Roojai

My wife has a bad back and the 350 miles per week she does in her MX5 is not doing her any good at all.

Shes got a spare £1000 and said could I get her a comfy car for her this weekend. A turbo diesel would be best due to the long distance she drives.

Needs to have soft suspension and soft comfortable seats so that her back is not strained.

I have found a 1998 mondeo TDi, and a 1997 P Reg SEAT Toledo 1.9 TDi SXE.

Any better ideas.

Chip Sengravy

comfy....volvo or citroen..

Reffro

Citroen Xantia, best ride comfort for the money.

paul2070

The Mondeo's are really gutless and therefore have to be worked pretty hard to keep on the move,hence economy suffer's.

The Toledo,while it won't win any contest's for being good looking,it does have a huge hatchback,and as long as it is the TDI and not just a TD,it does have an excellent VW 90BHP TDI engine that goes very well without having to work it hard and will never return less than 45mpg.............however it's driven.If you don't need a larger saloon,you may find a miley MK3 Golf TDI (same engine) for the money with a bit of haggling,but good ones,irrelevent of how many miles they have done,will always sell quickly.

Others would be a Citroen Xantia 1.9TD,or even a high mileage HDI for a grand,and don't be put off by the suspension as the spheres are rarely much more than a normal cars struts,and if working as it should,gives an excellent soft and comforting ride.The Peugeot 405's and 406's share the same engine's but have normal suspension,but if going for one of these,i would say you were better finding a cherished 405 for £1000 than a rough 406.Just be wary of headgaskets on the Pug/Citroen 1.9TD as i had one go on a ZX and one that was on it's way a few years ago .

KiwiGTI

C class Merc. 1996-98 C180, C200 etc

Dracoro

citroen xantia, rover 75, vaux omega.

the smaller the car, the harder it is to find one that rides softly.

mike_330

I have a omega forsale and I keep falling asleep in it, very comfy

Roojai

Thanks for the replies

found a reasonable looking citroen xantia, might give that a look

Roojai

also found a 93 audi 80 1.9TDi

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Nah, Citroens are not that good for bad backs, good ride sure but useless squashy seats.

Saab's and Volvo's all the way for decent Seats, a grand will get you a lovely 9000, 900 or even a 9-3.

Roojai

saabs must have poor economy with petrol turbo engines

Jamescsti

Don't think Omega's are diesel either, though they only make a 2.0, 2.2 and V6, but all petrol

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Why ?

You can get diesel's and I get 34 mph from my 2.0 Light Pressure turbo, admitedly on a motorway run, have seen 37 maximum and 27 minimum.

RAJ27

Any Rover can be had for that price. As it's the preferred car for the elderly (no offence, back problems more common), I think she get a ROVER 620 gsdi?Some of them come with a lot of kit and have cosy seats with lumbar support etc. , cheap car to run and has Honda input too. Here's an example:


1998 ROVER 600 620 GSDi 4dr Diesel Saloon

Price:
£950

Features:

* 73,417 miles
* RED
* Diesel
* 4 Door Saloon
* R reg (1998)

Full Description:

Glossary of Terms

Manual, 73,417 miles, Red, Only 73k on clock, Manual, Diesel, 12 months MOT, Full electrics, Full gray leather interior, Air conditioning, Mechanically excellent, engine sounds, doesn't smoke, starts always first time, very good clutch and gearbox, just serviced (oil and filters), drives superb, never let me down, used as second car on weekends, for someone who is looking for great mechanical condition, economical and comfortable car, first try will buy. £950. No offers

Auto Trader UK - Used Car Search - Used Cars for sale online.

or a 420i


1998 ROVER 400 420 SDi 5dr Diesel Hatchback

Price:
£999

Features:

* RED
* Diesel
* 5 Door Hatchback
* R reg (1998)

Full Description:

Glossary of Terms

Manual, r reg,2.0 litre honda turbo diesel engine,6 MONTHS TAX,MOT END OF AUGUST,very economical(45-50 mpg),air con,power steering,driver airbag(srs),alarm,5 doors,5 speed manual, 4x/electric windows,electric mirrors, remote central locking,abs,CREAM INTERIOR,very clean.last owner 2 years with full SERVICE HISTORY:mots,new timing belt changed on 19-08-2006(£180),new battery(£55),new starter motor changed on 05-08-2006(£150),new(front+rear)brake pads and discs(£150),new cv gaiters(£70),serviced recently(oil changed,all filters),all receipts with service history.any inspection more than welcome. £999. no offers

mike_330

errrr, I have a 2.5 turbo diesel on the drive, made by a certain german company

Longjing

That Rover 600 is undeniably cheap. I tend to think most big cars will ride better than small ones.

Good seats are probably the key. Also points to a bigger car really, cos an expensive (when new) car is more likely to have a decent seat I reckon. That said, my old primera was very comfortable & adjustable. Good cars for a grand too.

Roojai

Thats not bad but looking for 37 mpg min, preferably 42+ mpg

That Rover is cheap. I have always hated the idea of having a Rover, I do not know if I could purchase one, even at that price. I feel like they are fake (and crappy) Hondas, sorry to the Rover owners out there.

Big cars is probably the way forward but then there is the parking issue....

Brendan Hughes

Are 10 yr old Renault Lagunas that cheap yet? Friend commented on how her boss's one had some sort of rocking seat...

I think your difficulty will be matching comfort and economy - comfort usually requires a longer wheelbase, which suggests bigger car, which suggests more weight to carry thus lower economy.

Or, you get a little car and fit it with squashy springs and/or a fancy seat?

TopBanana

Lagunas do have a good ride. Rovers don't though.

