Buying an old diesel

thenightrider

Hi im think of picking up an old diesel as my focus is of the road and im saveing up to buy a good diesel car ive got a 97 cordoba 1.4 at the moment that im useing but was thinking if i buy a cheap diesel would be able to save money quicker as i would hope to be saveing money in fuel.

I drive from dublin to dundalk a few times a week so i do a fair bit of driveing should i just stick with what i have as i no the car and drive it for as long as i can or just for pick up a 500 euro or so diesel will they still give good MPG if they are old ?

GTE

thenightrider wrote: »

Hi im think of picking up an old diesel as my focus is of the road and im saveing up to buy a good diesel car ive got a 97 cordoba 1.4 at the moment that im useing but was thinking if i buy a cheap diesel would be able to save money quicker as i would hope to be saveing money in fuel.

I drive from dublin to dundalk a few times a week so i do a fair bit of driveing should i just stick with what i have as i no the car and drive it for as long as i can or just for pick up a 500 euro or so diesel will they still give good MPG if they are old ?

I dont know about finding one for 500 quid and if you did I dont know about what engines that would give you but roughly speaking the older diesels can offer slightly better mileage then the newer ones or the very least the same.
Say, 1998 vs 2005 VW TDI.

Then you have the reliability issues of the engines that were around 2002 where the next chunk of money in the budget would get you.

When I was on the search for a good, reliable diesel estate (mind you I spent 2500euro in the end) I opted for the old school diesel in the shape of a 2000 Golf with an engine routed in the mid nineties.

Even though the next step up (Volkswagen PD TDI, Ford TDCI) would have been a serious push for me financially my research found more problems with the introduction of the newer generation of diesels. VW seem to have only been able to cure their diesel problems with a whole new generation again

thenightrider

bbk wrote: »

I dont know about finding one for 500 quid but roughly speaking the older diesels can offer slightly better mileage then the newer ones.
Say, 1998 vs 2005 VW TDI.

In other words usually the same MPG.
It was what i was disappointed with when I first read about the PD TDI's. I was expecting more power and efficiency but you got just the first part of that.

I came across a few in around this price i found a 94 golf 1.9 for 400 owener says it gets 65miles per galon not sure how true that is

Also came across a 1999 Ford Mondeo GLX 1.8 TD for 400

There is a few others i came across if only i had 900 i found a 01 mazda 1.9tdi 626 in great nick

GTE

thenightrider wrote: »

I came across a few in around this price i found a 94 golf 1.9 for 400 owener says it gets 65miles per galon not sure how true that is

Also came across a 1999 Ford Mondeo GLX 1.8 TD for 400

There is a few others i came across if only i had 900 i found a 01 mazda 1.9tdi 626 in great nick

Through research and advice I steered clear of Ford before they brought out the TDCI. The TD's and TDDI's were meant to be rubbish and not great compared to the VAG 1.9 litre of that era. TDCi changed that but for the price you are talking Id say the VAG would be a safe bet. Sadly the TDCI was out of budget in the first place.

I have gotten 65mpg from my Golf TDI a couple of times and 57 very often if I stay off the motorways. I do think my engine would be very similar to the one in the Mark 3's so 65 is well doable with a careful foot and N and R roads.

thenightrider

Do you think that i would be geting lower MPG on the motor way with these cars as 90-95% of my driveing is on the motor way in my focus i was doing over 750 mile's a week only about 50 of them was not on a motor way

high horse

My mother had a Seat Cordoba SDI estate for about 5 years. She always got at least 60mpg from it. It was the non turbo 1.9 VAG diesel engine which was actually fine in that car since it was so light. She never had any trouble with it mechanically either

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1790866

Edit: I have no connection to the one in the link, its just an example i found on donedeal

GTE

thenightrider wrote: »

Do you think that i would be geting lower MPG on the motor way with these cars as 90-95% of my driveing is on the motor way in my focus i was doing over 750 mile's a week only about 50 of them was not on a motor way

My bad. I forgot about your journey.

Id say, and this has been all since the cold which makes it worse, I have been in the mid to late 40's as all the driving I now do is motorway. Belfast to Dublin. But I havent done a proper test yet.
Still though, I am always at 120 - 130 with the cruise control on and heavy acceleration (as heavy as the can do before someone slags me off) doesn't help. Cruise control is also meant to make it worse but I have a bad knee.

If your driving style suits 100 - 110kph on the motorways that should improve things and you wont have cruise control but it will be better then the petrols anyway.

Another reason the MPG is worse is because of the gearing in the 5 speed box. It doesnt suit 120+ from an economy point of view. I make the situation worse by how I drive though.

EDIT: Chime in with High horse
The SDI, although slow, is a tank of an engine.
The generation of engine I have can do 300,000+ miles (figures from the US) if kept well and the same goes for the older TDI's. The SDI, it can be commonly read on some places, could last longer if you gave it the chance.

It is slow though which is why the Ford TD would be taken off the list.