I need an estate car. Budget is £3000. Need to keep running costs to an absolute minimum. Ford Focus estate seems to meet my requirements with a decent reliabilty record and less expensive repairs than rivals. They're more common and cheaper to buy too.

For my budget I can get early ecoboost models, a variety of diesels and normally aspirated petrols.

The normal petrols will cost me about £360-400 per year more to run based on tax and mileage than an ecoboost or diesel. I intend to keep the car for at least 3 years, so the lower running costs would save me over a grand by year 3.

However, the ecoboost and diesels introduce complications that are more likely to affect cars at the age and mileage I'm looking at. Turbo/injector/dpf problems could easily cost more in repairs than the savings made on tax and fuel.

It's a risk vs reward I'm still weighing up and it applies to most other makes and models when it comes to the choice between petrol or diesel.

My question specifically related to the Fords though are ecoboost vs TDCI. The ecoboost won't have DPF problems, and hopefully less soot/carbon issues than a diesel. Both could suffer turbo issues though. I've read plenty of owner experiences of the ecoboost turbo being a problem, but I can't tell if it's any more likely/expensive than typical diesel turbo problems.

My wife has owned two ecoboost fords but both were new PCP deals so never went wrong in the time we had them. Both were punchy and enjoyable to drive for 1.0 petrols so I'm tempted.

Big difference between her brand new cars and the 100k plus 12 year old cars in my budget though.

Which would be the safer bet for reliabilty and potential repair costs, the ecoboost or the TDCI? The TDCI would save me slightly more in fuel, but obviously introduced a DPF which is a big potential drawback over the ecoboost.

Thanks for any help, all opinions welcome and appreciated.



Read more

Hello All,

i decided to clean the injectors on my RAV 4 D4D 2007, which were badly carbonized and the spray pattern was out...i refitted them and the car started and ran a lot better than before, we had real issues even starting with the clogged injectors....Unfortunately for me, i did not change the small rubber join on the injector shaft which has lead to some problems...... Read more

A strange situation has arisen and for the first time we can recall my wife has been asked for proof of address. Historically we have used passport and driving licence but this time, for some reason, they want a utilities bill or similar. To cut a long story short, my wife doesn't have a suitable bill in her name alone. Bank statements are paperless and a printed one is not accepted as it must be original. I had a brainwave and I thought of the V5, which is a paper document and it has the full name and address. However, it seems this is not deemed suitable as the name a car is registered in is not cross checked. I that were the case then surely I could register my cars in the name of Prince William? Is this the case? Read more

The 2013 Hyundai i10 seems normal with no warning lights on the dashboard, despite having only a small amount of engine oil in the dipstick, empty brake fluid tanks, and empty coolant tanks. Why is that? What should I do next? Read more

I am looking to buy a Peugeot 2008 1.6ltr Diesel and preferably the 120bhp version (with 6 speed gearbox).

I am wondering - as I can't seem to find anything on the subject - are the 100bhp and 120bhp engines the same engine but just chipped for the power differences? Obviously the extra 6th gear does not give it the extra power... but i am just curious re: engines of the same size but differing power outputs.... Read more