Advice on second hand diesel.

BamesJond

Just looking to get some advice from some people wiser then myself. From what iv seen online there a few possibilities but I'd prefere to know now if any are worth pursuing or if I should change direction. Importing not an option right now.
Budget is around 3k so I'm restricted to what's affordable but so far iv seen:
Volvo s40
Saab 9-3
Passat (Highline)
Focus
All 06/07 and all would suit. Any I should exclude? Best choice from above? Any other options I should be aware of? Max milage I should buy at for these years?

Preference for a car that's a nice place to be, so nice interior would be ideal. From all above focus would be bottom of list on this front but if it's a solid car it'd be worth a thought.
Also, if anyone has advice on best engine sizes for cars above let me know.

All advice welcome.

thadg

focus
Passat
Vauxhall Vectra are also a good car to stay going. you would get a 2008 for that money. 390 tax

ShadowHearth

I know you might brush it off right away, but alfa 159 would fit in perfectly.

Really good looking and it's a very nice place to be in. Reliably of 159 is not worse then any modern diesel.

Joeseph Balls

Check insurance on the Passat first. Every boy racer in the country seems to have them or Boras with tinted windows and have them 'shlammed' and I was loaded on insurance this year so sold mine on.

BamesJond

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Check insurance on the Passat first. Every boy racer in the country seems to have them or Boras with tinted windows and have them 'shlammed' and I was loaded on insurance this year so sold mine on.

My biggest problem with the Passat would be finding a decent one that hasn't been ruined so I appreciate where your coming from. Would you recommend the Passat if yours fits the same years as mine? Reliable?

yes there

My friend is selling his 06 passat. 06 and roughly 3k. I also drive one of them and my insurance is low relative to others.

BamesJond

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I know you might brush it off right away, but alfa 159 would fit in perfectly.

Really good looking and it's a very nice place to be in. Reliably of 159 is not worse then any modern diesel.

Never even looked at an alfa being honest I'll have a look about, thanks.

thadg

Passat are a great car, just make sure you buy one that was well serviced/looked after. service history if at all possible

yes there

Mine is reliable as is my friends. Really just services and replaced an injector in his I think. I had to replace a steering lock sensor in mine as they can go faulty.

Depends if its been looked after or not really. Very good mileage out of them and comfortable drive. I do a lot of miles and would recommend one that has proof its been looked after.

BamesJond

thadg wrote: »

Passat are a great car, just make sure you buy one that was well serviced/looked after. service history if at all possible

I like the new(er) type shape. I seen a few Highline spec and they look a nice place to be. Any info on what engine is best? Is it just a 1.9 and 2 litre they come in?

BamesJond

thadg wrote: »

focus
Passat
Vauxhall Vectra are also a good car to stay going. you would get a 2008 for that money. 390 tax

A lot of the vectras I seen seem to previously have been on English plates. Just wondering does this affect insurance quotes even if vrt has been paid and it's now on Irish plates?

thadg

not from my experience anyway

ShadowHearth

BamesJond wrote: »

Never even looked at an alfa being honest I'll have a look about, thanks.

As always merphies law. I always keep an eye for 2.4jtdm to pop up and see plenty of nice cheap 1.9jtdms. Now there is only a few.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2006-alfa-romeo-159-1-9-jtdm-16v-lusso-price-drop/13747848

Something like this. Interior is a bit marmite due to colour, but other then that you could get something very similar for your budget or a few hundred extra.

1.9jtdm is great engine. Did 13K miles in my one already and only blew a hole in intercooler hose. That's it.

BamesJond

Thanks @ShadowHearth. As I said I never would have thought of the alfa but they do look great in the right condition. I'll keep a look out for them

BamesJond

Can anyone offer an argument for either the volvo or saab? From above doesn't seem like either is worth looking at any further?

punisher5112

Mondeo, Octavia or Superb, Volvo s60 or s80 nice motors tax be a bit higher of course.

thadg

saab is more or less a Vectra. same engine etc

BamesJond

Are any of the cars listed above complete no-no's regarding engine reliability? I know the car would be 10+ years old but do any of them have a poor record v's the other?

