robtri wrote: » have you a budget on price? also what about engine size for insurance and tax purposes, what are you willing to look at??
Stevie Dakota wrote: » Have you considered a motorbike. I was in your position, bought a bike an never looked back. Cheap as chips and your commuting times will be slashed.
Henry Ford III wrote: » That's a heavy commute. Over 850 miles a week according to your figures!!! 1/. Buy a diesel. Expect a 40%+ decrese in fuel costs. 2/. Consider renting a room somewhere nearer work. Fuel expenses are not the end of your motoring costs. You'd be looking at regular servicing at frequent intervals, changing tyres every 6 months maybe, and wearing out a car in a couple of years. 3 hours driving to/from work daily will take it's toll eventually too.
R.O.R wrote: » Ford Focus Diesel Opel Astra Diesel Ford Mondeo Diesel Opel Vectra Diesel Any of the above should be cheap to service and save you a fortune on fuel (€25 a day is ridiculous), but you are unlikely to get any sort of decent trade in on your current car.
R.O.R wrote: » Did you say you need boot space? http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Octavia/200929194629563/advert?channel=CARS 30,000km between services, good economy and if serviced to schedule good for 250,000km (had some MK1 Octavia's back with that mileage). But don't go anywhere near this one:http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Octavia/5DR-TDI-/200927194509548/advert?channel=CARS
maidhc wrote: » One of those smells of scam!
R.O.R wrote: » Whoops Didn't really look through the ad, but it does look like it might be based in Liverpool and payment to be made by Western Union. Perhaps a MK2 is outside of budget, but you can't go wrong with a MK1 Octavia. OP, make sure whatever you buy has an armrest and lumbar support, A/C if possible for when traffic is heavy and it's sunny. Spend as little as possible as your car will be worthless within a year. I've been doing similar time commute to your's for the past 6 years. Trying to keep costs down is all well and good, but if you are spending that length of time in a car everyday you want to make sure it's as enjoyable as it can be and above all, comfortable.
spank_inferno wrote: » I get 45mpg average easily in my 1.4 vvery underpowered skoda fabia Thats on 300miles per week usage for a 70%highway 30% urban commute. My fuel costs are about €35 per week. Before considering the cost of changing vehicle, try to see how efficient you can be with your existing car. if you want to change then diesel is the way to go & an octavia ftw
noshankus wrote: » Yeah, I have tried with my car, but it's a heavy old car (1.6 liter - I originaly thought it was 1.4) and just seems to eat petrol. My commute according to maps.google.com is around 730miles per week. Currently it's costing me around €125, so the thoughts of this dropping to around €80 per week (according to your figures) would be fantastic! That works out around €2340 savings a year. This definitely would be worth it. One more question which may sound silly, but would having a lower liter engine be more efficient? I.e. were I to purchase a 1.4 diesel, would that be better than a 1.9? I know the liter measure is a measure of how much air it can displace and as such fuel it can burn, however, I'm unclear as to whether this is a factor when it comes to efficiency?
R.O.R wrote: » I'd say if a lot of your journey is at motorway speed it's unlikely that a smaller engine will save more fuel (but will save on tax costs). I've not really spent any time with smaller diesel engines, but would presume the rev's on a 1.4Tdi would be higher than a 1.9Tdi sitting at 120 km/h. A few years ago I took my wife's 1.2 (petrol) Ibiza to work a couple of days. The on board computer on that showed fuel consumption of around 32mpg. For the same journey my 1.8T (petrol) Octavia would usually return around 35mpg. Most of the Journey was Motorway so the engine in the Ibiza was buzzing at 4,500rpm a lot of the time. The same speed in the Octavia was achieved with rpm of 3,750.
JHMEG wrote: » Also worth considering maybe would be a Civic IMA. Quite comfortable (all leather) and should do 65 mpg on that run (mine does). Currently disadvantaged by the higher tax on petrol which is making petrol about 10% more than diesel but that could change in the next budget. On the upside the motor tax is about half what a typical diesel is.
noshankus wrote: » I might save up a little longer and splash out for about €10000 or thereabouts. It might be better in the long run to get a more recent car and pay more initially so it will last longer.
BrianD3 wrote: » Dunno about the 1.9 TDi either, it produces 105 bhp which is not much for a car the weight of the Octavia also there are some smaller capacity diesels from other manufacturers that produce the same or more power.
noshankus wrote: » is there something else which might be even more efficient I should be considering, like an Audi A3 or A4 2004 which would weight in around the same price for example?
JHMEG wrote: » Audi are going to be more expensive, not more efficient.
EPM wrote: » The 1.9 tdi is fine in the MK1 Octavia (up to 2004). The 90 brake version is a little dead but the 110 should be fine. In the newer shape the 105 brake is again fine for the car. OP, for what you intend on using the car for the Octavia is probably the best choice. The Audi A3 is in fact the same car as an Octavia but with a different body and interior.
