Which diesel?

shaggy

Am narrowing the choice to the following:

Audi A4 Tdi - plenty of ex-fleet stock at auctions. generally high mileage
A4 Quattro Tdi -- very rare. can't seem to find any for a decent price. So I guess i can rule this out
BMW 330
VW Golf GT Tdi
Merc E220


My criteria are as follows:

- not too expensive to maintain.
- generally reliable.
- Good re-sale value.
- fuel economy.

So, come on moneysavers...which one out of those?

:T

Pete.g

I can whole heartedly recommend the Golf GT TDi I loved mine it's an awsome car.

Pete.

carl310166

I totally agree,the golf gt tdi is great.

john0612

depends on what your gonna use it for,

do you have kids?

u after a "hot hatch"

I've got a passat tdi and love it, reguarlly get 60mpg+ and fast when you need it
loads of boot space which helps with littles ones buggy and her fancination with shopping.

Loads of room inside and a lovely car to drive, the new model is cracking in jet black.

nearlyrich

I had an Audi for almost 4 years and found the service network to be pants.

bella123

stick 2 the audi A4,mine has done 214500 miles and still feels brilliant,not bad for a car which is only 4 years old. :j

Lemoncurd

We've got a 4 year old A4 2.5 TDI Quattro. Picked it up for 12k when it was 3 years old from an independent dealer in South Bucks that specialises in Audis. The mileage was about 70k so was higher than the ones from the Audi approved used programme but it was thousands cheaper and still spotless with no probs in the service history. We've had no problems at all and are really pleased with it.

jjames_3

I'm guessing that you've discounted the newer-model Honda Accord? This will meet your criteria very well and the newer Accord is a great drive as well.

stanmoresaver

shaggy wrote:

Am narrowing the choice to the following:

Audi A4 Tdi - plenty of ex-fleet stock at auctions. generally high mileage
A4 Quattro Tdi -- very rare. can't seem to find any for a decent price. So I guess i can rule this out
BMW 330
VW Golf GT Tdi
Merc E220


My criteria are as follows:

- not too expensive to maintain.
- generally reliable.
- Good re-sale value.
- fuel economy.


:T

I went thrugh a similar exercise two months ago.

In the end, I got an E320 but this was partly due to availability- if you go to the auctions you will find exec diesels but most will have very high millage 100,000+. I bought privately.

Verdict E320- lovely car for the passengers- but if you want to drrrrrive the car, probably best bet is the BMW (have you considered previous shaped 5 series). BTW- New E series are more prone to electrical problems and when they are out of warranty they are horribly expensive to repair!

shaggy

jjames wrote:

I'm guessing that you've discounted the newer-model Honda Accord? This will meet your criteria very well and the newer Accord is a great drive as well.

Its probably out of my price range. I only *really* want to spend about £8-£9k

In answer to another poster, yes I have kids, but I use my car mainly to drive to/from work - joyrney can vary anywhere between 60-80 miles round journey per day depending on where I'm working :rolleyes:

So, Audis are very reliable. As good as they are, I don't really want to go for a Passat - yes I know they and Audi use the same engine, but the shape of the Passat doesnt really appeal to me.

I think I'll stick to an A4 or Merc E-220 (older shape, around 2001/2002 model so shouldnt be prone to any electrical faults) . My ideal choice would be a Quattro but I can't find any at a decent price. Any that go on Ebay are few and far between and fetch silly prices.

stanmoresaver wrote:

I went thrugh a similar exercise two months ago.

Verdict E320- lovely car for the passengers- but if you want to drrrrrive the car, probably best bet is the BMW (have you considered previous shaped 5 series). BTW- New E series are more prone to electrical problems and when they are out of warranty they are horribly expensive to repair!

You know, funny you say that. Ive just sold my BMW 530D (older shape, 2001 model) . Brilliant car, but I felt it was a bit too big for daily commuting on your own driving ... plus mine didnt have leather seats, and I really wouldnt mind a 530D sports model with cream leather if i can get hold of one ...

Probably the best diesels out there are BMWs IMHO but I just feel like a change

hinchy

Don't overlook SEAT's,