Dangle_kt
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 08:35 PM |
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Locost Challenge - Most economical car under £4k
Ok guys and girls,
my old clapped out T reg fiat brava is on its last legs.
My commute has piled 40k on the clock in the last couple of years, and is currently costing me between £300 and £350 a month in fuel just to get to
work and back (72 miles per day).
I need the most fuel efficient car I can afford, with a sub £4k budget (prefer £3k...).
I do mostly motorway miles, so a tiny petrol engine will get breathless and stressed (and I also like more than 1 ft of crumple zone... - so no
smartcars please) so I'm thinking smallish diesel? Not interested in LPG, as there are no garages round me, and I know I;ll get lazy taking the
trip to them.
I've done some research and think the citreon c3 1.4HDI ticks the boxes, not toooooo small, but delivers 70mpg on the motorway... thats double
what I get out my 1.8 petrol bus now, so I;d halve my fuel bill! (I;ve read there are two version, lower power 8v, and a higher power one 16v...does
anyone know if the 70MPG applies to them both?)
So the locost challenge is to dazzle me with a range of cars with similar MPG for similar money.... 
So any other options I should consider?
Thanks folks
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designer
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 08:43 PM |
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The Citroen C3 is a brilliant car, my mates got one.
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 08:44 PM |
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Anything with the 1.5 diesel renault engine would be pretty economical.
[Edited on 3-7-11 by speedyxjs]
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Doctor Derek Doctors
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:07 PM |
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I'd buy a 406 HDi for <£1000 and then spend the other £3k on a holiday and some bits for my Locost. I can't see the point in spending
£4k on a car that will be ruined with 40k miles per year and end up worthless.... might as well start with a worthless car. Mine does 55+ MPG, is
practical comfy and generally a perfect motorway cruiser, all for £700.
Designer and Supplier of the T89 Designs - Single Seater Locost. Build you own Single Seater Racecar for ~£5k.
Plans and Drawings available, U2U or e-mail for details.
Available Now: The Sports Racer Add-On pack, Build a full bodied Sports Racer for Trackdays, Sprints and Racing.
www.t89.co.uk
www.racecarwings.co.uk
callan@t89.co.uk
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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coozer
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:11 PM |
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My little 106 1.5D should return 70mpg ( i hope)
Only cost me £300 with a little bit welding new beam and rear brakes all for just under a ton.
Just need to get rid of that damned Shogun now.....
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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britishtrident
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:12 PM |
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Below 1.6 litre diesels don't really make any economic sense particularly as most recent models have expensive to maintain particulate filters
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Doctor Derek Doctors
I'd buy a 406 HDi for <£1000 and then spend the other £3k on a holiday and some bits for my Locost. I can't see the point in spending
£4k on a car that will be ruined with 40k miles per year and end up worthless.... might as well start with a worthless car. Mine does 55+ MPG, is
practical comfy and generally a perfect motorway cruiser, all for £700.
yeah, I know what you are saying, but its £500 a year difference just between 55mpg and 70mpg, then add in the £30 road tax vs. £215ish... a year
Thats best part of £3k over 4 years (thats how long it'll be till the next car probably...)
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davidimurray
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:19 PM |
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I had a C3 1.4 HDI 8V version (70hp) for 3 years. Yes 70mpg was achievable and that was mainly motorway miles. The downside -Citroen servicing is
terrible - mine developed a ticking noise - was told it was a loose engine cover. You can access the Citroen service website and sure enough there was
a technical bulletin for leaking injectors. Got quotes from an independent Citroen specialist - £500 to change £5 worth of seals. Did it myself but
took a good 12 hours of work under the bonnet as it is very cramped under there and you have to remove lots of stuff.
Second problem I had was clutch slip at about 105K - had the clutch changed then lost all drive on the way home. Turned out the drive gears into the
diff are shrunk on and this fit failed. Citroen wouldn't touch it and a new diff was £1600. Because only a limited number of the 70hp models
were made secondhand items are difficult to track down - took me a month and a half to track down a new gearbox - and even then I had to strip the two
boxes to put the correct gear linkages in it. Ran the car with that box for a year before it started making grinding noises in first - by then I had
had enough and part-ex it agaisnt and MGZR - fortunatley the garage never drove it before making a deal!
Apart from the problems it was a great little car - went well, was comfortable and capable of a spirited drive when required
Gallery 1 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.116893465324.130778.601005324
Gallery 2 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245243755324.181913.601005324&l=a9831a9319
Gallery 3 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.440671625324.232627.601005324&l=3f0d42c523
Gallery 4 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.490098255324.297598.601005324&l=efb083b7df
Gallery 5 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150244028550325.366987.601005324&l=583fd5cd3a
Gallery 6 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150550640070325.430417.601005324&type=3&l=fe779b358c
Duratec Engine Swap https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152527759580325.1073741828.601005324&type=1&l=40aae5e72f " target="_blank"> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152527759580325.1073741828.601005324&type=1&l=40aae5e72f
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balidey
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:33 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dangle_kt
So any other options I should consider?
car share ?
Dutch bears have terrible skin due to their clogged paws
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bigrich
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:40 PM |
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i love my astra 1.7 cdti estate, practical spacious comfy and never drops below 45mpg on my 2 mile trips to work and gets over 60mpg on a motorway
trip at 70+ mph
.JPG)
A pint for the gent and a white wine/fruit based drink for the lady. Those are the rules
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 09:53 PM |
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thanks for the comments so far everyone
Some stuff to investigate further!
