I bought this car (unseen) via an online site 5 years ago (£2700) All instincts would have said 'no'. It had done 132k, no credible service history, When I collected it, there was a blizzard and so my inspection was limited to whether there were 4 doors.

It was an impractical purchase - I am on my own in the car 99% of the time - but in no small part thanks to my trusted indy - it has proved to be a good buy.. Around 50 mpg in general use. Reasonable insurance and £12 a month to tax. A wash and polish and it served well as my daughter's wedding car (saved a few hundred quid!)..

What I lke about this car is that a trip to my daughter (300 miles) is no big deal, and the drive from there down to Andorra is something to look forward to rather than something to dread..

Edited by SLO76 on 29/03/2018 at 21:55

Running an older 2.1 petrol X-Type I do enjoy your threads Joe. :)

That was good old Betsy, wasn't It, Alby? Glad to hear it's still flourishing. I remember you being very sorry to see it go, even when it wsa being replaced by a company Mercedes.

It sounds from this thread that the Ford 2.0 TDCI is one to recommend to people who come on here asking us to recommend a used diesel. For many of them the best advice is not ot have a diesel, but for those whose high mileage merits it, this engine seems to have fewer tales of woe than most.

Good luck wirth the trip, Joe: here's hoping that you don't need the dubious services of a French mechanic again!

Back home safely - a brief trip report. (Figures are from car computer).

Mileage Newmarket to Andorra to home (Pembs): 2185 (car now near 178k). Average mpg: 52.3, average speed 60 mph.

Trip included motorways at 130 km/h, climbing Pyrenees in nose to tail with 5 feet of snow on verges, many miles on French D roads, etc.

No problems whatsoever. Didn't discernibly use any oil. Car was able to produce 007 type black smoke when required to discourage French tail-gaters (why do so many of them do that?). Weather from +20 to -3 blizzard.

One highlight was Shell V-power at €1.00 a litre in Andorra (standard diesel €0.90 a litre).

As I said, I'm just reporting what the car computer said. Most of the run to Dover was on 70mph limit roads, so running at about 72 ish. French motorways at 130 kmh limits run at about 85 ish. Of course, many roads were much slower, but 1100 kms to Foix at motorway speeds does bump up the average. The roads were fairly quiet overnight and I found that using anticipation overtaking HGVs didn't make much difference. The run from Calais to Andorra was more or less non-stop apart from pees and coffee.

Interesting point about the tolls to SW France, but I was heading due south past Toulouse and beyond. (A66/N20). I haven't calculated the toll charges yet (nor other expenses of the trip I lashed out on with gay abandon, e.g. steaks and bottles of wine) but that's the beauty of using cards - you only come down to earth after you come home and check statements!