Need a Small Used Diesel For Work

[the_bakerboy3685]

Hello all, some help please as not bought a used car for a long time.

I know diesel is not exactly popular right now, but I recently changed jobs and now find myself doing a 52 mile round trip each day (motorway miles and country lanes) and I could do with a diesel to save on fuel and so I have a second car to stop putting so many miles on my current car.

I'm looking for something economical, a bit fun, reliable and not something that will take half a minute to reach 60mph!

I have been looking at usual suspects like 6-7 year old diesel Fiesta's, Corsa's, Fabia's etc but a Mini Cooper D came up in the classifieds that was a bit older than these but having driven one years ago I remember it being huge fun and the diesel looks very economical. What worries me is if something goes pop it could be a lot costlier to repair.

Anyone got any experiences with Mini's regarding reliability or should I stick to the other cars I mentioned to be safe?

[rallycross]

I'd go for a Polo or Ibiza with the 130 bhp version of the1.9 Tdi engine and 6 speed.

Older Mini's can be expensive but they are good to drive ( although not driven an older MINI D).

[HorneyMX5]

Audi A2 1.4 TDi.

[xjay1337]

Why not a Mk5 1.9

With a decent remap you will see north of 70mpg fairly easily. I managed 190 miles once before the fuel gauge even moved, no it wasn't broken lol.

[cptsideways]

The 3 pot 1.4Tdi from VAG are fab, go well & do 60mpg with ease. Fairly trouble free too.

[ambuletz]

fabia vRS or ibiza FR 1.9 TDI, remap to 200hp.

[KTF]

Whilst small cars have no problems on the motorway, for that daily journey, why not look for something a bit bigger (Mondeo, etc) as it will be quieter inside, potentially ride better.

Also consider an automatic if there will be a lot of traffic involved.

[trickywoo]

Do you realise that the annual cost difference between 30mpg and 50mpg for your stated mileage is £800?

Get a dog of a diesel and that saving will be gone in an instant.

[trickywoo]

KTF said:

Whilst small cars have no problems on the motorway, for that daily journey, why not look for something a bit bigger (Mondeo, etc) as it will be quieter inside, potentially ride better.

Also consider an automatic if there will be a lot of traffic involved.

It's 25 miles each way! Even with traffic that's a max of 1 hour, you could do that in an Aygo without going mad.

[KTF]

trickywoo said:

KTF said:

Whilst small cars have no problems on the motorway, for that daily journey, why not look for something a bit bigger (Mondeo, etc) as it will be quieter inside, potentially ride better.

Also consider an automatic if there will be a lot of traffic involved.

It's 25 miles each way! Even with traffic that's a max of 1 hour, you could do that in an Aygo without going mad.

Ah, I read it as 52 miles each way. For 25 miles anything will do.

[Kev_Mk3]

Clio diesels run on fumes and give amazing MPG if I was to have a small box to commute I would have one tomorrow -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/52-Renault-Clio-1-5-dCi-...


Something like that.

Nippy, cheap to insure, tax and replace

[Willy Nilly]

trickywoo said:

KTF said:

Whilst small cars have no problems on the motorway, for that daily journey, why not look for something a bit bigger (Mondeo, etc) as it will be quieter inside, potentially ride better.

Also consider an automatic if there will be a lot of traffic involved.

It's 25 miles each way! Even with traffic that's a max of 1 hour, you could do that in an Aygo without going mad.

Not to mention, that a 6 or 7 year old main stream Fiesta sized car is likely to be a really well equipped and nice to drive.

[xjay1337]

trickywoo said:

Do you realise that the annual cost difference between 30mpg and 50mpg for your stated mileage is £800?

Get a dog of a diesel and that saving will be gone in an instant.

Quite easy to say a dog of petrol would cost that as well.

The suggestions above for example 2002-2006 VAG diesels are simple. no DPF. turbos etc are generally reliable on those models.
easy to work on etc.

Where as a 730i from 1994 may be more "cool" but arguably much more risky...

[Super Slo Mo]

trickywoo said:

KTF said:

Whilst small cars have no problems on the motorway, for that daily journey, why not look for something a bit bigger (Mondeo, etc) as it will be quieter inside, potentially ride better.

Also consider an automatic if there will be a lot of traffic involved.

It's 25 miles each way! Even with traffic that's a max of 1 hour, you could do that in an Aygo without going mad.

its also a mere 12-13000 miles a year. Not really diesel territory. Even at 20000 miles a year the additional maintenance costs (and large bill potential) mean that I would think long and hard about a diesel. In fact, that's exactly what I'm doing, thinking about whether it's worth it for 20-25k a year.

[the_bakerboy3685]

Cheers for all the replies, I know 52 miles a day is not much for some but it's unknown territory for me as I have spent most of my working life commuting on a train! I have a lovely car at the moment (Golf GTI) but I bought that as a nice evening / weekend car and not to be run about in every day really. Already put 10,000 on it in 9 months.

Plus as I drive at weekends and now have a 300 mile round trip once a month to see our family where we use to live, I really would like something to ease the strain on it. I just thought a diesel would make more sense for everyday journeys. I quite liked the look of the Fabia VRS but they seem to hold there value pretty well so not as cheap, but then I guess it shows how good they are.

[exelero]

HorneyMX5 said:

Audi A2 1.4 TDi.

there is a 1.2 TDI version as well

[Willy Nilly]

the_bakerboy3685 said:

Cheers for all the replies, I know 52 miles a day is not much for some but it's unknown territory for me as I have spent most of my working life commuting on a train! I have a lovely car at the moment (Golf GTI) but I bought that as a nice evening / weekend car and not to be run about in every day really. Already put 10,000 on it in 9 months.

Plus as I drive at weekends and now have a 300 mile round trip once a month to see our family where we use to live, I really would like something to ease the strain on it. I just thought a diesel would make more sense for everyday journeys. I quite liked the look of the Fabia VRS but they seem to hold there value pretty well so not as cheap, but then I guess it shows how good they are.

You'd need to work out if it is cheaper to run the second car or use the current one. The amount of miles you are looking at should be no issue at all for your Golf.

[xjay1337]

Took a Mk5 1.9 from 90k to 150k... not a peep even with over double stock BHP.

the cars been split since but the engine is in another car and still going strong.

honestly get a golf.

also, my commute was 5 miles round trip i did every day. never had any issues.

Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 19th December 18:24

[the_bakerboy3685]

Although the Golf I have could easily do the mileage I bought it when I was still in my previous job and so got it on a PCP deal with annual mileage upto 10,000 a year which I'm already over.

To be honest I know I could sit down and work out in detail if a second car works out more or less but I rather just have the second car and save the Golf for weekends and give it a bit more TLC!

[Super Slo Mo]

Honda Civic 1.8 is not a bad idea. They're economical enough, similar to a diesel mondeo, and are pretty zippy and reliable. Fairly nice to drive too.