Need a quick bit of buying advice.

andyseadog

right chaps, i'm going to buy a diesel banger today. max 2k budget.

i will be doing a motorcheck on any car i go to view, so i'm covered in some respects.

basically i've narrowed it down to 3 cars, i can only go to view one today.

Reliability is number one what i'm after here. it just has to be very reliable. which would you go for?

00 corolla 1.9d 110k miles
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2540609

99 bora sdi, 150k miles
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2501215

01 mondeo tddi 105k miles
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2541654

andyseadog

andyseadog wrote: »

..............

Reliability is number one what i'm after here. it just has to be very reliable. which would you go for?..............
01 mondeo tddi 105k miles
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2541654

Not that anyway, I had a new one, awful bucket of sh1t.
Reliability wise it has to be the Corolla, although in every other regard it's the worst car. You won't have any trouble from the Corolla.
Mondeo is the best car but reliability wise it's the worst.

andyseadog

ironically i thought the mondeo was the least reliable too, but its winning the poll.

the corolla is the only one without NCT. its also the one i'm swaying towards. comfort/ looks aren't bothering me here, i just want reliability.

didn't those corollas have a peugeot engine? were they any good?

andyseadog

andyseadog wrote: »

ironically i thought the mondeo was the least reliable too, but its winning the poll.........

How many of those who voted had one

opinion guy

andyseadog wrote: »

ironically i thought the mondeo was the least reliable too, but its winning the poll.

the corolla is the only one without NCT. its also the one i'm swaying towards. comfort/ looks aren't bothering me here, i just want reliability.

didn't those corollas have a peugeot engine? were they any good?

Are you making a decision based on a poll ???:eek:

I vote corolla

andyseadog

thats also what i thought. honestly i thought the Bora would win out. but its early days yet. going to look at the rolla in an hours time.

any pointers on sussing out a healthy diesel engine?

andyseadog

andyseadog wrote: »

...........

didn't those corollas have a peugeot engine? were they any good?

Yep, the 1867cc yoke, lasts forever.

Anan1

andyseadog wrote: »

right chaps, i'm going to buy a diesel banger today. max 2k budget.

i will be doing a motorcheck on any car i go to view, so i'm covered in some respects.

basically i've narrowed it down to 3 cars, i can only go to view one today.

Reliability is number one what i'm after here. it just has to be very reliable. which would you go for?

This is a completely insane way to buy. Find someone who knows a bit about cars and have them help you. Above all else, take your time.

To be honest I'd take the Bora, I know looks etc aren't the criteria but the Bora offers the best of both worlds, the 1.9 in them will do double that 150k no bother if it's sound. The Corolla is a depressing looking car really.

€2000 is a good lash of cash to be spending, lots of stuff out there for that that are reliable and comfy and light on diesel and that look ok. If you're not in a rush to buy I would broaden your search a bit.

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

This is a completely insane way to buy. Find someone who knows a bit about cars and have them help you. Above all else, take your time.

Just saw the bit about you are buying one today, Jesus, insane as Anan1 has said. In fairness though, you do know your beans so I don't think you'll buy a sh1tter.

Is the panic really necessary to buy today?

andyseadog

Anan1 wrote: »

This is a completely insane way to buy. Find someone who knows a bit about cars and have them help you. Above all else, take your time.

i have to go view one today, really, i'm in college 9-4 monday to friday and work 6-11 monday to friday nights, and saturdays are spent studying followed by more work too. sundays are the only day i have to do other things.

im not going to buy a pile of **** today, but i need a bargain basement diesel and today is the only day i have to go shopping, i've been browsing donedeal for weeks :P

andyseadog

andyseadog wrote: »

...i'm in college 9-4 monday to friday and work 6-11 monday to friday nights, and saturdays are spent studying followed by more work too. sundays are the only day i have to do other things.

........

Fair play to you, that's a busy week . What you doing at college if you don't mind my nosiness.

there's always next Sunday

andyseadog

Architectural engineering.

how do i get to college without the car :P i need the independence of the car to leave and be on time for work, to get money to pay for college. its a vicious self reliant circle

i just done a motorchecked on the corolla. its clocked

https://www.motorcheck.ie/report/00CN2977/XVAX7A

bladespin

Personally, having owned one, I'd go for the mondeo but I'd be looking for some sort of history, at those miles it'll be due or have received a new clutch and DMF (if not then budget another €1k) and check the fuel injection system, if not perfect then that'll be another €1k.

