Advice for a noob soon to be commuting 120ish miles a day...
Discussion
Hi all,
First post but have followed PistonHeads for many years for advice and thought now would be a good time to join as a member.. I work for a company that is currently based close to my home address however come November we will be moving to Harwich around 60 miles away (one way) and due to the nature of my work I'll be doing this 120 mile drive 14 days out of a month roughly.
I knew this when I took the job and bought a little 1.6 TDCI fiesta for economy.. so far.. it has proven to be a good little car in light of all the bad things I had previously read. The fiesta is returning on average of 65mpg to/from Harwich which is great but the deal breaker for me is the comfort.. it's like sitting on a bench seat and at the end of the journey I feel like I let Mike Tyson in his prime use my spine as a punch bag, you don't normally test drive a car for 60 miles so I didn't really know just how uncomfortable it can be until it was too late...
So.. here lies the needed help.. I'm looking to part ways with the fiesta in the coming months and add a little cash to my budget, aiming to be around £3,500ish maybe £4,000 for the right car.
I have been looking at loads of various cars such as a 320d, Volvo C30 1.6D, Alfa Romeo Mito/Julietta, Mondeo 1.8/2.0 TDCI, Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI, Jag X-type, VW Golf... the list goes on however as with all forums, every car seems to have 'nothing but issues' now, granted, people only normally go on forums to report problems but each one has left me with a knock of confidence in following up on a purchase.
My key points I'm looking for are:
1) Comfort (first and foremost)
2) Reliability (I know with my budget I'll inevitably see issues at some point but I really don't want to be spending ALL my off shift watching my car being torn to pieces in a garage)
3) Economy (I know I won't see fiesta economy but high 40s - high 50s would be nice)
4) Gadgets (I'm happy to install a parrot kit but ideally looking for something that is nice to sit in)
5) Space (I carry a bit of kit for my job and it just fits in the fiesta so need an 'ok' sized boot)
I appreciate these types of questions have been flogged to death and to be honest I've spent a few days reading through them but I thought it's worth asking myself personally.
Apologies for the long intro, look forward to speaking with you all
First post but have followed PistonHeads for many years for advice and thought now would be a good time to join as a member.. I work for a company that is currently based close to my home address however come November we will be moving to Harwich around 60 miles away (one way) and due to the nature of my work I'll be doing this 120 mile drive 14 days out of a month roughly.
I knew this when I took the job and bought a little 1.6 TDCI fiesta for economy.. so far.. it has proven to be a good little car in light of all the bad things I had previously read. The fiesta is returning on average of 65mpg to/from Harwich which is great but the deal breaker for me is the comfort.. it's like sitting on a bench seat and at the end of the journey I feel like I let Mike Tyson in his prime use my spine as a punch bag, you don't normally test drive a car for 60 miles so I didn't really know just how uncomfortable it can be until it was too late...
So.. here lies the needed help.. I'm looking to part ways with the fiesta in the coming months and add a little cash to my budget, aiming to be around £3,500ish maybe £4,000 for the right car.
I have been looking at loads of various cars such as a 320d, Volvo C30 1.6D, Alfa Romeo Mito/Julietta, Mondeo 1.8/2.0 TDCI, Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI, Jag X-type, VW Golf... the list goes on however as with all forums, every car seems to have 'nothing but issues' now, granted, people only normally go on forums to report problems but each one has left me with a knock of confidence in following up on a purchase.
My key points I'm looking for are:
1) Comfort (first and foremost)
2) Reliability (I know with my budget I'll inevitably see issues at some point but I really don't want to be spending ALL my off shift watching my car being torn to pieces in a garage)
3) Economy (I know I won't see fiesta economy but high 40s - high 50s would be nice)
4) Gadgets (I'm happy to install a parrot kit but ideally looking for something that is nice to sit in)
5) Space (I carry a bit of kit for my job and it just fits in the fiesta so need an 'ok' sized boot)
I appreciate these types of questions have been flogged to death and to be honest I've spent a few days reading through them but I thought it's worth asking myself personally.
Apologies for the long intro, look forward to speaking with you all
Get an auto. I have been commuting on average 50 miles each way to work for the last 6 years. I have always done it in a manual and to be fair it's not bad if most of your journey isn't in stop start traffic but if you can get an auto I'd definitely advise it.
Another thing I've learned in my time is that distance is not as important as journey. Example - 25 miles of stop-start traffic. 50 miles of motorway/A-roads that are mostly free flowing. Give me the longer commute any day of the week. May seem common sense but it's hard to fully grasp unless you've done it.
Another thing I've learned in my time is that distance is not as important as journey. Example - 25 miles of stop-start traffic. 50 miles of motorway/A-roads that are mostly free flowing. Give me the longer commute any day of the week. May seem common sense but it's hard to fully grasp unless you've done it.
Skoda or Passat will be fine.
Or this and a driver
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-06-MAYBACH-57-5-5-V...
Or this and a driver
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-06-MAYBACH-57-5-5-V...
