I ask the question on behalf of a friend who does about 20,000 miles per year. He wants to replace his tired 1996 Rover 214 - we've replaced the head gasket a couple of times now!.
He is looking for a cheap diesel, anywhere in size, ranging from Astra to Mondeo. As I wouldn't consider a common rail diesel for myself, I won't be suggesting that my friend does either, so I am keen to make sure that any recommendation uses old injector pump technology.
Thankfully my friend does not have any hint of badge snobbery, and is simply loooking for a good deal, and a reliable car.
Any suggestions?
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Rover 25 or 45 turbo diesel. Tough L Series engine, no headgasket worries with these. Old low tech direct injection unit, will go on for years. Fast and economical as well.
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Vectra Dti 2.0, no belts to worry about, reliable, economical.
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Discount the Vectra becuase it's an old style Vectra, this means woolly steering, questionable handling, no speakable build quality and so-so reliability.
Discount the Mondeo becuase although the car itself is great for the money and ticks all the right boxes, the engine is rubbish - the 1.8TD is rough, unrefined, poor in terms of performance, it just isn't very good.
For this money, a French diesel is the best bet. Something like a 406 or a Xantia with the venerable 1.9TD engine. It'll go on for ages, and it's a great engine. The good news is you dont need to spend £3k to get one of the newest available cars with this engine either.
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I would endorse the Xantia recommendation. A couple of friends run them long distance without fuss. Regular oil change and check the coolant level frequently and enjoy.
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Discount the Vectra becuase it's an old style Vectra, this means woolly steering, questionable handling, no speakable build quality and so-so reliability. Discount the Mondeo becuase although the car itself is great for the money and ticks all the right boxes, the engine is rubbish - the 1.8TD is rough, unrefined, poor in terms of performance, it just isn't very good. For this money, a French diesel is the best bet. Something like a 406 or a Xantia with the venerable 1.9TD engine. It'll go on for ages, and it's a great engine. The good news is you dont need to spend £3k to get one of the newest available cars with this engine either.
I would have thought for £3000, most cars would be "old style", 406 and Xantia incuded, although i do agree the engines are good
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I would have thought for £3000, most cars would be "old style", 406 and Xantia incuded, although i do agree the engines are good
Pop onto Autotrader to the left, you'll be in for a (nice?) suprise ;)
Plenty of XUD and HDi engines for 406 in that price range.
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I would have thought for £3000, most cars would be "old style", 406 and Xantia incuded, although i do agree the engines are good
No way, the XUTD was replaced in 1999, the first HDi's are on S plates. No real reason to need to spend more than £2k on an S reg Xantia or 406 at the very most.
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Can't speak for Citroën, but the first Peugeot 306s with the 2 litre HDi engine were T reg.
A pity the original poster is discounting all common rail diesels; I thought the HDi was pretty reliable. It's certainly economical.
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Does anyone know if the Nissan Primera 2 litre diesel is any good?
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Xantia TD, should be able to get a good one for 2k.
Super comfy cars and a bulletproof engine.
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I would expect to get a HDI Xantia for not much over 2k. They are very cheap.
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Number Cruncher, I drove my friends Primera diesel this year (about a "P" reg) for over 500 miles and it was awful.
The engine was flat and "thrummed" away like an old Ford diesel, very unrefined, and the feel of the car was "wooly."
The XUD is much better.
Reggie
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As the owner of a 99 406 HDi,all I can say is,that it's one of the best diesels I've ever had.
Mine is the 110bhp version,and 3 weeks after buying it from auction in August,I did a 1500 mile holiday trek to France with the ankle biters,and SWMBO.
So comfortable,and with a boot full of everything,4 of us in the car,and the compulsory duty free's,it managed a commendable 55mpg on average.( A lot of it on French diesel!!!!)
Mine is the LX,and it still boasts CD player,air con,leccy front windows,and power steering.
I did a full service on it before I went,and have done nearly 6000 miles in it since buying it,and I'll be changing the oil in it next week,before I go to see friends in Kent,travelling from Yorkshire,and I intend to change the oil every 6k.It's also had a new cambelt and water pump,and I'm very satisfied with it.
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With a budget of £3k you could get a late XUDTD Xantia (or 406), probably on an S or T plate, with a large reserve for repairs.
Understand the reluctance to contemplate a common rail but the HDi is pretty good. Currently running a 2000/X HDi 110 Xantia with 85kmiles. Aside from cambelt problem, which I'm pretty sure was down to dealer incompetence, only other issue has been a valve in the injection system tripping the car into limp mode. Replaced at cost of c.£200. Performance excellent, mileage 45 the gallon whatever I do!
