. . . I've had the Primera GT for nearly two years now and I'm looking to move on (back to a diesel actually). I reckon it should still fetch back some money so I want to move on while that's the case!

Anyway, I was hoping that the folk of this forum may be able to help suggest some cars? I'm looking for something Octy sized (or a smaller estate car, e.g., Fabia Estate perhaps) with a diesel engine, around the £5k mark tops.

My current shortlist is:

- Mk1 Octy TDi (ideally the PD130 but they are hovering at the edge of budget and even the older 8 year old cars seem to be fetching nearly £5k still which seems a bit steep)

- Mondeo Estate TDCi

- BMW 3 series estate (no chance really, the estates are like hens teeth and that badge makes the cars expensive too)

- Fabia estate PD100 (I've seen a good few 1.4TDi PD's about, but I just think that would be too underpowered)

Any other thoughts folks? I'd quite like a Furby vRS but they're also still fetching a fair bit second hand, plus they would be slightly too small I think.

Cheers.

Edited 11 February, 201016 yr by yashicamat

What about a MK2 octavia? 2.0 PD engine, there`s several under your budget on autotrader.

Matt

What about a MK2 octavia? 2.0 PD engine, there`s several under your budget on autotrader.

Matt

I have thought about that; I had a 56 plate 2.0TDi Octy for 18 months. TBH, the engine wasn't my favourite; little torque (by diesel standards) below 1800rpm and it was quite thirsty too, about 43mpg was the average.

Focus estates seem quite cheaply priced actually . . . not sure what the Ford reliability record is like though. They're supposed to be quite good to drive too I believe.

Focus with the 1.6 or 1.8 TDCI engine are reputedly pretty reliable, the 2.0 less so - though how much truth there is in this, I don't know.

If you want to stick with Nissan reliability, how about an Almera 2.2dCI SVE (the 136bhp one)? Bit more roomy than the Fabia, though quite a small boot compared with an estater...but you could probably end up with considerable change out of £5k for one of them...

Rob.

Edited 11 February, 201016 yr by robmawer

Focus with the 1.6 or 1.8 TDCI engine are reputedly pretty reliable, the 2.0 less so - though how much truth there is in this, I don't know.

If you want to stick with Nissan reliability, how about an Almera 2.2dCI SVE (the 136bhp one)? Bit more roomy than the Fabia, though quite a small boot compared with an estater...but you could probably end up with considerable change out of £5k for one of them...

Rob.

Hi Rob, yes the 1.8TDCi looks like a reasonably nice bet. 0-60mph in 10.6s will seem a tad sluggish after the 8.3s of my GT, but then again I'll be getting the economy. I'm not very keen on post-Renault ownership Nissans; one of the reasons I really liked the older one I have.

I shall keep on looking though. My ideal car would be a mk1 Octy L&K PD130 . . . but they are few and far between and those that are about seem to command steep prices.

The only Foci I've ever driven have been 1.8 turbo-diesels - possibly not the same engine as the 1.8TDCI - but I've always been quite impressed by how they've shifted. As the diesel owners on here are always saying, the 0-60 doesn't mean much with diesels, it's all about in-gear acceleration, torque, etc. yad-i-yada.

Hmm...if you're looking for Octy PD130s, how about Passats? I know they're somewhat larger, but they're a bit more common with a plush spec and the PD130...

Rob.

i had a primara 144 2L inbetween fabia vrs's. good cars but not a patch on a vrs.

i had a primara 144 2L inbetween fabia vrs's. good cars but not a patch on a vrs.

Fabias are excellent cars, I really liked mine . . . but a 144 is a fair bit different to drive than a P11 GT.

Edited 11 February, 201016 yr by yashicamat

Focus with the 1.6 or 1.8 TDCI engine are reputedly pretty reliable, the 2.0 less so - though how much truth there is in this, I don't know.

If you want to stick with Nissan reliability, how about an Almera 2.2dCI SVE (the 136bhp one)? Bit more roomy than the Fabia, though quite a small boot compared with an estater...but you could probably end up with considerable change out of £5k for one of them...

Rob.

A nissan with a renault engine... no thanks

A nissan with a renault engine... no thanks

My point exactly.

Thought it was just the early model Nisaans with the 2.2 renault engine in? And they dropped it due to reliability issues? And that had less power than the current 136 model?

Could be wrong though.

Phil

Nowt wrong with a 110 non-PD Octy Rob

Focus is pretty reliable in fairness, although my 1.8TDCI had an appetite for flywheels.

What about a Seat Toledo? - for VAG diesels they seem to be the cheapest of the family by a country mile!! Even cheaper than the equivalent Leon, and I personally think they look a LOT smarter too if you get a decently specced one (lots of them are pretty basic though).

