sisters car got written off yesterday by a lovely guy in a road sweeper. she had a 306 Dturbo and really loved it. she wants a diesel again as she drives quite a bit,but only around town.
ive tried sugesting a nice little 1.2.
she changes her mind every 2 minutes as what to get(typical female). probably only gonna have around £1500 to spend.
any ideas and things to watch out for?
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If she loved the 306 then why not get another? You won't get a HDI for that money but the older model is less complex.
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yea i said get another but there is not that many good ones around like her baby anymoore. (her words,not mine)
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She's right - don't forget the conrod failure issue with 97-99 MY.
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What about the Yaris diesel.
Reliable and actually the only Toyota I have driven as a courtesy car that did not rattle.
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What about the Yaris diesel. Reliable and actually the only Toyota I have driven as a courtesy car that did not rattle.
For around £1500?!
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Yep if you can find a yaris diesel for fifteen hundred i'll have a dozen off you please.
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And so will I.
It's Fiesta all the way, I fear.
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Why does she need a diesel? Micra would be a good alternative to the Fiesta but smaller than the 306. Older Civic or Corolla perhaps?
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IanS
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I'd get a 3dr 1.4 petrol (95-00) Civic. I think they're quite nice looking cars, and the one's I test drove weren't too shabby either.
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I don't think that a civic, micra, fiesta or corolla are suitable - the 306 in DTurbo form is pretty nippy for a diesel, looks good and handles very well.
For the money she is looking at she well get a corolla/civic that whilst being utterly reliable will just not be attractive to a young fashion conscious girl.
Apart from another 306 the other things that spring to mind are either a Xsara Coupe or a megane coupe - both can be picked up for the money she is looking for and would be a mor e attractive vehicle to her.
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Yes a megane coupe in yellow is real girly.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The £1500 is the hard bit to find a good attractive sexy reliable economical diesely car suggest she buys a hard copy of autotrader and sits down to view what her money will actually buy ,(watch out for traders posing as private mind,but at least autotrader usually take action if you report them).
best of luck by the way
ka???????????????????very girlie and 15 should turn up a specced one
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>>Yep if you can find a yaris diesel for fifteen hundred i'll have a dozen off you please.<<
Ooops - I didn't spot the £1500 bit
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There is nothing to replace the old 306Dturbo. Nothing with the same kartish handling. It is due to the EU directive that all mainstream models must have a higher centre of gravity.
But these engines did have some weaknesses: the temperature control was the worst I've seen, with head gasket failures reported.
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I'm sorry to have no in put to this post BUT the title makes me smlie!
As a trainee dirty old man my car with me driving! sounds good (by the way mrsmm has seen this and is laughing)
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She could consider the Citroen ZX, basically the same car but never was as trendy, hency cheaper prices.
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If she wants another 306TD and has about £1500 to spend, I'd recommend a late Phase 1 D turbo about P reg (1996/7) with the older D8A engine in and not the ill-fated DHY engines from 1997-99 where many instances of conrod failures have been reported. Make sure she chooses one with FSH, indicating that oil/filters, cambelt and the coolant have been changed at the recommended intervals. Also carefully inspect the radiator as these are weak points on the 306 with regard to their lifespan. When taking the car for a test drive, keep an eye on the temperature guage to make sure the engine isn't overheating and that the heater works when turned on. Reason being that head gasket failures are common on these old XUD engines, though mainly as a result of infrequent coolant changes and radiator/heater matrix leaks.
These issues aside, there are lots of good points about the 306 D turbo i.e. insurance group 5, 45-50mpg, reasonably quick and nice looking too. If well looked after, these cars are good for 200k plus- my 1994 306TD is on 176k and shows no sign of giving up just yet.
Martin
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