What car - Best diesel motorway cruiser?
Discussion
Hi,
I'm looking for a car that best meets the following criteria.
Essentials
Diesel (will be doing 26000 miles per year so really needs to be)
Cheap to buy/run (cheaper the better and certainly no more than £2500).
Reliable.
Extremely fuel efficient.
Comfortable enough to be in 3 hours a day.
Not more than 2000cc (smaller capacity the better - cheaper tax over here)
Would like - but not essential
Toys
Cruise control (will be mainly a motorway cruiser)
All suggestions welcome but try to keep them reasonable.
I'm looking for a car that best meets the following criteria.
Essentials
Diesel (will be doing 26000 miles per year so really needs to be)
Cheap to buy/run (cheaper the better and certainly no more than £2500).
Reliable.
Extremely fuel efficient.
Comfortable enough to be in 3 hours a day.
Not more than 2000cc (smaller capacity the better - cheaper tax over here)
Would like - but not essential
Toys
Cruise control (will be mainly a motorway cruiser)
All suggestions welcome but try to keep them reasonable.
Depreciation is the killer here so I always reckon the cheaper the better (within reason as you don't want to pau a fortune on maintenance). My old Citroen ZX 1.9TD averaged 50mpg and eventually died at 196000 miles, so I bought a 100,000 mile 306 HDI to replace it, no cruise control but it does 55-60mpg on a motorway cruise. A newer car will use less fuel but will depreciate faster.
Or go for an old Merc as they're supposedly the best for running on veg oil, and will happily do several hundred thousand miles without major problems,
Or go for an old Merc as they're supposedly the best for running on veg oil, and will happily do several hundred thousand miles without major problems,
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 25th November 13:18
26,000 miles a year on a 2k diesel used car is going to be costly I think.. thats a hard life on a car let alone one that has already depreciated a long way.
How much will you be relying on it? Are you self employed? Does your company have access to a scheme? What mileage can you recover to fund a car?
I've seen the Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi 16v on 20k miles, for £237 a month. Or a Citroen C5 diesel at £350 a month.
That much time in a car each day - surely you want comfort/reliability/economy?
How much will you be relying on it? Are you self employed? Does your company have access to a scheme? What mileage can you recover to fund a car?
I've seen the Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi 16v on 20k miles, for £237 a month. Or a Citroen C5 diesel at £350 a month.
That much time in a car each day - surely you want comfort/reliability/economy?
Why only a diesel? I only ask as my 9-5 manages to be pretty economical (mid 30's) on mixed roads and late 30's early 40's on long motorway journeys. Plenty to be had for <10 years old and <100k starting mileage for little money <£2.5k so you could easily see 2 years out of one for very little in running costs.
Then on the plus side they are very comfy, well spec'd and even the LPT one like I have is capable of hitching up its skirt a bit when needed.
Then on the plus side they are very comfy, well spec'd and even the LPT one like I have is capable of hitching up its skirt a bit when needed.
Edited by 550Hep on Thursday 25th November 14:40
PedantLosesGrip said:
26,000 miles a year on a 2k diesel used car is going to be costly I think.. thats a hard life on a car let alone one that has already depreciated a long way.
I did 100,000 miles in 3.5 years in the ZX, starting when it was over 10 years old and had nearly 100k on the clock. Admittedly fuel was still only about the £1/litre mark, but I kept track of all my expenses and fuel and maintenance came to under 17p/mile (did the 6k oil changes myself and a garage service every 12k miles, only significant breakages were the power steering pump and heater matrix). Even if you assume the car was worth £2k when I started (I doubt it was) that only adds another 2p/mile in depreciation, and as I was claiming the mileage it meant it was making me nearly 10p every mile I drove. Old cars can be great money savers so long as you know when to give up on them (radius arm bearings were going to cost me over £600 so I scrapped it for about £90)550Hep said:
Why only a diesel? I only ask as my 9-5 manages to be pretty economical (mid 30's) on mixed roads and late 30's early 40's on long motorway journeys. Plenty to be had for <10 years old and <100k starting mileage for little money <£2.5k so you could easily see 2 years out of one for very little in running costs.
Then on the plus side they are very comfy, well spec'd and even the LPT one like I have is capable of hitching up its skirt a bit when needed.
Mid-30s economical? A Fabia 1.9TDI will see 60mpg on motorway...Then on the plus side they are very comfy, well spec'd and even the LPT one like I have is capable of hitching up its skirt a bit when needed.
Edited by 550Hep on Thursday 25th November 14:40
HereBeMonsters said:
550Hep said:
Why only a diesel? I only ask as my 9-5 manages to be pretty economical (mid 30's) on mixed roads and late 30's early 40's on long motorway journeys. Plenty to be had for <10 years old and <100k starting mileage for little money <£2.5k so you could easily see 2 years out of one for very little in running costs.
Then on the plus side they are very comfy, well spec'd and even the LPT one like I have is capable of hitching up its skirt a bit when needed.
Mid-30s economical? A Fabia 1.9TDI will see 60mpg on motorway...Then on the plus side they are very comfy, well spec'd and even the LPT one like I have is capable of hitching up its skirt a bit when needed.
Edited by 550Hep on Thursday 25th November 14:40
Just a thought..
ETA found a website to do it and at 26k just over £1k a year so maybe worth it...
