I am a self employed contract cleaner travelling about 80,000 miles a year. I am looking at buying another car. With the mileage i am doing i am looking for something safer and more reliable, but i dont want to have to change cars every year.
Should i consider the following
Renault Megane, Laguna
Mercedes Diesel W124 old shape better built merc estate.
Ford Mondeo tdci
etc
Please could someone suggest an alternative or recommend one of these cars.
I currently use a Proton Wira and i have to say it is mega reliable but i question its safety.
What price would i have to pay. Please would someone help me.
Thanks
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Don't bother with the Renaults - if they don't break down they'll still be worthless when you sell them on with 6-figure mileage. Merc and Mondeo both make sense, but a lot of people have problems with the TDCi engine in the Mondeo.
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Run the Proton into the ground and practice defensive driving.
That's what I would do anyway.
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Nissan Primera? Though I'm not sure about their diesels, they might be Renault units. The other alternative would be something like a Seat Toledo TDi?
Edited by smokescreen on 14/10/2007 at 19:39
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If you are driving 300 miles per day, on road, you could be spending 6 hours driving per day, assuming a 6 day week and (optimistically) an average of 50mph. On top of an 8 hr day. You have to do this? Can you stay awake?
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It does occur to me that you're actually a driver, not a contract cleaner. At 80k miles per year I'd be looking to reduce the milage significantly rather than finding a more capable car.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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I wish it was an 8 hour day !. More like start at 5.00am and finish at 8.00pm including another 6 hours on a Saturday and 4 hours on a Sunday. That's an 85 hour week !
{ No need to shout though ! (amended) }
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 14/10/2007 at 20:18
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Rode in a VW Passat TDI taxi in Tunisia that had 990,000 kilometers on the clock.
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I find it amazing that anyone would have to drive 80k miles a year to do a cleaning job. I would be looking for another job, not another car! Have you thought about being a taxi driver (seriously)!
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Your job must pay well - I shudder to think how much it costs in fuel each week!
I do 2,400 miles per month and it averages out at about £180-£200 per month.
If you are doing 300 miles per day I reckon thats a good £30-£40 on fuel each day, so £200 per week (or more?). Wow - I guess your filler flap gets more use per week than most do per year.
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I will heartily recommend the E300 W124 diesel but finding a reasonable mileage one thats been well looked after will take some doing, just sold mine was 95N with 60odd thousand from new and had less rust than some new vehicles i deliver.
Also consider Peug 406 diesel very tough and very comfortable will stand high mileage and much better on fuel than the Merc.
Toyota avensis diesel good car but very high demand for taxi's so you'll struggle to find.
Best of all though Partner combi/berlingo multispace will go to the moon and back and group 5 or 6 insurance.
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The older VW Passats
A colleague of mine bought one off his uncle, a taxi driver. It had some 350k on it IIRC
The other cars I would consider is the 406/407 diesels, especially if their 405s were anything to go by.
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If an older Passat saloon will do your job, a Skoda Superb might be a possibility. You get all of the last safety upgrades of the B5.5 Passat (eg curtain airbags) and the unrivalled, for its build date, efficiency of the VAG PD diesel.
Zero resale value, safe, comfortable and very cheap to run with a 130 PS PD engine - this car might just be a possibility.
659.
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What kind of cleaning is it where the best solution is to hire someone 150 miles away?
I'd suggest changing your job rather than your car!
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There's a demand for industrial cleaning, or there was! Contracted outside the firm - hence your mega-mileage "self-employed" contractor winning the job. Just a guess.
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I'd have thought cleaning is an incredibly price sensitive market so sticking the cost of driving those kind of distances onto the price the OP offers would make him uncompetitive. Unless he is absorbing this cost, but why would you do that?
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go for a new hyundai sonata 2.0 diesel.
the 56 plate onwards had an upgraded multimedia system.
ultra reliable, very comfortable, probably get one for around £12,500.
5 year unlimited mileage warranty.
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