ShadowHearth

I think saab, vectra and alfa using same engine, but alfa put in its own flavour in it. Pretty solid engine. Haven't heard massive design flaws.

Would not go near older 2.0 diesel vag so that's your passat. Just personal opinion, I am pretty sure someone will prove me wrong. 1.9 ones were a lot better.

I would avoid Volvo with 1.6 diesel, but 2.0 and 2.4 would solid enough. 1.6 is same as in focus. You get lucky, looked after one, you golden, you get one which was not cared after like an infant - it will break your heart, wallet and most likely show you a finger too.

BamesJond

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I think saab, vectra and alfa using same engine, but alfa put in its own flavour in it. Pretty solid engine. Haven't heard massive design flaws.

Would not go near older 2.0 diesel vag so that's your passat. Just personal opinion, I am pretty sure someone will prove me wrong. 1.9 ones were a lot better.

I would avoid Volvo with 1.6 diesel, but 2.0 and 2.4 would solid enough. 1.6 is same as in focus. You get lucky, looked after one, you golden, you get one which was not cared after like an infant - it will break your heart, wallet and most likely show you a finger too.

If you were to have your pick of a 1.9 Passat or 2 litre volvo what would your choice be? Read up on volvo a bit and amongst all the chatter most say 2 litre trumps the 1.6, but I know nothing about the Passat.

ShadowHearth

BamesJond wrote: »

If you were to have your pick of a 1.9 Passat or 2 litre volvo what would your choice be? Read up on volvo a bit and amongst all the chatter most say 2 litre trumps the 1.6, but I know nothing about the Passat.

I would go Volvo all the way, but only with 2.0 diesel. Easy enough to get them in nice spec and leather seats. Legends go, that Volvo have most amazing and comfy seats ever too.

BamesJond

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I would go Volvo all the way, but only with 2.0 diesel. Easy enough to get them in nice spec and leather seats. Legends go, that Volvo have most amazing and comfy seats ever too.

Appreciate the info thanks. What's the max milage I should be happy with in say 07? Would 240,000km in a well serviced car be OK? Or would that be too high and asking fir trouble?

punisher5112

BamesJond wrote: »

Appreciate the info thanks. What's the max milage I should be happy with in say 07? Would 240,000km in a well serviced car be OK? Or would that be too high and asking fir trouble?

I have a Mondeo tdci with over 280k and still pulling like a train. Its a 2005.

Cars well able to do 500k or more all depends on how well looked after.

ShadowHearth

BamesJond wrote: »

Appreciate the info thanks. What's the max milage I should be happy with in say 07? Would 240,000km in a well serviced car be OK? Or would that be too high and asking fir trouble?

Same as poster said above, if it's looked after it will do tons of miles. Though service history is like lotery.

BamesJond

Been honest I'm more confused now than I was before I started the thread ha. It's down to a s40, saab, and the Passat. I think over all the saab looks nicest from outside but the fact that the volvo 2 litre seems to have a better engine is playing on my mind. I think any of the 3 above with a good interior I'll be happy. I'll prob start a thread about the specific car when I'm buying, but is there anything outside if the usual that a red flag with these specific cars?anything that's easy to hide and costly to fix I suppose ha

bazz26

The S40 is way smaller than the other two, the S40 is based on the Mk2 Ford Focus. Volvo parts are pretty expensive too and you may not be able to source them from a motor factors meaning you will pay main dealer prices for them.

BamesJond

bazz26 wrote: »

The S40 is way smaller than the other two, the S40 is based on the Mk2 Ford Focus. Volvo parts are pretty expensive too and you may not be able to source them from a motor factors meaning you will pay main dealer prices for them.

Something I never thought of is the cost of parts if it goes wrong. On theat basis is the saab also in the same bracket as the volvo?ie. Harder to source parts?

bazz26

Saab parts may be hard to source these days alright, some GM common parts from Opel might do but not all parts are interchangeable.

acronym Chilli

bazz26 wrote: »

Saab parts may be hard to source these days alright, some GM common parts from Opel might do but not all parts are interchangeable.

