Hi.

Some of you might remember I was looking for a MK1 vRS. Our circumstances have now changed and the vRS idea isn't viable. We're going to be doing 40 miles a day all traffic free A roads so we want... economy, a good size boot and a bit of power for over taking and a sportyish appearance. 150bhp + would be nice and I don't mind remapping.

The problem I have is every diesel I want seems to have some kind of flaw.

PD engines 130, 150 and the chocolate cam issue. Shame because I like the idea of a toledo sport 150.

320d with the swirl flap issue and I really fancied the 150bhp touring.

Vauxhall cdti with, swirl flap, egr valve issues and bad injectors amongst others. Another shame because I like the sri 150 Vectra.

Ford cdti with there fair share of niggles. I was thinking along the lines of St tdci

Alfa JTD's falling to bits but the 2.4 170bhp really appealed to me until I heard it was a fiat unit.

I know all cars have their faults and but what's the best bet on a £3500 budget?

To be honest all diesels and petrols have their problems, youll be pushed to find a car without.

The PD's have their issues and im aware of the weak cam shaft but iv never had a problem as the oil is changed every 6k. Top of my list if problems with the PD's are the duel mass flywheels, iv been through two now but you can get round this on the 1.9TDi's easily by putting on a single mass (this will be better if you want to remap aswell)

Personally id go for anything with the 130PD engine, the 150PD's are rather stretched and are alot weaker then the lower powered unit and will need more maintenance in order to keep it working. Remapping is a good option for the 130's you should be looking at about 170-180bhp which is more then enough and when driven correctly they do actually give better MPG.

One thing i will say, good luck with fining the older 1.9's without galaxy miles

vRS + LPG

Personally id go for anything with the 130PD engine, the 150PD's are rather stretched and are alot weaker then the lower powered unit and will need more maintenance in order to keep it working. Remapping is a good option for the 130's you should be looking at about 170-180bhp which is more then enough and when driven correctly they do actually give better MPG.

Surely a remapped 130 will be more stressed than a 150? My 130k mile PD150 doesn't seem to be suffering any cam issues though yet.

I was very very tempted by the MG ZT cDTI. The 320 engine just minus the swirl flaps (and a few other changes). Just couldn't find any locally with the spec I wanted.

Honda Accord 2.2?

Edited 10 April, 201214 yr by TriggerFish

I think the cam issues are over-egged tbh, get one that's well serviced and looked after it'll be fine! Or a BMW diesel and just De swirl flap it, problem solved.

Honda Accord 2.2?

That's what I would go for!

Surely the "chocolate cam" is only an issue if you don't use the correct oil.

If it wasn't a PD specific oil, then sure enough the cams would be damaged, but I can't say I've heard of PD130's lunching their cams for fun.

Surely a remapped 130 will be more stressed than a 150? My 130k mile PD150 doesn't seem to be suffering any cam issues though yet.

I was very very tempted by the MG ZT cDTI. The 320 engine just minus the swirl flaps (and a few other changes). Just couldn't find any locally with the spec I wanted.

Honda Accord 2.2?

The 130 has a stronger block and smaller turbo, its not so delicate. I had the 150PD (ARL) myself and the weak cam's are just one of many horror story's just make sure it serviced regularly and you will not see any problems.

I wouldt go for the MG purely for badge taboo and they are utter rubbish and you will lose money hand over fist.

The Honda is a good idea or the Mazda 6 Ts and Ts2 one is 130bhp and other is 147 i think, i was looking at them myself but not sure what the value is like on them nowadays, or a Volvo? Cant go wrong witha Volvo

"320d with the swirl flap issue" I was looking at one recently 120+K miles with full BMWSH and to rectify future potential issue with them I was quoted £230 quid. What they do is blank them off and you never hear about it again.

A guy at work have done it at 80 000 miles on his 525 td now he is pushing 190K and never a single issue.

My understanding of it was that the 150 was identical block (and head?) to the other 1.9PD engines, and the only differences over the 130 were a bigger turbo, FMIC and maybe injectors (depends who you ask).

The Mazda 6's had issues with the oil pumps eating themselves and leading to the death of the engines when I last looked.

I am **** scared of a car out of warranty having a big blow up so would avoid turbocharged cars out of warranty.

I would go for a petrol Mondeo or the like. Bits are dirty cheap so you can get a replacement engine or gearbox for a few hundred quid.

Still does about 40-45 to the gallon, goes quite well and no worries about it having a major mechanical event.

Just a left field thought.

"320d with the swirl flap issue" I was looking at one recently 120+K miles with full BMWSH and to rectify future potential issue with them I was quoted £230 quid.

Is that £230 for the parts and labour? If so it's definitely something for me to reconsider.

I never even thought about the MG. I've had a bad experience with a K series rover which put me off. I had no idea the ZT diesel was related to the 320d. Arguably the best looking of everything mentioned especially in estate guise.

The accord is good idea too though slightly dull to look at. Reviews seem good.

I think I want to steer away from vag motors for now only because there are far too many around. I know at least 4 people in my village driving GTTDI Golf's and another friend driving an A6 tdi.

