the_boy

It looks like I will have sold my car on Tuesday which means I have to get my skates on and find a replacement as soon as possible.

I'm hoping some people may have driven these and can possibly suggest which is the best / most suitable.

I'm looking for good mpg with as much performance as I can get, current car is a Mitsi so I'm looking for one service at least every 12,000 miles instead of every 4500

Budget is approx: £15000

I've narrowed it down to these (unless anyone can suggest better?):

Audi Fastback 2.0 TDi 170 Quattro (same VW engine which is cheaper)
Audi A4 3.0 TDi TDV Quattro (expensive to maintain )
BMW 123d M Sport (rare and on the edge of my price bracket although I can extend a little)
BMW 330d M Sport (manual - again budget is stretched possibly too far)
BMW 535d M Sport (possible but with high mileage, the one I wanted has just sold)
Mini Cooper S JCW (finding it impossible to find a good one, most just have bits attached)
Seat Leon FR 2.0 TDi (not as good as the VW)
VW Golf 2.0 GTi (not great on mpg but a good all rounder)
VW Golf GT TDI DSG 170 (good mpg and performance, it seems to be the one to go for?)

What do people think?

Thanks
K

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I don't know why you under rated the seat leon, tbh its probably a better car than the vw (better dealers who do bend over backwards for you, even after buying the car), but I don't rate the vw diesel that high (its not actually as good as the competition).
The bmw choices get my vote

Tony

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Oh I should give you a few examples of vw and dealers tbh
One mate has a vw bora 130 tdi 1.9, no engine issues, had the car since 1 year old, fvwsh, low miles (under 50k), lots of niggly problems (subframe, suspension etc) doesn't drive it hard either.
Next is a guy at work, vw golf, 04 plate, 65k fvwsh, bought from a vw dealer with the full extended 1 year warranty, 3 weeks later on the motorway doing 70mph in top gear (1.9 tdi) and bang as the piston goes through the block. Dealer originally refused to claim for the engine, he had done 300 miles since buying the car off them, they eventually folded and he had a new engine fitted.
Last mate has a seat leon 2.0tdi (yes the new engined one), 06 plate, just over 25k on the clock, fssh, 1 month out of warranty and an injector went.
Seat could not do enough for him and his missus, new courtesy car (2 miles on the clock), spoke to seat for a good will gesture (part was 900 quid ) which they did, all they said was that he had to pay for the labour (400 quid), but atleast they treated him and his missus like they should have been treated

Tony

ScoobyDoo555

Well, in the last month I've got Golf GTI. It's a really good car.
Had an Audi S4 beforehand.

Got to echo Tony's dealer experiences. It took six dealers before I found one who wasn't rude or effective in either returning phonecalls to take my money!!!!LOL!!!

For £15K, you could be looking at an ED30 (stronger internals than the GTI, and a bit more poke) or even a slightly older R32.

Compared to my Audi, the build quality is pretty much JUST as good. The stereo can only aspire to being as cr@p as the original Subaru stereo (Phillips nastiness). One day. If it REALLY tries.

ie. it is sh1te.

My car's manual, but did drive the DSG - a truly fantastic piece of kit. Takes some getting used to though.

Get over to GolfGTI.co.uk forum - Index
or Mk5 Golf GTI - Index

There's a lot of info on the cars there (if you register on mk5golfgti, make sure you put me as the referrer DanoGTI )

also looked at the Seat, but wasn't impressed tbh. Liked the exterior styling, but not the interior.

Dan

Cyberevo

iTrader: (1)

I had a 123d M-sport Coupe in metalic black with a tan interior, it was pretty much fully loaded and low Co2 so made a great company car.

Good points:

Torque, it was stunning, around 295lb and pulled hard in any gear, the twin turbo engine was a stunner, far from a normal oil burner and really no lag.

Handling was very good, ok, it's not an out and out sports car but handles great

I had the upgraded sound system with the subs under seats and it was fantastic.

Fit and finish was superb as were the heated seats

Bad Points:

MPG, due to the fantastic torque I went ***** out everywhere and managed an average of 39mpg, my ex boss now has the car and is getting over 46mpg

It felt a little small, and there is not much space in the back, boot size was ok though.

Spring and dampers setting was pretty firm, in Msport guise you do notice pot holes more than you should....

I had the car for 6 months and it got better with more miles on it, a great little car.

thesyn

Sorry for the hijack.
ScoobyDoo555 was your s4 the V8 if so what didi you think of it. I know that Hoppy loves his and respect his views.
Just interested in what someone else thinks.
Thanks in advance

the_boy

Cheers for the replies lads

TBH I'm hoping to get at least an average of 35mpg which was one of the reasons I excluded the Edition 30 and the R32.

My going fast days are probably over and I only drive 12 miles to work each day so it seems pointless really, hence one of the reasons I'm getting rid of my current car.

I did see a 123d the other day for £18,000 but my sale won't come through until this week and it's now been sold. They do seem rare on the market at the moment, the good spec ones anyway.

I've also been reading a few mags etc and the VW always seems to get the nod over the the Seat, especially with regards to interior. I know they both use the same engine as does the Octavia VRs and TBH I'll probably send it to a decent indepenadt I know from my old Scirocco days.

Current car has tiptronic so I'm guessing the DSG won't be too far off that.

Does anyone else have any thoughts?
Thanks

john banks

VAG reliability is IMHO terrible, worse than Fiat I reckon. I was just starting to like our GTI (because I had nothing better to drive, and the front tyres being replaced to CSC3 vs CSC2 has given more grip and a smoother ride), when a month out of warranty it produced £1750 of electrical faults, although VW did pay 100% of the ABS control unit and 50% of the inlet manifold leaving a bill of only £125 bless them. Two simple sensor faults needed a new ABS control unit and inlet manifold. My friend's RS6 has had 9 lots of suspension and 3 gearboxes. Our A2 had a leaking sump and an assortment of electrical issues to sort. Just wait until you start digging about coked up FSI engines too...

Minis are virtually famous for unreliability by now, and BMWs have lots of niggles too.

Most reliable have been Ford (petrol) or anything Japanese from what I've had.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Had an old ford mondeo (M reg fsh) 68k on the clock when I bought it several years ago now, did 40k miles and sold her at 108k, no rattles or anything just normal servicing (little bit of rust in the rear arches) and only changed the wheel bearings (known issue), very reliable (1.8 petrol).

VW, people seriously over rate them, as John say's, pretty unreliable (and they really are), jap is the way forward though I would still like a nice BMW 330D if i could afford it so as I cannot, I shall stick with the scoob and the Astra 1.9 CDTI

Tony