Car Hunting Woes

[NEB5]

I start a new job in September, as does my wife. So this means I'm having to find a new car.

Having my 1999 1.8T Passat, I naturally started to look at B5.5 variants as we could do with that bit more room for camping trips and also for the occasional bulky haul. The search on Autotrader though has been disappointing to say the least. I'm not averse to high milers - my 1.8T has done 202,000 miles now, but its just the state of nearly every car that I have seen so far on the interweb that have done 100-150k. There's the dents and marks on some, the prospect of runst coming through the wings. Then there's the interiors with the classic signs of worn gearbox gaiters and seat bolsters. The interior in mine by comparison is still immaculate. Then again i'm the sad sort that makes a hobby out of cleaning my car.

So, instead I've begun looking at Audi's. I've learned through research to avoid the 2.0 TDi's which have oil pumps that have a habit of eating the engines so its maybe an older 1.9TDi 130. Am I wrong in making that assumption? There are one or two that I think are worth seeing.

This is the bit though where my heart is starting to rule my head. I quite fancy getting a 2.7TDi A4 or even an A6. The latter would be awesome and there are some that could be had for good prices well specced, even if it might be a bit more to run, but it's one of those moments in life where I think I should treat myself maybe. I've read abotu the 2.7TDi's and I have found out they are chain driven and are pretty reliable except for the swirl flap motors which some say are an issue.

Has anyone got any thought on what would be a good way forward. I'd like to try and keep an open mind if I could. The problems is that I'm looking at a time when the market is at that quiet spot before the 64 plates come out so I guess I'm at a bit of an advantage. Part of me for this reason thinks that it might be better just to go for a simple runaround for a short while and then buy later, but then that opens up a huge can of worms in itself.

With all these dilemmas does anyone have any thoughts?