Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel?

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 10:50
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far

Hi, I'm looking to buy a used estate for about £15k to £16k and would love some advice. I promise to report back and let you know which I went for and how it turned out.

I am looking at the latest estate versions of the Octavia, Golf, Leon or Cee'd. I also can't decide between petrol or diesel.

I have done lots of research so far and have two test drives booked for later today. To compliment the research, I thought I'd ask the forum to see if you guys had any opinions.

I am looking at cars less than 3 years old and has less than 30k on the clock. I'm planning to keep the car for a long, long time and would not be looking at resale value as an issue.

As far as priorities go, I want the car to be safe, reliable, comfortable, fun to drive, reasonably economic and reasonably fast. I've owned VERY slow cars for far too long and really want something with a bit of pace. Because I would like something with speed, if I went for one of the VAG cars, I'd go for the 1.4 petrol engine or the 2.0 litre diesel engine. Of course, if I went for the Cee'd, I'd have to go for 1.0 litre turbo petrol or the 1.6 diesel, both of which are slower than the Octavia, Golf or Leon.

At the moment I do very few miles, maybe 7-8k a year and mostly in stop start town traffic. However, due to a change in job location, in 12 months my mileage will go up significantly to about 20k a year on A roads and motorway.

I did have a Mazda 3 2007 1.6 Diesel and (I'm guessing here...) due to my driving habits, short commute etc, I experienced terrible and expensive DPF problems. The whole experience has REALLY put me off ever owning another diesel. I am really only considering it because of my increased mileage on the horizon.

Can anyone tell me if the newest versions of the cars above suffer from DPF issues if they are driven on short commutes? I will need the car to survive the 12 months of its life before the long journeys begin. I read of one report of the new Octavia experiencing DPF issues but HJ said that it was the first he had heard of.

Ideally I would buy the car in 12 months time when my driving habits change, but I just can't do that and due to necessity, I need to buy a car now that will last me for a good 7 years or so.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the Octavia or Leon as I can seem to be able to get better spec value than the Golf and most reviews of the Cee'd say it's boring to drive and perhaps even a little underpowered.

Of course I will test drive all of the cars but any advice or guidance from people with experience would be gratefully received. If you think I've missed a car to consider, please let me know.

Thanks so much for reading :)

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 12:04
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Avant

Assuming that you're going for a manual transmission (most of us on here wouldn't recommend the DSG if you want to keep the car for a long time), then there's a lot to be said for the petrol VAG 1.4 TSI, which you can have in all VAG marques. I think I'd look at the Octavia and Leon estates: you should get something nearly new for your budget.

Alternatively, is you find the 1.4 not quite fast enough, you could look at an Octavia vRS estate. I had three of these and loved them. The 2.0 TSI petrol will do 40 mpg + on a long run; low 30s in town.

These are torquey, efficient engines which will still be suitable for you when your mileage goes up. Hopefully more of these high-efficiency petrol engines will come on the market as an economical alternative to diesel.

Other possibilities could be the Mazda 6 estate (very few problems it seems with the petrol engines) or the Honda Civic Tourer.

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 12:32
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far

Thank you,

Yes, I'm looking at manual.

Am I right in thinking that the newer 1.4 VAG engines are belt and not chain? Does that mean better reliabilty but more cost in terms of servicing every 60k miles?

I've just been looking at the Honda Civic. 1.8 petrol looks good but is £145 a year to tax. The 1.6 diesel is a bit slower but maybe worth looking at.

I've been scraed off Mazda's by my previous experience although I know that they're generally very good cars and would never try to puit anyone else off buying one.

Thanks again.

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 12:45
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - brum

Afaik Skoda uk recommendation for cambelts in the 1.4tsi is 5years/120k miles. If you live elsewhere in the EU, the time requirement mysteriously disappears and becomes an "inspect" every 20k.

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 19:27
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - barney100

For me a Volvo V70, capable of mega miles, nice to drive, turns into a decent van with the seats down and a tough car. Given TLC these cars will outlast a lot of their owmers.

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 20:27
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - focussed

I would go for a used Honda Accord Tourer 2.2 CDTI diesel - all you could ever need in an estate. Buy from a Honda dealer-extend the warranty to five years from date of first reg.

