Buying used 2000-2002 passat/bora/ mazda?

Mr.Havoc

Hello,
I am looking for a diesel car. I will be travelling to college, work and for personal reasons.
I am looking at the moment at 1.9tdi Passsat and Bora, and at the mazda 6 2.0l. All of them are around 2000-2003 year. My budget for a car is small. Max is 2k that I can spend. I need proper advices, thank you.

JohnBoy26

from the 3 you listed Id have the passat but a bora would be fine as well.

the diesel engine in the mazda 6 is a very bad engine, avoid at all costs.

dodzy

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

Hello,
I am looking for a diesel car. I will be travelling to college, work and for personal reasons.
I am looking at the moment at 1.9tdi Passsat and Bora, and at the mazda 6 2.0l. All of them are around 2000-2003 year. My budget for a car is small. Max is 2k that I can spend. I need proper advices, thank you.

You're lost. You belong here : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056924921

risteard7

you will be offered advice on any car bar the three you mentioned and told to get a petrol.

Mr.Havoc

risteard7 wrote: »

you will be offered advice on any car bar the three you mentioned and told to get a petrol.

What do you mean? Can you expand please.

dodzy

risteard7 wrote: »

you will be offered advice on any car bar the three you mentioned and told to get a petrol.

Dont know what forum you've been lurking on but there are a lot of clever folk around these parts that are always ready to assist / advise on motor related queries. I for one am always grateful for the wisdom passed down to us mortals.

GTE

I own a Golf of the year 2000 vintage so I can comment for the Bora and Passat in terms of the engine.

The 90 or 110 horse power TDI will be your best bet in terms of reliability, but the 90 would possibly a bit sluggish on the Passat though.

You will get a Golf/Bora/Passat with of these engines from 1998 to 2002(ish). You will be meeting some lumps of cash to replace some of the less common things like rear shocks and certain bush/mountings.

The front shock mounts (or tops? I forget what they were called) seem to go every couple of years and that is the only annoying thing about it.

I am nearing 200,000 miles on mine, it was bought at 152,000 miles and there have been no significant issues with it bar standard maintenance and one oil seal which required replacement. Models in the USA get insane amounts of mileage so as long as you keep the maintaining it well and on time, it should not fault you.

I saw a few Golfs when I was looking in 2008/9 and I came across some awful examples which was down to previous owners not taking care. I was lucky that I came across a model in fantastic condition and I do my best to keep it as good as I got it so make sure you persevere because there should be at least a few good ones out there.

At this stage in your prospective cars life, any issues you do have down the line would likely be down to the previous owners or who used to service it. The more powerful TDIs for this generation of cars (the PD engine) have issues where the wrong oil is used in servicing and it shows up in later life as engine wear. Tis just an example of the issues which I was warned about.

For the 90hp Bora/Golf, I could regularly get 60mpg from it but once I go on motorways at 120kph I am seeing around 45-48 but that is down to the 5 speed gearbox, which is the one thing I would change.

I read somewhere that the 110hp cars can sometimes have the 6 speed, but that is internet forum speak so use a good bucket of salt. Certainly, if you use the motorway then you will like the 6th gear.

If I had the money and the balls to do it, I may switch the 5th gear in my box for a 6th gear. It seems to be a common modification in the states for these cars, but I am always looking for something to do with the car.

I needed an estate but I discounted the Focus due to my budget forcing me down the TDDI route which is not meant to be a great engine. I forget what the other models were.

Honest John and Parkers.co.uk are great resources for reviews.

Mr.Havoc wrote: »

What do you mean? Can you expand please.

Don't worry about that, the poster should have given context right away but there sometimes here you have to wonder what people are on with how they ignore the OP and recommend questionable options. Only sometimes though.

Mr.Havoc

Thank you very much!

Old diesel

risteard7 wrote: »

you will be offered advice on any car bar the three you mentioned and told to get a petrol.

Actually in the case of the Mazda - buying a petrol would be EXACTLY the right thing to do - as the 6 diesel isn't very good at all.

A decent well minded Passat 1.9 tdi of that vintage would be a good car imo.

Peugeot 406 HDI is another car worth considering imo - and given that the Boras a similar size to a Focus - it would be worth (imo) considering a 1.8 tddi Focus too.

Hard to find a decent diesel car when your down to small money though .

Im not saying buy petrol (apart from saying its by far the better option in the Mazda) but at this money id rather have a petrol in very good condition rather then a diesel that's not in such good shape

Old diesel

OP - not vouching for any of these cars per se - but just giving a flavour of potential options

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2001-toyota-avensis/6680547

Yes its an Avensis so possibly not your cup of tea - but if its in decent order - then well worth consideration.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/02-ford-focus-diesel/6677264

This Focus is worth a look of its a TDDI - if its a TDCI id be weary - but TDDI is more reliable

Can't see one atm for sale - but something else worth considering is a Seat Toledo - basically the same car underneath as Golf/Bora - same engine and all - just a different frock. They wouldn't be as in demand - as obviously people want the Golf etc - so worth a look

paulh18

hi i am looking at a 04 red di passat. 100bhp comes up on mywheels.ie, however it has more power than a 100bhp. are there any websites to find out what it is. owner says its awx engine which is 130bhp

9935452

paulh18 wrote: »

hi i am looking at a 04 red di passat. 100bhp comes up on mywheels.ie, however it has more power than a 100bhp. are there any websites to find out what it is. owner says its awx engine which is 130bhp

Motorcheck.ie does the same as mywheels, Ask to see the logbook, it should say it on that,
The engine code is on the timingbelt cover. If the original manuals are with it it will have a sticker inside the first page of the manual which will show the engine code
The other thing he could have done is got it remapped

paulh18

9935452 wrote: »

Motorcheck.ie does the same as mywheels, Ask to see the logbook, it should say it on that,
The engine code is on the timingbelt cover. If the original manuals are with it it will have a sticker inside the first page of the manual which will show the engine code
The other thing he could have done is got it remapped

Cheers. its coming up as 130bhp on car parts websites so im not sure whats the story?