Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

I'm currently considering the possibility of buying a diesel because of the huge miles I do, however I don't want anything boring (already have a remapped ST which I love).

Ideally it would be something which I could chuck my MTB in plus a dog and other rubbish I like the idea of getting a bargain 4x4 type thing (would be great for taking to rallies) that was once an expensive car but due to increasing costs is seeing its value drop like a stone. Although obviously I don't want to be caught out with high running costs, parts, services etc.

My criteria are: Climate (might consider regular A/C for right vehicle), lots of torques, fun to drive, NOT boring, comfy for long journeys, a few toys

At the moment all I've done is a search for diesel vehicles up to 11k on Autotrader to see what it threw up and it was a surprising selection that included Audis, Mercs, pick-ups, landies, VWs etc. I'm sort of leaning towards either an Audi estate or a pick-up at the mo but I need the thoughts of the Scoobynet massive please

Ta

Sal

PS. The last time I posted about buying a diesel I ended up buying a petrol Focus which was lovely but seriously dull. The current ST was going to be a diesel too until I accidentally took it for a test drive

stilover

Sal.

I'm driving a Golf GT Sport 170 at the moment. Have to say I'm well impressed. Lots of Torque, great over taking ability.

Build quality is very good. Mines got Leather heated seats, Ipod connection, & 18" R32 Alloys on it. Stereo is very good too.

Not sure you'd get a 170 for around £10k, but I'm sure you'd get a 140 for about that money.

Not really had it alone a back road at at "real" speed yet, but handling feels pretty good. Averaging 44mpg on short runs (10 miles each way to work & back) but get more on longer runs.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

How about a Vauxhall Astra/Vectra, saloon/estate. They've got a great engine and can be mapped/chipped to nearly 200bhp. They drive nice and you'll get a good one for £7k

scoobynutta555

To get a bike easily into the boot, I'd say get a Mondeo estate. You can pick up an 05 for £2.5-3kish.

Golf would be a big pain for lumping a bike in the back. Maybe get a gt tdi and get a rack on the hatch for the bike.

Think you'll be defeating the object of saving money if you go for a diesel worth £11kish. What you'll save on fuel you'll spend on depreciation.

IainMilford

iTrader: (15)

I'd go for a seat ibiza cupra, comes with the same 1.9 tdi engine that my missus has in her seat leon, only the ibiza is a smaller car, around 150bhp so it wont hang about, and you'll get mega economy as well.

sorry now i've finished reading the rest of your post I'll add in that you may want to get a seperate bike rack unless you've got a really small bike

Jamescsti

Have to say I used to own a Mondeo and you could do far worse than one, mine was the 110bhp LX which was the basic model and even that was a great drive and had aircon, on your budget you could get a fantastic spec one, take a look at the ST TDCI estate

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

Mondeos have savage depreciation though. I've got one and its in negative equity Something like £2.5-3k per year for one at £11k. Decent car though if you can put up with that.

Jamescsti

Depends on what you pay though, I wouldn't suggest spending 11k on one if it's just for use as a work horse, can pick a good one up for around 5k quite easily.

I picked mine up for 2.5k, with 80k on the clock, absolute bargain, would still have it if it wasn't written off. Insurance company gave me 3k 20'000 miles later

scooby222

depends on exactly what sort of fuel consumption you want,if you can live with 30 ish mpg and fancy a 4x4 type then id go for an x5- plenty of poke,room in the boot,tows and is surprisingly fun to drive for a 4x4. servicing costs arent bad apart from th tyres. only real downside is the image!

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

Do some research on the actual costs involved Sal as you'll probably find you are better off doing the miles in your ST. Unless you get a small underpowered diesel your actual fuel cost savings will be minimal (diesel is more expensive). Going from an Alfa 156 JTD to a Clio Williams as my runaround increased my fuel costs by about £2 over 300 miles and even this was offset when my insurance dropped by £20. The difference in driving enjoyment is hugely in the Clio's favour, despite being slightly slower in a straight line, the Clio is also a lot easier to work on and being NA has fewer bits to go wrong.

If you insist on going ahead with your plan I'd suggest a BMW 530d Touring, do get a manual though. Assuming you can squeeze your bike in the back (may have to remove the front wheel) it is nippy, surprisingly well setup suspension and a steering wheel that is connected to the front wheels. Don't expect to get much over 40mpg out of one.

I've yet to hear of anyone getting decent mpg out of a pickup. I've also not driven an Audi where the wheels and steering wheel had any obvious connection - would be as well having a steering wheel mounted to the dash connected by a wire to a motor on the steering rack for all the feedback you get.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Cheers chaps for all your input. Just to reiterate this new oil burner would to run alongside the ST, Colin (the ST) isn't going anywhere

I suspect that deep down I'm using the high mileage thing as an excuse just because I want a new toy. The idea of a pick-up is something we've talked about for a couple of years. It would be a great workhorse for the bikes, building the extension, rallying in, driving up rugged tracks in the middle of nowhere etc etc.

So what kind of MPG are we looking at for a pick-up then?

stilover

Mate has had several Pick-up for work. Always depends how it's driven, but certainly nothing over 25mpg.