I've got a Type S tourer, built in Japan, I bought it as a pre reg last year from a main dealer in the midlands. It knocks all the rest into the weeds in terms of quality, finish, performance and sheer attention to detail.

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 21:10
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - hillman

Perhaps the OP would like to read the following link and get the long term views of an owner.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=110321

and

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=96080

Edited by hillman on 10/08/2016 at 21:13

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Thu 11 Aug 2016 12:03
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far

Thank you for the replies.

The Subaru does look good, but it's not what I'm looking for in terms of economy and size, plus they are a bit too expensive for me. Maybe one day!

The Volvo V70 similarly looks very good from what I've read but it is a bit too big and expensive.

I've discussed the petrol / diesel issue with my wife and we've decided to opt for a diesel. With the increased mileage on the horizon coupled with the fact that we already have a little petrol Honda Jazz (which we are keeping) has helped us to make our minds up.

I've done more research into the Honda Civic 1.6 Diesel. By all accounts it drives very well and is very reliable. I'll arrange a test drive and see what I think - it's certainly not as easy on the eye as the Leon ST in my opinion.

I test drove the 1.6 and the 2.0 diesel Octavia, although the later was only available to test drive in automatic. I wasn't too keen on the 1.6 and much preferred the 2.0 - it's a definite maybe.

I've decided to cross the Golf off the list as they seem to be more expensive than the Leon or Octavia.

Next stop, test drive the Leon and the Civic.

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Fri 12 Aug 2016 00:18
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Avant

If there's a choice of engines, as with the Octavia, go for the bigger engine. It'll be much better to drive, and not a lot less economical, as you can make reasonable progress with a lighter right foot.

The Leon is perhaps better-looking on the outside than the Octavia, but personally I don't like the Leon's dashboard (which is what you're going to be looking at). There are probably more nearly-new Octavias than Leons around to choose from, especially in estate form.

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Sat 13 Aug 2016 09:00
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - SLO76
Difficult one. With your current usage you have to effectively remove the diesel option as anything equipped with a particulate filter will cause problems. VAG cars are probably one of the worst in this regard though we have a Honda CRV 1.6 diesel and it's never been an issue despite regular short runs.

At your pricerange the current Honda Civic estate is also an option. The 1800 chain driven petrol will exceed 40mpg and has plenty of go while the 1.6 diesel is amazing on fuel, our CRV easily averages 56mpg and the Civic will do much better.

The Astra Tourer is another good, well made option with simple and robust petrol engines and a good diesel option in the 1700 Isuzu unit but avoid the 1300 and 2.0 Fiat engined options as they're troublesome later on.

The Octavia 1.6 diesel is good news too but VAG are worse than average for particulate filter issues and resale on these is very reliant on the Diesel engine. The bulk of used Octavias end up as taxis and the petrol isn't an option for them and thus removes the bulk of punters who'll want it.,

Personally I'd have the Civic. It's spacious, reliable, well made, gutsy and has a bombproof chain driven engine in 1800 petrol form. The 1600 diesel is an outstanding engine also and I've yet to hear of any particulate filter issues but while it will do 70mpg and costs nowt for road tax it is a much dearer thing to buy.
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Sat 13 Aug 2016 12:16
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Bolt

I have the Civic 1.6 Diesel Tourer and since my last post on its economy, its improved more than I expected, now getting around 50-55 in town and had 70 on a motorway run, thats doing around 75mph ish so I think I can improve on that as its now done 8k since Feb this year

Power wise its not as good as the 2.2 but good enough, its got masses of room in it for carrying things(magic seats help) my only gripes are (minor I know) handbrake is wrong side of the centre console and the seat height adjuster is too close to top of seat so you sometimes press it down as you get out.

apart from that I reckon its a really good car plus its zero tax and am looking forward to the 10th gen in Feb next year

But it is whats known as a marmite car, you either like em or you dont!

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Sat 20 Aug 2016 19:48
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far

I'm pleased to hear another positive report about the 1.6 Diesel Civic Tourer as that’s what I’ve decided to go for.

