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Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - AimedMurman

I currently have a 2.2 Civic Diesel 2012 9th gen model. Its a great car overall, had no issues with it, currently has about 120k miles.

The only issue is it's not ULEZ compliment. I've looked into the 2016 onward Civic diesels but they are unfortunately not a fit for me as they are all high millage but still £6k+ and they are far too expensive to insure, my current Civic is around £900 per year, the new models are around £1400 per year, which after having a loan to buy the car is more than I want to spend. I've looked into the Mazda6 but the diesels are apparently unreliable.

So I would like to ask for any advice or recommendations.

My only requirements are diesel, ULEZ, cruise control, rear and maybe front parking sensors and no smaller than a civic really and priced around £8k or less and cheapish to insure.

Edited by AimedMurman on 28/06/2023 at 00:39

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - badbusdriver

The problem here is that more modern diesels are just not as reliable in general unless used in a manner which keeps them healthy. So one that has spent most of its time on the motorway should be fine (and that includes the 2.2 Mazda), but one which has been used for mainly shorter, lower speed, stop start city/town runs, could well have expensive bills in the near future. And unless you know the owner and car, there is no real way for you to find out what kind of usage the car has had. One of the few modern diesels which doesn't seem to suffer from much issues is the Honda 1.6 dtec which you have ruled out.

Given how efficient many modern petrols are, I just don't think it is worth the risk going for diesel unless you are doing a truly huge mileage. Because while a diesel may be giving better mpg, that is only one factor out of the running costs of a car, and for all the others, a petrol will be cheaper.

With that in mind I had a quick look on Autotrader and this immediately jumped out.

202304126206981

The 1.0TSI engine in this should easily manage 55+mpg. Despite only being a 1.0, it has 110bhp and plenty of torque so should feel quick enough. And although based on a Polo/Fabia platform, it has a longer wheelbase closer to the next size up. So plenty of interior space (though the rear seats better for two than three due to narrow cabin) and generous sized boot.

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - AimedMurman

Isn't 80k miles a bit steep for a 1L 3 cylinder petrol?

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - Warning

How often will you be driving into the ULEZ?

It may be worth keeping your car, if you are not a regular car user.Even paying £875 a year in ULEZ (using one a week), may be better then spending £6k on a replacement car.

You could set-up auto-pay for ULEZ payments. If you figure out where these ULEZ cameras are. There are people who are vandalising them and there may be some routes on which there are no cameras.

If they ULEZ camera's don't pick up your car, there won't bill you for it. It depends on your route....

Edited by Warning on 30/06/2023 at 22:27

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - AimedMurman

Once to twice a week to London but unfortunately I come in on the M1 or M40 so I think I'd be out of luck with that.

But yes, even at twice a week it's only £1300, so still less than I'd be paying per month for a car that's £6k to £8k plus the extra £300 to £400 on insurance which I've been quoted sowcar. And the Civic 2.2 is very economical on the motorway anyway so I doubt I'd beat that for the price I paid for the car.

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - SLO76
How many miles are you doing in a year?
Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - AimedMurman

About 15k

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - badbusdriver

Isn't 80k miles a bit steep for a 1L 3 cylinder petrol?

Engine size has no impact on how reliable or otherwise an engine is (nor has the amount of cylinders), it is down to three things.

1, How well engineered it is (and in this respect, VAG seem to have got it right with the 1.0TSI*)

2, How well the car is looked after.

3, How the car is driven.

*There is a one owner (FSH) Seat Leon 1.0TSI on Autotrader right now with 163k miles. That is essentially the same engine (slightly more power) as the car I linked.

Honda Civic - Looking for Euro 6 diesel. - Engineer Andy

About 15k

Then a modern petrol engined car is still well worth going for, as most 'ordinary' ones can achieve a real-world mpg well in excess of 40 average, and often in excess of 50 on longer runs on fast flowing roads like motorways.

In addition, 'older' EU4 compliant petrol-engined cars are scompliant with the London (and likely all other) ULEZs (EU6 for diesels), and thus you could easily go for a well-kept example of a petrol-engined car from the 2010-2016 period that would be both economical, reliable and cheap to insure / run.

A Civic 1.8 petrol of the 2012-17 model (probably nearer to 2012 for your budget in the expensive second hand price era we're currently in) would be one to seriously consider.

Many others too, including various VAG offerings with the highly regarded belt-driven (not chain driven) 1.4TSI (122PS, 140PS and 150PS versions) and later 1.0TSI (95PS and 110PS versions [newer design so may only be affordable in smaller / lower specced cars and/or earliest examples) petrol engines, the 2L (no turbo) Skyactiv-G petrol in the Mazda3 / CX-3 (2013-2019 car, likely earlier examples only for the budget, SE-L spec good).

Perhaps the somewhat bland but otherwise worthy Toyota Auris ((2013-19) in 1.2T petrol manual form (earliest examples only) might do if you can find one that fits your budget.

I would strongly agree that mileage alone doens't mean a car has been abused, is worn out or not - it is the condition and its maintenance / MOT history and attitude of its owner(s) that determines that.

Never go overboard on the trim specification, as it unnecessarily bumps up the purchase price, insurance and running costs and often the more gizmos a car has, the more likely it is to go wrong as it ages.

Cars with big alloy wheels and low profile tyres (45 and lower) may look nice but can end up costing a pretty penny through extra wear, damage from scuffing, potholes, etc and are often between 33% -100% more than 'ordinary' and 'higher' profile tyres and alloys to replace. the ride on (say) 60 and 65 profile tyres is also vastly better than on 40-45 profile ones, all other things being equal.

The suspension parts also last longer as the extra air in the tyres does more of the work for free. Most modern cars are not 'bad' at handling and should be easily able to take 60-65 profile tyres (normally shod on 15-16in rims) without much penalty in handling. They often come shod on lower and mid-spec trim models, though some upper ones can take them is they don't come with uprated (bigger) brakes.

Often people get rid of older, upper trim cars because the suspension is very worn and the ride hard, and don't want to fork out £££ for expensive parts to get it back to 'just a firmish ride' as it was when new.

Make sure you get in a thorough test drive of about an hour across a wide variety of road types and speeds to get a good idea of how it drives, ride quality / driving position comfort, any issues, etc.

Be wary of cars that have been pre-warmed up (taken out for a decent spin beforehand) from smaller second hand dealers and private owners, as this could (not always) indicate issues.