Sold diesel going back to petrol

[macp]

Basically we got brassed off with the big repair bills and the threat of further big bills so decided to go back to petrol.This is therefore a thinly disguised what car thread.

Im thinking of the following choices wih a budget of up to,yes you guessed it 3k.

Audi A3 1.8T sport/quattro
VW Golf Mk4 GTi 1.8T
Skoda Octavia VRS 1.8T
Skoda Octavia 2.0 FSI Sport

As ever would be interested in your thoughts/comments.Thankyou in advance

[macp]

dave_s13 said:

You should add the seat leon cupra r to that list too. Same engine, the 1.8 turbo VAG motor is reported to be very strong.

Thanks Dave I will and I agree its a strong engine.I used to have an A3 sport 1.8T and sold it with something like 125k and it still drove amazingly.

Any preferences ?

[macp]

Ved said:

The engines are but all the bits around VAGs of that era are showing their age now and may just give you more bills. Having said that, the Leon is probably the nicest of the bunch. Make sure all the arms and bushes are alright as those are the first things to go IME.

Thanks VED do you mind if I press you on your nicest comment.Do you mean from a better drive than all the rest point of view ?

[macp]

SmithyAG said:

As stated, the 1.8T is a strong engine. Check for regular oil changes, the oil strainer in the sump is known for gunging up and starving the pump of oil.

Avoid the 2.0 FSI, not the best engine From VAG, slow, thirsty and the less reliable.

Thanks for confirming what I heard about the FSI smithy

[macp]

Kozy said:

Does it have to be VAG blandness?

Not really its just what I have been used to for years to be honest.

[macp]

V88Dicky said:

Plenty of tasty cars around you're budget. Here's a few ideas to be getting on with;



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...







http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...









http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...










http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Some interesting cars here dicky but I should have said it needs to be 5dr or estate.

[macp]

andrewparker said:

What makes you think you're not going to get big repair bills from a 3K petrol car?

Having had several petrols over the years before diesel and never really had any significantly serious bills until I went diesel.Also based on the experience of our current diesel and reading many many threads on PH of people complaining about diesel failures and cost of repair.

[macp]

Thanks all for the interest and helpful comments.I was considering the Accord as I had heard they were bombproof also the 330i touring is a very interesting idea.I think as somebody here suggested going for an N/A engine would remove even more potential issues.

[macp]

I like the E46 touring but also what about,and I know im going VAG again Golf 2.8 V6 4 motion or Audi 3.0 quattro avant.No turbo but there is the 4 wheel drive to be concerned about I guess although the quattro drivetrain is supposed to be strong.

[macp]

andrewparker said:

I love Golfs, have one now and have had 6 previously, but the MK4 wasn't a great car, in any guise IMO. I actually moved to an E46 325Ci from a MK4 V5 and it was a world apart dynamically.

Yes you just reminded me of a Golf Mk4 GTI I had some time ago and gave an excellent impression of a pogo stick when the road got bumpy.

Hard this innit

[macp]

austinsmirk said:

I'll bite as a fan of the tractor fuel

20 years of driving diesels now. Not a single bit of bother over a highly diverse vehicle range.

Petrol and 20 ish mpg urban again chugging about. Not a chance.

There are a few people like yourself with good experiences of diesel but there still seems to be a great deal more complaining about failures and wondering why they are paying more for diesel fuel.

[macp]

So what do you buy which is:

N/A
Manual gearbox
5 doors or estate
reasonable turn of speed
mid twenties to mid thirties mpg

[macp]

GoodDoc said:

macp said:

austinsmirk said:

I'll bite as a fan of the tractor fuel

20 years of driving diesels now. Not a single bit of bother over a highly diverse vehicle range.

Petrol and 20 ish mpg urban again chugging about. Not a chance.

There are a few people like yourself with good experiences of diesel but there still seems to be a great deal more complaining about failures and wondering why they are paying more for diesel fuel.

I'd be interested to see some actual statistics on that, because apart from a horror story involving a diesel hire car, an American colleague and a fuel tank of unleaded, I've not personally heard of any truly big bills for any car in my group of friends and colleagues for many years. Modern cars are remarkably reliable things, as long as you don't get the fuel nozzles mixed up.

