Best MPG and tax in 08/09 cars?

Printer

Hi all

I have posted a few times here trying to find out about most economical cars so ill try again as I think I am gradually narrowing my search...

Which 2008/2009 cars in the A tax band have the best MPG?

I do a LOT of driving so looking for small diesel engine I think, must have really high MPG and really low tax! (its far more about economical driving than performance driving for me im afraid!)

If you can, please give exact make and model and the MPG figure. I have been trawling the net to find an article or something that covers this with no luck. I can find lists for "most economical" cars for 2011 but nothing for 2008 or 2009!

(any budding car journalists want to write an article???)

Compton

somehing like a polo bluemotion or fiesta diesel?

166man

VW Polo bluemotion would be the first car that springs to mind. Road tax is €104 for the year and it's supposed to do I think 88mpg although it probably hovers around the 60mpg mark.

The Mini Cooper D is also very economical and not that slow either. Road tax is €104 and I think it's supposed to do 72mpg.

BMW 1-Series -60mpg
Renault Clio 1.5 DCI -50-60mpg although the newer ones claim 70mpg
Ford Fiesta Econetic- 70mpg
Seat Ibiza Ecomotive- 80mpg

There's so many of these car's around this is just a few, depends on your budget really OP.

bazz26

Why are you limiting yourself to cars in Tax Band A?

Tax band B and C are €156 and €302 respectively which have lots of good cars. The country is gone nuts on low tax cars, people will spend thousands or more on a car yet will not consider it because it costs a few quid extra a year to tax. The laughable thing is the cheaper a car is to tax the more it costs to buy because of train of thought.

Motor tax is a very small percentage of the overall cost of running a car. Also just remember cheap tax will not be here for ever.

shedweller

To be fair, the OP did say he wanted really good mpg too. The low tax will go hand in hand with the high mpg.

80mpg or 3.5L/100k in a diesel is (at today's prices) 507 euro per 10,000km. An average diesel car does 5.5L/100k or 797 euro per 10,000km or a saving of 290 euro per 10,000km.
Given that the average driver does twice that, it means a saving of 580 euro per year on fuel alone.
If the OP does a lot of driving then........

colm_mcm

Depends on how the op drives. The tax and manufacturers mpg claims are based on specific criteria that the cars are engineered around.

Some band a cars might give poor consumption if you do 130kmph for example.

C4Kid

colm_mcm wrote: »

Depends on how the op drives. The tax and manufacturers mpg claims are based on specific criteria that the cars are engineered around.

Some band a cars might give poor consumption if you do 130kmph for example.

Exactly, it comes down to driving stlye, if driven right one can exceed the combined mpg figure.

On some good runs I get 2-3 mpg more than the combined mpg in the book.

commited

Why would you want to drive around in a shoebox for a "LOT" of miles?

I used to do 60k/year and would have gone insane doing it in a Polo! What do you currently drive and how many km's do you do per year?

Tea 1000

bazz26 wrote: »

Why are you limiting yourself to cars in Tax Band A?

Tax band B and C are €156 and €302 respectively which have lots of good cars. The country is gone nuts on low tax cars, people will spend thousands or more on a car yet will not consider it because it costs a few quid extra a year to tax. The laughable thing is the cheaper a car is to tax the more it costs to buy because of train of thought.

Motor tax is a very small percentage of the overall cost of running a car. Also just remember cheap tax will not be here for ever.

Exactly! I saw a 2009 Avensis the other day in a Toyota garage for €11k. Just because it was a 1.6 petrol which happened to be in the €630 tax bracket. There was a similar Corolla saloon diesel there for about 7 grand more. You'd be a long time making up the difference!!
Also OP, bear in mind that official figures are never really attainable. Anything that's listed here should give you over 50mpg without doing motorway speeds, and over 60mpg with careful driving, but if you start nit-picking to find the very best then you won't find it, because you'll have a particular driving style that might for example favour the Clio's engine more than the Polo or the Ibiza, or vice-versa.
Besides, 2 or 3 mpg is probably only worth €20 over a year!

