Help choosing £4-£5k car, possibly c220 cdi ?

[LPERSON]

Hi this is my first post here.

I've just sold my 04 Fabia vrs and am in need of some advice..

I need decent (40mpg ish) economy and reliability. I do four 35 mile trips a week with a little town driving.

I'd like a c220 cdi maybe, what year is the best for my price range?

I have seen this one, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-C-CLASS-CDI-COU...

and this one, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-C-CLASS-CDI-COU...

What do you guys think?

Any alternatives? I like the look of the corolla 190 and civic type r reliability, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of massive revs, and have a 2 year old son, so I'm supposed to be growing up..

Many thanks, Luis

[BlitzE34]

They are so ugly. Get a estate instead.

[va1o]

You could probably get a 120d for that money, otherwise just the usual suspects like Golf GT TDI and Audi A3 2.0 TDI.

If you want something a bit left field look to a SAAB 93 or Volvo C30

[JimmyConwayNW]

If it has to be diesel I would go for a golf GT TDI (170 if I could find one) or a seat leon TDI sport.
About the best for that money. I doubt you can get a good 120d m sport for that money, and C220cdi unless estate have a very small boot, interior are not all that pleasant and nothing inspiring to drive.

[LPERSON]

It doesn't have to be a diesel.. I'm a bit worried about turbo repairs etc at this price.. A friend had problems with his 2.0 VW tdi, so this puts me off a bit? A petrol would be fine if I could get near 40mpg on the motorway.

I'd be stuck for repair costs if anything major failed on a diesel.

I prefer the golfs handling to the fabias no end!

Would a 120d or 320d be reliable, I saw older ones have turbo issues, maybe due to 16k services?

[POORCARDEALER]

I have a c320 cdi auto estate as a daily user to put dogs in etc....does 37 mpg mixed, 42 on a run, its quick, ive done 40000 miles in it and its only needed tyres and a in tank fuel pump (£150)....if you get one with the 7G gearbox just make sure the box is ok as they are known to fail

[LPERSON]

That low maintenance is what I'm looking for!

[LPERSON]

It doesn't have to be a diesel.. I'm a bit worried about turbo repairs etc at this price.. A friend had problems with his 2.0 VW tdi, so this puts me off a bit? A petrol would be fine if I could get near 40mpg on the motorway.

I'd be stuck for repair costs if anything major failed on a diesel.

I prefer the golfs handling to the fabias no end!

Would a 120d or 320d be reliable, I saw older ones have turbo issues, maybe due to 16k services?

[wemorgan]

LPERSON said:

That low maintenance is what I'm looking for!

Honda Civic 2.2 CTDI it is then.

[POORCARDEALER]

LPERSON said:

It doesn't have to be a diesel.. I'm a bit worried about turbo repairs etc at this price.. A friend had problems with his 2.0 VW tdi, so this puts me off a bit? A petrol would be fine if I could get near 40mpg on the motorway.

I'd be stuck for repair costs if anything major failed on a diesel.

I prefer the golfs handling to the fabias no end!

Would a 120d or 320d be reliable, I saw older ones have turbo issues, maybe due to 16k services?

Doesnt matter what you spend there are no bullet proof diesels...once they go wrong they cost ££££££s to fix, and thats if you spend £2K or £10k

We ran a 2.0 FSi Audi A4 for a while and that did 40 mpg mixed driving if you drove steadily and none of worries if its goes wrong

[CTS86]

wemorgan said:

Honda Civic 2.2 CTDI it is then.

Not a bad suggestion at all.

Providing the clutch has been done it'll cost nothing to run, relatively entertaining to drive and safe for young kiddies.

Had mine for 170k miles now and clutch aside, it's cost me very little to run. Impossible to get less than 40mpg, regularly gives 50mpg and plenty quick enough for day to day driving.

£5k would get you a decent Type S GT too.

[POORCARDEALER]

CTS86 said:

wemorgan said:

Honda Civic 2.2 CTDI it is then.

Not a bad suggestion at all.

Providing the clutch has been done it'll cost nothing to run, relatively entertaining to drive and safe for young kiddies.

Had mine for 170k miles now and clutch aside, it's cost me very little to run. Impossible to get less than 40mpg, regularly gives 50mpg and plenty quick enough for day to day driving.

£5k would get you a decent Type S GT too.

Had a few Civics, good car, very economical but I thought there was a lot of road noise from them