What to buy :)

Obsolete01

Hello all,

I am looking to buy diesel and am unsure as to what to get so I have come here for advise. I want reliability/comfort and something that looks good also

I do approx 400 miles per week and have narrowed it down to the below few and any advise given would be greatly appreciated please folks.

BMW 520d M-Sport - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4798177
Ford Mondeo Titanium - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4829945
Opel Insignia - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4949681
Audi A4 S-Line - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4866077

miller50841

BMW me thinks

colm_mcm

I'd have my concerns with a 520d and its timing chain.

EazyD

Alfa 159 would be my choice

Mister Jingles

Looks wise the Mondeo is the nicest in its Titanium spec imo, the audi and bmw are nearly as common as a taxi mans Avensis these days.

declan_8

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Hello all,

I am looking to buy diesel and am unsure as to what to get so I have come here for advise. I want reliability/comfort and something that looks good also

I do approx 400 miles per week and have narrowed it down to the below few and any advise given would be greatly appreciated please folks.

BMW 520d M-Sport - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4798177
Ford Mondeo Titanium - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4829945
Opel Insignia - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4949681
Audi A4 S-Line - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4866077

First off nice selection.

Some things I would consider though,

Bmw 520d - if you've done your research you'll be aware of the problems with the timing chains on that vintage, 177bhp. Can be expensive repair job but there is a thread going at present that has them replaced for a decent price by an independent in dublin. Apart from this they are a nice motor with decent power and space. Buy the 2007 version to avoid the timing chain problem but then your tax is 400 a year more expensive. Swings and roundabouts comes to mind.

Mondeo - looks good but you have the right spec with the titanium. Without it they look bland in my eyes. Lots of space too might even have a bigger boot and better access to it also if you kids with push chairs.

Insignia - look good but I've heard mixed feedback on these from different owners.

Audi a4 - a favourite on the irish roads but suffer the same expensive repairs as the bmw if anything goes wrong. We have one of these in the family and its given plenty of issues. I wouldn't be buying that particular one given the miles. Miles are miles at the end of the day no matter of motorway or not.

I'd also consider a passat cc or Honda accord gt version. Honda especially come highly recommended although the styling is not for everybody. The passat is a rare motor on the roads but looks the part and I don't here too many complaining about them on here which is a good start.

Bottom line though no matter what you buy ensure it has been well serviced and cared for as I do believe today's motors need TLC more than their predecessors.

The Pontiac

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Hello all,

I am looking to buy diesel and am unsure as to what to get so I have come here for advise. I want reliability/comfort and something that looks good also

I do approx 400 miles per week and have narrowed it down to the below few and any advise given would be greatly appreciated please folks.

BMW 520d M-Sport - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4798177
Ford Mondeo Titanium - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4829945
Opel Insignia - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4949681
Audi A4 S-Line - http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4866077

I'd get a history check on that BMW as it's a UK import.

The drivers seat looks like it has a lot of bottom wear for 67k miles.

Obsolete01

declan_8 wrote: »

First off nice selection.

Some things I would consider though,

Bmw 520d - if you've done your research you'll be aware of the problems with the timing chains on that vintage, 177bhp. Can be expensive repair job but there is a thread going at present that has them replaced for a decent price by an independent in dublin. Apart from this they are a nice motor with decent power and space. Buy the 2007 version to avoid the timing chain problem but then your tax is 400 a year more expensive. Swings and roundabouts comes to mind.

Mondeo - looks good but you have the right spec with the titanium. Without it they look bland in my eyes. Lots of space too might even have a bigger boot and better access to it also if you kids with push chairs.

Insignia - look good but I've heard mixed feedback on these from different owners.

Audi a4 - a favourite on the irish roads but suffer the same expensive repairs as the bmw if anything goes wrong. We have one of these in the family and its given plenty of issues. I wouldn't be buying that particular one given the miles. Miles are miles at the end of the day no matter of motorway or not.

I'd also consider a passat cc or Honda accord gt version. Honda especially come highly recommended although the styling is not for everybody. The passat is a rare motor on the roads but looks the part and I don't here too many complaining about them on here which is a good start.

Bottom line though no matter what you buy ensure it has been well serviced and cared for as I do believe today's motors need TLC more than their predecessors.

Yea I have heard about the timing chain issues but everything has issues now a days like tbh. I have no kids and wont for a long long time so this is purely for my own comfort I have gone through the whole evo, Subaru stage now and want power and comfort

I have a friend that works for BMW and he said you will hear the rattle when the engine is cold and to replace your talking 1k incl parts and labour.

I only put those url's up to give an idea as to what #I was thinking about really I don't really wanna go over 14k

declan_8

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Yea I have heard about the timing chain issues but everything has issues now a days like tbh. I have no kids and wont for a long long time so this is purely for my own comfort I have gone through the whole evo, Subaru stage now and want power and comfort

I have a friend that works for BMW and he said you will hear the rattle when the engine is cold and to replace your talking 1k incl parts and labour.

