BMW X1 18d or similar.

[Square Leg]

My lad is looking at these as a run about for work as his i20N is loading up the miles and getting a bit trashed.
I don’t know anything about these engines - any issues, reliability etc?

Looking at cars around the £3.5 - 4k mark with up to 100k miles.

Open to other stuff though, but that’s the budget - needs to be diesel, low rfl, low insurance, needs a decent boot for all his equipment.
A bit of 4wd would be advantageous as he visits muddy sites at times, but not essential.
Needs to be low insurance group as he’s only 20.

The X1 seems to fit the bill, along with the Kia Sportage with the 1.5d engine.

Cheers.

[Pickle_Rick]

If he's not prepared to stump up the cash to keep a hyundai going, how is he going to maintain a moon mileage BMW, a brand not exactly known for impeccable reliability? He'll be blowing £4k for a badge.

If he only has £4k to spend, assuming it doesn't have terminal rust, give the hyundai a full major service, maybe water pump, oil pump, chain or cambelt. £1500 and it's good for another 5 + years. And then save up for something exciting, not some awful jacked up 1 series.

[Square Leg]

Pickle_Rick said:

If he's not prepared to stump up the cash to keep a hyundai going, how is he going to maintain a moon mileage BMW, a brand not exactly known for impeccable reliability? He'll be blowing £4k for a badge.

If he only has £4k to spend, assuming it doesn't have terminal rust, give the hyundai a full major service, maybe water pump, oil pump, chain or cambelt. £1500 and it's good for another 5 + years. And then save up for something exciting, not some awful jacked up 1 series.

Quite an abrasive answer Rick, but what else do we get from you..

He’s keeping the i20 -he just stumped up the cash for better brakes so he can carry on his track days in it, but there’s no point whacking big miles on it is there, when he can afford to have another car to get trashed instead.

[ZX10R NIN]

The 2.0d of this ilk soes have a few issues, personally I'd go for one of these:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602179...

Not cheap tax but they're very robust & will take big miles.

[Square Leg]

ZX10R NIN said:

The 2.0d of this ilk soes have a few issues, personally I'd go for one of these:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602179...

Not cheap tax but they're very robust & will take big miles.

Was hoping you’d pop up..

Whilst on the face of it a good suggestion, I’m not sure he’d go for that..

What are the 1.5 d engines like in the older Sportages?
Are these a Renault engine?

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd look at the 2.0d Kuga.

[Square Leg]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd look at the 2.0d Kuga.

Assume these are non wet belt engines?

He’s just sent me a link to a Saab 9-3 1.9 ttid …

[ZX10R NIN]

Does he want an SUV or will a normal car work for him?

[ZX10R NIN]

If that is the case the best Q50 you can find would be my answer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602180...

[Square Leg]

ZX10R NIN said:

Does he want an SUV or will a normal car work for him?

I think a hatchback would work - he’d have to use the back seats for some of his gear but it’s not a problem.
I’d like to steer him away from an SUV if I can as it’s not really necessary.

Mainly anything economical to run is the starting point.

[ZX10R NIN]

Then I'd suggest he look for the best 2.0d Mondeo/Insignia he can find.

[Belle427]

Brother in law has a 60 plate 18d with what must be the 2.0 engine and to be fair its been a great car reliability wise.
I have looked after it for 10 years and apart from regular servicing it has not thrown up any major issues, currently sat on 125000 miles.
It had a replacement crank damper last year which is a common issue but that was a fairly easy job.
I do find the steering a bit heavy on it but it is nice to drive.

[7 5 7]

Honda CRV 1.6d if need diesel, and some sort of reliability, also £35 VED.

N47 engines in the BMWs are ok, if you pick the right maintained one, i.e frequent oil changes, if not...good luck, they are a mixed bag, but some are generally pretty good, but I wouldn't have another one, and I run a 318d at 174k, and had 118d which I ran up to 180k.

Few things to watch out for, timing chains (goes without mentioning on these), HPFP issues and they also suffer clogged intake manifolds, EGR's/Coolers/Turbo's they are terribly bad for this cloggging and it causes loads of running issues as the miles go on, but nice enough to drive.

Edited by 7 5 7 on Monday 23 February 20:43

[macron]

Square Leg said:

Was hoping you d pop up..

Whilst on the face of it a good suggestion, I m not sure he d go for that..

What are the 1.5 d engines like in the older Sportages?
Are these a Renault engine?

Yes and they need a belt and water pump every 5 years, most aren't done.

[Square Leg]

So it seems modern diesels aren’t overly reliable with high miles and unknown maintenance…

[ABMA]

What about a diesel gen 9 Honda Civic? Cheap Tax, impressive MPG and spacious interior with rear seats down.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2026010890...

Or even a tourer for more loading space

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025091764...

[Belle427]

Square Leg said:

So it seems modern diesels aren t overly reliable with high miles and unknown maintenance

Bit of a minefield but you could say that with any car really, the addition of dpf equipment etc on the Diesels makes it a bit harder.
Stick to petrol if mileage is fairly low.