Which turbo diesels for sub £4000?

[speedmachine]

Hi,

I've started to commute between 400 - 600 miles a week so looking to get a turbo diesel for less than £4000. Initially started to look for Tdi versions of the B6 A4 Audi that we already have but thought it would be a bit boring to have two cars that are same apart from the engine. The B6 Tdis also seem a bit pricey. So looking to spend between £3000 - £4000 to get a decent, newish turbo diesel that has a bit of power. It needs to be comfy, smooth and quiet for long cruises and also have a decent level of performance.
Currently thinking of getting a Vextra SRi CDti as it seems I can get a 2007/2008 model for my budget. They seem well equipped, and although it'll probably have highish miles I could try to get one that has had work such as the clutch and DMF recently done. Did consider an e46 320d sport, but the ones that are sub £4k seem ropey.

So what other turbo diesels could I consider for under £4000?
Criteria is - Good MPG, Decent performance for motorway cruising, comfy, quiet (inside), well spec'd and newish (upto 6 years old). Oh and it needs to be spacious enough for a family so that rules out small hatchbacks such as the Fabia VRS

Edited by speedmachine on Wednesday 30th November 17:23

[alan-87]

Saab 9-3 1.9tdi. 150bhp or 120bhp. Good spec, comfy, i can get 49mpg out of mine at 70 with cruise on.

Plenty out there to choose from, and IMO look good. Especially with aero bits added.

Remapable (sp?) if that's your thing.

[RoseyG21]

e39 530d all the way!

[andye30m3]

I just bought a clean mercedes C class diesel estate for £3500, came with full leather, decent history and 95k miles.

Incredibly boring, quite slow (although most stuff is after a CSL) but does at least return good MPG, 50 on the computer is achievable if you try and that through the auto box. being the avantgarde model it thankfully does without all the wood dash.

[zaphod42]

Nice sensible Volvo.

http://www.highgrademotors.com/used-cars/volvo-121...

Good for getting through traffic as well.

[speedmachine]

RoseyG21 said:

e39 530d all the way!

For less than £4000? Really? I've seen some but they seem to have over 150,000 miles on them and most are auto. Although I've always like the e39 530d in sport trim.

[speedmachine]

alan-87 said:

Saab 9-3 1.9tdi. 150bhp or 120bhp. Good spec, comfy, i can get 49mpg out of mine at 70 with cruise on.

Plenty out there to choose from, and IMO look good. Especially with aero bits added.

Remapable (sp?) if that's your thing.

Hmmm, 49mpg at 70mph cruise seems a bit low for a 1.9tdi? In a previous MK4 Golf Gt Tdi I used to get a calculated 52mpg doing 60 miles a day. Another previous car which was an a 2.2 Mondeo ST tdci would also get over 50mpg (calculated). Will take a browse in the classifieds though. Anything in particular to watch out for?

[alan-87]

This is my first foray into diesels and my previous car was a monaro so 49mpg is amazing!

In terms of problems they don't seem to have many, and if they do it has mostly been caught on warranty work.

I believe some early models had a problem with the bulkhead welds splitting, but that was easily rectifyable.

I was speaking to a green flag mechanic the other day in work and he said it is very unusual to be called to a broken down Saab. So that has to count for something.

Have a look in uksaabs.com or saabscene.com loads of info on there.

[speedmachine]

zaphod42 said:

Nice sensible Volvo.

http://www.highgrademotors.com/used-cars/volvo-121...

Good for getting through traffic as well.

Great! But I imagine one would need a HGV licence to drive it?

[alan-87]

Ps, I bought mine from here..

http://www.pandpcarsales.co.uk/index.php?action=se...

Specialises in secondhand saabs. Great guy and recieved brilliant service from him. Not sure where in the country you are but might be worth a tinkle.

[DavidY]

I have a 1.9Tdi 150bhp Saab 9-3, average 55-58mpg at 70 +/- 5 mph on the motorway and 47mpg overall (and mines an auto!)

