I am currently looking to purchase a diesel as I drive around 30,000 miles a year. I have a budget of around £7000 and need something that is going to be reliable above all else for a couple of years or so. Positive driving experience, gizmo's and the like are obviously a bonus.
I have been looking at the likes of Avensis D4D, Mondeo and Octavia. I have previously dismissed French cars as unreliable, and thought that they may not stand up to the miles well (no offense meant, but this is just the general idea I have from mags etc).
Thing is, finding a good car at this price is proving to be difficult. Very few seem to be available through private sellers, and general dealers stock can be very patchy, if not downright dodgy.
I am starting toi re-think my stratergy and would appreciate your thoughts.
Choices-
1 Keep plugging away and something will turn up - eventually??
2 Widen the search to include French cars - plenty around. Are my worries unfounded?
3 Buy a much older car like a MB or BMW diesel which stand up to miles well? But what does £7000 get??? Might make sense as retains value - hence the question about what £7000 buys you.
4 Pay over the odds and get a slightly older car from a main dealer with fewer history concerns etc.
Which of the above choices makes the most sense?
I never thought it would be so difficult to blow £7000 on a car! The longer I look the more confused (and disheartened) I become
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Having had a number of Citroen diesels over the past 20 years, none of which have given me any reliability problems, I'd recommend choice 2.
I can't speak for Renaults or Pugs though - but there are many here that will, I'm sure!
--
Terry
"You'll have to speak up I'm wearing a towel"
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I bought a Focus T reg 1.8 diesel last year for 5K from a main dealership, I should think you'll be able to lay your hands on a slightly newer one with the common rail diesel for 7K (as long as you don't mind it being a white estate!) Try a search on the auto trader link to the left
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Don't assume that all French cars are the same as Renaults currently seem to be! My last two cars have been Citroen diesels and the major components like engines, gearboxes and clutches last well. My BX normally-aspirated estate lasted 14 years and had 197,000 miles on the clock when I wrote it off, and my current ZX TD estate is 10 years old with 185,000 miles, has the original engine/gearbox, uses no oil and has only needed one clutch. Be prepared for brake discs, shock absorbers, radiators etc but these don't cost a fortune, and Citroens are cheap second hand, so that what you spend on bits is compensated for by relatively low depreciation, if you keep them 'til they drop.
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I can imagine that Citroen engines and boxes last well.
I did have a friend who had no end of problems with hydraulics in a Citroen though, and this has put me off them a bit. A week off the road with a non-terminal problem is still a week off the road, that is my worry.
I think the heavy discounting has damaged the image a bit, but could be a lot of car for the money 2nd hand, yes.
Will certainly look further into them as a possibility.
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£7k will get you a decent Pug 406hdi. I've had mine for 6 months, and done nearly 20000 miles - (bought in Nov03, V reg, £5.5k & 40000 miles). So far very pleased. Not exactly exciting but comfortable and economical - >50mpg on Mway driving at around 70-80mph.
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You need something comfy and reliable. You need to think much wider than you have, Rover 75 shouts out especially. Very comfy and reliable (BMW engine).
Wouldn't touch modern French cars. Old BX's and ZX's were low tech indirect injection engines and were great. Any research will show modern french cars are not so good with electronics.
I know a trader who won't touch any Renault Laguna or any Renault with auto boxes for example, if he has a trade-in they go straight to auction.
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Rover 75? OK, so solid BMW engine, how about build quality and finish? Haven't been near one so have no experiance thus far...
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I would have a look at some Renault cars if a Clio is a bit to small for your needs or you want a bigger car feel try a megan or Laguna.
The Clio is very economica and will help lowere the price your paying per mile on fuel depending upon how you drive it.
The Dci engine is very good sure there have been some problems with the engines but there a small % of total and so ignoring them on that basis is wrong IMO.
he old.
Might even be worth looking at an older TDI or whatever theyw ere called Laguna cheap cars and you could pay about 1/2 the price so even if it all go wrong just buy another one.
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If you want reliability as you say, "above all else" then hunt down an Avensis IMO. If you want a positive drive and you mean driving dynamics check out a Mondeo (TDCi not TDDi but there aren't many about at that price). If you look at French cars you'll get a bit more for your money and everybody says they drive pretty well and cruise better but you'll have to acknowledge it will be more of a gamble than with others. If you buy an older BM or Merc you'll get an older higher mileage car, less gizmos and it could be more of a gamble than anything else over 60,000 miles. Octavia could be spot on if you want value, good performance, excellent economy and badges and slightly boomy VAG engines don't worry you. Test drive your short list and think about a used car warranty but check out that you are covered after 100K miles. Not much help in narrowing it down sorry!
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I suppose a Berlingo is out of the question?