Printer

Since I am the OP I can help with these questions...

Firstly thanks for the input. I currently own a Mazda Bongo 2.5L Diesel Converted Campervan that I am using as my main vehicle as I don't have another car since moving back home.

I do a lot of driving and this will increase even more next year. In my Bongo if I drive carefully I get about 28MPG so I want to get something that will be more like 60-70MPG as then I am making massive savings.

However, I do note your points about paying a bit extra for tax but unless I get something in lowest tax band and very high MPG its simply not worth getting another car as I only pay €88 tax on the Bongo.

The way I see it is that petrol and diesel are both only ever going to go up so the longer I leave it and keep driving my 28MPG Bongo (22MPG when driving in towns) then the more money I am losing out on. If I get a really really fuel efficient car with low emmissions and tax I can save a massive amount of money on diesel costs after about 2-3 years of driving it and then I can keep the Bongo for camping trips.

Suggestions:
The Seat Ibiza Ecomotive is not for sale in Ireland at all. As it is in same tax band as other Seat they decided not to sell it here.
Polo Bluemotion: Are these available in 2008/2009?

commited

How much is a lot of driving though?

If you're doing highish miles and cost is a concern then buying a relatively new supermini makes little sense as the depreciation will be horrific, especially putting a lot of miles onto the clock. Don't get caught up on the cost of tax, it's cost per mile including maintenance, depreciation, fuel and tax that need to be taken into account.

If I was you, I'd be looking at a Rover 75 diesel. Yes, the tax will cost 614e but you'll be able to get a decent one with fantastic spec for less than 2.5k. They'll do 50mpg so fuel costs will be easy to manage and it'll be a much nicer place to be than a poverty spec VAG supermini.

Too many people get caught up in the cost of tax and spend thousands trying to save a couple of hundred a year.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2655768

Printer

Yeh I see your point but it would be my view that why get a car that will cost €300 or more to tax per year when there are cars out there that have a higher MPG and lower tax?

The environmental aspect is also quite important to me so I do want to get a low emmissions car if I can.

You are right about taking servicing, maintenance and all that into account too though. Its not a straightforward decision.

Tea 1000

Printer wrote: »

Yeh I see your point but it would be my view that why get a car that will cost €300 or more to tax per year when there are cars out there that have a higher MPG and lower tax?

The environmental aspect is also quite important to me so I do want to get a low emmissions car if I can.

You are right about taking servicing, maintenance and all that into account too though. Its not a straightforward decision.

Because if you can buy a car for 3k that's 600 per year to tax, and you need to spend 12k to save 300 tax per year, then you'll have to drive that car for 30 years to make back the difference.

Printer

I was looking at it from point of view that if I buy a car for 2.5-3k that is 10 years old then I will have added headache of things going wrong, things needing replaced, NCTs etc.

Whereas if I get a 2009 small car, with low MPG and low tax then maybe I will save in 3-5 years as I hopefully wouldnt have to fork out on repairs, timing belts etc and NCTs. I know I would have to do NCT when its four years old but hopefully a newer car will fly through an NCT easier.

If we take the stance that I should go for older cheaper car....

Which car under 3k will be reliable, and economical?

166man

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Because if you can buy a car for 3k that's 600 per year to tax, and you need to spend 12k to save 300 tax per year, then you'll have to drive that car for 30 years to make back the difference.

Hardly 30 years, I'm sure the OP would then sell in a few years and get most of the money back on it. Small diesels are in high demand at the moment. However I think the idea of a 75diesel sounds about right. There's a lovely high spec diesel on donedeal at the moment for 5k.

C4Kid

166man wrote: »

Hardly 30 years, I'm sure the OP would then sell in a few years and get most of the money back on it. Small diesels are in high demand at the moment. However I think the idea of a 75diesel sounds about right. There's a lovely high spec diesel on donedeal at the moment for 5k.

