The Chief

Ok here is my situation.

I have two cars at the moment My 99 Subaru and a Pug 205 1.1 that i use for work.

The problem i have is that i drive to Brighton every 3-4 weeks to see the GF
(she flys on alternate weekends btw)

Doing this in my Subaru is costing me around 90-100 quid in juice.
I bought a 1.1 205 for saving money and getting me to and from work.
Now it is a great little car but to be honest its a little tired and i dont know
if it could cope with a near 300 mile journey and to be honest on the motorway and running it over the hills (the way i go) it is gutless.

A friend wants to buy it and i'm thinking of putting a little towards a small diesel - maybe 600 quid at the most. so to be honest rules out a lot of turbo diesels.

I was thinking of a Fiesta 1.8D or a Corsa 1.7D.

Has anyone an experience of the above cars. i really need something that will do 50mpg+ on a run

I know non-turbos are pretty crap but i just need something reliable for a few hundred quid that is economical yet can do a stint on the motorway.

Cheers guys

The Chief

Sorry Mods maybe i should have put this in other marques

paulwrxboro

iv got a astra 17 td on a p not a bad car you can have it for 500 if ya can collect from middlesbrough

taffyboyo

I got an n reg citroen zx turbo diesel estate (nice)

£450 from auctions, its one hell of an ugly car, but loads of room and a cracking 1.9 turbo diesel motor more than makes up for it

about 400 mile from a tank (£40) it would be 500- 550 mile if driven carefully,

you dont mind what crap you chuck in it and you'll never worry about it being parked up, I actually laughed the other day when someone nudged me from behind in a volvo, no damage, but I didnt even get out to check

Stainy

I have a fiesta 1.8 non-turbo for a run about. If you think your existing car is gutless, think again The Fiesta is in a whole new league for ****e performance. The downside of this is that I rag it absolutely everywhere just to keep up with traffic and MPG falls to about 40.......I suggest a cheap turbo-diesel. Citroen ZX?

Vapid

Rover 400 series diesel run it on waste oil and diesel mix.

The Chief

More Gutless than my 1.1 205 - i doubt it ha ha but cheers for the pointer

Gillp95

You also forgot to mention you have a chavalier

Sell the chavalier and the pug and get a good diesel car.
Fiesta, corsa, polo, 306, etc etc.... Theres loads to pick from

Dream Weaver

Buy a 205 GTI

Or if it must be a diesel get a 306 TD Sport.

Stainy

Mate, the book says 59bhp from new. Mine has 85K on the clock and they weigh the same as a small planet

/edit to say the 1.1 205 apparently has 50bhp. I bet they weigh a bit less though

The Chief

Thinking of a fiesta or a Corsa but someone todl me that Fiestas were gutless.

Walts buying my Pug by the way and i'm sticking the Cav on Fleabay.

A turbo diesel would be nice but a little out of my range

The Chief

That is very true - if your 10 stone i'm ahem considerable more than that

Gillp95

Chief is a little more than 10 stone

Stainy

Lol, I never said he wasnt, (Btw, I'm 15 stone )

The Chief

God i wish i was 15 stone ha ha

The Chief

Ok so it looks as if i'm goinna have to get training. seen a place do it for 550 quid including test

***Oops i fecked up there!!!! i should not be so much of a post ********

brybusa

Could always take your test(if you havent already) and get a bike...the motorways are bearable even in winter

You'll get knocking 50MPG at steady 100MPH and wont ever get stuck in the traffic...I do a similar journey to you now and again and it costs me approx £100 in the car...and under £40 on the bike for a much higher journey speed..you'll save a least an hour on your trip as well...=more time in bed with her!

Reffro

205TD, cheap and surprisingly quick. Failing that look for a ZX TD, cheaper than the 306 for same age mileage.

The Chief

Are teh ZX reliable???

The Chief

i've thought about that - had my full licence since 1990.
Hmmm dont know if i'm brave enough for another bike.
i used all my nine lives in the 90's

I was a little bit of a shall we say.

Older and wiser now though

Reffro

Same issues as the 306, watch out for head gaskets and chocolate teapot heater matrix. Otherwise you'll have the usual mix of stuff. Parts are cheap, gsf and eurocarparts have everything needed.

Try and find a Volcane if you can, a touch lighter than the 306DT, but with equally good handling. They really are surprisingly competent.

Add £500 to your budget and you could look at the earliest Xsara TD's. Completely unloved cars, hence very cheap, but very comfortable and would suit your motorway trips to a tee.

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

You need a Nissan Micra 1.0 or an Almera 1.4. Easy 40 mpg and the 1.4 was 87BHP when new. 100% reliable. No cambelt to change. Just change the oil every 6 months. I have registered wifes Almera as a charity, its that cheap to run. It cost 33p to run for 2 years other than 4 x £16 oil changes.

kammy

Hi I am selling my Fiat Brava for £300 ish on ebay.

P- reg with an airbag, does 45mpg on Unleaded, mp3, e/w, c/l etc.

Let me know if you are interested, or just browse ebay- its the one with 15"TSW alloys and a bluey colour.

Kam

RMA26

You can have my car

PM for details, will cost you a little more than a few hundred tho........

The Chief

What ya got?

RMA26

A 1.6

The Chief

Nah i need something a little more economical mate cheers

Hol

iTrader: (1)

I have a 1.8 Escort GTI that I use for the train station/tip runs/football runs. Its is just about adequate for power on the motorway.

I did have low miles £400 Escort 1.8LX, which I thought was 'invisible' but someone still nicked it and crashed with the police on their tail. Shame it had cheap budget tyres and was pre ABS/Airbag, he hurt himself
If I could get away with something bigger for what classes as a parkng space at our local station, I would get something like a Mundano 2.5. On a run, the ecomony is not bad.

RMA26

No probs mate, she averages 35mpg tho.......

kammy

What about my motor!
You can have it for £300- taxed, tested, economical and safe. Just want shot of it.