I need a diesel shed!

[VRSphil]

Commute is changing and company car returning. Currently costs £60 to fill and tend to get around 330 miles from a tank.

I’m going to be doing 400 miles per week from next week on so I would like something frugal but I’m due to remortgage soon after an Initial help to buy mortgage so I need to be relatively debt free to get the best deal.

I don’t want to spend any more than £1000 really, but I’m aware this leaves me short on options.

I wanted a mondeo ST diesel but I didn’t realise how much these still are!

Would the usual 1.9 TDI VAG options be the go to? I have a couple of friends who swear by these for cheap commuters but every VW I’ve ever had (and I’ve had 5) have been rubbish and broken down loads!

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Phil

[BigTrak79]

They're not attractive but you can get a Vauxhall Signum for pennies, I've been using a 1.9cdt with 150hp for a few years. Bloody thing won't die so I can't justify getting something else. They're big and comfy motorway cruisers that are pretty frugal. I average 50mpg comfortably and get more on mways.

[S54Love]

A diesel Honda 2.2 of some sort? It seems to be a mixed bag with some saying it's horrifically unreliable, but at the same time others who swear by the engine.

Might need to go slightly over the budget for a good Accord or Civic however, but generally they do float around the £1k mark.

[MaxSo]

The standard answer is a Euro 3 Volvo S60 / V70 D5 163bhp

[CX53]

One of the only reliable diesels I had was a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi... and same as you, all other VAG I’ve had have been woefully unreliable but felt nice and solid.

I may be inclined to find a nice MK2 focus 1.6 petrol and just take it steady on the commute for the MPG.

[Ian Geary]

My mk1 focus tdci is going well a year on after buying it for sub £800. It did need a new alternator in spring (the brushes failed).

It starts second time, every time (first time in summer) and is nippy enough. A tank is about £50 and gets £450-500 miles. Loads to choose from on facebook buying groups.

Non ST mondeos of that era are similarly cheap.

[ZX10R NIN]

How much are you looking to spend?

Is 2.5k to much you can get some good reliable diesel cars for around this money:

Alfa Romeo 147 in Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Mondeo Ghia/Ghia X

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Honda Civic (the clutches are the weak spot)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Saab 9-3 in Vector Sport Trim

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

CLK270 (this would be my pick mine was great) they're comfortable swift & you'll see low to mid 40's, if you map it then you high 40's to low 50's.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

C270

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

C200

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

S60 D5 good cars but the 270 Mercedes are the better option.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Vectra Elite/SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

All the above are reliable & will be a decent place to be with 400 miles a week in , the Mondeo & then Mercedes with the 270 engines in would get my vote.

[em177]

My snorter is an A2 TDi. Mine won’t average under 65mpg (personal tank best is 75!), they are £30 road tax and parts are very cheap. Along with that the body is aluminimum so no rust issues.

[anonymous-user]

Any 1k will be a gamble and 20k a year will need money spending on it maybe another 500-1000, a set of tyres could be 300 quid. So really think about what you get.

I ran an Octavia tdi 130 for 40k miles, cost about 2k(fuel costs not included) all in for 2 years. A 1.5dci megane i ran for a year cost me 550. about 12k miles, all in, sold cheap as needed money spending.

I've sold low mpg cars to save money ended up costing money on new car faults.

What about lpg?

[georgezippy]

I have had a 2000 Audi 1.9PD 115 for the last 9 years.
It's grunty enough, 50+ mpg most of the time. Nothing serious has ever broken, never had the AA to it, and it's still going strong at 160k. I quite fancy something else but can't bring myself to part with something so dependable.
A quick look on ebay tells me it's worth about £1200 tops.

[alfabeat]

With that mileage to do, up the budget slightly and get a Saab 9-3 (couple linked to above). Supremely comfortable cars.

Basic 1. 9 diesel engine which is used everywhere and parts cheap.

They also handle pretty well, look good, are on the unusual scale and go well.

I bought one last year as a runaround for the winter, and love it so much its become my daily all year around. Comfiest seats I've ever sat in.

