Basically my brother had a coming together with the central reservation on friday night with all the rubbish weather we have been having

He needs a new car and his finances will be around £4-5000

What he needs from a car

Reliability

Fuel economy

Safety

And space

He does a lot of motorway mileage, around 600 miles a week so the car has to be relatively reliable and have sub 50k miles as the miles will get pilled on it.

Rwd is out of the option as the car is needed every day.

Big brands are also out of the question as he wont get a good low mileage audi / vw etc for his money.

I have suggested a 407hdi coupe 2.0l hdi, nice looking motor, the hdi unit is pretty bombproof and you seem to get a hell of a car for the money.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/skoda/octavia/postcode/so506ln/radius/1500/sort/default/maximum-mileage/up_to_50000_miles/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/5000

Oh and the aftermath of his current car

Hit standing water, car spun 180 degree's hit the central reservation backwards and then shot off into the barrier on the hardshoulder

He was rather shaken up, and to make matters worse the 5-0 slapped him with £100 fine and 3 points just to kick him while he was down

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/skoda/octavia/postcode/so506ln/radius/1500/sort/default/maximum-mileage/up_to_50000_miles/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/5000

Always an option!

Never really thought about an octavia

Your criteria were Reliability,Fuel economy,Safety and space. I think those all have the boxes ticked. PD bullet-proof monster miler engine, enough room in the boot for a family of Bulgarians (think of the rent ) safe and uber reliable

 

And in budget

 

That one with a two year warranty looks bloody good FTM. Heated seat aswell :sun:  Oops, no it hasn't :( The Elegance ones do though.

 

Your location might help though.

South west scotland, about an hours drive down from glasgow.

Just above Carlisle

My last car would have been perfect for him, and well within his budget.

 

Seat Toledo PD 150 Sport.

 

Really underrated, brilliant car

 

Perfect for motorway cruising with the 6 speed box

 

My thread was here >  http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/253725-my-new-car-the-seat-soot-chucker-by-damo/

I also had a pd150 leon fr

What worries me is these cars do have issues, cam wear, turbo's, dual mass flywheels. All pretty expensive things to go wrong.

A volvo with a D5 lump in it

Why doesn't he get the same again or maybe a Mondeo?

Or has the Focus been trouble (apart from the incident?)

I also had a pd150 leon fr

What worries me is these cars do have issues, cam wear, turbo's, dual mass flywheels. All pretty expensive things to go wrong.

 

Course you did mate, forgot…my bad.

 

I know what your saying, but If he got a low mileage one, he may have enough left for any issues, or take out a private warranty

My son drove a 407 coupe, albeit a V6, ECU problems sunk him, even the specialists couldn't help. It was buy a new one & suck it and see. Look for an Octavia. He bought a 2grand Beemer - amazingly ECUs for 2001 Beemers are cheap ad chips as are most spares.

I agree with Garry about another Focus or Mondeo.

 

If he's not fussed and wants function over form, what about an Avensis D4D?

 

Gaz

He isn't fussed what it looks like aslong as it runs and drives and is reliable

A few good ideas

What about a Superb as a motorway muncher.

Would you not have to go for an older superb?

Basically looking for the best / newest / lowest mileage car available

Badge isn't an issue or image just a work horse for pilling miles on

Can't go far wrong with an Octavia matey, make sure its a tdi though. Plenty of nice ones out there and he's covering the same sort of distances I do in mine weekly. Getting 60-62mpg out of it 

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201312030291486/sort/default/make/SKODA/model/OCTAVIA/postcode/st163jg/radius/1500/maximum-mileage/up_to_50000_miles/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/5000/advert-type/hl-nthcar/dealer/12324/usedcars?logcode=hlp

 

Newer than I have but i'd recommend one without issue. 

 

Avoid the 407 like its gots AIDS, the plague, cold sores and works as an estate agent. That HDi might be pretty good but the rest of it is utter junk. 

Edited 22 December, 201312 yr by sparks03

Can't go far wrong with an Octavia matey, make sure its a tdi though. Plenty of nice ones out there and he's covering the same sort of distances I do in mine weekly. Getting 60-62mpg out of it 

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201312030291486/sort/default/make/SKODA/model/OCTAVIA/postcode/st163jg/radius/1500/maximum-mileage/up_to_50000_miles/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/5000/advert-type/hl-nthcar/dealer/12324/usedcars?logcode=hlp

 

Newer than I have but i'd recommend one without issue. 

 

Avoid the 407 like its gots AIDS, the plague, cold sores and works as an estate agent. That HDi might be pretty good but the rest of it is utter junk. 

I had no idea AllElectric were still going, name from the past there!

I had no idea AllElectric were still going, name from the past there!

 

 

 Too right, weren't they Startins at one point? 

 Too right, weren't they Startins at one point? 

possibly, I remember Startins being in Redditch when I was a kid!

I'm in the avoid the 407 camp, my ex (well, her dad) had one, the 2.0 HDi. It was terrible, less than a year old it developed a cooling fault in the height of a hot summer, it ended up requiring a new engine. A year or so later, the turbo went, following that, ECU issues and various electrical gremlins.

 

It ended up being traded for a same age Mondeo which has been much, much better.

Hmmmm:

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201312070393607/sort/default/usedcars/page/5/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/price-from/3500/price-to/5000/make/toyota/fuel-type/diesel/transmission/manual/quantity-of-doors/5/postcode/bn237sa/radius/1500/model/avensis?logcode=p

 

Gaz

I'd avoid the Toyota diesel if I were you. Although Toyota have quite an enviable reputation for reliability, not so their diesel engines. I had considered both Toyota & Lexus (posh Toyota) diesels in the past, but after a bit of research it would appear the Toyota diesel is far from being the paragon of reliability.

Another one suggesting the D5 volvo.  Granted, an S60 or S80 might be a bit higher on mileage, but have a reputation for intergalactic mileages and effortless comfortable motorway mileages.

There's a specialist near us that routinely has these for around £3 with 95K, usually the SE or Sport trims.  I almost bought a D5 Auto S60 Sport of him a few weeks ago, full history, for £2995.  Fuel consumption on the auto in the real world appear to be sub-40mpg, but manuals seem to get a steady 50 from reports on T5-d5.

 

Or a Superb (lots of 2.5s around, but there's a reason for that)

 

Or a Passat 1.9TDI  - a very sound 4motion Estate will be well in budget, if a bit leggier on mileage. but it shouldn't worry you.

 

subject to the usual water ingress issues (which can be infuriating to fix), the above two should easily equal the D5 for longevity if maintained.

We know the cars that the Manufacturers build to be Fleet/Company cars for Sales Reps.

(Travellers as i still call them. 'Travelling sales people')

 

These are the Motorway mile munchers that have all the bits and pieces as standard that are needed for high mileage drivers.

The world is your oyster which manufacturer you go with, but Ford & Vauxhall have a good choice.

 

george