Recommend Me a Cheap Mile Eater!

zuutroy

I'm going to be commuting from Dublin to Cork weekly and basically want something that will do it as economically as possible. Its motorway all the way virtually so would like something smooth enough for said conditions that can cruise at 120, and maybe a little north occasionally .
I basically wanna spend the min possible (maybe 2-3k). I have another car but its not suitable so this one will really only needs to be functional, legal, and reasonably reliable.

I'm thinking Passat, Mondeo diesel from 98-00 maybe but would be interested to hear opinions.

TY.

Anan1

At that money it's the actual car rather than the make/model that counts. If this car is only for the Dublin-Cork run then I wouldn't be too stuck on diesel either - it may be that you'd get something a lot better/cheaper in petrol.

EPM

That kinda money you could but one of the last shape Mondeos. Even the older TDDi engine would do that trouble free for years to come. Much more reliable than the TDCi's too. A little noisier but cruising should be fine

Saab Ed

Slightly out of the ordinary but if its a cheap long distance diesel cruiser you want then look no further....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1336867



...but it would have to come under 1500 quid

alias no.9

Avoid the older generation Mondeo (1996 - 2000), the engine is prehistoric. A Peugeot 406 HDi (1999 to 2003ish) might be a good bet, small money, comfortable and modern engine.

Anan1

I picked up a 99 Xantia 2.0 auto estate last week for a friend, 80k miles, NCT 05/11, SH, recent service incl TB/tensioners/water pump and four new tyres - €650. It takes a bit of time, but it is doable.

zuutroy

I was reckoning it has to be a diesel. 8 cents per litre plus 40+ mpg instead of 30 would be a huge diff over the course of the year.

I think the round trip is 500 km (say 300 miles) which in said petrol would cost about 52.
The diesel would cost about 37 by my calcs, which would be about 700 over the course of the year.
I suppose its not outrageous and as you said some good shopping could net a better car with that much saved if I had petrols as an option.

Not a big fan of the French cars, thats why I wasn't including them.

R.O.R

Cruise Control, Armrest, Comfortable seats.

I'd start with finding something with those 3 and work from there.

Mondeo 2.0 diesel would be fine (2001 onwards). Old S40/V50 1.9d, or of course - the Skoda Octavia 1.9Tdi.

Wouldn't worry about which engine power output on the Mondeo or Skoda. 90bhp for a steady 120km on flat Motorway is perfectly adequate. More power is mearly a quicker getaway from the tolls up to cruising speed.

sophie1234

my boyfriend just got a 00 passat tdi and last week we drove from cork to sligo to mayo back to dublin and the round trip didnt have to fill up the car once! also did a good bit of driving the few days we were in sligo to and from the city to the beach ect! and it was so comfortable to drive and be a passanger in!

DubDani

I would suggest the Skoda Superb 1.9 TDI with Comfort Spec. Comes with Armrest, Cruise control, Climate Control and is a very comfortable mile cruncher.

Hard to discount the French cars given your budget and preference for diesel. Rover 75 in auto form is not to be sneezed at, or a manual with recent clutch done. Pre D4D Avensis, Primera diesel, neither too modern engine wise but they go forever and don't give trouble.

Years ago I used to travel from Cork to Dublin every week too, when there I lived in Clondalkin (not far from Bewleys Cross) and worked in GrangeCastle so only had short commutes up there. I used to average close to 40mpg in a 1995 Rover 214SEi. The likes if a 1.6 Focus returns 40mpg ish easily on a run. So as Anan mentions above petrols may well be an option for you too.

Hal1

Citroen xantia 2.0 Hdi. A good one here with new nct to 2012 and recent TB change. Can't go wrong for the money.

DubDani

DubDani wrote: »

I would suggest the Skoda Superb 1.9 TDI with Comfort Spec. Comes with Armrest, Cruise control, Climate Control and is a very comfortable mile cruncher.

€2000 to €3000 budget

zuutroy wrote: »

I basically wanna spend the min possible (maybe 2-3k).

mondeo

Peugeot 406 hdi is what I would get.

alias no.9

RoverJames wrote: »

Pre D4D Avensis, Primera diesel, neither too modern engine wise but they go forever and don't give trouble.

The P11 Primera 2.0TD can have injector pump problems with the electronic control and the gearboxes are quite sloppy. I'd recommend a 1.8 petrol in the same car over the diesel as it's quite efficient (nearly 40mpg) and refined.

Eric Cartman

considering your doing msotly motorway miles, with the higher speed a bigger engine would be no harm on the fuel economy, with your mostly/all motorway driving something like this would still put out 30mpg http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1489021

sean1141

maybe something like this?? without the 17' wheels
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1500747
or this
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1505506

its pretty easy to fit cruise control and a center arm rest to these (about 300 quid using new parts) ant this makes motorway miles very comfy!!

