Advice needed on low cost (mostly) motorway driving

freezebox

Mate. For 10K You can get a very nice audi a6 2.7 le mans tdi with about 60/70k miles on it. They are rock solid and one of the best cars for motorway and onroad driving - can squeeze 45mpg out of it on the motorway if you are careful. Pure driving machines. They are fantastic. Otherwise A3'a are also pretty good.

vaio

shiphen wrote: »

No, not main dealer - a small local dealer.

The main cost was the turbo which died in slow motion, bit by bit, with various rubber pipes corroding and first the intercooler then the whole thing being replaced ! These are all in costs dont forget, including various other things like 4 new tyres, wiper blades, fluids, oil etc. Also from memory break disks and pads. Squirter motors. Fuel pump leaks.

I simply do not have the time nor inclination (nor skill) to do a DIY job on it.

Even if I replace the shocks/springs/bushes to improve the cornering (??) my main complaint now it that it is NOISY and not very comfortable on long distances.

I can understand £2k+ bill for a failed turbo if the garage did it in dribs & drabs with you paying for their learning experience but it looks like you’ve repeated that process every year for the last four.

Or have I misunderstood and it’s £2k spread over four years, so £500 a year rather than £2K per year?

shiphen

vaio wrote: »

I can understand £2k+ bill for a failed turbo if the garage did it in dribs & drabs with you paying for their learning experience but it looks like you’ve repeated that process every year for the last four.

Or have I misunderstood and it’s £2k spread over four years, so £500 a year rather than £2K per year?

I dont know what planet you guys are on...(!) Are you actually keeping full detailed accounts of your car maintenance costs?

In my experience, it's very VERY easy to underestimate all the costs of ownership!

These are my full costs for repairs/maintenance/parts for the last 4 years, with the most recent years listed first.
(this includes: lightbulbs, tyres, tax, fluids, fuses, servicing insurance[sorry I forgot to mention that was in there, but it's only about 500 per year])

£3,084
£1,879
£2,432
£888

On top of which my deisel costs have been:
£1,787
£1,378
£1,461
£1,163

I estimate depreciation of my Golf which has now done 140,000 miles as follows:
Depreciation:
Purchase price: £7,500 (just over 4 years ago)
Value now: £1,500
Lost value: £6,000
Lost value per year: £1,402

shiphen

P.S. According to gizmag.com, in 2006 the Honda Accord won "The 100 most reliable cars of the last decade".
http://www.gizmag.com/the-100-most-reliable-cars-of-the-last-decade-in-order/5657/

So I am thinking a 2006 Honda Accord should be a *very* reliable car.
The only trouble is that I can't see many (other) big/unfashionable 'executive' type cars that would make good comfortable motorway cruising cars in that list. I dont think I can live with a Jag badge (X-type at #13). Perhaps a Volvo (Model: S/V40 at #15) - although I dont know much about them...

grizzly1911

How a bout a Toyota Avensis - 56 on. Six speed, 3 engines 126bhp - 180bhp.

I have a 2.0 - 126BHP and it has ample performance, good low torque, coupled with 54 mpg+ in reasonable motorway cruising. 180 was quick but mpg dropped.

Comfortable relaxed. More room inside than the Honda.

Car Tax is in the 149gco level or £145.

If you ignore the headline grabbing recalls of late Toyotas were always highly rated.

Plus point - has chain driven cam so no belt changes.

shiphen

Toyota Avensis - interesting thought...
According to WhatCar magazine the max power listed is 148BHP (e.g. 2.2 D-CAT 150 T Spirit auto 5dr) , but that is a bit slow (0-60 of 9.8secs) and average MPG is only 42MPG. The 2.0 D-4D is 50MPG but is even slower (0-60 of 10.8-11.7secs)....

Whereas the Honda Accord (2.2 iDTEC 180 Type S 5dr) is 177BHP, 0-60 of 9.2secs and an average MPG of 47 (apparently!)...

P.S. Erm... confused - maybe those are number for *modern* cars

vaio

shiphen wrote: »

.....These are my full costs for repairs/maintenance/parts for the last 4 years, with the most recent years listed first.
(this includes: lightbulbs, tyres, tax, fluids, fuses, servicing insurance[sorry I forgot to mention that was in there, but it's only about 500 per year])

£3,084
£1,879
£2,432
£888

If saving money is one of your considerations I’d be interested to see how much of your costs is actual unexpected repairs rather than stuff, like insurance/tyres/bulbs/oil changes/brakes etc etc that will need to be paid on any car you have.

almillar

You seem happy with rep-mobile (Mondeo etc) size, including tourers, even though you want easy to park. I suppose that's relative, but these cars will depreciate faster than those in the class below, like your Golf, as I think you already know. Certainly if you want to play the depreciation game you're looking at the right size of car, and there'll be plenty of ex-lease and ex-company cars around, as long as you can find one with the right mileage and spec (cruise control), you'll be amazed what you can get for the money, and I mean £5k not £10k.
Thought about a Nissan Primera or Citroen C5? These 2 must have shocking depreciation, but the C5 especially would be very comfy.

grizzly1911

I wouldn't get overly hung up on ultimate performance figures.

A couple of seconds at the extreme is less important than overall drive ability.

Most people don't drive like that in reality. Comparing say 8 sec to 16 maybe...

Have driven a Golf TDI and C3 with a great kick up th bum at 2K revs and in the case of the Golf v. quick figures. Yes they were fun at times but they could also be a pain to drive in a relaxed manner as it was like having an on off switch.

What is more important is in gear pickup and low down torque, (especially with long gears at motorway speeds) if you don't want to be shufflingthe box.

rodenal

If you are willing to sell your 150bhp tdi mk4 golf with 140k miles and a new turbo for £1500 then I suggest that:

a) you're mad

b) you let me know where in the country you live and a bit more info on the car because I'll have it.