[bearman68]

The 163 horse D5 Volvo is a good shout, but the 2.0 diesel is also very good, and potential better, in a car such as the V50, as the parts are cheaper. Certainly the 2.4 is heavy on suspension parts. If you look on ebay, virtually all Volvos are hard to find without mega miles on them, which I find encouraging. Mine V50 (2.4) has 175k on and feels very solid. The Saab suspension is quite hard, and I've had a fair bit of maintenance with mine - probably excessive for the mileage, though the seats are good. We also bought an X-type the other day, and that is very nice for the £500 we paid for it. I know it's a Mondeo in posh clothes, but probably all the better for it to be honest. The Mondeo is not known for reliability issues. (except injectors which are cheap anyway)
We hire out a 1.5 dci Clio for a 35 mile commute. Very economical, and seems to be standing the miles so far, though we are very picky about oil changes. And a colleague uses a 2.0 dci Laguna 3 which has been absolutely faultless, and very cheap to run, with very comfy well specified interior. Most commentators are saying the Laguna 3 is very good - as Renault had to significantly up their game after the Lag 2. For the money, this would be an excellent (but very dull) choice. Plenty of these about at sensible money.
But for me, I would struggle to see past the comfy seats / suspension of a Volvo.

[Zetec-S]

CX53 said:

One of the only reliable diesels I had was a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi... and same as you, all other VAG I’ve had have been woefully unreliable but felt nice and solid.

I may be inclined to find a nice MK2 focus 1.6 petrol and just take it steady on the commute for the MPG.

^^^ This ^^^

A tidy Mk1 Octavia 1.9 TDi will just keep going. Or I can testify the Focus 1.6 petrol is good for mid-40 mpg if you drive sensibly. I used to get nearly 500 miles from a tank in my old Mk 1 when I used to do a cross-country B-road commute.

[someclevername]

MaxSo said:

The standard answer is a Euro 3 Volvo S60 / V70 D5 163bhp

I had a V70 D5 Euro 3. Fantastic economy and buckets of torque. Make sure it's been well maintained. Volvo parts are expensive and, due to lower volume, not so many after market replacements.

[Facian]

I went with the Saab 9-3 Diesel option for £1500 just over a year ago (admittedly a high mileage 2009 car, which was a risk) and it was faultless. Just passed its MOT with no advisories and I'm about to shift it on, hopefully for someone else to do the same! All I spent on it in that time was a battery, and two front tyres (the tyres I took into account while purchasing, the battery just struggled in the cold weather this spring so i chucked one in).

Much nicer place to sit than most Ford/Vauxhall offerings with the comfy heated seats, decent stereo etc. and averaged 46mpg over 12,000 miles. It has almost saved me its purchase price in the last year on fuel alone, rather than commuting in my S2000 on boring motorway journeys.

[anonymous-user]

How soon are you remortgaging?

I'd do the maths very carefully, if your current car is good apart from the fuel consumption then personally I'd stick with it if it's only a few months.

A £1000 snotter at 20k a year can work out, or it can be a total money pit. Better the devil you know is often the way to go.

[flatso]

Citroen C5 HDI

[Mr Tidy]

Just a thought but maybe an E46 BMW 320d - they have 150 bhp so go quite well.

I had a Compact and could regularly get over 600 miles from a tank on longer runs. Plus if you find a facelift manual you get a 6-speed gearbox.

If you could find one in budget a 330d would be even better!

[Josho]

Absolutely anything with a PD130 lump in. The MK5 Golf 1.9 is OK but not gaurunteed reliability like the PD130.

Failing that a diesel Yaris.

OR go BMW 120D with the M47 engine.

[Pistonheader101]

Spending that many miles in a car I’d genuinely invest a fair bit into a car as you’d be sitting in it for so long.

No point skimping out if you spend 3 hours daily driving! Have all the creature comforts too and at least some sort of supported seating.

There’s a fair few good recommendations above but do consider volvos/Lexus/Bmw