As for Volvo. I considered one but then I ran the idea past my girlfriend.... You know how the rest goes.

So it seems I'm still favoring a 'de-swirled' 320d touring if that's all it costs to get the job done. Does the work need to be done by a BMW dealer? The MG is still attracting me too. I'd obviously get a lower mileage and newer MG than a 320d of the same price and owners reviews seem very good.

I guess I'll see what pops up locally.

Much appreciated for the feedback!

Is that £230 for the parts and labour? If so it's definitely something for me to reconsider.

I never even thought about the MG. I've had a bad experience with a K series rover which put me off. I had no idea the ZT diesel was related to the 320d. Arguably the best looking of everything mentioned especially in estate guise.

The accord is good idea too though slightly dull to look at. Reviews seem good.

I think I want to steer away from vag motors for now only because there are far too many around. I know at least 4 people in my village driving GTTDI Golf's and another friend driving an A6 tdi.

As for Volvo. I considered one but then I ran the idea past my girlfriend.... You know how the rest goes.

So it seems I'm still favoring a 'de-swirled' 320d touring if that's all it costs to get the job done. Does the work need to be done by a BMW dealer? The MG is still attracting me too. I'd obviously get a lower mileage and newer MG than a 320d of the same price and owners reviews seem very good.

I guess I'll see what pops up locally.

Much appreciated for the feedback!

Yes this was a quote for the whole job from independent BMW garage near Glasgow, very well known and with top reputation. The block off parts are something like £50 quid and the rest to 230 was labour, they have said that take about 3 hours. http://www.rwweavers.com/

I suffered catastrophic engine failure on my 320d. The failure of the £48 inlet manifold with the duff swirl flaps wrecked the engine.

Wish I knew of the fix a few years ago, I might still be driving it :'(

Other than that it was a nice car!

I suffered catastrophic engine failure on my 320d. The failure of the £48 inlet manifold with the duff swirl flaps wrecked the engine.

Wish I knew of the fix a few years ago, I might still be driving it :'(

Other than that it was a nice car!

Sorry to hear that, this was the first thing I was told when I started looking at BMW diesels by a friend who drives BMW only

They are trouble free to about 80/85 K and after that it is important for the owner to do the job ASAP. BMW are aware of the issue and for everything after 2009 they are using different design for the whole set up and some new materials.

If you really are on a budget then go for a non PD 110 TDi as they are virtually bulletproof if looked after.

You should still be looking at over 50 mpg.

If you really are on a budget then go for a non PD 110 TDi as they are virtually bulletproof if looked after.

You should still be looking at over 50 mpg.

Indeed, get a couple of 110TDis as they are pretty reliable and if something does go wrong then you have a spare car to swap some bits between

Sorry to hear that, this was the first thing I was told when I started looking at BMW diesels by a friend who drives BMW only

They are trouble free to about 80/85 K and after that it is important for the owner to do the job ASAP. BMW are aware of the issue and for everything after 2009 they are using different design for the whole set up and some new materials.

Sounds about right, my swirl flap made a break for freedom at just over 75K.

BMW UK paid 50% parts and labour. Still cost me £3.5K though.

Sold it shortly after, too many things started to go wrong. The guy who bought it shipped it to Australia!

Edited 11 April, 201214 yr by silver1011

what are the 110's like after a remap power and reliability wise? I'd get board of the 110's standard power quickly.

I had a toledo tdi 110 chipped to 150 , ran fine for over 60k ,sold it to my next door neighbour and its still going strong at 90+k , the Tolly had every bell and whistle made fitted to it as std , bit similar to an L&K

If you really are on a budget then go for a non PD 110 TDi as they are virtually bulletproof if looked after.

You should still be looking at over 50 mpg.

Try over 60mpg with ease. It's the best mpg car I've ever owned.

Try over 60mpg with ease. It's the best mpg car I've ever owned.

If you take it steady maybe but not many get that with everyday use.

My last one averaged 52 mpg.

I drive 50K a year as well.

If you take it steady maybe but not many get that with everyday use.

My last one averaged 52 mpg.

I drive 50K a year as well.

Most of my driving is going to and from work at 5am when there's no other cars on the road, I do push it quite a bit and still manage 60mpg, I think there's good one and bad ones out there as I know a mate who no matter how hard to tries to get average up it rarely sees over 50-51mpg. I doubt my new car will be as good.

Weird thing happened yesterday, just came back home and got out the car, a random old man came up to me and started asking me about my car. He himself has an Octy 1Z and wanted to know what the vRS's were like, so i imformed him to pros and cons and he is now considering one but his Octy was the SDI (non-turbo im right in thinking?) yes they are slow as hell (reason he wants the vRS) but he had done 310,000 miles in it! and it has never broken down or had unscheduled work done to it.

Obviously with the way your talking you want something with abit of poke but this answers your original question, reliable diesel on a budget !

what are the 110's like after a remap power and reliability wise? I'd get board of the 110's standard power quickly.

Larger injectors, larger turbo, FMIC and a remap and you've got something that's pretty seriously pokey.

They are very good engines, the weakest point IMHO being the VNT turbo, but if you get the right hybrid that goes away.