|
What's the best diesel car one could get for under £1000? The only requirements are reliability and economy. I'm not fussed about the size, badge etc.. as long as it won't give me any troubles and would be fairly economical. It'll be used purely for 80 miles round trip commuting. Thank you
|
|
Citroen ZX I reckon. 1.9D which is uncomplicated or the 1.9TD which is still uncomplicated but a bit less of a tractor.
|
|
|
A Mondeo I/II with the 1.8 TD engine is ok. Don't expect best refinement, but for £1k, I doubt you're that fussy.
Reliability is good, choice is excellent and economy will be mid-40s without too much trouble.
|
|
Any PSA XUD turbo - 306, 405, Xantia, ZX - and then run it on 25% diesel and 75% cooking oil from Tesco/Sains. Totally legal up to 2,500 litres of oil pa. Pura oil is 56p/litre.....
|
|
|
A Mondeo I/II with the 1.8 TD engine is ok. Don't expect best refinement but for £1k I doubt you're that fussy.
Can second that. Bought ours in April 2005 with 98k on the clock.
Now coming up on 141k.
Slow and noisy, but sharp handling, good spec, very comfy and bombproof in a way that people normally associate with certain German brands.
I've done 43,000 miles in it, 41,000 of which have been in six-figure territory, and it's needed virtually nothing other than routine servicing and tyres. A CV joint, an engine mount and a handbrake ratchet that was done FOC by Ford as the previous owner had missed a recall notice.
Does 46 mpg consistently, and has never needed an oil top up between 10k services.
Brilliant cars as long as you are prepared to accept the relative lack of refinement. I still maintain the engine has a better spread of power than the XUD turbo though, or at least the one we had.
Cheers
DP
|
|
|
|
|
The 1.9 XUD9 engine is great as previously said, 50mpg and very reliable, suitable for veg oil blend so long as it has a Bosche injection pump.
|
Thanks for your replies so far guys. Pug 1.9D/TD would probably be the most realistic choice but I'm really hoping for VW 1.9D/TD in Seat Ibiza/Cordoba or VW Polo/Golf but there aren't many selling for less than a grand!
How good are good Vauxhall Vectra/Astra 1.7TD models?
|
You'll be wanting a VW Vento 1.9TDI, R reg 1997 (last of the model). Mine was on 150K and faultless for the 125K we put on it, until written off. There's one at Scottish Specialist Cars trader in Scotland on Autotrader for 995 and 110K miles. And it's a GL! That is a bargain.
D.
|
|
|
|
I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me how good/bad the P/R reg Astra with 1.7 diesel engine is?
|
1.7 astra as long as it has Isuzu engine not bad. They do suffer with valve clearences closing up making them lose power & bad starting. Other minor issues but not bad as a diesel goes. Don't touch astra with GM engine they litterlarly wear out at 90-120k with poor compression .
Doc
|
I mean't to add , Citreon ZX 1.9 probably best value for money. Good under stated car that wasn't very pretty but makes an excellent hack car.
Doc
|
|
Do you mean to say people are recommending my car? ZX 1.9D N reg estate used as dog box, 270k miles, original clutch, worth nothing but just keeps going? Where can I get another basic, boring diesel estate car like this without masses of electronic gismos? Air con would be nice. This one may have an attack of suspension mount rust that's not worth repairing so Oct MOT failure looks possible.
|
Same here ZX Estate on a N PLate 1.9D
Think my Subframe Mounts are going if it ever stops raining in Glasgow
I might get under their and do them..
As regards the VW Vento, I can confirm it's not a GL but a CL I know this cause I bought it this Morning.
As far as the Advert went the Mileage was out by 6000. FSH was short by about 3 years
and it was a CL..I managed to get the Trader down to £750 from his asking Price of £995
His excuse regarding the wrong information on the Autotrader was his Mate had done the Advert. I mentioned the Airbag light was staying on also the Bodywork was a bit patchy. Had Test Drive went well drove it back to Glasgow without a hitch..
|
|
Confirm VW1.9D is excellent engine. My old one is now with friend's daughter has 200k plus miles and has only had regular oil/filter/cam belt changes. Wheel arches a bit rusty but sound everywhere else (Vento 13 years old).
|
|
|
|
|
I thought all Vauxhalls had Isuzu diesel engines? How would I know whether a particular engine is Isuzu or Vauxhall's own one?
|
I thought all Vauxhalls had Isuzu diesel engines? How would I know whether a particular engine is Isuzu or Vauxhall's own one?
1.7 diesel is Isuzu designed. 2.0 DTI (and 2.2 DTI in other Vauxhalls) is the Vauxhall design.
To be honest though, I've heard bad things about some 1.7s at high miles too.
I've owned a 2.0 DTI Astra at low miles and it was fine, but at high miles I'd be looking at another brand. The various French and German suggestions and the aforementioned Mondeo are all good ones. Vauxhall, not worth bothering with at this age and miles IMO. No doubt someone with a trouble free 1.7TD at 200k miles will appear now... :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am given a lift every other day (32 miles X 2) in a 2000 Seat Ibiza 1.9sdi, goes suprisingly well and does 65 mpg. When he enquired about trading it in for another car in 2006 he was given a value of only £800!, so he kept it. The problem is that it is somewhat noisy at tickover (OK on the move)
|
|
Anything that has a Honda or Peugeot lump in it should give you little trouble.
|
For £1000, I'd definitely reccommend a Peugeot 306 1.9TD. Insurance Group 5, 45mpg, respectable performance and parts and servicing are generally within affordable levels. Mine is still going strong at nearly 14 years old and with a staggering 214k on the clock, 93k of those having been covered under my ownership since purchased in April 2003. Overall, a joy to own and drive and she will be sorely missed when crunch time comes.
A word of warning though- steer clear of 306 TD's with a DHY coded engine, built between April 1997 and April 1998, as there have been several instances of conrods smashing their way through the engine blocks and destroying the engine.
Martin
|
|
Martin thanks a lot for your recommendation and warning there. Looks like it'll be a Pug diesel engine I'll be opting for and 306 looks like the best choice, economy, fairly reliable, good to drive and decent looks etc.. But how would I know which car has got a DHY coded engine?
|
Many 306 TD's built between April 1997 and April 1998 were fitted with the DHY engine. This can usually be found on the vehicle chassis number, as well as on the front of the engine block. However, only a certain number of DHY coded engines were fitted with the 'wrong' conrods and hence many DHY coded engines are still going strong after 150k plus, but you can never be sure.
My 306TD is fitted with the older D8A engine which ceased production in 1996/97 and was also used in the 405, ZX and early Xantia TD's. I have never heard of one of these smashing conrods through the blocks.
Martin
|
Would add another endorsement of the plain vanilla XUD.
Ran a BX over around 120k miles from 93 to 05. Family car until 2000 ranging annually as far as the Western Isles and Auvergne. Final five years as hack/backup. Only engine related issues were glow plugs and a split fuel line.
Steering rack wear and impending corrosion did for it in the end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