Roojai

I think what my wife needs is more of an upright and comfortable sitting position, more than she needs a soft ride

astraboy

Another vote for the omega. Last night I took my 3 litre MV6 from london to bristol and it was a pleasure to drive. 85mph felt like 30 and it returned 30mpg. Not bad for a 500 quid car with 174k on the clock.
astraboy.

aggs

I have just bought a 405 Turbo diesel for £300 for my work car,goes well, comfortable,and cruises nicely on the motorway.
Geniuine 105,000 miles.
I would say at any lower price range the history of the car and being trusting of the seller is far more important than the car you choose.
You could end up with some massive bills if the car needs some servicing and replacement worn out parts.
There are some great value larger engine cars if your mileage is fairly low,this could be the way to go.
turbo diesels are popular and generally have high miles.
Personally I prefer the Peugeot/Citroen Engines on older cars because these were the best around at the time.(Performance wise).


The Xanthia has unusual suspension,that adjust its self to level the car what ever the load.
A good way to check it is working properly is to let the engine idle say after a run and get out of the car and lean or sit on the back bumper.
The car will sink to start with and then the engine will power the hydraulics to lift the car back to level again,as you sit on the bumper.
After this (I.e. the car is level) Get of the car and it will rise slightly then the car will realize the load has gone and sink to level again.
This can be done at front as well.
If it does not do above there could be a problem, or the spheres in the suspension is sticking slightly.
Makes the car a good tow car,as the back does not sink when towing a load.

The Zohan

I spent some time doing exactly this last month.

Ended up with a 1998 Pug 406 GLX 2.1TD. 135K miles on the clock with full service history, two owners and in excellent nick, everything works. All for a grand!

Car drives like it has 40k on it. i get 40+MPG out if it and it handles real well for a big(ish) car. My journey is split 30miles of motorway and 22 miles of backroads.

I also looked at Rovers 200/400's, pug 306's, VW Passats, Zantias, ZX's, Mundeo TD's, Astra TD's Omega TD's and old 3/5 series 2.5 TD's as serious contenders.

The 406 is the best value for money IMHO. I am very pleased it it and it feels like a quality car!

Roojai

I have found a pug 306 that is close by and in good nick for £900. Will probably get it even though it does not fit the "comfort" criteria very well. Cheap to run though and not too uncomfortable.

Really want an Audi 80 now but cannot find one near enough. Cannot find a decent passat or mondeo closeby either. Infact cannot find much decent TDi engined cars at all!
Have not looked at beemers, will have a look now.

Jap2Scrap

It'll be the cheapest car in the world to run if she never drives it because it hurts her back.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Mondeo TDi, advantages = 10k service intervals (endura de engine face lift version, earlier models were 6k) very comfy and cheap parts (though clutches are cheap they cost alot to fit )
Disadvantage = totally gutless below 2.5, runs out of steam at 4k, economy not the best but still 45-50mpg on a good run

Peugoet... Advantages = lots around, generally good workhorses and decent economy
Disadvantages = suffer from radiator rot, head gasket problems very common on all models due to the above, 6k service intervals.

Vauxhall
Omega 2.5TD
Advantages = bmw engine, damn comfy to drive and handle very well
Disadvantages = can suffer from rot and 5k service intervals dont help.
Astra 1.7td
Advantages = some have izuzu engines in, good runners and good economy
Disadvantages = some dont have izuzu engines in.....
Vectra Di (2ltr)
Advantages = 55+mpg, 10k service intervals
Disadvantages = its working its bollix off to do much, 80bhp in a car this big aint good.

Seat/VW/Audi
Advantages = at the time one of the best diesel engines on the market
Disadvantages = its german, dont be fooled into thinking its reliable, for 1k also you will be looking at high mileage examples.

Rover
Advantages = the 1.8 diesels are peugeot engines
Disadvantages = the other engines aint, plus its a rover.... if it doesnt break down, it will do soon!

Citroen.
Advantages = same as peugeot
Disadvantages = suffer the same problems as peugeot, plus on the active suspension citroens (xantia's) if it goes wrong its expensive to fix

Tony

Roojai

Too true.

However, the back injury is a temporary thing, which is not helped by her MX-5 (in theory..perhaps...).

A cheap pile of junk means that it can be left at the station in Bristol overnight when she gets the train back, and the seats, being normal unlike the low bucket-type seats of the mx-5, should be better.

I would really like something of a better cruiser but as this back thing may be very temporary, and as we plan to leave the UK in 6 months, it is not worth spending more than £1K on our third car. And our cash flow is not too good. Its a bit of a stop-gap we need. I will be doing up the MX-5 in the meantime to sell in May, and then my Integra Type R has to go too

It would be nice to use it for a few trips onto the continent before we go too.

Too much info......

Roojai

Thanks for the help, especially tony and aggs for their more lengthy posts

Could be my best bet

How do you tell which ones have izuzu engines???

I found a nice seat with the VAG 1.9TDI engine but it had 240 000 miles on it (book fully stamped). Should I stay away???

RAJ27

Rovers aren't expensive to repair. We had a workhorse 216 sli K plater with 120k on the clock. Did 35k in two years and the only thing that went was the distributor, which cost 40 quid to replace. Other than start started 1st time whatever the weather and carried all kinds of crap and no worries.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

The Izuzu engine is intercooled over the vauxhall engine, its also slightly bigger cc (1699 v i think 1686).

As for the seat, 240k with fsh is ok, but note that you may have other problems with the car, you could get a low (100k) mileage pug for that and less trouble (though id be tempted to replace the radiator if it looks knackered).

Tony