If it's just the seat that is the issue with the car why not just change it? There will be aftermarket options (from Recaro, etc) for your car - it may be a lot more convenient and cheaper than changing to another car, which is an unknown quantity.
A friend with back problems had to drive hundreds of miles in a Freelander - he changed the seat to a Recaro and found a huge difference in how he felt at the end of the day.
Welcome to PH by the way.
A friend with back problems had to drive hundreds of miles in a Freelander - he changed the seat to a Recaro and found a huge difference in how he felt at the end of the day.
Welcome to PH by the way.
Cheers for the quick replies guys!
I've across this but have no experience of Volvo's, they are one of the only cars I haven't owned and I have had many
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
The Skoda is a good shout, I haven't looked at those yet
I've across this but have no experience of Volvo's, they are one of the only cars I haven't owned and I have had many
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
The Skoda is a good shout, I haven't looked at those yet
jhonn said:
If it's just the seat that is the issue with the car why not just change it? There will be aftermarket options (from Recaro, etc) for your car - it may be a lot more convenient and cheaper than changing to another car, which is an unknown quantity.
A friend with back problems had to drive hundreds of miles in a Freelander - he changed the seat to a Recaro and found a huge difference in how he felt at the end of the day.
Welcome to PH by the way.
That is a good point and I have considered the cheaper alternatives like changing parts of the fiesta to improve comfort but, at the same time, I also feel I'd like a change and to someone that will just soak up the miles ideally. Unfortunately, I don't stick with cars long I'm 27 and average a new car every 6 months BUT if I can find a good commutable work horse then I'll look to save the pennies for a weekend car A friend with back problems had to drive hundreds of miles in a Freelander - he changed the seat to a Recaro and found a huge difference in how he felt at the end of the day.
Welcome to PH by the way.
I do 100 miles a day in a 520d auto. It is a bit too big really but 55mpg in comfort is good. Whatever you get, the miles quickly rack up and it is a difficult balance between buying a decent car that will be worth nothing/dead in a few years or keep getting cheaper cars that just don't do it for you, but don't cost much to run.
My wife had an eco diesel fiesta - 70mpg, free tax and bullet proof. You would just be quite tired after a week of changing gear and using the clutch and it wasn't really an exciting car.
My wife had an eco diesel fiesta - 70mpg, free tax and bullet proof. You would just be quite tired after a week of changing gear and using the clutch and it wasn't really an exciting car.
greysquirrel said:
I do 100 miles a day in a 520d auto. It is a bit too big really but 55mpg in comfort is good. Whatever you get, the miles quickly rack up and it is a difficult balance between buying a decent car that will be worth nothing/dead in a few years or keep getting cheaper cars that just don't do it for you, but don't cost much to run.
My wife had an eco diesel fiesta - 70mpg, free tax and bullet proof. You would just be quite tired after a week of changing gear and using the clutch and it wasn't really an exciting car.
That is part of the reason for wanting a change, the fiesta feels tiresome to drive after a couple of days.. don't get me wrong I can handle the commute as I've done much worse in the past but I don't want to get to work in the morning and already be snuffed. My wife had an eco diesel fiesta - 70mpg, free tax and bullet proof. You would just be quite tired after a week of changing gear and using the clutch and it wasn't really an exciting car.
I looked at a 520d/320d and all I came across was timing chain failure for 2007+ (177bhp) models so moved down to something 2005/2006 which a) fell into the budget nicely and b) seems to have better reliability.
Cheap Cat C shed, perfect for rolling up and down the motorway in relative peace and quiet.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
yup, mine had the timing chain failure which would have cost £3k (i paid £1k and BMW met the rest). It has also just had intake manifold changed at the best part of £1k.... so it can start to get expensive. I'm in the same predicament as you... i don't want to pay much to get to work but equally I don't want a Nissan micra.
Grey squirrel.. you hit the nail on the head there with your last comment. The 5 and 3 series BMs have always appealed and up until 2 days ago I was looking at an 07 plate 320D M Sport but I just don't want to take that very expensive gamble... are the older 2005/2006 models more reliable??
@Insert Coin, that's not a bad find with the A6, I'm probably going to ask a very laughable question here but how do you know it is Cat C?
@Insert Coin, that's not a bad find with the A6, I'm probably going to ask a very laughable question here but how do you know it is Cat C?
The older M engine is more reliable although not without its own faults (such as metal swirl flaps that can get ingested into the engine if they fail). Also you are going to be lucky to find a low mileage 05/06 cars as they are a) that bit older b) generally bought and driven to do high miles.
Bought an old Volvo S40 diesel for my London to Cambridge daily commute. 56 miles each way, did it for just under a year.
Bought it for £1k and it delivered 51mpg, plenty of power, ice cold air-con, heated leather seats and never let me down.
Left that job in April but woudn't get rid of the Volvo, although it's not what you'd call the trendiest of cars.
Bought it for £1k and it delivered 51mpg, plenty of power, ice cold air-con, heated leather seats and never let me down.
Left that job in April but woudn't get rid of the Volvo, although it's not what you'd call the trendiest of cars.
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