I'm looking for a car for SWMBO upto about 3k max spend and the criteria needs to be as follows.
Diesel
Estate
ideally no more than 130k miles
cars later than 2001
decent build quality
So far I'm narrowing it down to
Audi 1.9tdi Avant
JAg X type 2.0d estate
BMW 320d
Saab 9-3 2.2 0r 1.9TDI
Although I can't seem to convince her on the Saab shape so this maybe a non starter.
The only one of the above I've owned before is the Audi but it was much newer at the time, also had an X type but it was the 3.0ltr V6 sport so
not really a good comparison.
Anyone owned or own any of these that you could either recommend or not...
Any of the VAG range including Skoda
Mondeo
This is going to sound really sexist, but those seem to be very big cars for a woman?
Personally I'd agree with austin man, the VAG range is huge with a fair few good diesel engines. The only thing is the brand, you will pay more
for an Audi than a Skoda even though it's almost all going on the name.
Forget the Saab 9-3, it's bread van shape is fugly/old, albeit functional for carrying 'stuff'.. the woman is right :-)
Try the little bit newer Arc/Linear version.
Jag might be OK Audi's and BMW's are hamstrung with complete crap Bosch electricals.
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
This is going to sound really sexist, but those seem to be very big cars for a woman?
... 
Yup, Skoda Octy Estate.
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
This is going to sound really sexist, but those seem to be very big cars for a woman?
My wife competing in the British Drift Championship in Pro class at Donnington BTW...... i don't see any of the above been a problem to her do you
Gotta be a BM then -its the only RWD on the list!
Forget the Jag X type, the Mondeo is WAY better..
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
This is going to sound really sexist, but those seem to be very big cars for a woman?
My wife competing in the British Drift Championship in Pro class at Donnington BTW...... i don't see any of the above been a problem to her do you
Awesome!
OK, let me change my original comment. Don't those cars seem a bit weedy for your woman?
[Edited on 15/1/13 by Slimy38]
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Forget the Jag X type, the Mondeo is WAY better..
Mondeo is probably a better bet than the Jag, But aren't the most robust diesels around. Parts for the Jag are more expensive and
I've seen a few Jags with rusty doors.
2005 MG ZT-T CDTI AUTO DIESEL TAX &' TEST F.S.H / FULL LEATHER INTERIOR
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Mondeo is probably a better bet than the Jag, But aren't the most robust diesels around. Parts for the Jag are more expensive and I've seen a few Jags with rusty doors.
2005 MG ZT-T CDTI AUTO DIESEL TAX &' TEST F.S.H / FULL LEATHER INTERIOR
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Forget the Jag X type, the Mondeo is WAY better..
I thought the X type has the Mondeo Engine and shares the same floor pan?
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Forget the Jag X type, the Mondeo is WAY better..
I thought the X type has the Mondeo Engine and shares the same floor pan?
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Forget the Jag X type, the Mondeo is WAY better..
I thought the X type has the Mondeo Engine and shares the same floor pan?
Yep, thats right but the Mondeo is built better.. as the supplier of steering system engineer I could go on and on and on about it...
I was once in front of the Jaguar directors to explain an ongoing rattle and squeak problem when I was asked if the problem was remote... I answered that it didnt exist on the Mondeo...
I was promptly removed from the room and told in no certain tones never to mention Ford, or the Mondeo again!
And, we had a PAG (Premier Automotive Group) STA engineer (nominated by the Ford and Jaguar) and he could have had any company car he wanted.. he drove around in a Ghia X 4x4 Mondeo Estate.. enough said.
Just remembered as well, our steering parts go on the Aston Martin DB9 (still to this day) and there is no problem there either.
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Mondeo is probably a better bet than the Jag, But aren't the most robust diesels around. Parts for the Jag are more expensive and I've seen a few Jags with rusty doors.
2005 MG ZT-T CDTI AUTO DIESEL TAX &' TEST F.S.H / FULL LEATHER INTERIOR
I never thought about the MGZT, I quite like that other than the colour, although will parts and reliabilty be an issue?
No no, its not the steering system thats at fault is the rest of the car..
Early Mondeos had a rattle problem on petrol models. Very quickly it was found that fitting diesel spec parts to petrol cars eliminated the problem.
Jaguar did not adopt the change and the problem rumbled on all the way to the end.
Ford introduced design changes over the years. They were designated with letters, so A being the first and leading out on Y. Jaguar stopped design
changes at J so the car was never upgraded for the last 5 years.
The X type was a stop gap motor introduced to keep the Halewood plant open. It soon went the journey when they moved over to Landrover production
there.
If you want a 2L diesel estate look at the top of the range Fords, build quality is much better. The last run out models from Dec 2006 to March 2007
were all estates.
Ooo, now then, forgot about the MG, I like them especially this one..
MG ZT 260 V8 SE
2004/04 MG ZT-T 4.6 V8 260 SE ESTATE ++ 1 LADY OWNER ++ FMGSH ++
!~~_12.JPG)
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Ooo, now then, forgot about the MG, I like them especially this one..
MG ZT 260 V8 SE
2004/04 MG ZT-T 4.6 V8 260 SE ESTATE ++ 1 LADY OWNER ++ FMGSH ++
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
quote:
Originally posted by marco
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
This is going to sound really sexist, but those seem to be very big cars for a woman?
