Hi, first post here. I am suddenly in the market for a new family car, since our Commodore Wagon was written off.
This time around we are looking at a diesel SUV for better (and more useful) towing power, better highway performance & economy while fully loaded on trips, more boot space and some offroad capability (dirt roads and the occasional beach). We have 2 kids and not looking to expand the family, so I wouldn't use the rear seats.
We have about $9k to play with. The most common car that comes up is the 2007 XC90 diesel 5 cylinder (all auto versions), and it looks like it ticks the boxes. I've researched about common problems, and the dominant one seems to be transmission issues. Is there any way to check for this while inspecting a car? Any other common issues I should look out for?
Another potential car is the VW Toureg V6 TDi, which looks fantastic (especially the engine!) but sounds like it's less reliable. Can anyone comment on how these two compare?