I wouldn't see it as having a go at the Op, but he was just stating the facts and the truth is that so many people did just that.

commited

Printer wrote: »

Yeh I see your point but it would be my view that why get a car that will cost €300 or more to tax per year when there are cars out there that have a higher MPG and lower tax?

The environmental aspect is also quite important to me so I do want to get a low emmissions car if I can.

You are right about taking servicing, maintenance and all that into account too though. Its not a straightforward decision.

Do you have unlimited money to cover depreciation? You still haven't said how many K's you do per year so it's pretty impossible to give you any real advice!

If you sit down and look at the figures, you'll see that maintenance on an older vehicle (but a good condition example) pales in comparison to depreciation. The cheapest golf bluemotions I can see are 3 years old nearly 100k on the clock and around €11500. Assuming you put 30000 miles on this per year, depreciation will be massive as who will want to buy an old golf with 200k on the clock in 3 years? Certainly not the people who pay big bucks for small cars.. It'll probably be worth €4000 at the most so that's 2.5k/year depreciation. Also, newer cars aren't exempt from the NCT and also need similar levels of maintenance. To be honest, new diesels - especially the ones with complicated systems to achieve low tax rates will be a fairly big headache in a few years. Also, remember timing belts are linked to mileage rather than age.

However, 2.5k initial outlay for a car will equate to just €750/year depreciation (assuming vehicle is worth scrap value at the end), an instant saving of €1250/year (after tax difference) + the cost of financing the more expensive vehicle. That 1750 will pay for the 15mpg difference in fuel consumption and higher age related maintenance required. You also get to drive around in relative luxury compared to a bog standard Golf.

Theoretically, it can be argued that it's more environmentally friendly as most of the carbon footprint of a vehicle occurs in the production and the 75 doesn't emit much CO2 anyway.

If you want to just look at the cost, and nothing relating to comfort, buy a €500 Citroen AX diesel. As someone who did over 200k in the space of 4 years in various new vehicles, I know how much they break and I know how important it is to be comfortable!!

Paddy@CIRL

OP,

Don't disregard a car just because it doesn't fall under the low CO2 tax bracket. I recently bought a 2006 BMW 320D M Sport, a one owner car with full BMW service history, 40,000 miles and every extra available on that particular model for €12,500 with a six month warranty from an SIMI dealer. It costs €614 to tax per annum.

However, if I was to source a 2008 model with similar spec to my own I'd be looking at paying anything up to nearly €22,000 based on this car which has nearly double the mileage of my own - http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320-D-M-/201107201246514/advert?channel=CARS

That's over TWELVE YEARS worth of road tax in the difference of price (after you've haggled money of the price) and that's before you factor in how much the newer car will depreciate.

Shopping for a new car can be nightmare, but just keep your eyes and mind open and you won't go wrong.

166man

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

OP,

Don't disregard a car just because it doesn't fall under the low CO2 tax bracket. I recently bought a 2006 BMW 320D M Sport, a one owner car with full BMW service history, 40,000 miles and every extra available on that particular model for €12,500 with a six month warranty from an SIMI dealer. It costs €614 to tax per annum.

However, if I was to source a 2008 model with similar spec to my own I'd be looking at paying anything up to nearly €22,000 based on this car which has nearly double the mileage of my own - http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320-D-M-/201107201246514/advert?channel=CARS

That's over TWELVE YEARS worth of road tax in the difference of price (after you've haggled money of the price) and that's before you factor in how much the newer car will depreciate.

Shopping for a new car can be nightmare, but just keep your eyes and mind open and you won't go wrong.

Very true what you say about the pre 08 cars anyway. I mean €600 a year is 50 quid a month, the same as a phone bill for many people. If the OP can't afford €50 a month it would be interesting how he could spend €15k on a new car. In the general scheme of things €50 is not alot each month.

mullingar

@op,

Its all down to cost-per-km.