MidlandsM

Out of the 3, the ford is my choice, reason being is the milage is reasonable. Plus its got as chain as opposed to belt, so no BIG QUESTION on when the belt was last changed or dodgy tippex to be had.
Also, parts for the ford are cheap - like a rear wheel bearing hub can be got to your door off ebay for €50 complete with abs sensor.
Them rims on it are ghia x rims btw.

andyseadog

andyseadog wrote: »

Architectural engineering.

how do i get to college without the car :P i need the independence of the car to leave and be on time for work, to get money to pay for college. its a vicious self reliant circle

i just done a motorchecked on the corolla. its clocked

https://www.motorcheck.ie/report/00CN2977/XVAX7A

Bummer, stroke of luck though, awful bus really, how bad is the 1.6 Corolla you have on the petrol?
Best of luck with the college.

bladespin wrote: »

Personally, having owned one, I'd go for the mondeo but I'd be looking for some sort of history, at those miles it'll be due or have received a new clutch and DMF (if not then budget another €1k) and check the fuel injection system, if not perfect then that'll be another €1k.

Good point about the injectors, hard to check though. Regarding the DMF, it could well be due a 2nd one if the first one was done early, mine went under warranty at 20k kms ish. Ford garage folk said it was a very common fault, as we all know now, back then I never heard of a DMF.

sean1141

bora. it looks basic spec so most of the electrical problems the high spec ones suffer from wont be a problem. the sdi engine is dead as a dodo but will go forever. and with the timing belt and water pump done you have a lot of driving before it needs doing again. recent nct too so bushings/bearings cant be too bad. you will even have enough left out of the 2k to tax it for a year!!

colm_mcm

Something with a turbo if you want fuel economy.

coolbeans

You really should be considering a 406 HDi. They're a superb car reliability wise, look decent, drive well, won't bore you to death and come cheap. Even Toyota use a Peugeot diesel engine. Something like this is what you need to be looking at. Don't get a Bora SDi, I've seen quicker glaciers.

bazz26

Where is the none of the above option on this pole?

Corolla 1.9d is a Peugeot engine with no turbo, only a stop gap until the D-4D engine arrived. Reliable once maintained but unrefined and would not pull the skin off a sausage.

Bora 1.9 SDi again dog slow, engine is reliable once maintained but the same is not be said about the rest of the car. Gearboxes can be soft on these and electrics can be iffy.

Mondeo TDDi you could be facing a large bill for replacing the DMF soon on it. Noisy engine but other than that they tend to be ok.

€2k will get you alot better choice imo. I'd be looking at something along the lines of these:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201133203957392

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201129203428727

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201130203650017

Henry Ford III

RoverJames wrote: »

Mondeo is the best car but reliability wise it's the worst.

Nah. Your car might have been a lemon, but it's not representative of the model as a whole.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/ford/mondeo-estate-2000.aspx

Big Nasty

For €2k you have to be able to find something better than any of those three yokes! :eek::eek::eek:

Keep an eye on the Bangernomics thread and it's hardly the end of the world if you have to take a morning of college during the week to go view a car. Don't go panic buying.

-Corkie-

MCMLXXV wrote: »

For €2k you have to be able to find something better than any of those three yokes! :eek::eek::eek:

Keep an eye on the Bangernomics thread and it's hardly the end of the world if you have to take a morning of college during the week to go view a car. Don't go panic buying.

+1 I would buy neither of them. The SDI Bora is slower than a wet week.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Nah. Your car might have been a lemon, but it's not representative of the model as a whole.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/ford/mondeo-estate-2000.aspx

OF the three mentioned its the worse, I'm not at all bothered what parkers have written about them.

Henry Ford III

RoverJames wrote: »

OF the three mentioned its the worse, I'm not at all bothered what parkers have written about them.

A matter of opinion RJ.

Parkers isn't perfect, but it's way more representative than 1 persons view based on their experience of a single car.

Consequently perhaps yours is the opinion which should be more readily dismissed?

Big Nasty

Henry Ford III wrote: »

A matter of opinion RJ.

Parkers isn't perfect, but it's way more representative than 1 persons view based on their experience of a single car.

Consequently perhaps yours is the opinion which should be more readily dismissed?

Miaaaaaaooow!:p

EPM

I know someone that put massive mileage on a tddi Mondeo without issue. Nice spec. Corollas got the old pug engine which is a plus if a bit slow. Prob get best mpg too.

