sludging can be an issue, but is well known and easy maintenance (synth oil and/or a sump drop to clear out the curse word). Bulkhead cracking is also known (not sure if that is 'vert only) but can be check before purchase - a bit of a PITA but once you've looked online, it is pretty obvious what you're looking for. They come in convertible and hatch (Wikipedia says the estate was only from 2003 onwards, but I thought I'd seen some older ones). And of course, they have legendary tuning potential if that is your thing!

there was a bloke years back who asked a similar question/was told to go get a sensible family car by his wife.

he came home the same day with a Delorean.


I don't know who or where he is, but that man is my hero

You'll be forever fixing anything LR/RR if you do mileage. You know what the Aussies say, if you want to get into the outback take a Land Rover if you want to get back again take a Toyota...

As a father of our I can only say kids cost more to run than anything with a V8 or weighs over one and a half tons

How about a , don't laugh, Rover 75 tourer they can be good i'm told.

Unfortunately i'm a V.A.G. man so a bit biased but I got hold of a 98 E39, 5 series BMW for my brother in law a few years ago and he's had no issues and it fits him being a Homer Simpson look-a-like.

^^^^And you are pretty well guaranteed to do better than the other car in a crash!

A W124 230TE would be great for you. The only thing is to get one without rust. IMHO these are the hidden gem of the W124 range; diesels are now expensive for something good, and the 6 pots are too thirsty with the 200E making even some diesels seem reasonable! The only thing I'd say is if you get a 16V version make sure it's had a new loom. Even with a £400 repair made to the loom, if there are any traces of the old wires left it will crack again and you will cry and hate the car as t lets you down. Recon looms built up from the ground up around around £500-600 with Mercedes wanting £850 for a new engine harness with next day delivery. Yes, they are a known fault on multivalve petrol cars.

The only other thing you have to look out for is a tired example and rot. People take their 'solid' status to heart and neglect them. Rusty wings I'd be fine with, but I'd take a careful look at the rear subframe mounting points, the sill jacking points (they have plastic covers aka Sacco Panels on later 1990 cars like mine, which can hide a number of things) as well as potentailly the bukhead, where a leaking master cylinder or spilt brake fluid can cause corrosion. If those key areas are fine you'll be OK.

850s are a good shout too.

I wouldn't discount MkIII and MkIV Mondeos here. The only thing I'd say is to avoid MkIII diesels; a good one is a great thing, but a bad one will have you wishing you never ever bought it, like many modern diesels. We've clocked some massive figures with a family and they've been great workhorses. We currently have two MkIV 2.5T (the ST engine). One is on 159k and the other is on 174k and both are great.

I love the idea of a P38 but they can be a massive world of pain. Yes, low mileage may get you out of trouble but they are Land Rovers (aka unreliable) and now 20 years old, where maintenance will count for much more than mileage.