[sarjoruss]

Ok, after much thought and still getting no where in my head I thought I would open up to you lot to see what you would suggest I do.

I currently drive a 2003 Astra, 1.6 petrol 8v with 84,500 on the clock.

After being made redundant last year but successfully managing to get another job i now commute 120 miles a day, costing on average £18.55 running at around 38mpg so using about £95 a week in fuel.

After a head gasket scare at Christmas (but thankfully it wasnt - or as far as we know at the moment isnt) I thought that maybe I should start considering changing the car but havent got any savings so would need to purchase one using a personal loan or vehicle finance.

My problem is that whatever car I buy I am going to put 75,000 mile on the clock in three years, so whatever i end up with i am going to loose quite a bit of money on it. Do i buy older and run it almost in to the ground or newer and hope it is still worth something after 2/3 years? One thing is i do need the reliability of starting and running every day, obviously being well maintained along the way.

Also, what do I buy? I need something that will do at least 60mpg as the money saved on fuel would go on part of the finance.

I have so far considered:

Fiat 500 1.3 multijet diesel, Ford Ka 1.2 tdci, Ford Fiesta 1.4tdci, Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 diesel.


Any suggestions?

 

[nicehat]

Any of the small diesels you listed, plus Skoda Fabia:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/www.autoca...tDrives/Skoda-Fabia-1.6-TDI-CR-105-SE/250473/

I'm running around in an Octavia (when not in the van!) which isn't a small car and get on average 53mpg, not bad for a 7yr old motor.

-r0

 

[conners t5]

my wife is a driving instructer and does about 40 k a year shes on her third grande punto fantastic cars the 1.2 petrol is the best model to buy if you get a two year old one you should get it at half price of new. they have stop and go . mp3 electric windows.and very spaciousT:

 

[Soulstyledevon]

Polo bluemotionT:

 

[whooshwhoosh]

bought the wife a hyundai i10 on a 10plate 5yr warranty £30 roadtax,new ones n the kia's have a 7yr warranty.more space than her astra cabrio had n so far so good.buy one a yr old n let someone else take the price knock.T:

 

[Nokampa]

Most of the VAG diesels are good, personally, I'd go Fabia/Octavia, Passat/Diesel which all return 50mpg ish with that sort of commute plus I'd apply bangernomics: Passat's around the 2003/2004 age are only £1500 so get one with about 100K, chuck on the miles and bin it!

I used to have a 100 mile commute and my M3 was the weapon of choice, financially molested me though but it was fun.

 

[sarjoruss]

Looking at a realistic budget of about £5-£7500 so will just keep looking at best value options me thinks.

Thought about going for the older car and just run it into the ground but really do need the reliability that might not give me.

never thought of the Skoda Fabia - will check one out!

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[bud the spud]

another vote for a fabia vrs ,50 to the gallon and much fun to drive T:

 

[Aurora]

Octavia 1900Tdi, cheap to run and repair.

 

[Village]

Dr Village (my Wife) has a Toyota Yaris 1.4 Turbo diesel, and even I can get 55mpg out of it!

comfortable, nippy, and it has bulletproof Japanese reliability (even through its made in France).

 

[bobley]

I used to have a 2004 Fabia vrs and it did 48mpg but I drove it fairly hard. My previous 2002 Passat 130 did 42mpg and I've now got a 2008 Mini Cooper D which does 53mpg. The wife had a Golf V 2.0 TDI which did 48mpg too and was a great driver cars (I preferred it to the Fabia) but now she's got a 2008 BMW 118D which is more refined but has a few gremlins creeping in and still only does 48mpg.

Beware modern (post 2007) diesels which quote high mpgs. They just dont reach them. Mini quote 72mpg and I get 53, BMW 118D quote 64 and we get 48?

We also used to have a 2003 Polo 1.4TDI SE which although not rocket fast certainly cruised well but I can't remember what mpg it did, it was super frugal though. I'd be thinking about one of them or the Fabia equivalent.

 

[dazvw]

When not using van i have just been getting a 2004 lupo 1.7 sdi 76 mpg around doors £30 tax a year and very cheep insurance its slow like but very very cheep to runT:

 

[JIMMYJAMES]

I have got a very nice Leon Cupra R 225bhp for sale. Awesome commuter and excellant smiles per gallon T:T:T:

 

[fra-mini]

its a bit of a funny one this... im a contractor, so i either need a small van or estate. i avg 1000 miles a week..

i HAD a 2.0 hdi berlingo, which i ruined (2006 plate with 24k on when bought, sold less than 1 year later with 67k mies..) and lost 2k on it.

currently have a 1.4 lpg old style berlingo, which is avg 73mpg combined.. and thats at 80-85mph motorway. i bought it for £550 and i think it'll be worth... £7-800 when sold (added rear seats, made it comfy to work out of)

this enables me to have a range rover family car, and the t4 for holidays.. i recon i must save £100 a WEEK on fueling, nevermind the cost of hp/loan..

 

[ipod bob]

early 2000 ish bora easily beats 50mpg from what i've read and should be good for throwing the miles at it. As said before bangernomics but with reliability.

 

[dubmandave]

G reg mk2 golf gti

 

[boxertwin69]

Don't laugh, but I've just bought a 55 plate Smart Car for exactly this reason £30 road tax, 70mpg & an absolute hoot to drive. Plus, you can park it pretty much anywhere T: Just over £30 to fill up. Next time you're sitting in a traffic jam, have a look at how many cars have just one occupant. 99% of the time you'll only need 1-2 seats. Well worth a look. If the ForTwo's a bit embarrassing for you, have a look at the Roadster. Loads of people buy them to do high miles in & you can get an independent Merc specialist to do the servicing T:

 

[Kelz]

Octavia 1900Tdi, cheap to run and repair.

Got to agree..love mine

 

[mr-torquer]

Those Skodas are excellent and good value. Some people still cant see past the Badge.

 

[e30mark]

Seat Leon 1.9TDi Sport 130bhp. My Mrs has a 53 plate Mk1 model, always delivers 50-55mpg mixed driving. Cheap to buy, go on forever T: