Some advice for new possible new Diesel Driver

Chong

Ok motoring folks I need some advice,

Basically I want to get a Diesel, and comfortable cruiser type like a Mondeo/Octavia/Vectra.

I am going to be doing alot of travelling , so I want something comfortable and economical because the car I have is killing me. I have an 05 Seat Ibiza, now for me I love it , its a great car imo, but its not built for long journeys and it kills me.

I have priced my Ibiza and the trade value seems to be 4.5k - 5k so I have about a budget of 6k-6.5k to spend with that. I was looking at 06 Mondeo Diesel's and Octavia's.

I have a few questions:

1)I have never driven a Diesel, can anyone tell me the difference in the drive per se.

2) Diesels seem to have an engine between 1.8 - 2.0 , will I be looking at a hike in insurance immediatly or next renewal date. Difficult question I know, suppose I should ring Quinn in the morning , just wanted to get an idea more than anything.

3) The diesel I am looking at has 94k on the clock, I know its pretty high so this is a risk lets say, I plan on keeping it for 3 years , prob put 60k-80k on it most likely.

4) My parents seem to think I am a fool, they come from a different era of buying cars and seem to think, buying a car over 1-2 years old is ridculous. So they believe going from what I have to an 06 car to possibly 05 sideways move, is completely idiotic.

Can anyone advise on what to do here, I ideally need a nice comfortable diesel car at the end of the day , cause the ibiza is such a killer on long journeys.

CharlieCroker

Of the ones you mentioned, i'd be looking at Mondeos and Octavias. Both are fantastic value for money at the moment.
If it was my money, id prob go with the Octavia. I know 2 taxi divers with the current ('05 on) model and they swear by them.
As for the points you've mentioned:

1. The main diff you'll find between those cars and yours is the difference in the poke and power. Diesels have more torque too so you'll feel a bigger shove in the back in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears.

2. you prob will see a slight hike in your insurance as your coming up from a smaller car. advice is to ring them and see, as everyones circumstances are different.

3. 94k on a diesel is nothing, they'll do 2 or 3 times that easily once looked after. Obviously, get the lowest mileage example you can afford. if your planning to do 60-80k (miles?) over 3 years then a diesel would be worthwhile.

4. I'd disagree with your parents. I'd NEVER buy a new car, its only a status symbol. For €10000 you'd prob only get a Fiat Panda new, whereas the amount of used cars out there for 10k is enormous!!! You might be staying the same year or even going back a year or two, but remember that your also making a sizable jump in space and refinement for those long journeys.

Best of look with whichever one you choose.

Chong

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Of the ones you mentioned, i'd be looking at Mondeos and Octavias. Both are fantastic value for money at the moment.
If it was my money, id prob go with the Octavia. I know 2 taxi divers with the current ('05 on) model and they swear by them.
As for the points you've mentioned:

1. The main diff you'll find between those cars and yours is the difference in the poke and power. Diesels have more torque too so you'll feel a bigger shove in the back in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears.

2. you prob will see a slight hike in your insurance as your coming up from a smaller car. advice is to ring them and see, as everyones circumstances are different.

3. 94k on a diesel is nothing, they'll do 2 or 3 times that easily once looked after. Obviously, get the lowest mileage example you can afford. if your planning to do 60-80k (miles?) over 3 years then a diesel would be worthwhile.

4. I'd disagree with your parents. I'd NEVER buy a new car, its only a status symbol. For €10000 you'd prob only get a Fiat Panda new, whereas the amount of used cars out there for 10k is enormous!!! You might be staying the same year or even going back a year or two, but remember that your also making a sizable jump in space and refinement for those long journeys.

Best of look with whichever one you choose.

See this is my exact thinking Charlie.

The main goal is comfort and something that isnt too dear on juice. When I was getting stick off my father I was thinking crap , maybe I am wrong here. I reckon they are from a different generation I suppose.

On the Octavia , is that essentially a Passat? I do like both the Mondeo and Octavia of the cars I have looked at, I was unsure about the Vectra, it seems a bit "heavy" in a way , built like a tank.