I drive a 98 GS300, a 24mpg 3.0 petrol automatic (€1300/tax) doing around 10kmiles/yr.
It is hard to believe it is roughly €1,000/yr cheaper to run than my dad's 09 Diesel Focus with €156/tax, purchased new, doing the same annual mileage when depreciation/tax/maintenance/insurance etc is factored in! :eek:

OK, if I was doing 20kmiles/year it would be a lot more expensive;)


My advice, sit down and do the full annual maintenance/fuel/tax/insurance costings and make the depreciation figure realistic

Printer

Hey everyone

Thanks again for the advice. I totally see where you are all coming from and im happy to admit my short sightedness!

Now I really feel back to square 1 though....

At the moment I do about 25,000km per year, I think next year it will be more like 30-35000km though. I know that is not the highest mileage ever by any means compared to what some of you guys rack up.

I would be looking at keeping the car for approximately 3 years and then getting something newer and bigger probably.

For me it is just that at the moment I feel like all I ever do is pump diesel into my Mazda Bongo and Im dying to have something more economical to drive around that will not cost me the world to run and insure!

What do you guys think of these new PCP deals where you effectively rent a new car for 3 years and then sell it back to company at price you agreed when it was bought. I know depreciation on new cars is crazy but is there not some piece of mind in terms of having a 5 or 7 year warranty?

Assuming you are all going to shout me down for that last suggestion...

What would you recommend I buy:
Comfortable
Cheap to run
Cheap to insure
Will make it worth my while having a second car on top of my Bongo!!

Printer

Any ideas?

Audi A4 1.9 Diesel 2002/2003?? Would that be best to go for?

commited

25k/year isn't a lot but if you're getting up to 35k then it might be worth it.

I'd stay away from PCP deals etc as they have a penalty for doing higher than normal mileage.

I reiterate my recommendation of a Rover 75 diesel, they're bloody good cars - massively underrated and therefore lovely and cheap. My father had a V6 one from new years ago and they're incredibly comfortable to drive, the Jag S-type he replaced it with wasn't a huge leap ahead like he expected. If I was looking to buy a mile muncher for sub 4k, I'd be looking for the nicest, high spec 75 CDTi with a manual box (less problems and more MPG).

Just go out and test drive anything that looks decent. The A4s aren't bad cars, but are pretty overpriced for what they are. BMW 320d's are good cars but their injectors/turbo's/swirl flaps like to go.

You should be able to insure your bongo pretty cheaply as a second car btw.

Printer

Cool thanks. Is there anything about insurance if you have two cars in your name and you are main driver on both??

There is a large thread going on Rover 75 here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056451922&page=3

Diesel version pre 2002 sounds like it gets most thumbs up alright. I just have to work out all the numbers about how much it will cost me to run..

Anyone know how to convert MPG figure into yearly spend based on todays prices? Converting miles and gallons to kilometers and euros not my strong point...

commited

Cool thanks. Is there anything about insurance if you have two cars in your name and you are main driver on both??

There is a large thread going on Rover 75 here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...6451922&page=3

Diesel version pre 2002 sounds like it gets most thumbs up alright. I just have to work out all the numbers about how much it will cost me to run..

Anyone know how to convert MPG figure into yearly spend based on todays prices? Converting miles and gallons to kilometers and euros not my strong point...

Well your best bet insurance wise would be to make the 75 your main car, and put the camper on a limited mileage policy. I'd imagine there are specialists out there, join/contact a caravan/camper club - they'll have contacts. If it's anything like classic insurance, it should only be a few hundred/year.

50 mpg means 80 kms per 4.54litres, or 5.7l/100km. If diesel is 1.40/litre, makes it 8c/km.

The other costs you'll have to consider over the camper will be tax, net extra insurance cost, maintenance incl tyres (although I'd imagine the bongo would require similar maintenance for similar mileage, if not more) and of course depreciation.

ottostreet

E39 530d!

Power, economy, style & comfort...you'll pick one up for 5k or so. Yeah tax is a grand, but so what? You've a savage car then, not a ****ty Polo!

commited

ottostreet wrote: »

E39 530d!

Power, economy, style & comfort...you'll pick one up for 5k or so. Yeah tax is a grand, but so what? You've a savage car then, not a ****ty Polo!

