Al9

hi need some help/advice.have sold my scoob a few months ago then replaced it with a rx8,but petrol costs are getting stupid.i am currently selling my mazda and am thinking what to get diesel wise,the options are:
merc e270 cdi avantgarde(03model)
audi 2.5 tdi sport avant (04model)
bmw 525d/530d (04 new shape)
will be highish miles ie 100k ish fsh
what i want to know which is the best to get in terms of reliability/cost of parts if goes wrong/economy.
cheers

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

There all gonna be expensive to fix if they go wrong TBH.. And at 100k they may go wrong at any given time.

They all have issues with injectors and turbo's are known to blow too..

Any common rail diesel is an expensive car to repair once they have gone wrong nowadays.

Dedrater

100k is nothing at all for any of them cars my Avant (02) is on 213k with no major problems, only things that have been changed in fact are the two front shocks and the rad (probably due to a stone hitting it).

Petem95

Yeah agree, 100k is nothing for these. IMO Audi build is probably better than the others, but the 2.5tdi engine is an old design and not the best refinement or MPG.

530d will be best performance, but having looked getting one recently I found there aren't that many out there - loads more 525d's, but they're a fair bit slower and there's nothing in it MPG wise! BMW diesels do tend to suffer weak turbo's it seems, but still think you'd have to be pretty unlucky to have one go.

Merc 2.7 TDi engine also isn't the best (again, looked at CLK's a while back, and unless its 04 or newer from mem, then engine is unrefined and not great MPG)

IMO you'd be best going for a 2.0 TDi A6 - assuming thats in the price bracket, or the 530d if you can find a nice one.

bpm1588

if your looking good mpg and to save a few quid you really are'nt looking at the right cars.all of the above are going to be fond of the diesel,i think you would find yourself 20 quid better off a week but driving around in something that sounds like a cement mixer!

if your going to make the move too diesel stick to the 320d's and 1.9/2.0L a4's.at least you will notice a few extra pounds in your pocket and be driving something fairly decent.

i made the move myself about 10 months now too a 170 2.0L tdi audi a4 from a newage sti,my running costs have been cut in two allmost.....i do miss my scoob but band g and 80-90 quid a week fuel was really far to much........with the money iv'e saved i have bought myself a 95 sti ra as a long term project car just to keep things interesting

Al9

thanks for replies,have spoken to other half, and we seem to have agreed on an audi a4 2.0tdi,2005 facelift, but one thing is holding me back is that the noise from the engine when standing outside at idling is it going to be like a clapped out tractor! i have had a vectra a longtime ago and that is what the diesel version sounded like is it still like that?never tried or noticed what a modern diesel sounds like from outside the car. and do they have enough torque to easily overtake(even up hills)? cheers

Dream Weaver

Modern diesels are good, our Civic 2.2 doesn't sound like a diesel at all, just make sure you are getting a modern engine in an Audi though as they tend to use their old engines in some of the recent cars.

I'm also thinking of swapping the Civic next year to an A4 Avant, so good choice IMO.

Dream Weaver

As for torque, hell yes - Civic has 251 ft/lbs so it goes really well, and does 55mpg on a run easily.

Petem95

The 2.0 TDi is a bit on the noisy side (is based on the 1.9tdi but they're tough and well proven), but you don't notice it when moving. As mentioned I was looking for a diesel to replace my petrol A4 end of last year, and looked at loads including 530d's and A4 TDi's - and actually got an A3 2.0 TDi Sport in the end. On tickover it is slightly more noisy than a 320d, but it doesnt rattle the car or anything - and is silent when cruising.

Also torque and MPG is impressive. Got mine remapped to 180bhp (from 140) and it seriously pulls - averaging 51mpg on work commute, and to compare my 2.0 petrol A4 managed 36 on the same commute but was a lot slower. The only drawback with the remap is that (thanks to 50% more torque than standard) you can actually sometimes make the clutch slip a bit in 6th if you floor it at a fairly low speed...

bpm1588

you can notice the diesel noise standing outside my 170 a4 but i don't think its any worse than any similar diesel cars,when the car hits around 1500 rev's or so the note changes to a lot nicer one"for a diesel!".one thing for sure while driving its not going to worry you,its well built,solid and comfortable,the bose setup is top notch as well.mines been mapped too over 210 bhp/320 or so torques so it is'nt shy in the speed department either,more than enough torque to overtake up a hill with a trailer on!

most of my driving is town/short runs stuff and i don't see any less than 39 mpg averaged out on a full tank,thats after the remap.was a tad less for some reason before.the best i have seen with good long drives is a genuine 46 mpg over a tankfull.

djmisio85

Which audi model is it?

Tbh theyr all very reliable cars, my choice would be the audi.

And someone mentioned the old design of the 2.5tdi, the old 5cyl is built like a forged tank, these engines can do silly mileage.