You would get a nearly new one for £7K.
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On second thoughts......
As a pro-diesel contributor I bought a petrol Avensis last year. One of the last of the run out models for a knock down price. It does 40mpg all day long and reliability is 100%.
One service so far, cost £67!
You would pick up a 2002/3 model I should think. the D4D only gives a few more mpg and would be harder to find.
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My C5 has now done over 31,000 miles. Yes, it's had one or two teething troubles, the worst of which was a seized turbo (although I haven't heard of another C5 doing that!) Everything has, of course, been fixed under warranty and now the car is exactly as it should be. The HDIs are superb engines - especially the 2.2 with particle filter - no 'temperament' or gremlins at all (unlike Mondeo)
The car itself is incredibly well-specced, roomier than just about anything else in the class, with seats that you never tire of sitting on.(I had a run in a Rover 75 the other day (petrol) It was not significantly quieter than my C5 diesel, seats were cramped, legroom poor and on close inspection, I found that the (detailed)interior finish was no better than C5 (I had expected that to be the 'piece de resistance' of Rover.)
There have been grumbles on this forum recently about Toyota gearboxes - beware!
I haven't driven one of the new Honda diesels - that might be worth a trial, but again, after being spoilt by all the Citroen kit, I'd take ill with something 'basic but reliable'. I find Japanese styling too bland anyway. (Not a WORD about C5 styling thank you! Let's say, I agreed to compromise on that front!)
Skodas/SEATS might also be worth thinking about - although I understand that the VW diesels are harsher than the HDIs and torque delivery is less satisfactory.
As someone else remarked, Citroens are such good value that you don't really grudge the odd repair. With a 3 year warranty, you're covered anyway.
Graeme
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Reliable,cheap, cost effective,high mileage motoring chose the Toyota Avensis or the Nissan Primera,they usually end their days as minicabs with 350,000 miles + on them.You cannot go wrong with either.
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Reliable,cheap, cost effective,high mileage motoring chose the Toyota Avensis or the Nissan Primera,they usually end their days as minicabs with 350,000 miles + on them.You cannot go wrong with either.
IMHO T Lucas has got it right.
You are presumably considering a diesel for their fuel economy. However putting 60,000 miles in 2 years on a newish £7,000 car(especially if it is French/Italian) means massive depreciation. Given their proven reliability, it might make sense to buy a high mileage Aventis/Primera for much less than £7k and run that for 2 years. I believe the Primera gives the better driving experience.
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Citroen Xantia Exclusive 1997cc 5 door 5sp 54000 2000 W £6250
Citroen Xantia SX 1905cc 5 door 80500 1999 V £3500
Citroen Xantia SX 1997cc 5 door 110bhp 52500 2000 X £5850
Citroen Xantia SX 1997cc 5 door 5speed Estate 58000 2001 Y £6250
All at
www.xm-centre.com/
No connection with company except as satisfied customer with a W reg HDi Exclusive, 72k - no probs in two years of ownership.
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Facelifted Passats with the 130 hp TDI engine are now at or a bit under the 7,000 GBP mark and I would be after one of those if I had that much to spend on a diesel with superb motorway comfort.
Mondeos are also in that price range, but I haven't tried a TDCI yet and all the older (TDDI?) Mondeos I have driven had a rather annoying driveability "issue" that I couldn't come to grips with so I wouldn't be shopping for one of those too hard.
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Just to reinforce the above support for Citroens, the HDI engines are as good as any you will find in this class of car, being very smooth and quiet.
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Cits and Pugs use the same engine and some of the other manufacturers use them as well. Rovers used to use the as a 1.8td in the 90s where the cits and pugs were 1.9td
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Thanks for the feed-back. Plenty to think about in there!
Not sure I am any closer to finding a car though.
I think the Japanese cars have been shown to be very reliable.
I drive a Mk1 MR2 with 160,000 miles on it and it never misses a beat - mind you, it gets serviced every 6,000 miles and I'm sure that helps!
Anyways, thanks for the input, will be ploughing through the dealers over the bank holiday with renewed vigour...
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3 Buy a much older car like a MB or BMW diesel which stand up to miles well? But what does £7000 get??? Might make sense as retains value - hence the question about what £7000 buys you.
In 2001, I sold my BMW E36 325tds with 88000 miles on it for £6k. It did have some paint damage but save for that it was in great nick. Standard car (no a/c or leather) and manual so was not too desirable. Was hoping to get more than that but I suppose that I got a bit more off PX. If you do come across one of these try and get it with a/c as the heat coming from the engine into the cabin was sometimes a little too much!!
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You should try out a mercedes C Class diesel. 45mpg on a good day and small depreciation and capable of huge mileages. I like the French designs but am wary of residuals and quality.
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