Agreed, an absolutely awesome car and I miss mine, but it's not exactly cheap to run which is what the OP is concerned with. I bought mine 4 years old and spent nearly 3k in maintenance over 6 months/18k and that was without the turbo/injector/swirl flap issues rearing their head. Now the youngest are 8 years old and a lot have fallen into peoples hands who can't afford to run them properly.

coolbeans

Off topic I know but Mazda Bongo has got to be the best name for a car ever conceived.

maidhc

coolbeans wrote: »

Off topic I know but Mazda Bongo has got to be the best name for a car ever conceived.

Give it it's proper title: Mazda Bongo Friendee!

Printer

Mazda Bongo Friendees are very underrated in this country and do not have the cult following and love they do in the UK. I love mine, amazing to drive around and you can live in it!!

Anyway back to what I should buy....

I'm thinking more about the PCP option with Seat or Volkswagen. That way I have a very economical car to drive for 3 years with low monthly costs and guaranteed buy back value after 3 years...

Thoughts?

commited

No point in asking for thoughts without giving any details of the costs involved. You appear to be fixated on fuel cost again.

As I said, PCP's generally come with huge over mileage penalities. We had to pay over 25% of a cars NEW value in penalties for going over the agreed mileage after our lease (nearly 10k).

Post up the costs and terms and then I can help. Otherwise it's purely guess work. Alternatively, if you want a new car, then get one. Don't mask it under the pretence that you've done it to save money as overall, you won't have.

Bigus

Printer wrote: »

I was looking at it from point of view that if I buy a car for 2.5-3k that is 10 years old then I will have added headache of things going wrong, things needing replaced, NCTs etc.

Whereas if I get a 2009 small car, with low MPG and low tax then maybe I will save in 3-5 years as I hopefully wouldnt have to fork out on repairs, timing belts etc and NCTs. I know I would have to do NCT when its four years old but hopefully a newer car will fly through an NCT easier.

If we take the stance that I should go for older cheaper car....

Which car under 3k will be reliable, and economical?

Look at a Pruis
Comfortable and automatic no diesel rattle/vibration an no noise at idle
Some models have Cruse control
High safety rating
€357 tax pre 08 €104 post 08
Will do a real word 55mpg for an average driver and a recent irish convert is getting 63 regularly
No Timing belt
No Turbo
No dual mass flywheel
No high pressure injectors or fuel pumps to fail
Brake pads last 100,000 miles Discs 200k plus
Post 03 batteries don't fail either and can last 700,000km
As regards emissions they pollute much less than a diesel especially no N0X & no particulate emissions

2004/2005 €4~5k 2007 6~7k and 08 8~10k
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056163251

Printer

Good info about the Prius there.

I punched some numbers last night and it looks like this.

Based on mileage of 26000km per year I would spend:

Approx €4000 on fuel in my Mazda Bongo.
If i switch to a car giving me around 50-55MPG then I would spend approx €1900 so a saving of €2100 per year.

If I get a newer car with higher MPG of around 70MPG then I would spend about €1600 on fuel so a saving of €2400 per year.

Given that fuel prices are guaranteed to rise over the next 12 months I think you could add another €100 to those savings easily.

So if I bought another car with good MPG I think I am looking at saving anything from €6500-€7500 for 3 years on fuel. Now the tricky part of working out should I get a new (ish) car with very high MPG and low tax for 3 years on PCP scheme and then hand it back or do I spend €4000-€5000 on an older car that will give me around 50MPG so I will make my money back on MPG.

In response to question about "do I want a new car"... I don't know to be honest. I don't think so. I do want something smaller than the Bongo for everyday driving though as city parking etc is a nightmare. No matter what I do it is going to cost me more to have 2 vehicles on the road than 1 but I need to figure out what option I should go for in terms of that second vehicle.

Anyone got any views on Opel Astra Sport 1.3 litre diesel (2005-2006) as it seems you can get these for about 5-6k and I heard MPG is over 50. Is this a lie??