I test drove 4 different cars and the Leon ST 2.0 litre Diesel came very close.

I was lucky enough to have a very honest sales guy come with me on the Leon test drive and he told me NOT to go for the diesel. I told him how the car would be mostly used for town / stop start driving for the first 12 to 18 months, then the mileage would be going up by considerably due to a change in our circumstances. He said that if it were only for a few months, we could get away with it, but in his opinion, driving the diesel Leon for 12 months would be a bad decision due to the dpf issues. I would have considered the Leon 1.4 petrol but it has a belt rather than chain and that puts me off, also as our mileage will be going up at some point and the economy of a diesel will come into play.

I did a lot of research into the 1.6 diesel Honda Civic Tourer and couldn’t find any reports of dpf issues. It seems that the dpf is placed in such a way that it works far better than on many other cars. I have absolutely scoured Civic and Honda forums for any problems with the engine and can’t really find anything – so it seems very reliable, which is what I wanted.

If anyone has had problems with the 1.6 diesel civic, please, please let me know!

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Sat 20 Aug 2016 20:05
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - focussed

Try joining or accessing this forum - i'm sure there will be enough reports of problems on the 9th generation Civic to put you off buying one!

www.civinfo.com/forum/bugs-faults-irritations-9g/

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Sat 20 Aug 2016 20:27
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far

Thanks - or not! I have searched that forum quite a bit and couldn't find any problems relating to the dpf.

But Jeez, some of those other threads could put me off. I guess that every single car out there could have a forum with theads like this.

From what I've found out, the 9th gen civic is a very reliable car all things considred. I think it came 9th in the driver power survery (if that's worth anything) under a bunch of cars that I can't afford!

Edited by Too Far on 20/08/2016 at 20:28

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Sun 21 Aug 2016 08:13
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - SLO76
Our CRV uses the same engine and the particulate filter is located in the engine bay immediately after the manifold and next to the turbo which allows it to heat up quickly. We do regular long runs in ours however there are periods where the car is used locally only and we've never had trouble.

The only issue is an irritating clutch judder from cold which the dealer has tried to palm off as being "a characteristic of the model" and "down to my driving style." Interesting how this 'characteristic only developed at 6mths and got steadily worse. It's now in the hands of Honda customer service.

That said I've not heard of anyone else complaining about the same issue and the car is otherwise excellent with outstanding economy which can hit 65mpg on a long run. The Civic must be better still.
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Sun 21 Aug 2016 09:00
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Bolt
Our CRV uses the same engine and the particulate filter is located in the engine bay immediately after the manifold and next to the turbo which allows it to heat up quickly. We do regular long runs in ours however there are periods where the car is used locally only and we've never had trouble. The only issue is an irritating clutch judder from cold which the dealer has tried to palm off as being "a characteristic of the model" and "down to my driving style." Interesting how this 'characteristic only developed at 6mths and got steadily worse. It's now in the hands of Honda customer service. That said I've not heard of anyone else complaining about the same issue and the car is otherwise excellent with outstanding economy which can hit 65mpg on a long run. The Civic must be better still.

I have the judder on mine since new, but it only lasts a few minutes after pull away and is too slight to complain about, it doesn`t cause any problems and only happens when damp,untill you mentioned it I had forgotten about it

I cant say I have ever had a car without a niggle of one sort or another,but the car is one of the best I have ever had and its economy as I mentioned is gradually improving

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Fri 26 Aug 2016 23:09
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - SLO76
Our CRV uses the same engine and the particulate filter is located in the engine bay immediately after the manifold and next to the turbo which allows it to heat up quickly. We do regular long runs in ours however there are periods where the car is used locally only and we've never had trouble. The only issue is an irritating clutch judder from cold which the dealer has tried to palm off as being "a characteristic of the model" and "down to my driving style." Interesting how this 'characteristic only developed at 6mths and got steadily worse. It's now in the hands of Honda customer service. That said I've not heard of anyone else complaining about the same issue and the car is otherwise excellent with outstanding economy which can hit 65mpg on a long run. The Civic must be better still.