MidlandsM

RoverJames wrote: »

OF the three mentioned its the worse, I'm not at all bothered what parkers have written about them.

what a mad deluded assertion.....i've had quite a few mk3 mondeo diesels in my life in all flavours, and all are great cars to live with.

Anan1

coolbeans wrote: »

You really should be considering a 406 HDi. They're a superb car reliability wise, look decent, drive well, won't bore you to death and come cheap.

Was just thinking the same thing myself. OP, if you really have to buy today then go an extra €400 or so and buy this: http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201133203955670
I spoke to the owner on the phone a few weeks back, he has it from new and spent 20 minutes detailing an absolutely complete maintenance history from new. I haven't seen the car, but I can't remember the last time i've been so impressed by an owner.

MidlandsM

Anan1 wrote: »

Was just thinking the same thing myself. OP, if you really have to buy today then go an extra €400 or so and buy this: http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201133203955670
I spoke to the owner on the phone a few weeks back, he has it from new and spent 20 minutes detailing an absolutely complete maintenance history from new. I haven't seen the car, but I can't remember the last time i've been so impressed by an owner.

its overpriced.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

A matter of opinion RJ.

Parkers isn't perfect, but it's way more representative than 1 persons view based on their experience of a single car.

Consequently perhaps yours is the opinion which should be more readily dismissed?

Applying your logic I'll bin nous opinion too. I stated the Mondeo was the better car in everyway except reliability of the three cars in question, the other two don't have much to go wrong the Mondeo does, get over it.

zilog_jones

+1 for a 406 HDi, should be easy to get a half-decent one in your budget. I got one earlier this year and though the 90bhp HDi won't win any races, there's no DPF or DMF to worry about (unlike in newer cars like that Mondeo), it's very comfortable and will return decent fuel economy (see below, and that's mostly urban driving).

There is a 110bhp version too but I don't know how common they are in this country and they do have a DMF.

Citroen Xantia might be worth considering too, but they weren't around as long with HDi engines.

Anan1

MidlandsM wrote: »

its overpriced.

Perhaps, if you calculate value by simple 'make/model, age, miles' formula. In the real world, and assuming the OP needs good, reliable motoring for a few years, I think it's a very good buy at €2500.

MidlandsM

MidlandsM wrote: »

what a mad deluded assertion.....i've had quite a few mk3 mondeo diesels in my life in all flavours, and all are great cars to live with.

SO reliability wise they would be better than the other two, yes or no is fine as an answer.

Henry Ford III

RoverJames wrote: »

Applying your logic I'll bin nous opinion too. I stated the Mondeo was the better car in everyway except reliability of the three cars in question, the other two don't have much to go wrong the Mondeo does, get over it.

I didn't understand your first sentence, so will ignore it.

Having more things to go wrong doesn't mean they will though. MkII Mondeos are reliable cars, including the diesels. I've posted a representative link to back it up too.

Your quite entitled to post your views, but I'm equally entitled to challenge them if I feel they are incorrect and/or unfair.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I didn't understand your first sentence, so will ignore it.

Having more things to go wrong doesn't mean they will though. MkII Mondeos are reliable cars, including the diesels. I've posted a representative link to back it up too.

Your quite entitled to post your views, but I'm equally entitled to challenge them if I feel they are incorrect and/or unfair.

So of the three which do you think is the most reliable?

Big Nasty

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I didn't understand your first sentence, so will ignore it.

Having more things to go wrong doesn't mean they will though. MkII Mondeos are reliable cars, including the diesels. I've posted a representative link to back it up too.

Your quite entitled to post your views, but I'm equally entitled to challenge them if I feel they are incorrect and/or unfair.

Isn't it a MkIII the OP was looking at?

MCMLXXV

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Isn't it a MkIII the OP was looking at?

OBvious typo, I let it go, was tempting to claim the sentance made no sense though :pac:

Henry Ford III

RoverJames wrote: »

So of the three which do you think is the most reliable?

Inherently there's no significant difference between them I'd say. At that age though the quality and regularity of servicing could be an issue however.

Lol, fianna fail type answer.

Henry Ford III

RoverJames wrote: »

Lol, fianna fail type answer.

No it's a considered and reasonable answer, unlike yours.

colm_mcm

Get a pre D-4D Avensis. Suspension is simple, electronics are robust, the engine and gearbox is nigh on unburstable.

