10k Diesel car options

[Johnno500BHP]

Hey guys,

I've finally come to the conclusion to get a diesel as commute to work blah blah blah.

I'm confused what to go for, best buy etc. What's everyone's advice? Thought about 1 series but timing chain problems seem to push me away.

Options I got so far:

123/120d M sport
Golf GT TDi
Mini clubman D
318d

Don't really have a clue yet....

Any advice from owners etc

Cheers,

John.

[Defcon5]

What kind of mileage?

If it's got to be a diesel then it's at least got to be a powerful one

[JM3]

Currently around 10k a year.

I know, I do like the look of 123D coupes.

[Defcon5]

I certainly wouldn't be looking at a derv for 10k a year!

I used to do 15k in a VX220 ha!

[SteBrown91]

if your driving is mostly mway/dc then a diesel will be fine.

I'd go for the golf GT TDI. You will easily get a nice one for 10k.

They are comfy, do 50mpg with ease, are pretty reliable and later ones come with leather/bluetooth as standard. All have cruise as standard. Obviously if you can find one with some options it would be a bonus, but most are ex fleet so are standard spec.

[ZX10R NIN]

Johnno500BHP said:

Hey guys,

I've finally come to the conclusion to get a diesel as commute to work blah blah blah.

I'm confused what to go for, best buy etc. What's everyone's advice? Thought about 1 series but timing chain problems seem to push me away.

Options I got so far:

123/120d M sport
Golf GT TDi
Mini clubman D
318d

Don't really have a clue yet....

Any advice from owners etc

Cheers,

John.

Hi John if it's a commuter car then you might as well do it in comfort auto box easy driving, if you really want a Manual then the pick of cars for that budget would be an:

Alpina D3 roughly 70000 miles £10000 07

Lazy driving:

BMW 325/330D/335d roughly 65000 miles between £8-10000 07
Mercedes CLK320 AMG CDI 07 64000 miles between £8-10000
CLK220 AMG CDI 08-09 65 MILES

The thing is what else will you be using the car for do you need four doors etc

[Jasandjules]

Will it be motorway driving?

A 170 Passat?

[Rickyy]

Defcon5 said:

I certainly wouldn't be looking at a derv for 10k a year!

I used to do 15k in a VX220 ha!

Me neither, especially considering the price of petrol seems to be dropping and at a faster rate then derv.

[ScoobyChris]

When I was looking I tested all the cars you listed and ended up with a 120d in M=Sport trim (mainly for the better seats and more toys over the Sport and SE).

My opinions on the others were:

123d - lovely engine and would have happily picked this if I could find a car in the same spec as the 120d
Golf GT TDI - hard seats, hard ride, bland interior and bland to drive
MINI Cooper D hatch - not a Clubman, but a great car and a hoot to drive. Lots of options needed to bring the spec up though and while it wasn't slow, it could have done with more power
318d and 320d - very similar to the 1 series but a bit bigger, heavier and less agile. Base specs were better though.

Saying that, for 10k a year you might want to do the sums and see whether going diesel makes sense. The 130i is a corker

Chris

[lewisf182]

10k per year petrol vs diesel would only be about £500 more per year, which you could easily have to pay out on a modern diesel, especially so if its the bmw 2 litre diesel without a warranty. 130i will give you around 30mpg and 120d about 45, do the sums yourself. Then again if just sat on the motorway may as well be a diesel, depends how much you have the odd blast into the country now and again?

[JM3]

Thanks for all the replies, gives me something to ponder on.

Not keen on a Passat.

I should of explained currently drive around 10k, but in the future I see a job opportunity which would bring on a motorway drive and large mileage.

I would like something under 50,000 miles, has to be a manual I just don't approve on auto boxes. Diesel is bad enough.

I have a Evo for the weekend blasts, so this is the boring shopping/gym/work car.

Would need room for 4 adults. Lift sharing for work wouldn't be good in a convertible.

Cheers, John.

[JamesL91]

I recently bought an Alfa Romeo Giulietta for 8.5k a few months ago. 10k would get you a Lusso/Veloce with some warranty left on it. Saying that, I did a fair amount of research and found the Giulietta came up trumps against the Germans in the reliability department.

I got the 1.6 which is regularly seeing me 65mpg on longer journeys (240 mile round trips) and 48 around town/country roads. If you wanted a bit more poke, the 2litre is available too in 170 and 140hp guise and the 170 is remapped over 200 I believe if that's what you'd like, although I test drove both the 1.6 and 2 litre and found not a lot of difference! I live with the speed and I had a 340BHP Impreza before this!

Good points are the handling, which feels good. Nice weighty steering. Bad points is it does feel a bit cheaper than others like the Germans. Parts are relatively cheap, tyres aren't too bad and servicing is every 20k/2 years (although I'll be changing the oil more often than that I imagine). Another bad point though is the gearbox feels a little.. mushy, not as sharp as the Impreza but it is a different beast after all. A short shift kit for 40 quid might sort that. Seats are comfortable enough for me on the 120 miles each way to my girlfriends house.

Saying all that though, if I didn't need the luggage space for work, I'd just save 8k and buy myself a half decent MX5 to do the journey in, although you've got the same problem as me it sounds .

[ZX10R NIN]

JM3 said:

Thanks for all the replies, gives me something to ponder on.

Not keen on a Passat.

I should of explained currently drive around 10k, but in the future I see a job opportunity which would bring on a motorway drive and large mileage.

I would like something under 50,000 miles, has to be a manual I just don't approve on auto boxes. Diesel is bad enough.

I have a Evo for the weekend blasts, so this is the boring shopping/gym/work car.

Would need room for 4 adults. Lift sharing for work wouldn't be good in a convertible.

Cheers, John.

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