EPM

Its wishful thinking if you think a lot of cars do 70mpg. Check fully.com for a real world idea. It might help with your calculations.

ottostreet

26000km? Sure you're only driving up the road! I do far more than that, and I'm driving an MR2...lucky if I'm averaging 30mpg...buy something fun and enjoy yourself, your mileage isnt that high. Then thank me later when you walk out to your car grinning going 'yay I get to drive this to work now' and all the bitches be trippin' to be in the passenger seat of your snazzy coupe instead of them just going 'OOOOOHHHH YOU'VE GOT A POLO, I AM SO TURNED ON, TELL ME MORE, oh so it does 63mpg instead of 60mpg...well aren't you a practical fellow, allow me to bed you please'.

Whcih would you rather be man? Think about this? Balls to the wall sportscar man, or 63mpg Polo man? You're young, enjoy yourself, think practically when you have 4 kids and think that you might need a pension.

Printer

Brilliant!!

Call me boring but I'm just not the sportscar type of guy I'm afraid. Looking at diesel prices today, it looks like Diesel will go throgh 1.60 per litre in next 12 months so it really is time to get more efficient car.

You're right though, I do want a car that is appealing to the eye and I am a fan of the 3 door hatchbacks and coupes...

I do like the Opel Astra Sport for looks and also the SEAT Leon for looks too. The sooner I get myself a second car the better I think, as long as I get something that will average over 50MPG I will be making big savings against the Bongo.

I want to keep engine size smallish though for insurance, I only have 1 year no claims at the minute.

Right...

What cars do you recommend in this bracket:
Over 55MPG
Diesel
Small engine
Under €8000 to buy
Reliable
Looks good
Will hold a bit of value in 3 years time

barura

Printer wrote: »

Brilliant!!

Call me boring but I'm just not the sportscar type of guy I'm afraid. Looking at diesel prices today, it looks like Diesel will go throgh 1.60 per litre in next 12 months so it really is time to get more efficient car.

You're right though, I do want a car that is appealing to the eye and I am a fan of the 3 door hatchbacks and coupes...

I do like the Opel Astra Sport for looks and also the SEAT Leon for looks too. The sooner I get myself a second car the better I think, as long as I get something that will average over 50MPG I will be making big savings against the Bongo.

I want to keep engine size smallish though for insurance, I only have 1 year no claims at the minute.

Right...

What cars do you recommend in this bracket:
Over 55MPG
Diesel
Small engine
Under €8000 to buy
Reliable
Looks good
Will hold a bit of value in 3 years time

2005 Skoda Octavia 1.9Tdi, no remap. It will not lose much, you'd get a fair hunk of change from 8k and it will do easily 50mpg motorway.

Why a small engine? Big engines can be efficient too you know. A 08 or 09 car will depreciate faster than you can say "hotcakes".

shedweller

Printer, If you are looking for something with a small diesel engine AND reliability, you need to check out cars with the 1ND-TV engine. It's a 1.4 turbodiesel and in my one i consistently get about 1200 to 1300km per 43 litres, depending on the weather. I don't particularly baby the engine and do mostly open road journeys at 100kph. The couple of school runs on a monday drag my mileage down a bit but i'm not complaining!

It has a timing chain instead of a belt and the car has given me zero trouble in the three years i have it. Maintenance consists of fluids and filters, brake pipe inspections, check tyres, bulbs. Passes nct no problem.

The lads on here touting the bmw 530d don't mention how much it costs to service them. Little things like how much the gearbox oil costs, for example, seem to not get much mention. Post #27 above goes some way towards mentioning the costs/hassle of owning a 530d but thats about it really. Lovely looking car alright but you'd need a larger than normal (for some anyway) reserve of cash for unforseen and regular maintenance.

shedweller

barura wrote: »

2005 Skoda Octavia 1.9Tdi, no remap. It will not lose much, you'd get a fair hunk of change from 8k and it will do easily 50mpg motorway.

