Hi,
I'm just starting a new job and need to buy a 2nd car (current employment has allowed me to share car with my wife).
The run to work means I will be doing probably just over 30,000 miles per annum, so straight off I'm thinking diesel would make sense.
I'm also leaning towards an auto - usually drive manual but for this high mileage change in my driving I'm thinking of minimising the hassle factor a bit.
I don't have a lot of cash to spend (maybe £4k) and I really don't want anything flash - this is purely a workhorse I'm looking for, something to stick the miles on and not worry about.
Peugeot 406 was one idea. Maybe a Mondeo. But what about your suggestions?
Cheers... adam.
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id go for the petrol mondeo or a diesel peugeot....
ford didnt make a decent diesel when that age mondeo was made
and peugeot made the best diesel then.....how about a mark iv golf diesel instead?????
--
www.storme.co.uk
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You will struggle to find a diesel auto for this sort of money - neither the pug nor mondeo had a diesel auto at this age.
For £4k you should find a nice 406 diesel but if you can go for a HDi. Also bear in mind the Xantia as they offer great value for money as work horses.
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Whilst browsing another site that is currently being discussed on here i found this which may be of interest to you.
www.witham-sv.com/infopage.php?ID=321&Overide=1
and if you are after a diesel auto this may suit
www.witham-sv.com/infopage.php?ID=340&Overide=1
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I was going to suggest a Xantia.
I would probably go for the HDI. Whether they did an auto around this age I don't know. Automatic diesels in your price range won't be very common, it's only recently that a lot of companies realised that we wanted diesel automatics.
Why do I recommend a Xantia? Because I had one of the early ones. Excellent car IMO.
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Think you first of all have to decide whether you really do need an automatic, as it will narrow your choices dramatically.
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Bear in mind also that the older diesel automatics take a fair hit on the fuel consumption over the manual equivilent.
Xantia or 406 HDi would be sound choice and there should be plenty around for your budget. In fact if you go for the Xantia you really don't need to spend more than £3k for a good HDi these days. The 110bhp HDi is preferable to the 90 both for power and economy.
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I've got a Peugeot 406 2.0 HDi and am doing that kind of mileage and it's very very good. In fact it's up for sale at the moment, 2002 on a 51 plate with 45k on the clock. It's a manual box. Looking for £5k. Let me know if you're interested.
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Guys,
Thanks for all the suggestions. Xantia was certainly something I hadn't thought of, although supply does seem to be limited.
I think I might ditch my automatic ambitions as that definitely seems to limit the options.
What do people think of the Passat diesels by the way?
Cheers... adam.
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What do people think of the Passat diesels by the way?
Inferior handling (compared to the mondeo and the PSA group cars) and a premium of at least £1.5k for identical cars - your choice!
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I had a Passat TDi before my current Picasso HDi. Passat was significantly quicker and more economical, more expensive to service (at independents) and less comfortable. At motorway speeds the gruffness of the VW engine isn't much of an issue but the HDi unit is a lot smoother and quieter. The Passat felt like it would sail past 200,000 miles whereas the Citroen doesn't - IMO. When I have my Picasso serviced they lend me a Xantia and it is a fantastic ride. I'd imagine a good example of a 110 bhp Xantia HDi would come very very close to fitting your bill.
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Wow. Xantia really is scoring a hit on here. A real shame they seem to be so hard to come by (very few right now on eBay and Autotrader).
I've also seen a couple of other options come up in my price range that I would be interested to hear thoughts on:
* Rover 75 CDT (including a few auto models for the CDT)
* Skoda Octavia TDI
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Test drove the Rover 75 CDT for a couple of days when chosing my Passat 130Tdi 3 years ago. The Rover was tank-like in comparison but once it got moving it was OK. My heart said Rover (I love the dash) but head said VW.
Would imagine the Skoda would be the better buy of the two especially with questions over parts availability for the Rover.
I'm currently looking for a 25k miles per year motor for around £5k. Against all my instincts (I want something more swish) I'm thinking of a Focus/Mondeo/Primera.
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