400 mile commute per week - what car?

mikey72

Peugeot diesel 106, we had one, it did 55 to the gallon, 15,000 miles a year, good motorway runner, cost less than £500, cost nothing apart from wear and tear items, and regular oil changes.
£130 a year tax rather than £215 if you buy a pre 2001 compared to a mondeo.

chris175

I'll second a Peugeot 106 Diesel, go for the 1.5 rather than the 1.4 though, the 1.4 isn't a bad engine but it's not a bullet proof as the 1.5.

I had one for commuting from Crewe to North Manchester, i sold it with 172,000 miles on the clock. and if i sat at 60mph it'd return 70mpg.

Be careful of rear suspension though, make sure the back wheels sit vertically and not on an angle otherwise the radius arm bearings are shot and it's an MOT failure that's not an easy or cheap fix

VfM4meplse

I bought a new 106 diesel in 1995, and made good use of it for 7 years. It was economical (in those days what wasn't?) and based on it's performance I bought a imported 206cc in 2002. That had to be the worst buy ever, it was a total money pit. I wouldn't buy Peugeot again.

mikey72

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I bought a new 106 diesel in 1995, and made good use of it for 7 years. It was economical (in those days what wasn't?) and based on it's performance I bought a imported 206cc in 2002. That had to be the worst buy ever, it was a total money pit. I wouldn't buy Peugeot again.

I'd buy another one tommorrow if I had the chance.

s_b

mikey72 wrote: »

I'd buy another one tommorrow if I had the chance.

long in the tooth now and not the best in an accident

i would suggest for a £1000 and reliability a decent mk5 fiesta with the ohv endura engine

mikey72

s_b wrote: »

long in the tooth now and not the best in an accident

i would suggest for a £1000 and reliability a decent mk5 fiesta with the ohv endura engine

I never had an accident in one.

s_b

mikey72 wrote: »

I never had an accident in one.

nor do most people
just taken my brother in law home he had a major accident 4 weeks ago someone drove backwards out of their drive straight into him

worried_jim

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Not only that, you can run a MK1 or MK2 diesel Mondeo on veggie oil. The most my uncle and parents have dared try is a 50% mix but it should be possible to go higher, even to 100% with a pre-heater.

They're long in the leg now and quite gutless compared to more modern common rail diesel engines but they're still very comfortable for putting mileage in and you can't overlook the veggie oil.

I would never do that on a Mondeo as they have Lucas fuel pumps and will break very easily, if however you manage to have an old pre common rail diesel with either a Bosch fuel pump or a Denso (Japanese copy) then you will have a much better opportunity to run on veg.
But a Ford with a lucas is asking for trouble and please don't do it without some proper modifications such as a twin tank system.

-Just searched here-
http://www.biomotors.co.uk/CarsVansD.html#Ford
and you can't even twin tank some Mondeos they are that bad!

maninthestreet

How are you going to afford the fuel costs for 1600 miles a month if you only have a £1000 to buy a car??

worried_jim

maninthestreet wrote: »

How are you going to afford the fuel costs for 1600 miles a month if you only have a £1000 to buy a car??

Maybe because they have to drive 1600 miles per month they can only afford £1k.