Why a small engine? Big engines can be efficient too you know. A 08 or 09 car will depreciate faster than you can say "hotcakes".

Great car and all but it won't do more than 55mpg without extreme measures. A smaller diesel engine will use far less fuel while driven normally. It has plenty of power too. Depreciation is small. I bought my yoke three years ago for 5700 and they are going for about 5000 today.:)

barura

shedweller wrote: »

Great car and all but it won't do more than 55mpg without extreme measures. A smaller diesel engine will use far less fuel while driven normally. It has plenty of power too. Depreciation is small. I bought my yoke three years ago for 5700 and they are going for about 5000 today.:)

What year was your car in the first place?

Also, I meant that as an example. There is also the 1.3 Fiat Multijet engine that's pretty snazzy as well.

If I had my say I'd go for a small engined petrol car from early 00's, but hey, that's me!

Printer

shedweller wrote: »

Great car and all but it won't do more than 55mpg without extreme measures. A smaller diesel engine will use far less fuel while driven normally. It has plenty of power too. Depreciation is small. I bought my yoke three years ago for 5700 and they are going for about 5000 today.:)

Yeh I did look at Skoda Octavia but tax will be about 600 per year as opposed to 150-300 in smaller engine. That kind of defeats the purpose then.

shedweller wrote: »

Printer, If you are looking for something with a small diesel engine AND reliability, you need to check out cars with the 1ND-TV engine. It's a 1.4 turbodiesel and in my one i consistently get about 1200 to 1300km per 43 litres, depending on the weather. I don't particularly baby the engine and do mostly open road journeys at 100kph. The couple of school runs on a monday drag my mileage down a bit but i'm not complaining!

It has a timing chain instead of a belt and the car has given me zero trouble in the three years i have it. Maintenance consists of fluids and filters, brake pipe inspections, check tyres, bulbs. Passes nct no problem.

The lads on here touting the bmw 530d don't mention how much it costs to service them. Little things like how much the gearbox oil costs, for example, seem to not get much mention. Post #27 above goes some way towards mentioning the costs/hassle of owning a 530d but thats about it really. Lovely looking car alright but you'd need a larger than normal (for some anyway) reserve of cash for unforseen and regular maintenance.

What car do you have then? Give me some names of cars that have these 1ND-TV diesel engines in them that fall into my price range and desires!

Sounds really good...

Any other recommendations for me:

What cars do you recommend in this bracket:
Over 55MPG
Diesel
Small engine
Under €8000 to buy
Reliable
Looks good
Will hold a bit of value in 3 years time

shedweller

barura wrote: »

What year was your car in the first place?

Also, I meant that as an example. There is also the 1.3 Fiat Multijet engine that's pretty snazzy as well.

If I had my say I'd go for a small engined petrol car from early 00's, but hey, that's me!

It was a 2004 d4d yaris. I havent looked at its carzone price in the last month or so but it was holding up well till then!

shedweller

Printer, i have a 2004 1.4 d4d yaris. Not for everyone but it has its uses. The corolla of the same age has the same engine. I think that engine continues in some cars today.
Here's a link for more info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_ND_engine#1ND-TV
You wont get any haynes manuals on it but you wont need it anyway!

barura

Printer wrote: »

Yeh I did look at Skoda Octavia but tax will be about 600 per year as opposed to 150-300 in smaller engine. That kind of defeats the purpose then.

No it doesn't, as I was recommending something that you would lose way less depreciation on and be just as reliable, with good economy in a tried and tested engine! Even with the cheaper tax, if you have that car for 3 years and trade up again, you'd be in a stronger position I would feel as you would have saved so much more initially.

The difference between 660 and 300 is 360 a year for 3 years would be only just past a grand, yet you are saving at least 3k on your initial purchase! That's 2k in my book!

Just try and see it from all angles. You could be saving a bit of money!

Printer

Yaris could be a good option alright. Check this one out:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Yaris/D4D-1.4-/201137204401937/advert?channel=CARS

Octavia for around €5000:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Octavia/TDI,NEW-/201136204351670/advert?channel=CARS

Yaris would be €250 per year cheaper to tax and looks like Yaris would get better MPG but then again Octavia is probably nicer car (for me anyway).

