2008 diesel car, Passat, Insignia, Mondeo?

byrnem31

I'm looking to buy a new diesel soon, around 2008. I will have €4000.
I have a 2003 passat tdi and love it, but it's had it's issues.

I heard the 2008 tdi passats can be very troublesome but i met a woman yesterday with 300k miles on hers and she said its been a great car.

I heard mondeos can be money pits and eventually give lots of trouble.

Haven't heard anything about opel insignia's but I could get a 2010 for the same money as the other 2.

Does anyone have any experience of these cars ? If I buy one with roughly 150k miles on it. Which is best realibilty and repair wise if they had a service history and were looked after.

Thanks, Mark.

Toyotafanboi

Yeah, by and large 2008 ish Passats are mostly money pits at this stage and there's a thread in the main forum today with a lad looking for an engine for his 2011 Insignia which has seized and thats a common problem with them.

The Mondeo is the best of a bad lot there really.

byrnem31

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Yeah, by and large 2008 ish Passats are mostly money pits at this stage and there's a thread in the main forum today with a lad looking for an engine for his 2011 Insignia which has seized and thats a common problem with them.

The Mondeo is the best of a bad lot there really.

Any other ideas of whats a good diesel ?

Is the 1.8 mondeo reliable ? Are they expensive to get fixed ?

Atlantic Dawn

Honda Accord might be worth looking at too, post 2008 for the cheappppppp €390 tax as the pre 2008 is €1200 a year.

Zurbaran

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Honda Accord might be worth looking at too, post 2008 for the cheappppppp €390 tax as the pre 2008 is €1200 a year.

Not going to get one of them for 4k.

Would probably have to add a few quid but maybe a Volvo S40?

chicorytip

byrnem31 wrote:

I'm looking to buy a new diesel soon, around 2008. I will have €4000. I have a 2003 passat tdi and love it, but it's had it's issues.

You won't find an Insignia in that price range. Seeing as you like the Passat so much maybe a 2007/8 Skoda Octavia (1.9TDI) would be suitable.

Atlantic Dawn

Zurbaran wrote: »

Not going to get one of them for 4k.

Would probably have to add a few quid but maybe a Volvo S40?

A poverty spec UK import...
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/08-honda-accord-cheap-tax/15924393

High miler...
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-honda-accord-2-2-cdti-executive/16234420

A few outside Dublin too...
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars/Honda/Accord?fuelType=Diesel&year_from=2008&year_to=2009&price_to=4250&price_from=2000

bazz26

Renault Laguna III:


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-renault-laguna-1-5dci-privilege-only-98km/16382735

byrnem31

I don't like the Renault Laguna.
It looks about 2000 it was made.
Volvo 's can be expensive to fix.

Are Hondas expensive for parts ? Id be worried too if they changed the tax on diesels and this became a nightmare to tax being a 2.2.
I would definitely consider it. Lovely car.

colm_mcm

The Laguna is probably the best car you'll get within budget. It's got a good reputation (unlike the previous generation) and is a very comfortable car.
2008 is a 9 year old car but there is a price bubble because of the tax thing, €4K doesn't get you many decent 08 diesels.

EPAndlee

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Laguna is probably the best car you'll get within budget. It's got a good reputation (unlike the previous generation) and is a very comfortable car.
2008 is a 9 year old car but there is a price bubble because of the tax thing, €4K doesn't get you many decent 08 diesels.

Laguna is a pretty nice car to drive. Miles ahead any other Renault of that time period. They are pretty reliable too. You won't get much of a choice for 4k.

byrnem31

EPAndlee wrote: »

Laguna is a pretty nice car to drive. Miles ahead any other Renault of that time period. They are pretty reliable too. You won't get much of a choice for 4k.

I can go to 5k.
A bloke I know has a newish Renault. He said the engine is bullet proof on it. However, he does get electrical trouble with it. He suggested a Citroen c5.
The Laguna looks very dated inside. I hate to get into it every day and look at that dash.

murphyebass

byrnem31 wrote: »

I can go to 5k.
A bloke I know has a newish Renault. He said the engine is bullet proof on it. However, he does get electrical trouble with it. He suggested a Citroen c5.
The Laguna looks very dated inside. I hate to get into it every day and look at that dash.

Their interiors are horrible to look at alright.

A Pug 407 might be in budget, again horrible dash but engines are sound

lostcat

Zurbaran wrote: »

Not going to get one of them for 4k.