Eric Cartman

sean1141 wrote: »

maybe something like this?? without the 17' wheels
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1500747
or this
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1505506

its pretty easy to fit cruise control and a center arm rest to these (about 300 quid using new parts) ant this makes motorway miles very comfy!!

i bet both of those have had the sh*te driven out of them

johnos1984

sean1141 wrote: »

its pretty easy to fit cruise control and a center arm rest to these (about 300 quid using new parts) ant this makes motorway miles very comfy!!

Really???

That throws them into the picture for me!

Pity a/c can't be fitted easily

sean1141

id say the first one has anyway. when your talking about a 10year old diesel your not going to find many that haven't do. them non pd vw diesels were a great engine do. with the t belt and water pump done your good for another 50-60k miles or 4 years driving

Eric Cartman

sean1141 wrote: »

id say the first one has anyway. when your talking about a 10year old diesel your not going to find many that haven't do. them non pd vw diesels were a great engine do. with the t belt and water pump done your good for another 50-60k miles or 4 years driving

the tints, shark fin, spoiler and lexus lights on the 2nd one didnt suggest it might be knackered no

yeah, theyre a good engine, id say something a little bigger like a passat or an a6 may be a good idea too

sean1141

johnos1984 wrote: »

Really???

That throws them into the picture for me!

Pity a/c can't be fitted easily

ya cruise is easy enough to fit on the tdi. i have done it on a few. parts can be got for about 70-80 quid

sean1141

Eric Cartman wrote: »

the tints, shark fin, spoiler and lexus lights on the 2nd one didnt suggest it might be knackered no

yeah, theyre a good engine, id say something a little bigger like a passat or an a6 may be a good idea too

i had all them except the tints on my bora (lowers my head in shame:)) but i minded the car like a baby. never gave me one bit of trouble in the 60k miles i drove it. the heavier a4/passat can kill the 90bhp off a bit in terms of mpg. a golf or bora will feel a bit more lively. but a passat will be more comfortable and spacious

sean1141

similar to a bora
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1506196
bad add but looks like a cheap car
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1505124

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1478938

af_thefragile

What about this:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1506303

johnos1984

af_thefragile wrote: »

What about this:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1506303

car has little misfiring which i have been told is Injector or Coil in either case its 50 € ,

€50......:rolleyes:

However a great car make no doubt

af_thefragile

It does have its share of problems but shouldn't take more than a grand to fix...

Or that what I said when I bought my Puma...............:rolleyes:

I really like that model 5series though. The one after that was plain ugly. The new one isn't too bad but I still think that model 5 series were the best looking. That model M5 was one of my dream cars...

-Corkie-

Skoda Superb tdi or Passat tdi.

johnos1984

af_thefragile wrote: »

It does have its share of problems but shouldn't take more than a grand to fix...

Or that what I said when I bought my Puma...............:rolleyes:

For all their failings I would love one.

I saw a 2002 530D sold six months ago for 2k fully serviced from a garage. Makes you sick doesn't it.

The same garage has an 04 530d estate fully loaded which the owners purchased for €800 (gearbox gone and also has 170k miles on it) but to say it is minty apart from that is an understatement.

af_thefragile

Something you could buy for a year and then dispose off probably... Though I presume the repairs on a BMW 5 series are going to be pretty expensive.

VolvoMan

Seeing as there have been no Volvos suggested in the thread so far, here's one: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1496675

Two litre turbocharged engine with five cylinders (180 bhp) mean that even in standard form it's no slouch either.

PaulKK

OP get yourself a B5 passat TDI.

I had one for 3 years and put 75k miles on it.


It was comfortable, reliable, and very light on fuel.. for motorway driving and 2k/3k, I believe it is exactly what you are looking for.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

considering your doing msotly motorway miles, with the higher speed a bigger engine would be no harm on the fuel economy, with your mostly/all motorway driving something like this would still put out 30mpg http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1489021

500km @ 50mpg @ €1.22L diesel is €34.
500km @ 30mpg @ €1.30L petrol is €61.

Massive difference.

So people, no more lexuses etc!

R.O.R

VolvoMan wrote: »

Seeing as there have been no Volvos suggested in the thread so far, here's one: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1496675

Two litre turbocharged engine with five cylinders (180 bhp) mean that even in standard form it's no slouch either.

While that would be a supremely comfortable motorway mile muncher, the fuel consumption on the smaller S60 is pretty scary (even motorway use), so I'd hate to think what that would guzzle.