PS Still waiting to see what people think of Opel Astra 1.3 diesel Sport model. What kind of MPG does it get? Is it reliable?

166man

This would work except it's on 07' but still tax is hardly that bad

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/Polo/1.4-TDI-/201125202967528/advert?channel=CARS

Should hold some value in three years time too.

beazee

EPM wrote: »

Its wishful thinking if you think a lot of cars do 70mpg. Check fully.com for a real world idea. It might help with your calculations.

www.fuelly.com
or
www.spritmonitor.com

commited

Printer wrote: »

Yeh I did look at Skoda Octavia but tax will be about 600 per year as opposed to 150-300 in smaller engine. That kind of defeats the purpose then.

So you're back to this way of thinking. Have you not taken any of the advice on this thread? You seem to be trying to make a decision based on MPG & tax again and you hardly do huge mileage anyway. I've done 35k in the last 12 months and feel like the car has barely been on the road (car does 20mpg).

There is still the point of using a tiny car for long distance trips, I've done it and they're no where near as relaxing as a larger car. You're going to crucify the value of car by putting on nearly 80k over 3 years, this is something you need to accept and move on from. Either take some advice from this thread and actually do the sums of how ALL of the options open to you work out, or just walk down the road and buy the first small hatchback with a diesel engine that you see.

Want cheap to run & tax? I've had 64 mpg out of one of these on a run. Average around town is about 38mpg, and on national roads you're looking at about 50mpg. My mother has had one for 6 trouble free years so far. Surprisingly practical too, so might appeal to the side of you that likes the bongo.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2722068
Not what I would pick of course, but I thought I'd throw a reliable petrol into the mix with all of these (potentially expensive to maintain) diesels!

shedweller

Committed, have you even read my posts? I spent 5700 on my car THREE years ago and they are going for about 5000 now. Maintenance consists of fluids and filters and thats it.
No swirl flaps, no random crap failing, DMF, injectors,turbo, no nothing.
I spend 20 euro per week on diesel commuting 110km return 4 times a week, alongside a school run once a week and one or two odd short trips.
3.2 to 3.5L/100k per tank. It is VERY cheap to run no matter what way you look at it.
Not the best looking car but hey, i have a house to run. When the kids bugger off to college then i'll look at something more desirable.
Horses for courses.

commited

shedweller wrote: »

Committed, have you even read my posts? I spent 5700 on my car THREE years ago and they are going for about 5000 now. Maintenance consists of fluids and filters and thats it.
No swirl flaps, no random crap failing, DMF, injectors,turbo, no nothing.
I spend 20 euro per week on diesel commuting 110km return 4 times a week, alongside a school run once a week and one or two odd short trips.
3.2 to 3.5L/100k per tank. It is VERY cheap to run no matter what way you look at it.
Not the best looking car but hey, i have a house to run. When the kids bugger off to college then i'll look at something more desirable.
Horses for courses.

I did and this wasn't in response to your post, it was to the OP so calm down.
Sounds like you did well buying your car for 5700 three years ago. Can you buy a 2007 for 5700 now? Nope. So effectively, you got a great deal 3 years ago and that's not the norm. Cheapest 07 is 9450 with 39k on the clock, so realistic depreciation is 1500euro/year.
Just to clarify, your car has a turbo & injectors, which can fail!

I have no doubt that you've had a fantastic experience with your car, and I didn't recommend at all that he ignore your suggestion. However, the Yaris was designed to be a town car, not for doing long distances, it would certainly drive me insane. If he can handle that, then I have no doubt that your suggestion to the OP is a suitable one. 73mpg is impressive.

Printer

Hey guys

Thanks for all the advice, I do appreciate it all and will have to really sit down and do the sums before I decide which option to go for. It won't be until January at the earliest so I will keep a look out for all the options you guys have put forward.

Thanks