scoobyjimbo

Hi Guys

Need a chiep diesel car for wife extended mileage for her job, so she can keep miles off our other cars.

Max budget is around 8k - been looking as the usual supsects, want something focus to mondeo size with a decent 1.9/2litre diesel engine..

looking for it to have low miles as we are going to put a few on it.

Current thoughts were

Mondeo 130 Dissel
Alfa 156 JTD
Seat Leon tdi
vectra diesel
etc etc

anyone got any thoughts or anything I should consider..
cheers
J

scoobynutta555

I've had 2 Golf gt tdis, a 115 and a 130. Good looking capable cars which are suited to long motorway trips. The handling isn't out of this world, but up and down the motorway it doesn't matter.

You won't lose much money, if any, when you come to sell as they keep their money very well. 8k would buy you an 02 150 bhp one or a newer 130.

njkmrs

After selling the Scooby ,I bought a Seat Toledo tdi of a workmate for 6.5 k.
Need a cheaper runaround for a while .
Only done 23000k miles .
Not a bad car at all to be honest .
Looks are ugly but it also means it gets left alone hopefully .
Very smooth ride with cruise control ,climate control etc .
Very frugal on juice and relaxing to drive .
Fair bit of poke when you want it from its 110 bhp engine .

Not had it long but I would recommend one for doing the miles .
Regards.
Rob.

kammy

8k aint cheap!

To repay that kind of purchase on fuel savings will take several years. (If compared to a cheaper petrol equivalent).

KiwiGTI

Would the added mileage on the other cars really be worth more than £8k?

scoobyjimbo

Well i currently have a TVR 350 and a audi a6 3.2 quatro - so yes it would be cheaper i think, i also dont want to put the miles on them. Max budget is 8k, but if i can find something for 4-5k then i would take that, few mondeos around for 5k.

thanks for comments guys.
J

scoobynutta555

4-5k you could get a fiesta tdci (only a few years old) that does around 70 mpg , not quite the large sized car you were after though

I'd look at golf gt tdi 110's for that money. I've seen the earliest ones go for not much more than 3k on Ebay.

The Chief

Get a VW Bora TDi if you can put up with the looks 50mpg+ on a run loads for 5k

kammy

Have you considered LPG.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

I bought a 2001 Passat 130tdi sport with 80k a few months ago, it's an excellent comfy weekday car with 48mpg with the climate on......and it was only £5.5k! (Pay £1.5k more for an estate if you want true practicality.)

D

TopBanana

I can understand not wanting to drive the TVR to work, but why the Audi? Surely its an ideal commuting machine

scoobyjimbo

We do use the audi but I dont want to rack up the miles on the audi as it has 30k on already and is only 9 months old.. Hence getting another cheap diesel to put some mileage on and keep it off the audi.

J

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Try a mazda 2, its got the same ford 1.4 tcdi engine in, a friends sister runs a fiesta 1.4 tcdi and does some serious miles in it (25k per year) and it runs like a dream
8k would get you a pre registered one

Tony

phelpsa

Got a diesel V70 for sale for £8k-8.5k. 84000 miles. PM for more details.

logiclee

Well I've done the 156 thing, lost £7.5k in just over a year and gave myself a load of grief with crap dealers. I really loved the car when it was running perfectly but that wasn't very often.
Looked great though.

I haven't owned a Leon but have run both a Golf and an Octavia which are basically the same cars. Reliable yes but the last generation Golf/Octavia/Leon/Bora/Teloda are BLAND in the extreme. I didn't like the numb steering and lifeless handling and both cars suffered from brake judder. The old shape Passatt has the same numb handling as well. The early 90/110TDi's are very economical but noisy and not in the same league as modern diesels for grunt. The PD engine varients have more grunt but loose out on economy.

So that leaves us with the Vectra and Mondeo.
The Vectra's I've driven are very comfortable and would make great mororway cruisers but loose the plot on "B" roads with lots of roll and little turn in bite (Even the SRi which is now only a trim level). The 1.9TD 150 engine is a gem but perhaps outside your price range, the earlier 2.0 and 2.2 diesels are very poor.
I'm currently running a Mondeo TDCi as my milage tool and I think it's great, it's a comfortable cruiser but has crisp handling and superb steering feel. Get a post 2003 facelift version and you get better build and materials as well as cruise control from LX up. The TDCi130 has 266lbft so always feels strong unless you push for the red line then it will run out of puff at 3750rpm. Get a 6 speed version and an 80mph cruise is a relaxed 2000rpm and 50mpg.
Push to a Ghia version and you will get all the toys to make the long trip more bearable.

As for using a small car for a long motorway commute, I wouldn't. My Wife has a Fabia 1.9PDTDi and My Dad has a Fiesta, they are both great economical cars but I wouldn't want do to mega motorway miles in either on a regular basis.

Cheers
Lee

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Have to admit with Lee that the new mondeo is a real peach
Ive just bought a 98S TDi, not the best diesel in the world but it does me
As for bargains.... if you forget about the 130 and look for a 115 (if your no speed merchant then I doubt there is a problem )


Enlarge


2003 53 Reg FORD Mondeo 2.0TDCi 115 LX
5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Diesel, 24,000 miles, Metallic Panther Black, MOT-09-2007, 1 Owner. ABS, Air conditioning, Computer, Cruise control, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Front armrest, Folding rear seats, Headlight washers, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Radio/CD, Rear headrests, Central locking, Full service history, Metallic paintwork.Insurance Group:9, £6,340.

Dulaglen MotorsDealer's Website
Tel: 07973 174575

Distance: 26 miles
Price: £6,340

This is well in your price bracket

Tony

brickboy

@Lee -- is the overboost mode noticeable in the Mondeo, or is it fairly seamless?

As you know on the VAG PDs, once you've given it more than about half throttle, you seem to just get the same amount of grunt as you would for full throttle ...

logiclee

It's hardly noticable on full throttle, I suppose the difference between 243lbft (Constant Rating) and 266lbft (Overboost Rating) isn't that great. It does make the top end tail off seem worse, when you approach 4000rpm you not only have the natural tail off but have lost overboost as well so it makes the top end seem more breathless than it actually is.
What is more noticable on the Mondeo is the torque limiter in 1st and 2nd, it doesn't feel as strong as a PD130 in 1st and 2nd but then select 3rd and the pull is noticable greater. The throttle response on the Mondeo is more linear than the VAG but the Mondeo takes longer to build full boost IMO.

Cheers
Lee