Remember these thing weigh quite a bit. So they're never going to be economical. If you're wanting to save money via mpg for a second car, but also want to carry bikes etc, you'd be better of with an Estate car.

Pick-ups/SUV's are either a fashion statement by people who can afford to run them, or by businesses that need them.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Audi allroad! 40mpg+ 2.5td so plenty of torque as well as being mappable for lots extra without being too detramental to the fuel consumption. fit a tow bar and buy a trailer for the work on the house.
Go on to the audi forums to find out how to sort the handling out

TopBanana

Audi? Fun to drive? Are you 'avin a laugh dear?

It has to be a BMW 530d or 330d... leagues ahead of the rest with that amazing engine.

dpb

Buy an old scooby pick-up - youll be better off in the long run

If i did it again , i cetainly wouldnt bother with a highish mileage diesel estate - way too much to go wrong - id have gone for a petrol ( at less money..! )

v8voodoo

The man talks sense.

330d. Without question.

SPRINT : BMW 330d M SPORT INDIVIDUAL TOURING

S2000 - 4U : BMW 330d 330 D SPORT TOURING WHAT VALUE !!

BMW : BMW 330D SE TOURING MANUAL

Reasonable pace, frugality and fun.

chiark

I went from an 03 WRX to a 51 plate E46 330D (184bhp version) M Sport. Bloody hooligan machine, especially if you add a Unichip... Genuinely preferred it to the WRX, even if it wasn't as fast or grippy. If anyone tells you diesels can't be fun, they really haven't tried one. It's astonishing.

41mpg over 40,000 miles... Cheap servicing at a specialist independent. Expensive on parts, particularly the front wishbones, but bloody good fun.

(Now running an E91 330i. The diesel was probably faster in most cases)

dpb

It appears Dyney has a pick-up..!

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

4x4

TopBanana

Audi / 4x4 both incompatible with fun

Matteeboy

Will get a **** kicking but our 2005 Astra 1.9CDTi estate (150bhp) has been superb. The hatch is faster (8.3 to 60 vs 8.6 for the estate) and not far off hot hatch territory. The torque is also the same as my old R32 Golf and it's a lot lighter so really does shift.
Chassis is well sorted, top end models have decent lowered suspension and bigger brakes and in 53k miles, it's been pretty reliable.

You could get pretty much what you want in the range for £10k (ours is probably worth about 51p now). Fast(ish), reliable and practical and not bad on fuel.
The BMW is obviously a nicer car but thirstier and you won't get much for £10k.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

he's not wrong! iv'e had a few over the years, work related, and you could pick up a good one for 5k and get yourself a track car or full on off roader with the other 5k

Devildog

Jesus sal, you don't want for much

You'll struggle - whats great for the bikes, dog, rallies, etc will not be as cheap to run as something which would be fun to drive, cheaper to run, etc.

Define fun, though?

We're getting 30 plus mpg out of the Shogun, its fine over long journeys (where mpg is better again) and fun to drive in its own way. Takes the dogs, bikes, etc, with ease. Servicing and maintenance won;t be cheap in the long run though.

Something like a 330D beemer is likely to make the ST a bit superfluous, and again, if anything goes wrong you will be looking at big bills.

Astra estate (as suggested) may be a reasonable compromise, and you'll get a much newer one for the money than a comparable VW estate.

Did skoda not do a 4x4 octavia estate with an oil burner? That might work?

Edit - here's one

Autotrader - Skoda Octavia Estate 5-Dr 1896 cc 1.9 TDi PD 4x4
Might be crap to drive though - I've never driven one

Devildog

Or perhaps something more upright, like

Auto Trader UK - HONDA CR-V SE EXECUTIVE DIESEL 1 of 6 CRV's in stock. 2200cc

Which may be a "better" compromise and is full of toys and likely to be uber reliable and relatively cheap to run

rickya

iTrader: (18)

BMW 330d touring

trialsben

If your going to go for a pick-up then I'd steer clear of the Mitsubishi Warriors, our one at work is on it's 2nd engine after 35k and there's a few other stories about of other people having engine trouble too. I'd personally be looking at Nissan Navarra's and Isuzu's if i was after a pick-up. Tbh though, they're not very good motorway crusiers and they're only fun on the backroads as the handling is so bad!

One of mates has a Honda Accord estate 2.2D, it's not the fastest but it's enough, it's very good on the twisties for such a big car and we've had 3 Dh bikes and 3 people in it before. Also plenty plush and very reliable.

Maybe a Volvo D5 could be a good mix of fun / space / comfort too? Plenty of tuning packages about for them too if your that way inclined.............

I couldn't really find a good compromise when I was looking so I've ended with a chipped Leon Cupra for the fun and a VW transporter van for the practicality! Much beats getting changed in a cold car park at the top of the hill after going mountainbiking then trying to keep as much mud as possible out of the car when loading the bikes in.

BOB.T

There will be NO Astras in this household, HTH

Devildog

You'd better behave Bob, now that Sal is a Senior Moderator

BOB.T

Tell me about it, I just got an infraction for leaving the bog seat up!

falkster

Just been going through this myself. Ended up spending 4k on a 330d 2004 53 plate with 80k on the clock and full history.

No point spending loads of money on a daily driver when there are loads of great cars for under 5k