I got 600 miles from my last tank (all motorway) which is the most I've ever got.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

No it's a considered and reasonable answer, unlike yours.

It's also incorrect, which also makes it unlike mine

bigroad

i will second that on the avensis 2.0td.they are a very durable car .i know i drive one currently doing 850miles commute per week without fail.pick up a 00 with the lowest milage you can get .1500 will cover it and plenty left over for tax.

MidlandsM

Anan1 wrote: »

Perhaps, if you calculate value by simple 'make/model, age, miles' formula. In the real world, and assuming the OP needs good, reliable motoring for a few years, I think it's a very good buy at €2500.

but the seller does'nt want €2500, he wants top dollar, hence why it has'nt sold, so its no attainable to the OP. But I do agree on the 406hdi or Zantia hdi or c5 hdi. I've had a few, sold a few, great under-rated jammers.

RoverJames wrote: »

SO reliability wise they would be better than the other two, yes or no is fine as an answer.

Typically RJ feels the need to pre condition any answer?
But to give you an answer, Yes. Depending on the car the OP will buy and how it was maintained in the past and how it'd be looked after in the future. Also, servicing a tddi mondy is cheap, theres no belt change ever required and a service kit will be only €50 bobs or so (excluding brakes).
Its also a more comfortable ad safer car to be in in the event of a shunt.

MidlandsM

MidlandsM wrote: »

........



Typically RJ feels the need to pre condition any answer?
But to give you an answer, Yes. Depending on the car the OP will buy and how it was maintained in the past and how it'd be looked after in the future. Also, servicing a tddi mondy is cheap, theres no belt change ever required and a service kit will be only €50 bobs or so (excluding brakes).
Its also a more comfortable ad safer car to be in in the event of a shunt.

I felt the need to precondition the answer as I had an inkling you'd be blowing on about safety, price of service kits etc, none of which is relevant to the OPs question which was which would be more reliable. Seems as you are so keen to go down the price of the service kits, have you priced a DMF lately? Servicing a 1.9 Corolla is hardly going to be more expensive now is it? Nor a recently belted Bora.

The poll results are interesting at the moment, 9 - 5 in favour of the Corolla over the Mondeo.
I suppose Henry didn't vote as he reckoned the cars were inherently the same reliability wise.

andyseadog

just to update lads, the reliability of the mondeo put me right off to be honest, as we now know the corolla was clocked so that was that out and the bora was just too poverty spec, wind up windows for fook sake!

the search continues.

MidlandsM

RoverJames wrote: »

I felt the need to precondition the answer as I had an inkling you'd be blowing on about safety, price of service kits etc, none of which is relevant to the OPs question which was which would be more reliable. Seems as you are so keen to go down the price of the service kits, have you priced a DMF lately? Servicing a 1.9 Corolla is hardly going to be more expensive now is it? Nor a recently belted Bora.

The poll results are interesting at the moment, 9 - 5 in favour of the Corolla over the Mondeo.
I suppose Henry didn't vote as he reckoned the cars were inherently the same reliability wise.

Solid flywheel conversion kits for a mondeo is €230 at my ford dealers, i think thats one of the cheapest dmf replement kits around for any brand, don't see the issue and it reinforces my point about the parts being cheap for diesel fords. Also, whats the harm in expanding information and sharing my experience to to the OP. You are not a mod here or a big lad and you will not brow beat me or anyone else who posts here. More fool you if you try :rolleyes:

opinion guy

andyseadog wrote: »

just to update lads, the reliability of the mondeo put me right off to be honest, as we now know the corolla was clocked so that was that out and the bora was just too poverty spec, wind up windows for fook sake!

the search continues.

'ARRRRrrrrrr matey. A wise choice lest thar be treasure to be found next week

Anan1

MidlandsM wrote: »

but the seller does'nt want €2500, he wants top dollar, hence why it has'nt sold, so its no attainable to the OP. But I do agree on the 406hdi or Zantia hdi or c5 hdi. I've had a few, sold a few, great under-rated jammers.

The seller's asking €2850, he'll take €2500 or maybe even a bit under. I know it's a bit over what the OP wants to spend, but if there's any way they can stretch to the extra few hundred IMO it'd be money very well spent.

colm_mcm

I can see anans logic here. It'd kill me to spend that on a 406 but spending a few hundred can pay off down the line