I have the judder on mine since new, but it only lasts a few minutes after pull away and is too slight to complain about, it doesn`t cause any problems and only happens when damp,untill you mentioned it I had forgotten about it

I cant say I have ever had a car without a niggle of one sort or another,but the car is one of the best I have ever had and its economy as I mentioned is gradually improving

I've had slight judders from clutches in the past, strangely enough mostly on Japanese cars. However this is genuinely quite bad. It makes the car pretty unpleasant to drive in traffic for this first 15 mins or so and has been gradually getting worse as time progresses towards the warranty running out so I figured I'd push the issue. To me oil is getting into the clutch plate via a leaking seal somewhere and since I intend on keeping it longterm I'd rather land Honda with the bill. It's frustrating in this day and age that it's still such a common problem. Otherwise a great motor but had it been soley my choice i'd've had the nicer to drive, cheaper to buy, faster and more economical Civic. Management likes to sit high, lording it over other road users though.
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Thu 25 Aug 2016 18:54
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far

So, I put down a deposit on this today.


Vehicle View - Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC SR Tourer 5-Door - Colchester

The price was £14,270 and it's only done just over 11k. It seemed spotless and the wheels were in great condition. It had the cargo and safety pack 1 too. I think it's a pretty good price for an SR with leather seats, very low mileage and all teh extras. I also get the balance of a five year service plan.

It was very good drive and has enough room in back for a small to medium rhinoceros.

I don't pick it up until next Saturday - that's a long wait!

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Thu 25 Aug 2016 20:33
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Bolt

Have you got a spacesaver with it?, I was after a new red one but it would have been an 8 wk wait, so being impatient as I am I got the white (regret it now) spend a lot of time washing it, the red doesnt seem to show dust as badly

Enjoy, nice cars

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Thu 25 Aug 2016 20:49
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - Too Far
I haven't got a spacesaver but I intend to buy one ASAP. On the civic forum that I've joined I've been recommended a website called Cox that specialises in genuine Honda parts. Here it is for £140. www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/genuine-honda-civic-tourer...l
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Fri 26 Aug 2016 09:07
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - daveyK_UK
Toyota avensis estate or Honda Civic estate
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Fri 26 Aug 2016 09:33
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - sandy56

DOnt buy anything from VW group.

Buy Japanese or even Korean.

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Fri 26 Aug 2016 09:50
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - skidpan

DOnt buy anything from VW group.

Buy Japanese or even Korean.

Well we have had VAG cars, Japanese cars and even a Korean car and guess what, they have all performed exactly the same.

With regards to dealers:

Salemen from all the brands lie but I ignore them.

The official MPG figures for all brands are just as inacurate but I use common sense.

Service departments of all brands will try and get you to fit new brakes when they are not needed and will want to use expensive additives that are not needed but I simply say no thanks.

Our next car will be one that suits our needs but the deal we are offered also needs to be competitive. We are very open minded about brand.

But as for Japanese and Korean cars, the 4 Japanese cars we have had have all been built in the UK and the Korean car was built in Slovakia.

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Fri 26 Aug 2016 09:46
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - focussed
I haven't got a spacesaver but I intend to buy one ASAP. On the civic forum that I've joined I've been recommended a website called Cox that specialises in genuine Honda parts. Here it is for £140. www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/genuine-honda-civic-tourer...l

I buy any Honda car parts and accessories in need from Coxes - good service even to me in France.

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Fri 26 Aug 2016 10:16
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - piggy

Another very satisfied Cox customer. Excellent service and helpful. I hasten to add I have no connection whatsoever with Cox.

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Fri 26 Aug 2016 23:12
Which used estate would you buy-petrol or diesel? - SLO76

So, I put down a deposit on this today.


Vehicle View - Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC SR Tourer 5-Door - Colchester

The price was £14,270 and it's only done just over 11k. It seemed spotless and the wheels were in great condition. It had the cargo and safety pack 1 too. I think it's a pretty good price for an SR with leather seats, very low mileage and all teh extras. I also get the balance of a five year service plan.

It was very good drive and has enough room in back for a small to medium rhinoceros.

I don't pick it up until next Saturday - that's a long wait!

Good choice and seems decent value. Hope it serves you well.
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