"Fun" Diesel for under 2k

[h3dshot]

Hi guys,

First time poster - long time reader.

I've recently turned 28, currently driving a 2010 Alfa Romeo Guilietta JTDM-2 (170). Its my pride and joy but the plan is to keep her till she falls over or becomes uneconomical to repair. Bought at 100k currently on 128k.

When my beloved G dies i need to get something sensible for commuting which is relatively fun to drive, economical (road tax, mpg, cost of servicing and repairs) and most of all reliable. Everything else goes towards saving for a house/flat for my and the girlfriend (no kids!).

Given that i'm 28, i'm not quite ready to call it a day and just buy a volvo V50/S40 (yuck btw!)
For perspective, i paid £4,400 for my G. 170BHP, 7.7s 0-60, £125 tax, averaging 45MPG driving normally and can get 55+ when being sensible on a long journey.

I've put together a shortlist of cars that i'd consider and wanted some general feedback on the list or potentially some additions i'd not thought of.

Criteria:
- Anything from MY2000 onwards
- Must be under £2,000
- Must be a dirty derv (around 12k miles yearly - not interested in a petrol)
- Under 125k miles
- Looking at cars around the 140bhp mark
- sub 9 seconds 0-60
- Relatively fun to drive and economical to run/repair/maintain
- Relatively cheap to insure


So my current hit-list in order of preference is:

• Renault Megane Mk2 (2002-2009MY) 2.0 dci GT 150. ~£1500
Pros: unique looks, apparently fun to drive, cheap to service, low insurance?, transitions nicely into a Clio 182 once i get the house and have 2k lying around
Cons: electrical gremlins are rife apparently

• Vauxhall Astra J (2010-2013MY) 2.0 cdti 160. ~£2000
Pros: 2.0 ctdi does not have the chocolate M32 gearbox, looks modern and fresh, £30 roadtax, claimed to be very efficient, ALFA ENGINE, cheap to run + service, low insurance?
Cons: not very unique, depreciation, going to be difficult to find a good looked after one for under 2k

• BMW 120d E87 (2004-2007MY). ~£2000
Pros: RWD, M47 engine, "ultimate driving machine", comfortable, premium brand
Cons: Not the best looking car, very few examples under 2k so quesitonable condition of the cars that are available, higher servicing + repair costs, Swirl flaps?

• BMW 320d E90 (2004-2007MY). ~£2000
Pros: RWD, M47 engine, "ultimate driving machine", comfortable, premium brand
Cons: prefer the E46 shape but less reliable? Not the best looking car, very few examples under 2k so quesitonable condition of the cars that are available, higher servicing + repair costs, Swirl flaps?

• Ford Focus Mk2.5 (2008-2011MY). ~£1500
Pros: Unique looks - very roomy, cheap and cheerful, great handling, relatively comfortable, can park in any bay at the supermarket without worrying about someone scratching it
Cons: Injectors/Clutch/DMF are apparently shot at ~100k and an expensive fix?

• SAAB 9-3 TiD Mk2 (2002-2014MY). ~£700-£1700
Pros: comfy, cheap to run + maintain, roomy, ALFA ENGINE?, can park in any bay at the supermarket without worrying about someone scratching it
Cons: a bit "old man", boring interior, availability of spare parts with SAAB being dead in the water

• Ford Mondeo Mk4 (2006-2010MY). ~£1500
Pros: comfy, cheap to run + maintain, roomy, great handling?, , can park in any bay at the supermarket without worrying about someone scratching it
Cons: prefer the look of the MK3 but quality isn't as good? Injectors/Clutch/DMF are apparently shot at ~100k and an expensive fix?

• VAG Group 1.9PD 130 ~£1300-2000
Pros: bullletproof engines, VAG "premium" quality, cheap to service + maintain, can park in any bay at the supermarket without worrying about someone scratching it
Cons: Boring, not fun to drive, the typical "old man option"

• Honda Civic MK8 2.2 i-CDTi 140 ~£1300-2000
Pros: Honda reliability, very futuristic looking, comfy, the "sensible choice", can park in any bay at the supermarket without worrying about someone scratching it
Cons: Look like an uber driver in training, chocolate clutch/DMF

TIA for any feedback/opinions/suggestions

[TurboHatchback]

I would expect many more years of service out of your Alfa if you look after it so looking now at replacements for when it dies seems rather pointless. The cheapest car is almost always the one you currently have. Also with a low annual mileage of 12k why would you even consider a diesel? IMHO there is no such thing as a fun diesel unless it's something gigantic with knobbly tires and live axles.