I only put those url's up to give an idea as to what #I was thinking about really I don't really wanna go over 14k

It's difficult to find the right combo for power & fuel consumption without going over board. If 14k is your budget then step back in years and pick up a 520d nd remap it instead of trying to find a 2008 for 14k just for tax. The 2008 car you will get for your budget will more than likely have high miles especially if its a 520 or a4 your looking to pick up. Plenty of them around but just massive miles covered taken in from the uk.

ninty9er

Get the Mondeo. If you can get a higher specced one than that example even better.

You won't regret it and if high specced it will be genuinely rarer than any of the other options.

Obsolete01

Or what about a top spec golf 2008/2009 maybe a gt tdi version

declan_8

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Or what about a top spec golf 2008/2009 maybe a gt tdi version

Your heading in a different direction with this one :P

You prob need to pin down exactly what you need from the car. Is it power and fuel consumption or moderate power and comfort. From your original selection it seemed your going towards comfort, space and moderate power. A gt golf will feel more powerful but less comfort.
The golf will be a solid car, I've had two gt's in the past and loved them both. Difficult to get a nicely spec'd one but maybe something like
http://www.usedcarsni.com/111340404

Something a little different
http://www.usedcarsni.com/109124496

Obsolete01

declan_8 wrote: »

Your heading in a different direction with this one :P

You prob need to pin down exactly what you need from the car. Is it power and fuel consumption or moderate power and comfort. From your original selection it seemed your going towards comfort, space and moderate power. A gt golf will feel more powerful but less comfort.
The golf will be a solid car, I've had two gt's in the past and loved them both. Difficult to get a nicely spec'd one but maybe something like
http://www.usedcarsni.com/111340404

Something a little different
http://www.usedcarsni.com/109124496

What I want is the below:
- Minimum 140bhp
- Reliable diesel car that can do 500 miles per week without habing to worry about chain/turbo issues evertime I drive it
- looks well stands out like your MSport's/Sline/Gt Tdi's of this world

allinthehead

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4794264

166man

allinthehead wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4794264

Nice car but you'd want to be nearly all on motorway for the 4-500 miles the OP is doing as the suspension is hard enough. Add in big wheels and tyres and it's not going to be the most comfortable or economical way to do the miles.

Looks great though.

Obsolete01

allinthehead wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4794264

No I am not an alfa fan at all....just feel they wouldn't be reliable at all

166man

Obsolete01 wrote: »

No I am not an alfa fan at all....just feel they wouldn't be reliable at all

Best to stick to the reliable German diesels then.

MuppetCheck

Obsolete01 wrote: »

No I am not an alfa fan at all....just feel they wouldn't be reliable at all

Nothing better or worse than the anything else mentioned to be honest. Bar some design flaws inherent to a particular engine or something the differences in reliability across different makes for the most part is negligible.

bazz26

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Yea I have heard about the timing chain issues but everything has issues now a days like tbh. I have no kids and wont for a long long time so this is purely for my own comfort I have gone through the whole evo, Subaru stage now and want power and comfort

I have a friend that works for BMW and he said you will hear the rattle when the engine is cold and to replace your talking 1k incl parts and labour.

I only put those url's up to give an idea as to what #I was thinking about really I don't really wanna go over 14k

Have a read of this thread, it would cost more than €1k to put right.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056920272

Better off with the older M47 engine (163bhp) like this one below, it doesn't have leather but has upgraded sports seats which are way nicer than the standard SE seats.


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/BMW/5-Series/520-D/34013640748962160/

robtri

http://m.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=31913594652413810

robtri

Stretching it a bit here, but nice motor
http://m.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201302211870473

krank

Obsolete01 wrote: »

I have a friend that works for BMW and he said you will hear the rattle when the engine is cold and to replace your talking 1k incl parts and labour.

I know someone who needed to replace the timing chain on their 5 series diesel. Granted the quote came from a dealer but it was very, very far north of 1k.

Obsolete01

See the problem with me is I have to get top spec like Msport/Sline/Gt Tdi etc.....

I found myself looking at M3's the other day caus I am getting fed up mot knowing what to get. I thought that having 14k to spend would be enough to get myself a good everyday diesel but no luck yet.

That 1k was for replacing the chain but if it broke that's a different story.

Actually I never thought of Mercedes or Jaguar.....how do they compare to others??????

bazz26

If you want a reliable diesel car then buy a petrol car. :pac:

Obsolete01

krank wrote: »

I know someone who needed to replace the timing chain on their 5 series diesel. Granted the quote came from a dealer but it was very, very far north of 1k.

I know the fella very well and he said 1k would be plenty to cover it

krank

Obsolete01 wrote: »

I know the fella very well and he said 1k would be plenty to cover it

Maybe, if the cost of the chain itself was close to that and labour was reasonable. Dealer quote was colossal.

Reliability aside, I think they're too common. 14k should get you a lot of Volvo if you're so inclined

robtri

Obsolete01 wrote: »

See the problem with me is I have to get top spec like Msport/Sline/Gt Tdi etc.....