When I was shopping around for bigger cars, I shortlisted the Fabia Estate, Octavia Mk1 PD130, Primera 2.2 (136), Renault Laguna Privilege and finally the Mondeo 2.0 TDCI with 130bhp. I'd already ruled the Focus out as I didn't like the dashboard

Fabia and Octavia were a bit dull to drive with the Fabia feeling a bit underpowered and with my previous experience of the brand, I didn't really fancy another one Primera had lots of kit, including a novelty reversing camera, but again was pretty uninspiring to drive with a horrid driving position and the 136bhp engine really wasn't! The boot was also an odd shape which meant it wasn't as spacious as I'd thought. Laguna was a very nice car and it had a serious amount of kit (including a starter button!) and drove very nicely, if a bit softly with a nice torquey diesel engine. Sadly, it had quite a few rattles and the salesman was very keen to shift it which made me suspicious. Mondeo was the pick of the bunch though, drove very nicely, lots of kit, plenty of power and stood up well to a lot of abuse. For your money you should easily be able to get one with the 2.2l 155hp diesel in which were introduced in the ST on a '55 plate I think and later became available across the range. If it was my money, I'd be looking at ST, Titanium X or Ghia X trim levels

BMW's are very nice to drive, but the diesels are in high demand so prices are similarly high unless you go for one with astronomical miles. One idea would be to buy one of the more unpopular models, like their excellent 330i and get it converted to LPG. Kit tends to be a bit stingy compared to the other cars you're considering though so you may have to be patient and wait for the car with the right options to turn up...

Another car you might want to look at is the Mazda 6, although I'm not sure if they've dropped to being in budget yet...

Chris

Dare I suggest an Astra estate. Bit of an automotive potato but cheap.

A nissan with a renault engine... no thanks

AFAIK, the 2.2 dCI is a Nissan unit - it's only the smaller 1.5dCI which is a Renault engine.

That said, my Renault/Nissan-engined Nissan has proven far better than my VW-engined Skoda, so I tend to keep more of an open mind when it comes to buying by brand reputation these days. Probably explains the Fiat.

Rob.

Hi Rob, yes the 1.8TDCi looks like a reasonably nice bet. 0-60mph in 10.6s will seem a tad sluggish after the 8.3s of my GT, but then again I'll be getting the economy. I'm not very keen on post-Renault ownership Nissans; one of the reasons I really liked the older one I have.

I shall keep on looking though. My ideal car would be a mk1 Octy L&K PD130 . . . but they are few and far between and those that are about seem to command steep prices.

The ford focus is a good car (more reliable than the fabia/octy for the ones I know of personally); however if you think the 2.0PD 140 doesn't have much torque you're going to hate most modern dervs especially the 1.8TDCI.

The torque down low is tiny and if you try and map this out you will do the DMF in as it was specifically kept low to protect the DMF. Once you're going however it's a very nice engine.

I actually think the 2.0 PD140 is a good buy and the economy is excellent until you give it some beans.

Edited 12 February, 201016 yr by cheezemonkhai

Do you still need a car to get " good air " Going up to the Cat and Fiddle?

Edited 13 February, 201016 yr by mdk1

The YD22 2.2 (126 and 138PS) Di/dCi found in the P12 Primera and the N16 (112 and 136PS) Almera was a Nissan unit. the 2.2 dCi Renault unit used in the Laguna was different with 150PS to start with.

I had a P12 (yeah yeah stop laughing) and the engine was the most reliable part - scrub that, the ONLY reliable part. The car was infested with Renault rubbish and was generally awful.

I would go for something with a PD130 engine if you want reliablilty and economy. I think that engine was fitted in the Mk1 Octavia at around the 53/04 period.

An early Mk 2 PD140 is of course a massive jump over a late Mk1 but its whether or they fall into your price bracket.

I have had 3 primeras,a 94 EGT,a 96 SRI & a 99 GT,they are great cars,very underated,the handling on my standard GT was so much better than my octy vrs!

I have had 3 primeras,a 94 EGT,a 96 SRI & a 99 GT,they are great cars,very underated,the handling on my standard GT was so much better than my octy vrs!

Yes I agree, the handling on my Primera GT was far better than any Skoda I've ever drive. But alas, at 13 years old it was also starting to need the odd repair too . . . .

Managed to source a 110 TDi Octy estate for a good price . . . so I'm sorted now folks, cheers. :yes: Time to re-order some BRISKODA stickers methinks and renew my FREEDOM membership!

Managed to source a 110 TDi Octy estate for a good price . . . so I'm sorted now folks, cheers. Time to re-order some BRISKODA stickers methinks and renew my FREEDOM membership!

What do I win? :p

What do I win? :p

The job of cleaning out the turbo for him, just to make sure it's not sticky?

TDI 110 is a very nice car, the only complain I had on mine was the suspension is very soft. Sort that out and you'll be very happy as they are less complex than the PD's and cheap on fuel too.

Meh, for the ballache of removing the turbo to clean it, you may as well buy a PD130 unit which bolts on with a small adapter from Jabba, you can get nearly new PD130 turbos for £150 or so.

I do like the 110, fully overhauled recon injectors are only £38, everything for them is cheap as chips, and dead simple to work on, whilst being very smooth and punchy too. Oh and they remap VERY nicely indeed, apparently

Meh, for the ballache of removing the turbo to clean it, you may as well buy a PD130 unit which bolts on with a small adapter from Jabba, you can get nearly new PD130 turbos for £150 or so.

I do like the 110, fully overhauled recon injectors are only £38, everything for them is cheap as chips, and dead simple to work on, whilst being very smooth and punchy too. Oh and they remap VERY nicely indeed, apparently

I think the PD130 turbo will do the same thing too if you don't put something in the way of the EGR to blank it.

If you put larger flowing injectors (IIRC off a caravelle) in it, then the thing gets an instant remap as it fuels more than it thinks it is. Add the larger turbo, FMIC and EGR delete, plus decent suspension and a set of good brake pads and you're in for something pretty rapid