In summary keep your Alfa. I'd rather drive that than any of the cars on your list.

[ZX10R NIN]

+1 to the above you won't need to be changing for a while yet.

[Raino144]

The £2,000 would pay for much maintenance for your P&J and keep her running beyond any of the replacements go over the bridge...

[phil y]

Anything in the price bracket would be a gamble in terms of reliability IME. Stick with what you have, or be prepared to spend a lot more than 2k, either in purchase price or repair bills.

[M4cruiser]

TurboHatchback said:

In summary keep your Alfa. I'd rather drive that than any of the cars on your list.

Yes, this.
But also
"Fun" and "diesel" don't belong in the same sentence.

[h3dshot]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Yes completely agree with you - no plans to get rid of the G. She ticks all the boxes for me.

The purpose of this thread was to do a bit of homework in advance and have a rough idea of what i'd get if she suddenly died beyond economical repair or was involved in a prang where the insurance write her off.

[NickGRhodes]

You might find a V6 Audi/VW derv within that budget, smoother, less laggy and more fun than the straight 4, at cost of economy and slightly more nose heavy handling.

[irish boy]

Has to be a Skoda Fabia vrs mk1?

[ZX10R NIN]

h3dshot said:

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Yes completely agree with you - no plans to get rid of the G. She ticks all the boxes for me.

The purpose of this thread was to do a bit of homework in advance and have a rough idea of what i'd get if she suddenly died beyond economical repair or was involved in a prang where the insurance write her off.

In which case the answer is simple:

1.9 8V Alfa 147 these are pretty much bulletproof

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

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

[AlpineWhite]

irish boy said:

Has to be a Skoda Fabia vrs mk1?

Seems like an obvious choice to me too.

[Lukas239]

NickGRhodes said:

You might find a V6 Audi/VW derv within that budget, smoother, less laggy and more fun than the straight 4, at cost of economy and slightly more nose heavy handling.

Really? Are they in that price range? Surely massive bork factor.

What mileage do people suggest is necessart for a diesel?

[NickGRhodes]

Lukas239 said:

Really? Are they in that price range? Surely massive bork factor.

What mileage do people suggest is necessart for a diesel?

I've seen a few, mostly auto though, though there is an A4 manual that I am interested in

[Mr Tidy]

AlpineWhite said:

irish boy said:

Has to be a Skoda Fabia vrs mk1?

Seems like an obvious choice to me too.

Good choice, but VAG did put that engine in the Seat Ibiza and the Leon (with 130 or 150 bhp) as well so they may be options.

But as has been said it's probably not worth changing for the sake of change - there is every chance you would just be buying someone else's problem!

[veevee]

This thread makes me very sad.

[culpz]

M4cruiser said:

Yes, this.
But also
"Fun" and "diesel" don't belong in the same sentence.

Yeah, bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?

The only ones I can really think of are the Fabia vRS and the Leon/Ibiza FR/Cupra. They also did a Renault Sport Megane 175, which is a diesel.

12k a year isn't really proper diesel territory though, is it? Not enough for it to make sense financially over a petrol, anyway. A turbo petrol would be just as good and probably cheaper to run.

[300bhp/ton]

culpz said:

Yeah, bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?

The only ones I can really think of are the Fabia vRS and the Leon/Ibiza FR/Cupra. They also did a Renault Sport Megane 175, which is a diesel.

12k a year isn't really proper diesel territory though, is it? Not enough for it to make sense financially over a petrol, anyway. A turbo petrol would be just as good and probably cheaper to run.

How do you figure a petrol turbo would be cheaper to run????

[Jonny_gti]

Another vote for the Mk1 Fabia VRS, I owned one as a stop gap between more performance cars and ended up loving the damn thing, even spent money tuning it closer to 200hp.

[culpz]

300bhp/ton said:

culpz said:

Yeah, bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?

The only ones I can really think of are the Fabia vRS and the Leon/Ibiza FR/Cupra. They also did a Renault Sport Megane 175, which is a diesel.

12k a year isn't really proper diesel territory though, is it? Not enough for it to make sense financially over a petrol, anyway. A turbo petrol would be just as good and probably cheaper to run.

How do you figure a petrol turbo would be cheaper to run????

Not doing enough miles to warrant the extra expenditure of a diesel over a petrol. Simple.

[300bhp/ton]

culpz said:

Not doing enough miles to warrant the extra expenditure of a diesel over a petrol. Simple.

The diesel will be cheaper to fuel for any distance though. Diesel is only marginally more expensive per litre, but typically quite a bit more frugal.