Wuss

The time may have come to part company with my Scooby. I may have to start doing 25,000 miles a year, so my question is, what car should I be looking at?

I will consider any type of fuel, diesel, petrol or LPG. The only other factor is that I need something which still has a bit of poke. I don't mind paying the extra, just not as much as the Scooby's running costs!!

BTW sorry if this has been done before, but for some reason my search facility is screwed - it keeps saying I need to log in when I have already done so??!

All opinions would be welcome...

fatherpierre

BMW 330D if you've got the cash.

A6 2.5TDI

Two to start you off with.

[Edited by fatherpierre - 5/29/2003 3:14:42 PM]

what would scooby do

I bought a saab 9-3 coupe 2.0 turbo for £7500 with low mileage, leather aircon etc etc, great Q-car, beat a Honda Civic Type R (he must have missed a gear)

Only downside is handling is a bit strange (can be upgraded)

185+bhp and you can hear the cd player @ 130mph..

really depends on how much you want to spend

Flat 4x4

An open-ended question if ever there was one !

If we assume that mpg costs do count and go diesel, then I did 18 months and 45000m in an Audi 2.5 TDi Quattro (re-chipped) which was comfortable, had sports suspension (the rear is independent on quattros) and whispher quiet once above 30 mph.
AND AND AND It gripped in all weathers.

I've never liked BMWs (its just me, I guess), but a 330d or even a 320d (chipped) Touring have loads of usable torque and driving fun.
Unless its slippy in which case give me AWD any day

Wuss

Good point. I could spend up to £20k. Should I concentrate on buying second-hand or new?

I think a BMW 330d is a bit out of my price range!!

TopBanana

I've just got a Passat PD 115 SE. Quite comfortable crusing at 90 (on private roads), and I get 500 miles for £38. Will last for ever too I reckon

fatherpierre

Look on Autorader's site.

Some 2yr old 530Ds on there for under £18k

Or a 3yr old 330d with only 39k for a fiver below £18

[Edited by fatherpierre - 5/29/2003 3:27:57 PM]

NotoriousREV

I do 24,000 miles a year in my Scoob

Wuss

Notorious,

You must be a very wealthy man!! All I have is a UK MY00+PPP with an allowance of 15p per mile! That doesn't even cover the petrol which is working out at 16.2p per mile!!

Wuss

I can't believe that a year 2000 BMW 330d has more torque than a standard P1 or EVO VI!!

Top Gear report - bottom of fourth paragraph!

NotoriousREV

I would be if I didn't own a Scoob. Mine is all private mileage, too, so no allowance at all. **** me, thats £4k a year on juice

I feel a diesel coming on...

Wuss

Notorious,

I would do almost anything to keep the Scooby, but I have got to face facts, the amount of money I'm shelling out on insurance, servicing, petrol, tyres, etc is just plain ridiculous. If I took all of this money and put it towards the mortgage I would be able to pay the house off in 10 years (rather than 30!)

A diesel is the only option...

Flat 4x4

Wuss

Don't forget that Audi VW are the only brands that offer four wheel drive with a diesel engine in a road car.

I'm not saying most people 'need' 4x4 but I do miss it.
Last 4 cars: Audi A4 Quatto x 2; Legacy 2.5; Impreza Turbo; Skoda Octavia 4x4 220bhp.

The last Audi (190 bhp/285lb/ft) averaged 36mpg in my hands.
The Skoda (220 bhp/228lb/ft) is averaging just over 30 and is on long life servicing like the Audis. An Audi in everything but name and cost

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Wuss,
Remember that you might be able to reclaim from the IR !

D

TopBanana

I've heard reports that the quoted consumption figures for the 330d and 530d are... well... ambitious. Worth thinking about

MattOz

I've had 2 330d's and they have both been fantastic. They do nearly 500 motorway miles on a tank of juice, and about 400 combined miles. The trip computer on mine showed my average as 37.6 most of the time. It would go up to 38.7 on a run, and then drop back after a couple of days of town work. I found it didn't matter when I reminded myself that it's a 6-cylinder, 3 litre, turbocharged car!