My wife competing in the British Drift Championship in Pro class at Donnington BTW...... i don't see any of the above been a problem to her do you
Awesome!
OK, let me change my original comment. Don't those cars seem a bit weedy for your woman?
[Edited on 15/1/13 by Slimy38]
She is stealing my car this year ( the orange one) so I'm sure that 430bhp should refrain her from abusing the daily runner.
my uncle bought a vx passat estate LHD, for when he was renovating a house in france. had 140k on the clock when bought, and sold with over 300k a few years later, cost around £1,400. the thing was bulletproof.
How about a Volvo V70....plenty about, loads of spec on SE models.
I've had a Passat in the past and now have a Mondeo. The Mondeo is miles better.
Stu
Having been 'involved' in a few derv Mondeos, there's no way I could recommend one! The whole 'coded to engine components' thing means a simple injector change is very expensive. My work colleague has just paid the local indy garage a fortune to get his 52 Mondy running and the MIL light out. More then he paid for the car six months ago! Another chum had the DMF fail closely followed by the injector pump and then the PAS pump......£1500 later he sold the car for £1200....
And VW etc are any better?? I very much doubt it (from people I know who had to return a 56 plate VW because it couldn't be fixed! even by the
main stealers) . Anything with a DMF can be expensive, as can injectors and so on. It is a matter of being lucky I reckon. If the car trundles on then
they are brilliant, some (whatever make) can cost a fortune.
I like the Rover idea, has a certain underdog appeal and what should be a good motor.
Oh, and avoid anything with a DPF fitted......(unless you are prepared to remove and recode the ecu)
I have never heard of a DMF failure on a Rover 75/ZT and not only the diesel but all the petrol models excluding the V8 have them,Ford DMF
failures aren't as frequent as they once were.
On the Ford/Jaguar the main dealer only injector coding "feature" is a major potential issue particularly as injector leakage
issues are far from unkown on the Mondeo.
As for VW they are in demand from buyers and thus attract a price premium but their reputation is based on previous generation bullet proff models
that weren't so over complex as more recent models, VW are still good but it is finding a really sound one at the right price.
[Edited on 16/1/13 by britishtrident]
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
As for VW they are in demand from buyers and thus attract a price premium but their reputation is based on previous generation bullet proff models that weren't so over complex as more recent models,
The earlier vw 1.9 pd engine is the one to have, much more simple and durable than the 2.0 that replaced it. Just look on eBay at how many Ford Tdci
cars are for sale as spares or repair, as previously said injectors alone can be a small fortune to replace.
Unless the Mrs is doing over 15k a year then get a petrol.
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
The earlier vw 1.9 pd engine is the one to have, much more simple and durable than the 2.0 that replaced it.
This is why I buy petrol even though I do about 20K a year. My Focus does 40+ MPG and no horrors lurking under the bonnet, and with derv at a higher
price I bet my fuel bill is not too much more than on a diesel...and the heater gets hot within a few mins!
Anyone else noticed that there seem to be more cars under ten broken down on the motorway these days than older?
In your position I'd probably spend half the budget or less on what ever seemed best and keep the rest of the money to fix it but I can see how
it might be hard to convince your wife. My Dad had his car written off in November and gets the money next week and he wants to buy a Rover 800 for
£350 but my mum wants him to get a car newer or the same age as the one written off which means having much less choice and in alot of respects a
worse car (Last car was a 56 note that he felt was too small, budget would be about 3K).
Sticking to your guide lines though I'd say look at Skodas and Volvos but I'd like to Add the Peugeot 406 or 407 as you will get a brilliant
deal on either of these cars and they ride really well and they're very cheap. on Auto trader you can get late 406's and early 407 on 03-54
plates that match all you want from a car for just £1000 (From a Trader), spend some of the saving on a really thorough service.
Alot of people online always go on about French cars being terrible and falling apart but these don't seem to, and I've seen alot of
406's with 300K on the clock and still going fine.
In the market size and price range sector we are discussing the difference in trade market value between an immaculate lowish mileage petrol car
and an equivalent condition diesel is about £800 to ££1200. At auction in December I picked up a truly immaculate 60,000 mile 1.8 Rover 75
saloon for £1410 with all auction costs included, a diesel would cost nearer £2500.
How much saving a 2 litre diesel would show in fuel cost depends on annual mileage for a moderate mileage (less than 200 miles per week) user the
saving could be as low as £5 per week which is nothing but at 600+ miles per week the diesel is is much more attractive.
When you look at smaller petrol engines in Focus sized cars then comparing a 1.4 or even 1.6 petrol with a diesel model then the petrol wins.
In the longer term I would expect to se the road tax on diesels and the fuel duty on DERV to increase for environmental reason, and as secondhand
diesels with DPFs grow older slip further down the market expect the running cost benefits of running diesels to become less attractive.
Speaking of low mileage diesels this one has been kicking around the auction in Glasgow since last week ---- nobody is buying just now i would
expect to have about a £2300 reserve
http://www.intercitymotorauctions.co.uk/stock_new.aspx?lot=316&site=glasgow&salenumber=3155