Which car & why?

fonecrusher1

Right lads opinions needed. I have a budget of about 2600 euro. It as to be reliable, hatchback/estate, diesel not bigger than 2000cc & fairly comfortable. Ive narrowed it down to these 2.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1192519 V's http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1177050

If you had to go for one, which one & why?

Berty

Avensis as a proven reliable car would be my choice and it has a tow bar so my bike rack could go on it.

The Skoda has a man in overalls and what looks like a farmers yard. So either the car needed a lot of work or simply had some work done to it. It just puts me off.

Max Power1

+1 for the avensis. A steady reliable car - not flashy etc but will always get the job done comfortably

-1 for the skoda. Normally an underpowered, poorer relation of the passat/bora

-Corkie-

The avensis definitley. I like skodas but that one is fairly ropey looking;)

colm_mcm

just make sure the Avensis doesn't have any flywheel or injector issues. you can spot a fecked flywheel when you start up the car, if you hear a clunk when you start then it's gone.

The D-4D only has 110hp but it's enough to give you a good shove in 3rd gear. If it's not tearing the tyres up in 2nd gear coming out of roundabouts then it's down on power (scientific I know!)
I spose drive a few and familiarise yourself with how they should drive.

richardsheil

If your budget is limited to 2600 you need to pick a car that it undeservedly unloved by the motor trade. They love the Avensis and the Octavia so I would look elsewhere.

What about a Peugeot 406 or Citroen C5 diesel? Super engines and unloved hence cheaper. What more could you want?

When my brother in law was faced with same dilemma in 2006 he bought a one owner Citroen Xantia diesel with 80,000 miles on it for 1650 euro. Absolutely mint. He is still driving it and it is still costing him pennies to maintain.

My suggestion is to do the same but in 2010 terms rather than 2006 terms hence the C5 or 406.

Hope this helps.

Atlantic Dawn

Avensis because the Skoda ad mentions it's a "very straight car".

colm_mcm

The C5 is unloved for a reason though...

Good point on the unloved bit though. I'd suggest a last of the line Mazda 626 diesel. great car, cheap and reliable (unlike its replacement!)

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

The C5 is unloved for a reason though...

Good point on the unloved bit though. I'd suggest a last of the line Mazda 626 diesel. great car, cheap and reliable (unlike its replacement!)

This is spooky, thats exactly what ive been looking for over the last 2 hours.:D
Ive been looking into their reliablity & the general vibe about them is that they're a very good car. Bland but good most reviews conclude with but hey beggars can't be choosers & all that.

This is what ive spotted so far; http://www.cbg.ie/Car_Detail.aspx?ID=3327519 http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1121910 http://www.cbg.ie/Car_Detail.aspx?ID=3685672

colm_mcm

They're all saloons though.
Dunno if it'd be worth a trip to the UK, more likely to have hatchbacks over there.

only 2 diesels on autotrader


01 Avensis TD with 104k do anything for you?

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

They're all saloons though.
Dunno if it'd be worth a trip to the UK, more likely to have hatchbacks over there.

Yeah im going to give up on the hatchback thing because its narrowing my choice so much. I'd say i'l be without a car as of wednesday so the pressure is on.
I'd prefer a H/B but they're like hens teeth here. This is saloon planet.

bazz26

OP, this might be worth a look at:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Car&carID=201007196964800&message=You%20searched%20for%3A%20Rover%2045%2C%20Diesel%20Only%2E%20Your%20search%20returned%20one%20vehicle%2C%20which%20is%20shown%20below%2E&CFID=140314796&CFTOKEN=65172425

Old Rover diesel engine is solid enough, no DPFs or DMFW to worry about, it is also taxed until Oct and has over 12 months NCT.

colm_mcm

Good car Bazz, if the OP was looking for a saloon. 45 has a bad rep, mainly earned by the petrol engines.

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

01 Avensis TD with 104k do anything for you?

Might do depending on the price.:)

Saab Ed

colm_mcm wrote: »

The C5 is unloved for a reason though...

Good point on the unloved bit though. I'd suggest a last of the line Mazda 626 diesel. great car, cheap and reliable (unlike its replacement!)

The Citroen is unloved because people dont understand them. The only thing different about the Citroen to any other car is that it has hydraulic suspension and that word frightens people away.

Thing is though the spheres that are used instead of normal shocks are really very simple and strong, plus to a fella who does understand them ,you'll change a sphere in about half the time of a normal shock

You'll then have the most comfortable car out of all of them, the most fuel efficient out of all of them and the best performance out of all the cars mentioned.

Now its not all happy days though. The Citroen diesel engines will last forever and a day but you'll just have to put up with bits falling off all the time ....like interior trim and what not. For what its worth , I sold one to a very good friend of mine over 3 years ago with 85,000miles on it. it has 160,000 miles on it today and apart from getting a clutch and routine servicing , its never let them down. They just replaced the timing belt on it after Christmas and he reckons he'll keep it for another 80k

Dont mind the mob when it comes to Citroens, ignorance is bliss to those who are missing out and you get a bargain

fonecrusher1

bazz26 wrote: »

OP, this might be worth a look at:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Car&carID=201007196964800&message=You%20searched%20for%3A%20Rover%2045%2C%20Diesel%20Only%2E%20Your%20search%20returned%20one%20vehicle%2C%20which%20is%20shown%20below%2E&CFID=140314796&CFTOKEN=65172425

Old Rover diesel engine is solid enough, no DPFs or DMFW to worry about, it is also taxed until Oct and has over 12 months NCT.

Cheers bazz but i have a bit of a phobia about rovers & i know im probably very wrong but i wouldn't feel comfortable buying one.

colm_mcm

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Might do depending on the price.:)

Need to get 2700 for it. very clean. starter starting to give trouble in the past week but always starts eventually say 2600 as it is or 2700 with starter.

It's the mid spec Aura model and the older 00 spec so no DMF or injector worries.

Saab Ed

Here's a few....

This ones the 2.2 but its under budget.....

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Citroen/C5/2.2-HDI-/201012197380663/advert?channel=CARS


and here's a dozy if its a good car.....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1131624

or how bouts one of the last Xantias.....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1241030

fonecrusher1

Saab Ed wrote: »

Here's a few....

This ones the 2.2 but its under budget.....

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Citroen/C5/2.2-HDI-/201012197380663/advert?channel=CARS


and here's a dozy if its a good car.....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1131624

or how bouts one of the last Xantias.....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1241030

Sorry Saab im a conservative bugger when it comes to my cars & i really need trouble & worry free motoring.
When my circumstances change for the better im gonna get myself something non-jap.....some day.:rolleyes::D

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

Need to get 2700 for it. very clean. starter starting to give trouble in the past week but always starts eventually say 2600 as it is or 2700 with starter.

It's the mid spec Aura model and the older 00 spec so no DMF or injector worries.

Colm its not the d4d engine so? What sort of fuel economy would i get from the older TD?

colm_mcm

It's not the D-4D engine, it's the 90hp 2.0TD it's a development of the 83hp D-Turbo engine from the Carina, so very simple and reliable.

the D-4D is common rail and direct injection and is noisy enough compared with the old TD.

I get 50mpg on a long run, and 40mpg combined cos I do a lot of urban and short runs.
The D-4D is slightly better on fuel to be honest. used to get 55mpg on a long run on that.

richardsheil

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Sorry Saab im a conservative bugger when it comes to my cars & i really need trouble & worry free motoring.
When my circumstances change for the better im gonna get myself something non-jap.....some day.:rolleyes::D

Don't know why nobody believes us when we say the Citroen diesel is a good car. Your decision.