They can be a little thirstier than expected, especially the steptronic. I know someone who rarely gets more than 29mpg. Still, they are arguably the best diesel car in the world!

I changed mine for an M5, and certainly miss the fuel economy of the 330d.

My g/f has a Golf GTTDI 110bhp and I enjoy driving that when I get the chance. Her average mpg is just under 48, and she does have a heavy right foot! THe VAG cars are going to be best if you want great economy. A Golf PD130 would do the trick.

Cheers
Matt

brickboy

The VAG PD130 motor is pretty good, especially the high-torque one that comes with the 6-speed box. 99% of the time it's as quick as the VAG 2.5 V6 tdi, and a lot more economical.

It isn't state of the art for noise suppression round town etc but once rolling it's very quiet. Lots of 'em coming onto the used market too.

davegtt

lexus ls200

dave_gt

If you can afford it a Merc E-class. My Dad had a petrol one that did 330,000 miles and in that time had one clutch replaced and the electronic ignition replced, but I think that was about all. It was a fantastic car on the motorway and there is something very special about the view down the bonnet with the three pointed star sticking up - it acts a bit like a target

Marc W

I was facing the same dilemma 6 months ago and replaced the Scoob with a S reg 1.9 tdi Citreon Xantia bought for £2,200.

It is slow, wallowy and uncool but it does 500 miles to a tank of diesel and in 6 months has cost me NOTHING Not a penny spent on it. Depreciation - couple of hundred quid at most?

Its also got a/c, cd, sunroof, etc, etc.

All the money I'm saving pays for more track days in my Caterham, which incidentally, the Citreon is fantastic at towing as its got self levelling suspension.

I would MUCH rather have a BMW 330d of course but the savings have been so good that I'm planning on running into the ground over the next few years and maybe I'll be able to treat myself to a bigger and badder toy car?

Marc

[Edited by Marc W - 5/30/2003 12:26:51 PM]

Merc_Cosworth

S14a Nissan 200sx

secondhand will set you back about £7000 for a really low mileage example.

I run one as a company car.
78,000miles in the last 2 years - all flat out, never warmed up or down, generally abused - damn thing has never ever missed a beat.

fixed cost Servicing every 6000miles

Average about 20mpg driving hard - less with the air-con engaged. Will do about 35mpg cruising/gentle driving

I only recommend it because its been so boringly reliable. Its the first turbo car I've had that hasn't died on me.

Plus - 200bhp, RWD, LSD & easy to tune.

Flat 4x4

Is it a coincidence that I've seen 3 200SX's lose it on the road in slippy conditions ?

Not knocking the car in any way, just that I think if you're coming from a Scooby, you need to have a certain level of driving skill and / or common-sense adjustment to a slidable RWD'er

cletterridge

If you only cared about fuel costs, you could save a packet with one of these:

http://www.benerridge.freeserve.co.uk/econ10.htm

Toonman1

I used to do 25K a year in my Scooby when I was self employed. Now I'm "employed", I do 20K a year, of which less than 500 is business mileage.

The difference between 25K at Scooby MPG and 25K at 30MPG is only about £18 per week. Worth it I reckon. Even at 40MPG...

Cheers

Stuart J

Skoda Diesel, Its just an Audi for 10000 less, same lump, same mods can be achieved, same reliability & build quality,
We used to have a Vectra, an STI 3 & a Xantia as a work hack (could not afford to run the scoob all the time.)
we now have an Octavia 4x4 & an Octavia 1.9 diesel. Both are great cars & we got BOTH for £25000. The diesel is a top of the range L&K, full leather etc etc & was new, the 4x4 is an elegance & was 1400 miles old (6 months demo model) & we now have money left to enjoy ourselves