Paid £4.5k 20 months ago with 76k on the clock (55 plate saloon), full leather, very comfy, so should be well within your budget

[e8_pack]

you need an auto, surely, if its a daily traffic muncher...

[chriscoates]

Don't discount the E46 320d, this seems a nice one: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3393661.htm

[frosted]

speedmachine said:

Hmmm, 49mpg at 70mph cruise seems a bit low for a 1.9tdi? In a previous MK4 Golf Gt Tdi I used to get a calculated 52mpg doing 60 miles a day. Another previous car which was an a 2.2 Mondeo ST tdci would also get over 50mpg (calculated). Will take a browse in the classifieds though. Anything in particular to watch out for?

I think older cars have problems with the onboard computer , I'm struggling to achieve that unless I drive like an freedom pass holder, which is incredibly tedious

Currently averaging 27mpg in urban stop start conditions , car is tdi passat 08 and it's not broken . I could possibly see 45mpg at constant 80 mph but mostly 40-42mpg on the mway with loads of overtaking

Btw , I wouldn't buy a vectra , it's cheap for a reason

[speedmachine]

e8_pack said:

you need an auto, surely, if its a daily traffic muncher...

If it was an almost new car I'd go for an auto without a doubt. It's just the the cars in within my budget will be a bit leggy so a bit worried by all the autobox scare stories. Clutches and DMFs for around £900 I can accept but having to replace an auto box on a £4000 car would almost certainly write it off. Maybe I'm way off the mark....

[speedmachine]

frosted said:

I think older cars have problems with the onboard computer , I'm struggling to achieve that unless I drive like an freedom pass holder, which is incredibly tedious

Currently averaging 27mpg in urban stop start conditions , car is tdi passat 08 and it's not broken . I could possibly see 45mpg at constant 80 mph but mostly 40-42mpg on the mway with loads of overtaking

Btw , I wouldn't buy a vectra , it's cheap for a reason

I dunno you know, A lot cabbies round here use the Vectra Cdti, and they do a lot of miles. Can't get a better test of a car than that. Sat in a few too and they seem pretty decent on the motorway. Nothing special bet decent. It seems it's its the drivers with the higher powered B6 Passat Tdi that complain about a lot of issues.

I would have expected an 08 Passat Tdi to see well over 50mpg on Mway runs. I know the older 130bhp model (pre 2005) could do that on long runs.

Edited by speedmachine on Wednesday 30th November 20:57

[martin mrt]

frosted said:

speedmachine said:

Hmmm, 49mpg at 70mph cruise seems a bit low for a 1.9tdi? In a previous MK4 Golf Gt Tdi I used to get a calculated 52mpg doing 60 miles a day. Another previous car which was an a 2.2 Mondeo ST tdci would also get over 50mpg (calculated). Will take a browse in the classifieds though. Anything in particular to watch out for?

I think older cars have problems with the onboard computer , I'm struggling to achieve that unless I drive like an freedom pass holder, which is incredibly tedious

Currently averaging 27mpg in urban stop start conditions , car is tdi passat 08 and it's not broken . I could possibly see 45mpg at constant 80 mph but mostly 40-42mpg on the mway with loads of overtaking

Btw , I wouldn't buy a vectra , it's cheap for a reason

27mpg is low, very low, our 335d is currently doing 29mpg in purely town driving

[2000 GTV]

Laguna 11 Phase 11 2.0dci.

[rallycross]

Do yourself a favour and get a 6 cylinder diesel; in your price range the 4 cylinder ones are horrible places to be for big mileages.

[frosted]

martin mrt said:

27mpg is low, very low, our 335d is currently doing 29mpg in purely town driving

I can achieve 40mpg in urban condition as soon I get out central London . My car has a dpf and 90k , haven't had any issues what so ever . I believe that the vw group cars with problems are the ones from 05-07 , my friend has had a brand new Leon petrol and has had loads of issues with it

The vectra is a good car when it nearly new , like most vauxhals they seem to deteriorate very quickly after 4 years old