I found myself looking at M3's the other day caus I am getting fed up mot knowing what to get. I thought that having 14k to spend would be enough to get myself a good everyday diesel but no luck yet.

That 1k was for replacing the chain but if it broke that's a different story.

Actually I never thought of Mercedes or Jaguar.....how do they compare to others??????

The jag is supposed to be excellent, and the xj is a beautiful looking car

EazyD

166man wrote: »

Nice car but you'd want to be nearly all on motorway for the 4-500 miles the OP is doing as the suspension is hard enough. Add in big wheels and tyres and it's not going to be the most comfortable or economical way to do the miles.

Looks great though.

Exact same one I was looking at, pricey but the white really does the car justice!

Wetbench4

This car even has a fridge in it http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4591337

_Kaiser_

Passat CC maybe? Not that many out there, generally decent spec and should handle the miles with ease.

Photoshop

Obsolete01 wrote: »

What I want is the below:
- Minimum 140bhp
- Reliable diesel car that can do 500 miles per week without habing to worry about chain/turbo issues evertime I drive it
- looks well stands out like your MSport's/Sline/Gt Tdi's of this world

I don't know about the all the ones listed.

None of them even seem to have warranties?

Your forking out over 15k and doing 500 miles a week, I would want a warranty.

Financially would it be better to buy brand new?

Mitsubishi are now offering a 8 year, 100k miles warranty.

21k for below

Engine is great too, 1.8 diesel, 150bhp, variable valve timing, double overhead cam engine.



http://www.mitsubishi-motors.ie/configurator/index.cfm?fuseaction=mitsubishi.overview&modelID=167&bodyID=4248

belcampprisoner

you need more reliable cat than

Supergurrier

That's an Evo though

Normal lancer looks alot different, that being said it's an impressive spec for the money even if their website is very clunky to use

Obsolete01

Nah don't like the look of those lancers......evos yes diesel no :-)

Photoshop

Supergurrier wrote: »

That's an Evo though

Normal lancer looks alot different, that being said it's an impressive spec for the money even if their website is very clunky to use

It's the Evo type kit, sideskirts, bonnet scoop, painted brake calipers etc.

Only 1.5k for the kit.

Salesman offered me the car for 19.7k or 21k including the kit.

Lovely looking car for 21k and the 150bhp diesel engine has plenty of potential.

Obsolete01

What are yere thoughts on Insignia like the one below for example ?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4924852

Dont know much about them and never owned an Opel - well i owned a Nova but not sure if that counts

bonzos

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/S60/D5/201310212816795/advert?channel=CARS

S60 Anyone?

bazz26

Ford Mondeo Titanium X:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Ford/Mondeo/2.0-TITANIUM/35113674894257170/

colm_mcm

Jaysus, the dash on the mondeo really does look like an Alba stereo system from 1996.

gowley

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/7-Series/730-LD-S/33913642296872270/advert?channel=CARS

Obsolete01

Any thoughts on what the insignia's are like

R.O.R

Obsolete01 wrote: »

Any thoughts on what the insignia's are like

They are OK. That one looks like a 2009 Model year, so it should drive well - it's before they introduced the ecoFLEX stuff that made a total mess of the performance.

Not increadibly reliable, but not that un-reliable either. Haven't really driven that many SRI models, but the SE models can be a bit on the firm side, and the huge tyres do tend to tramline quite a bit. Sports Seats in the SRI are much better than the standard seats in the other versions.

The S60 you linked is a strange one. Private sale, but the pictures are outside HB Dennis You'd also be looking at a sizeable bill to tax it every year. Reg looks like an import so hard to tell if it's taxed on engine size or emissions, but engine size would be €1,034 per year, and I've CO2 emissions on a D5 Geartronic of 199g that gives €1,200 on emissions. Probably a nice motor to drive with all that torque, but there were issues with Electrics on quite a few of the S60's, and the interior is very old skool in comparison to others you are looking at.

Obsolete01

Drove a 2010 skoda superb this evening and I have to admit it was unbelievably comfortable.......it was 1.9tdi 130bhp 5 speed. I see there are also 2.0tdi 140 & 170 bhp ones oit there aswell.

Any advise as I think I am going to buy one

colm_mcm

Get that, the 1.9 is a erm. Superb engine for reliability in these days of common rail nonsense. If its a 130hp and the spec is nice, and you don't get sick at the sight of the rear end styling, then go for it!


I thought the superb 1.9 was only 105 though and to get higher power you had to get the 2.0?

PM the reg if you can

R.O.R

1.9Tdi in the new model Superb is definately only 105bhp. It's alright to drive - was expecting much worse when I drove one. 2.0Tdi 140 is better and the 2.0Tdi 170 is the one to go for.

Obsolete01

R.O.R wrote: »

1.9Tdi in the new model Superb is definately only 105bhp. It's alright to drive - was expecting much worse when I drove one. 2.0Tdi 140 is better and the 2.0Tdi 170 is the one to go for.

Yea I am going to try and get the 140/170 bhp one I think. Wonder what thr mpg would be like?