I think it's not as bad as a lay person might assume (not saying you're lay-person, but aiming the clarification at those who might be immediately put off). Some of the main service-elements are pure GM. Most stuff still available as far as I can see (as a saab owner), suspension parts, electrics, vacuum system stuff, etc., (e.g. I've priced/bought fuel-pumps, ignition cassette, spark plugs, fuel filters, air-filters (engine and cabin), sump plug, front control arms, boost-pressure valve, and could find them all even just as a punter between parts4sabs, neo-brothers, and schwedenteile.de
(cue joke about unreliable cars and why I've looked at spare parts so much: it's not as bad as it seems!)

Diesel only entered the modern saab model-line up with the 2.2l engine, which was a pure GM copy-over. The much nicer 1.9 that followed was again used on other cars too, so from engine side things should stay fine.

Where it'll get trickier is with things like body-panels if you ever end up in that territory. But if you buy the car for 3k and less (see original post), there's a limit to the repairs you're likely to do on the vehicle, and major chassis/body-work is probably out of the question.

selectamatic

You'd pick up a fairly clean 06/07 skoda superb for that sorta money maybe even a cheap tax 08 one but it'll most likely be a high mileage example. The 1.9tdi 115bhp engine isn't fast or anything but it's a pretty simple engine and generally reliable. The 2.0pd tdi has it's issues (that said I know one or two who've had next to nothing go wrong with theirs)

If power was an issue The 115bhp tdi will remap reliably to 140-50bhp I think, maybe more but that's generally what the older 105bhp tdi's could do and as far as I know these are much the same.

BamesJond

Thinking of looking into the passats a bit more. 05/06/07 Highline is possible but seen some nice comfortline also. They come in a 1.9 and 2.0.
Anyone have any input on this? Regarding which engine is better/more reliable? Anything to watch out for?

selectamatic

BamesJond wrote: »

Thinking of looking into the passats a bit more. 05/06/07 Highline is possible but seen some nice comfortline also. They come in a 1.9 and 2.0.
Anyone have any input on this? Regarding which engine is better/more reliable? Anything to watch out for?

The 1.9 is fair dead but generally reliable
(can remap to 140bhp)
The 2.0tdi have some sensor/injector trouble along with the notorious oil pump issue. (Aftermarket fix for this do one with it done could be a good buy)

They're a nice comfy car especially in high line spec but they're much more complicated than their predecessor. The electronics aren't great in them classic vw window reg issues, abs control issues, steering rack can give bother too.

They're cheap to buy for what they are, good on diesel and they're handy insure for the time being but a lot of young bucks are moving to these and jetta's so that could change.

I recommended the superb because it's basically the same as the older passat while being slightly less dated and further up in the years along with being less complicated than the 05 model Passat.

BamesJond

@selectamatic appreciate the information. I wouldn't be a huge fan of the skodas if I'm being honest. Just doesn't have the spec to match others. I'll keep an eye out to see if I can find one that looks decent.

selectamatic

BamesJond wrote: »

@selectamatic appreciate the information. I wouldn't be a huge fan of the skodas if I'm being honest. Just doesn't have the spec to match others. I'll keep an eye out to see if I can find one that looks decent.

If ya can find one with Laurent Clement spec they're a nice place to be.

A high line jetta might suit ya but will most likely be out of budget. They're dearer than the Passat for a reason though.

BamesJond

selectamatic wrote: »

If ya can find one with Laurent Clement spec they're a nice place to be.

A high line jetta might suit ya but will most likely be out of budget. They're dearer than the Passat for a reason though.

Would the jetta's be a better care? Engine/reliability wise?

selectamatic

BamesJond wrote: »

Would the jetta's be a better care? Engine/reliability wise?

The transverse 2.0tdi was supposedly more reliable alright.
The jetta has always held prices better than the Passat.