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I drive a Rover 45 2li with the 115ps turbo diesel. 0-60 in under 10secs and 50+ mpg. And despite what the likes of clarkson et al say its a good car with a lot of kit and can seat 4 normal sized adults comfortably, 5 at a pinch.
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Try a Skoda Octavia TDI. You'll get a newer one than you would a Golf or Passat with the same engine, and they last for ages. I was in a Glasgow taxi the other day, an Octavia which had done 320,000 miles on the same engine and gearbox without trouble.
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Try a Skoda Octavia TDI.
Second that (and can't believe i haven't responded already).
I P/Xed my w reg Octavia with 110,000 miles in June, and got £2000 for it, which seemed about right. I can't imagine it was sold on for more than £3,000.
Look for a SLX or Elegance rather than the GLX / Ambiente. You get Climate Control over Aircon, CD player and rear leccy windows, and 110bhp rather than 90bhp.
The boot is huge, the body is galvanized and they go alright.
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Well, things have moved on.
Now, his budget is £6500 or so.
Today, he took me along to look at at an Octavia.
1.9 TDi 110 manual
Elegance
52 reg
70K on the clock, one local owner
asking price £6500
We looked the car over, and it looked straight. However, on test drive, the car felt very sluggish, as though the turbo wasn't doing all that it should - the garage have assured us that they will fix this, and do the overdue cambelt change - I have suggested that my friend also pushes to make sure tensioners and the water pump are changed too. During acceleration, even though sluggish, there was no trace of smoke from the exhaust. I have asked the dealer to confirm which ECU version is fitted (thanks to HJ's cbcb for that info!)
Is there anything else, specific to this car, that I should look out for on his behalf.
Number_Cruncher
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I had a W reg one of these. Do definitely get the tensioner changed, it's about £20 and mine failed at 110,000 miles. If it's sluggish, that'll probably be the MAF sensor, although that comment is based on feedback from this forum rather than my own experience - i got fed up with mine and PXed it. When my cambelt was changed, the independant that did it mentioned that there were three marks on the lower pulley, so just be aware that once it's replaced, it's perhaps easier to put the cambelt on a tooth out. Or maybe that was just me because the belt had jumped a tooth when the tensioner failed.
I think the ECU issue predates even the W reg cars, so hopefully that won't a problem.
Other than that, get the pollen filter changed (a right pain to do DIY) and just check all the electricals. Mine was excellent for what it was, i just got fed up with the sluggishness and fancied a change, otherwise i'd still have it. 45mpg at least.
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I'd agree with that. I'm running a 98 A6 TDI Auto, wearing nearly 300K on the original engine and gearbox. The only exceptional non service items have been dampers all round at 160K and a reconditioned compressor for the climate control.
It's still going strong and showing no signs of being loose or rattly. Still looks great too - no-one can tell....45mpg too!
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As part of my work, I fly up to Glasgow quite frequently, and the taxi drivers up there all seem keen on Octavias, and I've seen some with large mileages on them.
The car we drove seemed quite tight and rattle free, I would not have guessed that it had 70K on it from inside the cabin - really quite impressive, and not what I expected.
My friend is quite keen on the idea of using bio-diesel - has anyone any experience of this with this engine?
Cheers,
Number_Cruncher
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you could read this thread -
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=34738
Andymc post is probably what you need to read - he ran a Leon TDI (same engine i think) on Biodiesel.
and this one
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=31696
Anywhy, do a forum search, but use other VAG car names that had the 110bhp, e.g. Sharan, Passat, A4, Leon etc.
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Still am! Up to 63k now on biodiesel from new on the Leon. Passat 110 TDi has done 47k taking it from the 90k mark to 137k over nearly three years. I've commented on it on here a few times, there was one very long thread from about three years back called "First fill of biodiesel" when I was starting to run it on a 525 TD. Didn't keep that car very long though, the Passat replaced it.
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Isn't 6500 rather alot for this skoda? 70k is a fair amount of mileage and it is only the 110 bhp version.
I think you could get a better deal elsewhere.
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I own two oldish diesels, one is a 1997 Rover 420SLDI. It very economical at ~ 52mpg on motorways. It is very responsive and the acceleration is lively. I paid £2K for it two years ago.
The second car is an "S" reg Nissan Primera 2.0ltr TD. It returns 46mpg on motorways. It is superb at cruising on the motorways but does not like hills and bends. If you do not get a good run at a hill it can chug up and you do not tend to race away from junctions etc. Going down through the gear box, fourth is a waste of time go straight to 3rd.
So far both cars have proved reliable. Touch wood that is.
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