wanted diesel estate car

oflynno

hi there

i am on the lookout for a diesel estate car for knocking about in
any of the following around?

audi a4 estate 97-2000
skoda octavia 99-2001
vw passat 99-2001
ford focus 99-2001
bmw 1.8 diesel estate
nothing newer
i might go back a year or 2 or go for a petrol version

tvm

gears

Just another option, what about a MB C Class Estate (W202 Model up to 2001), there's not many diesel models about, but if you do find one it should go forever.

Example of a petrol one: Clicky Here

oflynno

gears wrote: »

Just another option, what about a MB C Class Estate (W202 Model up to 2001), there's not many diesel models about, but if you do find one it should go forever.

Example of a petrol one: Clicky Here

hmm,a small bit of a tank i would think,but thanx

GTE

parkers.co.uk and whatcar are good for the facts and specs of the cars you listed.

carzone and the ususal are good for narrowing down your search.

I have done a similar search to you within the last 6 months so Ill give you what results I can in case it is of any help to you.

In my opinion getting a VAG car from around that year with the diesel engine is your best bet if economy and performance is what you are after. I have a Golf TDI estate from 2000 so bias is all over my post But seriously if you find one that was well looked after you are on for a winner (So the usual,excellent service history and interior and body are in good order).

I know the Golf is too small compared to the cars you listed but its the same engine as the bigger ones and the same build quality.
Anyway, this is what I found during my research.

The VW Audi Group cars you mentioned are old enough not to have the PD style TDI engine which can have some extra problems associated with them compared to the VE style TDI that the PD replaced around 2002ish.

The PD TDI's give better (possibly much better) performance then the VE TDI but I believe their MPG rating is a little lower but aside from that there are problems associated with these as mentioned.
An example is that only a certain type of oil was stamped by VW to be used with this engine due to some high temp and high pressure parts of the engine. If the wrong one is used (such as the oil that VW stamped as perfect for the older engines) then you will encounter wear problems later on in the cars life. So its all down to how well the previous owner took care of the car.


The VE TDI's are largely rock solid mechanically and if you get a well maintained one problems should be as small as a temp sensor and general wear items (which effect the PD's anyway). If the car has been serviced religiously I think you have a winner. In terms of economy my Golf TDI consistently gets 57mpg and I wasnt doing anything special to maximise MPG.

In terms of the Focus the diesel engine of the day were the TDDI's which arent meant to be much really (performance or economy . . .). TDCI are the Ford engines you should be looking out for but they came in a few years later. 2003 or 4.
When I read that over and over during my research the Ford cars eventually were struck off the list.

The C Class mentioned was also on my list and it seems to be a similar story with the Ford. The diesel engine of the time for MB wasnt great. The CDI engine released later is the one to look for.
Also I think rust is a problem on that particular variant of the C Class

I hope that helps in some way,
Regards
bbk

oflynno

ahhh,you see what i am upto

i want the car for work and carrying an amount of crap around so i think estates are made for the job.

i have looked at a few jap estates but will focus on this list a while

now,i am no vag man by a long shot but will see what happens in my search

thanks for the word on the ford side of things,they would be bottom of the good list so far

GTE

oflynno wrote: »

ahhh,you see what i am upto

i want the car for work and carrying an amount of crap around so i think estates are made for the job.

i have looked at a few jap estates but will focus on this list a while

now,i am no vag man by a long shot but will see what happens in my search

thanks for the word on the ford side of things,they would be bottom of the good list so far

On the Jap side of things I think if its not a D4D diesel engine keep away. I was in a Corolla diesel from 2000 and it was horrid. Mechanically Im sure it was brilliant, just no power where you would want it.
However, I didnt research these in as much detail.

Best of luck with the search anyway.

oflynno

the corolla is totally out ,the last good one was upto 97,the rest are too small,i've had 2 with work,new model 97 and a 00.i'm 6foot and a bit and my knees were up at my ears driving

the estates are putrid aswell

nissan,not really,had 2 primeras and found them thirsty and i just dont like the name almera,dunno why

a bit of a picky pwicky i think i might be