Unfortunately I cant come up with stats & not meaning to start a diesel/petrol war its only info gained from reading experiences of owners on pistonheads and other motoring forums and my own experience.

[macp]

rb5er said:

Your whole list of Vag cars are total snoozemobiles most with a very boring engine the 1.8T.

The v6 4motion is toilet too, coming from an ex owner.

Its not particularly the engines or drivetrain that are unreliable but the array of sensors that go wrong so often and are not cheap to fix.

Steer off Vag if you haven`t before, driving enjoyment is that way ----------------->

I have been swayed by the nice vag interiors and the fit & finish generally.Back to the small ads then and try to use my imagination.

[macp]

Fastdruid said:

Lets look at those.

1) Direct injection. GDI run's at far lower pressures so not as much chance of failure.
2) Common rail. Er wtf? Petrol has been "common rail" pretty much since the advent of modern fuel injection!
3) DMF. The DMF on both petrol and diesels is designed for the life of the car, the difference is that on a petrol it's likely to be true. DMF's do fail on petrol cars but it's the exception rather than the rule.
4) Particulate filters. Please point to one single petrol production car with a particulate filter. It only applies to GDI vehicles and only from next year.
5) Turbochargers. Only valid point. Even then many turbos will last the life of the vehicle. The major difference though is that an oil leak in a petrol turbo won't lead to the engine running away!

Good post but regarding the turbo it tends tends to get killed more in a diesel due to getting gunged up with sooty deposits.

[macp]

Fastdruid said:

I'm quite happy with a DMF on a petrol car. I don't worry about it, no more than I worry about my clutch (last petrol car the clutch had lasted ~180k when I got rid of the car).

I'd be far more worried about an auto-box than a DMF, far too many auto's have very expensive failures over 100k and are way more expensive than a new DMF.

Having had an auto box failure I think would prefer to take my chances with the DMF.

[macp]

cib24 said:

cib24 said:

The obvious choice for a family estate vehicle under £3k that will be utterly reliable is a Honda Accord 2.4 or 2.0 petrol estate:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

At 100k miles these engines are hardly broken in. My last Honda Civic was still going strong at 335,000 miles when I sold it a few years ago.

I don't know why this car has not been more seriously considered. The K24A and the K20 engine options in this car are bulletproof, each car is very well kitted out, they look pretty good for an estate, will return over 30 mpg with ease, and they are an absolute bargain at <£2,500. In any other market these cars would surely be worth at least 4x their current value.

Agreed but it would have to be the type S for me

[macp]

cib24 said:

macp said:

Agreed but it would have to be the type S for me

A quick search:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Thanks both are lovely perhaps the grey one is a little more subtle.

[macp]

Just thought of another car keeping it non vag.I once had a saab 9-5 aero saloon with the auto box and loved it until the box went but I always wanted a manual estate.Probably the quietest and comfiest car I have ever owned and the TD04 turbo is solid as long as the oil feed has not been allowed to gunge up.There is also the 9-3 2.8T V6 which sounds a beast but the gearboxes n the 9-3`s worry me as I think they are quite fragile and I dont know if they use the same turbo?

[macp]

SilverSixer said:

HertsBiker said:

Petrol, auto, big non turbo motors are where it's at now if you want reliability. No DMF with auto, no turbo and associated pipe work. The bigger engine keeps it lower stress. Ok fuel consumption won't be so good but it'll last longer. And no DPF. So you pay more each month for fuel, call it an insurance policy if you like, for having something simpler and cheaper to maintain. Auto because it looks after the engine and transmission, even tyres and cv joints last longer.

This is exactly why I have a 2006 Mazda 6 2.0 petrol NA auto. Home servicing. No faults, ever. And also, to seal the deal, it has one other advantage you haven't mentioned in your list - chain cam engine. Blissful.

My only regret is that I didn't get the 2.3, but then the 4 wheel drive system might throw a problem..........

I'd recommend a car like mine to anyone. And they are so cheap now that it's really, really silly.

You got me looking at the mazda 3 sport which also looks good and the reviews are superb too.