Edited by 550Hep on Thursday 25th November 15:02
£2500 wil almost get you in to a (very high mileage) new shape Focus 1.6 TDCi. Won't get a lot of toys on it though.
Otherwise take your pick from the VAG stuff. You'll find plenty of Fabias, Ibizas, high mileage Golfs, Passats which will mostly fit the bill. Driven gently they will all achieve 60mpg on the motorway.
Otherwise take your pick from the VAG stuff. You'll find plenty of Fabias, Ibizas, high mileage Golfs, Passats which will mostly fit the bill. Driven gently they will all achieve 60mpg on the motorway.
blugnu said:
Saab 9-3 diesel?
Like this one? Even comes in under your budget. FSH and a long MOT to boot.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/1974567.htm
I do 25K a year in my commuter.... this wore out our 850 T5, along with costing a packet in fuel and getting me well known at every Shell station along the route; pissed me off in a 1.6 petrol Peugeot 306 for a few weeks; was comfortable but not cheap in our 9-5 estate (LPT Petrol/Auto)... and although fun and somewhat quicker in the GTV, again isn't cheap and tends to head towards multiple point awards for driving finesse.
So, the 9-5 Estate is now the bomb proof family wagon, and after looking at many £3K high mileage diesel heaps of crap, and not wanting to spend all my time looking at boring oil burners, I ended up with a....
....37K mile 2007 1.9 DCi Laguna for a nudge under £5K
It's not auto, it doesn't have cruise, it needs to be driven with a shrug, and it went wrong on the first day (admitedly that was just duff service work from the dealer though).
Anyway, it will go wrong of course, but I can get 48mpg everywhere, and 55mpg if concentrating on taking it steady. Over 10K so far I've averaged 51mpg, one service, a set of wiper blades and a headlamp bulb.
I lobbed it all into a spreadsheet and even if I have a DMF failure and an injector or two replaced, it still works out as good value and is over £1K a year cheaper than taking the train.
It is still a Laguna though, and that is pretty unforgiveable
For your budget, I'd probably go for a Saab 9-3, oil burning variety of course.
So, the 9-5 Estate is now the bomb proof family wagon, and after looking at many £3K high mileage diesel heaps of crap, and not wanting to spend all my time looking at boring oil burners, I ended up with a....
....37K mile 2007 1.9 DCi Laguna for a nudge under £5K
It's not auto, it doesn't have cruise, it needs to be driven with a shrug, and it went wrong on the first day (admitedly that was just duff service work from the dealer though).
Anyway, it will go wrong of course, but I can get 48mpg everywhere, and 55mpg if concentrating on taking it steady. Over 10K so far I've averaged 51mpg, one service, a set of wiper blades and a headlamp bulb.
I lobbed it all into a spreadsheet and even if I have a DMF failure and an injector or two replaced, it still works out as good value and is over £1K a year cheaper than taking the train.
It is still a Laguna though, and that is pretty unforgiveable
For your budget, I'd probably go for a Saab 9-3, oil burning variety of course.
Mondeo 2.0 TDCI.
We have on 04 with 110k my daughter has an 04 with about 140k.
They both drive like new. Cruise, climate, heated front screen, auto lights, auto wipers, 6cd, 6 speed and very comfy on a long haul averaging about 50mpg. It's surprising how nippy they are as well. I'm sure you could get one for sub 2.5k, just make sure the dual mass flywheel and clutch have been changed as they can cost, although I imagine this applies to most modern diesels that have been mentioned.
We have on 04 with 110k my daughter has an 04 with about 140k.
They both drive like new. Cruise, climate, heated front screen, auto lights, auto wipers, 6cd, 6 speed and very comfy on a long haul averaging about 50mpg. It's surprising how nippy they are as well. I'm sure you could get one for sub 2.5k, just make sure the dual mass flywheel and clutch have been changed as they can cost, although I imagine this applies to most modern diesels that have been mentioned.
PedantLosesGrip said:
26,000 miles a year on a 2k diesel used car is going to be costly I think.. thats a hard life on a car let alone one that has already depreciated a long way.
I've just happily done 22,000 (82,000 - 104,000) in 3 months in a £1600 Audi, no major problems until yesterday, when the alternator failed, but I'd consider that fair wear and tear at 104,000!
Hard Life? not at all, especially on a motorway with cruise control!
My point was more based on how much you rely on the car.
It depends on the budget vs risk. If you are salaried and your boss doesn't mind that as you are doing, in the OPs case, 26k miles, the odd day in the garage for repairs might be ok.
If you are self employed and no car = no pay then it may (may) be a better economy to lease and have the fall back of a new car for a similar total cost of ownership.
It depends on lots of things, not least who is paying for fuel, how much per mile you can either write off, or reclaim, and your dependency on the car. Just thoughts for the mix.
It depends on the budget vs risk. If you are salaried and your boss doesn't mind that as you are doing, in the OPs case, 26k miles, the odd day in the garage for repairs might be ok.
If you are self employed and no car = no pay then it may (may) be a better economy to lease and have the fall back of a new car for a similar total cost of ownership.
It depends on lots of things, not least who is paying for fuel, how much per mile you can either write off, or reclaim, and your dependency on the car. Just thoughts for the mix.
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