The mondeo I was looking at is this:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Mondeo/TDI2YR-W/200851191270294/advert?channel=CARS

Carawaystick

the Octavia is passat sized bit it's based on the Golf.
Ring around all the insurance co's, and check 123/insure/other internet sites for quotes too.
try fbd too.

is that 94,000 miles or Km?
It's not many km. check It's the full service history and if it needs special oil, the correct oil has been used.

Chong

Carawaystick wrote: »

the Octavia is passat sized bit it's based on the Golf.
Ring around all the insurance co's, and check 123/insure/other internet sites for quotes too.
try fbd too.

is that 94,000 miles or Km?
It's not many km. check It's the full service history and if it needs special oil, the correct oil has been used.

Its 94'000km 's which isnt so bad , gonna see if its still available in the morning hopefully.

If so go out and check it out.

I will also check with Quinn this morning on my current insurance to see what the story is.

EPM

94k km is fine. If you're going to be covering large mileage aim to get the lowest mileage you can. Also aim for a full service history-diesels need regular oil changes and i wouldn't touch one without this. Of the ones mentioned, the octavia or the mondeo would be good. Also have a look at a diesel Leon. Its essentially the same car as the octavia but you may get a more favourable cost to change from a SEAT dealer

bazz26

I'd be looking at one of the last run out models of the Peugeot 406 myself. 2.0 litre HDi is very reliable and run out models are very well equipped, also the 406 is a better car than the 407 that superseeded it.

Eg:http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200914192385809

Tea 1000

The Octavia is in a class below the Passat, it's in the Jetta, Mazda 3, Civic, Corolla, Focus etc class. The Mondeo is in the class up from that, which includes cars like the Passat, Avensis, Mazda 6, Insignia, etc.
The year of a car is just a number. Mileage and condition of a car is the real indicator of how good it is.
You should look at the Mazda 3 as an alternative to the Octavia, not quite as spacious, but better looking, better handling, and the 1.6 diesel in the Mazda is a lot better than the 1.9 in the Octavia. You could also consider the Accord diesel. Something like an Accord would be a massive step up from an Ibiza, and you certainly won't regret it.

vincenzolorenzo

Don't worry about what people say to you about new cars. They're the biggest waste of money there is. The amount a new car will lose in depreciation in the first two years would buy a fine second hand car, and it wouldn;t be too old either. As another poster said 10 grand will only get you a very basic new car but if you back down the years a bit you could get a great car for the same money.

Modern cars generally don't rust, well nothing major anyway not like cars did years ago. Also by and large they are fairly reliable so the risks associated with buying second hand in the past generally don't apply any more

SeanW

In answer to the OPs questions:

1 & 2)
You're in for a treat if you move up in engine capacity associated with a diesel - 2 litres have more performance and much easier to drive than 1 litres generally speaking. The main thing you would need to watch out for, is that whereas if you put 1 litre car into 1st gear from stop, and get off all the pedals, it will probably cut out, whereas with a 2L, it will start moving forward.

If you have a No Claims Bonus, insurance for a 2L diesel will be very reasonable. If you don't have an NCB, you're not even guaranteed to get a quote.

You will most likely need to change your insurance immediately, and you will p robably have to pay a few squid more. Check with your insurer.

3) Mileage? It depends on the car, it's make and current condition. Japanese cars, esp Toyotas, don't know when to quit and with a good service regime, could give you 300,000 miles or more. But an American car like anything made by GM or Chrysler, and some European cars, I wouldn't touch one that had even 100,000.

But even mileage is only a hint - if you have a friend/family member whos a mechanic, you could get them to give you a run down of the things you need to look for when inspecting a car. You should also give the car a thorough test drive. Cartell.ie can (for a price) check a cars "pedigree" for roadworthiness, tax and NCT records, clocking of the odometer etc. but again that only gives you part of the story.

4) Your parents are wrong - buying a new car is great if you have the money and want something really nice (and fair dues to you if you do), but for practical-comfort there's no beating a clever purchase in the 2nd hand market.

FWIW I would recommend the Toyoya Avensis - I got one as my first car a couple of months ago, and so far the only real problem I've had with it is looking for excuses to drive it! :D:D

I'm also getting roughly 40-50 MPG (500 miles to the 45L fill) and that's before I found out that the handbrake was partly stuck, so I expect I'll get even more now.