Used diesel car choice - narrowly escaped Pug 307!

peterg1965

Having nearly bought a 307 and thought better of it when the car just wasn't right......Three cars I am now seriously intersted in:

2005(55) Focus 1.6TDci Ghia - 33000 miles up for £6888 - Arnold Clark

2005(05) Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi (105bhp) 50,000 Elegance - £6995 Independant dealer

2005(54) Skoda Superb 1.9 TDi (130) Comfort up for £6995 - Arnold Clark.

Spoken with dealers and there appears to be 'movement' on the price...what should I be looking at paying? What is the 'best' car?

Of to drive a 1.6TDCi Focus this afternoon (not the car above) but have never driven a Skoda/VW 1.9TDi.

Conor_3

The TDCi engine is a cracking motor but check for judder when setting off from a standstill as this indicates a DMF problem and they aren't cheap. Typically a clutch and DMF go every 80,000 miles.

Also look at the servicing costs. Fords are cheap with one expensive service then two cheap ones all at 12500 mile intervals.

sheslookinhot

here is another one to think about. Seat Leon

MarkyMarkD

Arnold Clark have an awful reputation for dealing with customers badly if their cars develop faults, so I'd probably steer clear of them.

I would also suggest that VW TDIs are great and therefore that the Octavia is a good car. It's a newer model than the Superb by a good few years.

Having dissed Arnold Clark, the Focus is very well thought of and will definitely be cheaper to service than the Octavia. I just had a minor service (basically an oil change and a few other checks) on my Fabia and it was around £170.

wallacebob

Octavia wins for me. Mine is 51 plate, had a hard life, 130k miles. Still gives 55 mpg and utterly reliable. My wife has ran it for last year as I replaced it with 55 Toledo.
I am now selling the Tolly as it drinks diesel, rattles and needs work done at every service. Tracking is always going out, and it wears tyres out very quickly. Back to the Octavia for me.

JonathanA

All depends how much space you need. Superb is a saloon - essentially a stretched VW Passat. Not driven one, but would imagine it is not dissimilar to the Passat to drive which was OK.

Have owned both Octavia 1.9TDi and several Focuses (but the 2.0TDCI not the 1.6) If you need a largeish boot, the Octavia is the one to have. If that isn't a problem and you enjoy a good drive, the Focus is good. Try to drive both, that will probably make up your mind for you.

All 3 cars are good, so it will be your personal preference at the end of the day. Look around though, many Octavias are used as taxis where we live, and that wouldn't be the case unless they were good cars as taxi drivers can't afford to have expensive cars sat off the road!

Happy hunting

peterg1965

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I popped into Arnold Clarke in Preston yesterday to have a look at a 3dr Focus 1.6TDCi Zetec (05 plate) just to get the feel of the Focus, as the cars I listed are in Yorkshire and Scotland! I was not impressed with the car, lots of stone chips and marks on bumpers, missing service history with the usual excuses form the salesman. I shall be very wary of AC when I see the other two cars this week. They are certainly a 'stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap(ish)' merchant. Derisory 30 day warranty as well.

Space is not a huge issue for me, its a third car to be used by me for longish commutes and lots of motorway driving, but a big boot it is always useful and I will be transporting my sons manual wheelchair on frequent trips. I feel that the Focus is certainly the sensible choice but the Octavia/Superb are both a bit different without sacrificing economy and comfort. I am just so pleased I walked away form the Peugeot 307 I saw last week!

If I could find an Octavia with leather and satnav for my budget I would be VERY happy!