2nd hand car search...1.4diesel, 2.6k to spend..advice please??

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi all! I'm not at all technically minded..! In my search for a 1.4diesel or less (to keep the £30 tax & econmy/low insurance) I've narrowed it down to Toyotal yaris (reliability & on pre-2005 no PDF filter-which Ive heard is good (!), & i think a cam chain not belt), Fiesta 1.4di as choice 2-depending on local availability (more fiestas than yaris's!).

Could I ask you guys about corsa 1.2di? They seem to be good value-cheap parts & plently around & I think even cheaper on insurance. Do the older models (2002-2005) have PDF filters? Also I beleive they have the metal cam chains too.

Last question-if I find a from a private seller & like it-would it be worth paying for an RAC inspection?

I'm very nervous about buying privately-my mechanically minded mates are £150 miles away! is it worth paying for an RAC inspection? Also-if from a dealer should I allways go for full MOT & haggle for a warrenty?

Thanks in advance if you can help-my head is spinning with all this...!

getmore4less

don't rule out larger engines some still have low tax insurance and good economy.

eg Clio 1.5cdi


what sort of use types of trips and annual mileage

mikey72

I like the Modus, the euro 4 is £30 tax, but they're few and far between.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Work from home-so usually 4 miles to town & back-occaisional trips to Norfolk-135 miles each way. I'd say 6000 PA. Yarris's seem rare & hard to get. Another forum has said the Fiat engines in the corsas cause lots of problems.

avantra

1. Do get the RAC or any other knowledgeable person to check the car, look at the price of the inspection as part of your purchase.


2. The 1.3 Corsas are good but like any other diesel you will have to live with more problems than petrols.

3. I think the Fiat/GM 1.3 is a bit less sluggish than the PSA sourced 1.4 in the Fords and others.

4. You should repeat the mantra 'Mileage Mileage Mileage' not 'VED VED VED'. If you do more than 15-17k a year diesel can probably be justified, less than that go for Petrol.

In the scheme of things if you keep the car for at list 5 years the difference you spend on the disk between a 1.2 petrol and 1.4 diesel will be around £475 which you might have to spend on a new DMF or a high pressure diesel pump so take your choices.

If you must have a diesel and you can scratch another £900 you can get this or this, it doesn't have a DPF, the DMF is not problematic as far as I know and it will probably be problem free for the next 50k. You will have a better ride as well. VED is around £95 which is not bad.

Lum

What is the intended usage of this car. Given we're talking small car and small engine then I'm suspecting it's short urban trips.

If this is the case then a diesel car may not be the best choice.

mikey72

DEBTMONKEY1A wrote: »

Work from home-so usually 4 miles to town & back-occaisional trips to Norfolk-135 miles each way. I'd say 6000 PA. Yarris's seem rare & hard to get. Another forum has said the Fiat engines in the corsas cause lots of problems.

Diesel would cope with the long journeys thrown in, but for 6000 miles a year, maybe a small petrol would be a good idea.

verityboo

mikey72 wrote: »

Diesel would cope with the long journeys thrown in, but for 6000 miles a year, maybe a small petrol would be a good idea.

I agree - definitely worth considering a petrol car with such a low mileage. Make sure your not spending a fortune to a save a few quid a year on road tax. Diesels take longer to warm up compared to petrol engines, so no real economy advantage on the 4 mile journeys, your just paying more for the fuel!

jase1

Not to mention the fact that if you are doing 6000 miles a year and you go with petrol, your horizons are opened right up with regards to choice. MPG doesn't vary significantly between a 1.0 and a 1.6 really (they'll all do 30mpg around town, and few petrols exceed 40).

You'll get a newer car with fewer miles for the money you're spending, and don't forget that despite this oft-repeated mantra about "diesels lasting forever",

1) Petrol engines will also last for many hundreds of thousands of miles if properly serviced these days;
2) The rest of the car doesn't change between diesel and petrol (indeed a diesel engine stresses the car that surrounds it more than a petrol does).

At this price range condition is everything. Buying a newer car builds longevity into the equation straight away.

Personally? I'd buy a 1.3 or 1.4 Hyundai Getz for about £1500-2000 at 6 years old. Just out of warranty, probably low miles, reliable, good for another 5 years at the very least.

forgotmyname

Petrol cars seem to warm up a lot faster than diesel cars these days. Too many short
journeys in a diesel will never see the oil get upto a decent working temperature.

Especially bad if its a turbo diesel.

I wish i had bought another petrol car sometimes.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi-thanks ALL for your suggestions! I've just found that my job may involve some fairly lengthy motorway runs & more driving (I'm home based but some of my work now will involve driving in the Spring/Summer). Looking at a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa 1.3CDTI energy-full mot-all od mots/service history, 91000 miles 2 owners & 3 month warranty.

Guys/gals-am I right in saying no DPF filter in this?