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I'm looking for a diesel,M,N,or P reg,Citreon ZX, Peugeot 306, Renault 19 or Clio, Fiesta or Escort,Astra. What would you recommend?
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Stay well away from Ford diesels of that age.
Would recommend a nice turbo diesel 306 or Citroen.
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Definitely a French one. Cheap and reliable (at least mechanically!)
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I have a P plate 306 dturbo, had it about 13 months now. Whats gone wrong? Just the wiring loom on the right hand side door. A bit of soldering fixed that.
Maintainance costs are good, and strangely enough its very reliable too - might have something to do with it being a phase 1. Delivers good MPG overall even with a bit of lead foot action. However they are overpriced for what they are as rightly mentioned by HJ, but drive nicely enough and cheap as nuts to insure.
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ZX is same as 306, but about half the price...
The 1.9TD is a cracking car, but.... many are now getting to the stage of needing a clutch replacement (£130 parts, plus a good 6 hours labour), rear subframe mount replacement (£60 parts, another 5 hours labour), rear brakes need overhauling (£200 parts, another 4 hours labour), the dash bulbs will need doing (£10 parts, another 2 hours labour), the radiators are a bit weak (£150, 2 hours labour and a lot of swearing) and there are some places that can rot (eg front and rear inner wings). Get one that needs these done, and it will not seem such a bargain! However, if you can DIY they are easy enough jobs (even the clutch if you've got some means of lifting the box) and you can drive a hard bargain, spend a couple of weekends sorting it and have a good car.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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I wouldn't stay well away from Ford Diesels - the technology is basic, but as long as the belts are changed at 30,000 miles max they run and run. I had a P reg Fiesta diesel which I ran until 75,000 miles. I traded it and saw it in the local supermarket car park with the new owner sat inside. It was showing 130,000 miles and still looked in excellent nick - the guy had relatives in Aberdeen and he did the trip from Leeds 4-6 times a year. I last saw it in a local car lot before Christmas and it had 175,000 on the clock, it had obviously had a good valet, but still looked in excellent condition - they wanted £900 for it.
Main problem on it was lack of power steering.
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PSA diesels best at this end of the market, by far the most refined and pleasant to drive. You could consisder a Rover 218 with the PSA unit or possibly a newer 220 with the L Series engine.
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PSA diesels every time. Richard W paints a bit of a bleak picture - although he's right about the trouble spots, not all cars will fail in every area and parts are cheap fron GSF and the like. If you can fit them yourself you will have cheap and comfortable motoring.
Ford diesels of this era are a disaster. You will be in the realms of poor cold starting, smoke and broken cambelts. No wonder they went to PSA for their later diesel engines. Rover are best avoided as well - breakers yards will soon be short of the bits you will need.
659.
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I would also recommend VW diesels, though I notice they aren't on your list, something like an old SEAT might be a worthwhile buy.
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Great keep em coming. What's a PSA diesel and what motors have them? Getting mixed reactions on Fords.
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I would suggest you also consider the Fiat Brava (5door)/Bravo (3 door)/Marea (stretched saloon & estate). All come with a selection of diesels and you should find a good example for around £1000. If you need more info on what to look for then email me as per my details.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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PSA diesels are Peugeot Citroen. However Rover used them for a while in the early 1990's in the 200 and 400 until they designed their own L Series (actually a development of the Perkins engine).
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Around £500 is my limit.
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On such a tight budget I'd avoid the FIAT option as there are very few of these around, meaning that you would have a job to find second hand parts. The FIAT dealer back up is poor, and there are vastly more pattern and used parts available for PSA and VW units.
You would get a better PSA car for your money (particularly a ZX) than you would a VW, and the PSA cars of the period you can afford are far nicer to use. Luckily, rust is not a major issue with either - just watch the back underside of PSA cars.
659.
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Tidy little 205 diesel on Ebay for £575 with 12 months MoT
tinyurl.com/qtk2p
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i would be very wary of buying a small diesel for £500 unless it comes from a known source, as at this price they are only got shut of if something terminal is about to happen,(usually) i would rather buy something like an 1100 peugeot 106 for half a bag
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Fair point, but how likely is that with a 12 month ticket?
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I'll find a motor with a long MOT and around 100,000k. My present motor I paid £475 for four and half years ago with 90000k on the clock its now done 218000. Cheap cars are sold for a multitude of reasons just the same as higher priced cars.
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Had a look through our local rag and the cheapest small diesel was a R plate clio for £600. A couple of 106s for £700 and £800.
Looked on ebay for Seat Cordoba / Ibiza and only found a white Ibiza that looked like sheep had lived inside it.
Have a look on your supermarket notice board for an older persons hand writing and possibly a genuine car.
Your 309 is still going so I'm sure in time you'll find what you're looking for but its not going to be easy. Good luck and keep us posted.
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