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 10:43 PM |
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There's a guy opposite me selling a Y-plate 306hdi, it's big enough, probably a 1.9 (I got mid 40's beating hell out of my
mum's slightly older one) and it looks to be in rather fine condition for the age. Iirc he's asking £1500 (might be 1.8k), I can take some
pics tomorrow if you like
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Steve Hignett
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| posted on 3/7/11 at 11:16 PM |
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I was going to reply with BigRich's car as an example Andrew, but he's already piped up...
I'm currently running a 1.9TDi Audi A4 estate on a R plate (1997) and it will get over 30mpg whilt towing stuff and up to 70mpg if really really
really taking it steady on a run etc.
When you consider that I went from a Golf 4 motion doing 220 miles to an extra large tank and now 500/800 miles to a tank, its an amazing
difference...
Granted it would feel good, but since I still haven't been able to find work, I may have to get rid of it pretty damn soon!
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UncleFista
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 01:16 AM |
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If you do go the 306 route, keep some spare cash for consumables, which seems to include just about everything (or I got a "really" bad
one).
In my 18 months ownership, mine has had;
Interior
4 wheels
2 wheel bearings
4 discs
Pads all round
Rear calipers
2 drop links
Rad fan
Bonnet hinge
Wiper motor
Crank pulley
Windscreen
2 track rod ends
Brake pipes
Rear quarter window
2/3 of the exhaust
Abs sensor
2 bottom balljoints
clock/temp display.
To say nothing of the electrical niggles..
The MPG is nothing special either, although almost all my driving is short trips in town.
Tony Bond / UncleFista
Love is like a snowmobile, speeding across the frozen tundra.
Which suddenly flips, pinning you underneath.
At night the ice-weasels come...
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 01:23 AM |
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I think you got a really bad one, or you've been consistently parking it in the most stereotypical street in Liverpool!
I don't think I've had that much work done on all the cars I've ever had
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morcus
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 03:22 AM |
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Surely the correct answer to the question is either a Citreon AX or a Peugeot 307/8.
The AX had the world record for effecientcy in a road car until it was over taken a few years ago by the pug. I Don't think AX is something
you'll be considering but a 307 diesel would be worth a look.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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van cleef
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 06:01 AM |
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My mate just sold his red Skoda Fabia vrs for just under 4k.
lovely little car with loads of torque and pretty economical.
1.9 diesel and 130 bhp
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sebastiaan
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 07:19 AM |
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Audi A2 TDI. Job done ;-)
Don't bother with the 1.2 tdi version though.
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chris.russell
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 07:40 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by sebastiaan
Audi A2 TDI. Job done ;-)
Don't bother with the 1.2 tdi version though.
My misses has just (2 weeks ago) got an A2, 1.4 tdi - brilliant car! Just driven up to the lake district from Oxfordshire, with 4 people inside +
luggage, drove over lots of mountain passes and twisty roads and still managed 68 mpg.
Mines a pint
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 07:46 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by morcus
Surely the correct answer to the question is either a Citreon AX or a Peugeot 307/8.
The AX had the world record for effecientcy in a road car until it was over taken a few years ago by the pug. I Don't think AX is something
you'll be considering but a 307 diesel would be worth a look.
The AX is never the correct answer if you are doing 72 miles per day. The 307 and 308 are revolting French turds with poor reliability, poor dynamics
and worse looks.
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Doctor Derek Doctors
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 01:03 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
Surely the correct answer to the question is either a Citreon AX or a Peugeot 307/8.
The AX had the world record for effecientcy in a road car until it was over taken a few years ago by the pug. I Don't think AX is something
you'll be considering but a 307 diesel would be worth a look.
The AX is never the correct answer if you are doing 72 miles per day. The 307 and 308 are revolting French turds with poor reliability, poor dynamics
and worse looks.
Very true about the 307/308, bloody horrid things.
What about a Polo 1.4Tdi, my sisters 55 plate model was superb and very economical.
As for the 306, I wouldn't buy one as a regular motorway cruiser as its just too rough and boomy compared to a decent sized car like a A4/406
and the driving position is not very comfy.
Designer and Supplier of the T89 Designs - Single Seater Locost. Build you own Single Seater Racecar for ~£5k.
Plans and Drawings available, U2U or e-mail for details.
Available Now: The Sports Racer Add-On pack, Build a full bodied Sports Racer for Trackdays, Sprints and Racing.
www.t89.co.uk
www.racecarwings.co.uk
callan@t89.co.uk
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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PSpirine
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 01:21 PM |
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I'd also go for an Audi A2 - quirky, and 1.4tdi's should be silly economical for motorway miles.
They are surprisingly comfy - kind of like an A4 with a slightly more upright seating position.
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Irony
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 01:43 PM |
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I must admit the AUDI A2 gets my vote. I think they look pretty cool as well.
I also have a GOLF GT TDI 150 for sale at the moment. It'll do 55mpg to 60mpg on a run and it goes like stink. I get 52mpg on my daily 15 mile
trip to work. Just bought a Seat Ibiza 1.4 petrol and its made me realise how brilliant the golf is.
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alistairolsen
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 02:11 PM |
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bora/golf tdi
My Build Thread
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McLannahan
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| posted on 4/7/11 at 07:41 PM |
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I also have a Astra 1.7 cdti. It's been a great car over the last year and a half. Only costs are tyres and a service. It's only 80bhp but
plenty powerful enough and gets good economy too. Mine's a 2005 Club model.
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