Would probably have to add a few quid but maybe a Volvo S40?

for what its worth, i purchased a 2008 accord diesel a few months ago for 4200, mega mileage but it had a decent service history and I got it checked over before purchase. Its running well thus far, although I am going to have to replace the exhaust manifold in the near future.

there were a couple of 08 diesel accords for 4-4.5k for sale earlier in the year, but they dont hang around long.

byrnem31

lostcat wrote: »

for what its worth, i purchased a 2008 accord diesel a few months ago for 4200, mega mileage but it had a decent service history and I got it checked over before purchase. Its running well thus far, although I am going to have to replace the exhaust manifold in the near future.

there were a couple of 08 diesel accords for 4-4.5k for sale earlier in the year, but they dont hang around long.

Will definitely consider it. They are very nice and not many around.
Are they costly to maintain ? Can you do work on them yourself easy enough ?
I'm now leaning towards a skoda superb or Honda accord tdi.
1st choice would be the honda.

Garfin

byrnem31 wrote: »

Will definitely consider it. They are very nice and not many around.
Are they costly to maintain ? Can you do work on them yourself easy enough ?
I'm now leaning towards a skoda superb or Honda accord tdi.
1st choice would be the honda.

If you are looking at Mk1 Superbs (2003-08) check under the carpet for damp, an easy way is to remove the floor vent under each front seat and get your hand under the carpet, they can be dry on top and hold litres of water underneath. They all leak sooner or later google water ingress on BRISKODA.NET. They will do star ship mileage if maintained correctly with the right oil and design faults addressed. The best combination is the 1.9TDi AWX engine avoid the 2.0 they had oil pump drive problems. If you could stretch to the MK2 on your budget long term would be a better buy just get one with a full service history, with the hatch or estate they are a more useful workhorse.

bazz26

A Mk1 Superb is pretty much the same car the OP has now bar the bigger interior, they are prehistoric at this stage though. Any Mk2 Superb you buy for 4k/5k will have been taxied or knackered. The Peug 407 isn't a great car either, the 1.6 HDI engine is a minefield around reliability and they can suffer from typical French electrical issues too.

byrnem31

The Passat I own was giving me trouble with power, 2003 tdi. It was wrecking my head as I had a goon trying to fix it for weeks. Got it sorted today by a different mechanic in tallaght who knew his stuff. He was telling me the newer diesels can give awful trouble, they are not as reliable as the older ones.

I might just drive the thing I have for a while longer. It just passed the nct and in the 2 years I've owned it I've got, new back shocks, steering rack, new suspension arms were put on it just before I bought it, it just had full service, c.v boot was fixed. New boost pressure sensor 2 weeks ago and the maf was taken apart and cleaned today.

The car is flying along now. Comfort line model with heated seats. It's like a tank on the road, solid. It's a great car but does have 200k miles on it.

I'll definitely go for the honda accord over the next few months. But not just yet, I'm enjoying the passat too much.

AMKC

bazz26 wrote: »

Renault Laguna III:


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-renault-laguna-1-5dci-privilege-only-98km/16382735

Class car especially with the twin exhausts and the chrome on the higher spec versions they look really well. Class dashboard too up to if not better than many BMW's from the time.

Garfin

byrnem31 wrote: »

The Passat I own was giving me trouble with power, 2003 tdi. It was wrecking my head as I had a goon trying to fix it for weeks. Got it sorted today by a different mechanic in tallaght who knew his stuff. He was telling me the newer diesels can give awful trouble, they are not as reliable as the older ones.

I might just drive the thing I have for a while longer. It just passed the nct and in the 2 years I've owned it I've got, new back shocks, steering rack, new suspension arms were put on it just before I bought it, it just had full service, c.v boot was fixed. New boost pressure sensor 2 weeks ago and the maf was taken apart and cleaned today.

The car is flying along now. Comfort line model with heated seats. It's like a tank on the road, solid. It's a great car but does have 200k miles on it.

I'll definitely go for the honda accord over the next few months. But not just yet, I'm enjoying the passat too much.

200K only just broken in if it is looked after, keep driving lots left in it yet!

9935452

Garfin wrote: »

200K only just broken in if it is looked after, keep driving lots left in it yet!

The way some people might have looked at it is the car has given all the trouble that its going to give so hold onto it