Hi all,
I do 100 miles a day commute to and from work, I am doing it in an Astra 2.0Di, which returns 48mpg. I am considering it might need replacing soon, but I am unsure what to go for (I have owned a 406, and ZX 1.9TD in the past but I didn?t find either as reliable as the Vauxhall, so it would take some persuading to encourage me to buy French).
My budget is £2000-£3000.
I?d like a diesel. That?ll return at least 48mpg @ approx 75mph motorway driving.
Not bothered about badge, but reluctant to go for Peugeot or Citroen, for such high miles, and low budget.
Any suggestions / advice?
Thanks
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Run it into the ground.
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I would second that suggestion! I used to do a similar journey in a Saxo diesel, it was comfortable enough but not much oomph however on the rush hour motorway didn't really need much! I averaged 60mpg and I always insisted that once it started to give me trouble then I would trade it in for something better.
It never gave me any hassle at all and thankfully my job changed so I no longer needed to do the journey. That P Reg Saxo is still going strong today!
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2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
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Why are you considering changing it? Bored with it, getting expensive, lack of image, unreliable...?
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thinking about replacements because its at 193k, and I am not sure what else will be as good... I had to replace the steering rack at the last mot, the rear shocks are a little knackered (its an estate), the water pump leaks, but otherwise its a great car. Every morning I jump in, and it starts / gets me to work. I've been thinking about breaking my rule saving up and going for small citroen C1 / C2, just because of the improved mpg - although comfort on the motorway might be an issue
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I'd say keep running it until either it gets to the next MOT and needs big work to get it through or until it actually dies. When it does die you just buy a copy of that weeks autotrader, borrow a mate and his car and go and have a look at a few motors that catch your eye and look OK.
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oh and when it does break whack it on ebay as spares or repair - i'm sure it will be worth something to someone.
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running it into the ground is a good idea... pretty much what I am intending to do. Has anyone had experience of high mile fords TDCi's? ie. focus / mundaneo... I am after reliability, what about Skoda's? are they as good as VW's?
I am not looking for prestige, just reliability, and reasonably quiet cabin.
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Within reason, you should be able to keep this going another three years, if all you are replacing are shocks, brakes, exhausts etc, and carrying out routine servicing.
Spending £2,000 on a diesel is going to get you very little in terms of certainty on future costs/reliability. Either stay with your current car, or spend £5,000, is my advice.
Edited by local yokel on 31/10/2007 at 12:01
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For this kind of task one of the best ways to see what is up to high mileage running on a budget is to look at the local taxi firms. Not many round stoke use fords - it's mainly petrol carina/avensis and octavia SDi's.
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Taxi's what a great idea. I'll keep an eye out, i might even go for another astra in 2009!
cheers guys.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 31/10/2007 at 13:46
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I would have thought a £2-3k diesel is just as likely to go pop expensively as the car you already have. Run what you have until it dies unless boredom sets in first.
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I'm in a similar situation as yourself, I currently run a Vectra C 03 2.0Dti its on 115,000 and never missed a beat, doesn't use a drop of oil, does 52mpg ( mainly motorway), i really much prefer diesel cars to petrol but cannot see myself going for a common rail because of their lack of reliability and cost to put right, i am looking to go back to petrol ( unfortunately) and the cost of buying a petrol replacement is so much cheaper. But why change just because i fancy something newer?. So i'm taking the advice of the majority of the BR's and keep driving it till it goes bang.
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PS. why not get a Vectra like mine, you know the engines are good ( even though they're old tech ) and you can buy them cheap for that very reason.
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I do 100 miles a day commute to and from work (I have owned a 406 and ZX 1.9TD in the past)
How about getting another ZX, as you say you do not care about "image". You could get one in great condition for under £1,000 leaving 1-2k of your budget spare. Even though you have had a bad experience of a ZX the engines are notoriously reliable units and the rest of the car tends not to be bad either, reliability wise. 50mpg and it will run on vegetable oil too (50/50 mix at least).
I'm biased of course as I own one.
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The 1.9 TD engine is good for at least 200k, so find a ZX with sub 150 and it'll give you two years, probably more. The engine is so well known for taking the miles that you'll be able to sell it at 200k perfectly easily.
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