Buying Second Hand Diesel 03-05 Year

Clone

Hi,

I recently started a new job and will be doing a good bit of mileage so I am in the market for a second hand diesel car.

I have been looking at Volkswagen Golf's, Audi A3's 5 Doors.

A friend suggested a Mazda 6, Which suddenly seemed like a good idea to me.
The Mazda offers a higher spec for the money you pay and I'd imagine a japanese car would be cheaper to maintain.

Of I went to find suitable cars, and then to check on potential issues.
I was shocked to find out about know issues with the engine for the Mazda 6.

To any mechanics or Mazda 6 owners out there:
Have you had/encountered any major issues with mazda?

Can anybody recommend a good diesel car inthe 03-05 year range 1.6 upto 2 L, I presume the bigger the engine the better it will last.

Max Power1

IBTOS

(In before the octavia suggestion)

colm_mcm

The Mazda rumours are all true, avoid.

Mazda3 diesel worth a look too as is seat Leon and the Octavia

bazz26

Some suggestions:

Ford Mondeo
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201043200038847

Opel Vectra:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201050200553427

VW Passat:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201041199856093

J77

You never said budget but. A 1.9tdi A4 would be a good choice. I've driven a few B6/B7s and I think they're really nice to drive and great build quality as well.

Tones69

J77 wrote: »

You never said budget but. A 1.9tdi A4 would be a good choice. I've driven a few B6/B7s and I think they're really nice to drive and great build quality as well.

Agreed,ive had a few, love them! Stay clear of the mondeo for sure and also the mazda TD

Clone

Thanks for the replies.

My Budget would be around the 6 K mark.

My main focus would be MPG and maintenance costs.
That said I would also like as much spec as I can get.

isainmdom

hi there currently driving a 04 320 bmw diesel and do a bit of mileage about 70000 in the past two years,new model bmw was released in 05,find it a comfortable drive,its main problem was replacing/taking out the swirl flaps on the inlet manifold,air flow meter,shocks and bushing from a good bit of country driving,the usual wear and tear,here is what i think is worth taking into account when buying. If you will be doing a lot of motorway driving get a 6 speed ,found cruise control handy ,price of services and parts which soon add up with over average mileage,economy if your paying for the fuel,mileage of the car as the higher it is the more likely the more parts will need replacing due to wear and tear if not done already,would avoid cars with large alloys 17 or mainly 18 inch as costly replacing that rubber but have found most have original ones laying around when buying private,so its finding a balance of mileage extras and price which is most defitenly negotiable nowadays,would buy a passat over a golf,skoda reliable ,mazada as said above,toyota ok but most are parked at taxi ranks,bmw 320 and audi a4 similar though some may not agree,have had ford but mainly for short journey and cheaper parts,wouldnt be renowned for reliability ,best of luck with your search

JJJJNR

Get something with high mileage where the work has already been done, don't be fooled by something with low mileage in your price bracket it just won't happen.

This is great value. and a great motorway cruiser, loads of leg room and space.

I have one with more mileage than above and can't find any bad points.

Clone

@isainmdom & JJJJNR : thanks for the useful tips, good to know.

After reading the earlier replies I'm exploring the Passat route.
I hadn't even thought about them, from what I can tell a 2004 does about 50mpg average which I didn't expect :eek: , I always thought It would be higher.

I definately would like cruise control and traction control would be a nice added bonus.

sean1141

cruise control is cheap enough to fit to most vag diesel cars in your price range Eg golf bora passat leon

dixiefly

I have a Mazda 6 diesel 2003 and, overall, it is a great car.

However, I had a Major problem at circa 110k miles. The fuel injectors packed in and it cost me approx €2,300 to fix.

However I have had very few other problems with the car in almost 6 years.

TestTransmission

sean1141 wrote: »

cruise control is cheap enough to fit to most vag diesel cars in your price range Eg golf bora passat leon

Do you know a price?I've seen how much the parts are

Clone

Does anybody know what I should make sure has been done on a high mileage volvo s40 1.9 diesel?

J77

Since it's 1.9 I presume it's a pre 04 model?

sean1141

TestTransmission wrote: »

Do you know a price?I've seen how much the parts are

i fitted it to my bora and leon myself. fitted it on a few golf diesels too.. not very hard just fiddely.. it needs to be activated on the ecu with vcds also. im not sure how it works on mk5 based cars do.. it took me about 3.5 hours to do the first time.. maybe 2 hours each time after that.

Raskolnikov

You could consider an Opel Astra.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Opel/Astra/NJOY-Y17/201102200867839/advert?channel=CARS

2003, 80k miles, €3.1k. For the a similar kind of Golf, you'd be looking at €5k+.

maidhc

The Toyota D4D is by far and away the best engine of that era I have driven. It has a lovely powerband that stretches from a standstill to the redline. Far more modern design than the 1.9TDi VAG engine too.

You could have massive bills with any cheapish diesel car though if you don't know its history. You need to be looking for receipts for big ticket items such as the DMF and injectors having been replaced, and at minimum you need a perfect service history.

A petrol will do higher miles with less chance of getting expensive I think.

galwaytt

isainmdom wrote: »

...reliable ,mazada

dixiefly wrote: »

I have a Mazda 6 diesel 2003 and, overall, it is a great car.

However, I had a Major problem at circa 110k miles. The fuel injectors packed in and it cost me approx €2,300 to fix.

However I have had very few other problems with the car in almost 6 years.

How can a car with a €2300 repair bill be considered 'gdod' ?

OP - under no circumstances go near that generation of Mazda 6 diesel - it is a timebomb. Ask any garage if they'll trade one in, if you don't believe me.....

Quite apart from a penchant for imploding engines (reported on boards, too...) issues such as DMF, clutch mean it's simply not worth the risk.