Estate or Saloon????? Private or Trade????

[biggrim]

I'll be mostly getting a Passat TDI when my car is sold. Now the question is, do I want to get an estate or a saloon?

I occaisonally go snowboarding and mountain biking (once a month if I'm lucky) and have been thinking about going estate for the ease of chucking stuff (big stuff) in the boot, however, the choice of estates for sale nearby are quite slim and I keep asking myself, is an estate overkill for my day to day needs?".

I'd just like a bit of help really from any people who've made a similar choice in the past.

Also getting my ear bent about getting a car from a dealer as opposed to a private sale or auction. What are the benefits/pitfalls of these options?

I'd ideally like a 130pd sport or highline or se (well any 130 tbh).

Cheers,

Graeme