Does size matter?

Easypd

Sorry for the length of this post. i need to get this right for my sanity and my pocket!

Firstly, my commute:

1 mile to motorway, 65 miles motorway cruise, 7 miles on a 50mph road with a few roundabouts and then appx 2 miles through 40mph roads with a few roundabouts. About 1 hr 10 mins.

Then back again at night! so about 150 miles per day, vast majority motorway or over 30 mph.

I currently drive a 1.6 16v clio petrol on an 02 plate. She has served me really well, but i just scrape 38 mpg and she is ready to retire now. As well as the petrol, she is a relic of the business i have just taken on and so pay £85 per month in income tax as officially, she is a company car . This new one i will buy myself. if my sums are correct, i will not pay tax, the fuel will be lower and maybe i can get a bit more comfort. Take into account maintenance and i will either break even or be better off

From my journey, i guess i need a car suited mainly to motorway and the miles and so think diesel.

This is were i get confused!

There are loads of diesels that do amazing mpg, but are small engine cars, there are lods of bigger engined cars that do respectable mpg. There are also smaller engined 6 speed, which i am guessing the 6th is for motorway?

Would constant 70-80 cruising kill a small engined diesel? (in theory, just in case the speed limit is ever increased above 70... ) Longer term would i be better with a bigger engined car?

I was looking at 307 diesels and can get ultra low mileage in my price range, but i have been put off by stories of low mileage diesels may have issues resulting from many small journeys and killing the 'particulate filter'? Is this just 307s, or any low mileage diesel?

My requirements:

-ideally up to £4k
-needs to last 2 years, by which time my new business can afford to help with motoring costs.
-Economical on both running and maintenance (V important when i currently pay £500pm in petrol which is a significant chunk of my wage) and in an ideal world be relatively user friendly if i were to change oil and filters etc myself

I was looking at Peugeot 307 hdi, which i can get under 40k miles in my price. Citroen C4 1.5 diesel. Saab 9-3 1.9, but am worried about conflicting reliability stories

also looking at:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211224331851/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/4000/make/honda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/postcode/ta81nd/radius/1500?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201212014476957/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/price-to/4000/fuel-type/diesel/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/make/honda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/radius/1500/postcode/ta81nd?logcode=p

(bigger engine, but still economical. can only afford higher mileage ones, but i see they easily reach 200,000+ miles and seem to just keep going!)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211264384233/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/price-to/4000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/fuel-type/diesel/make/fiat/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/postcode/ta81nd/radius/1500?logcode=p

(6 speed and tidy, low mileage- obviously not this nasty, nasty colour though)


I appreciate this is a lot of waffle, but so many questions and i want to make the right decisions.

Please tell me if any of the above cars are not suitable and what sort of size really does matter!!!

Before you all say, moving is not an option and in the long run this will pay off for me when my business starts to turn a profit, so i am stuck with this commute

Jamie

wba31

Personally I'd recommend you avoid the 307 like the plague. My old man is a mechanic at Peugeot and when I was 21 I leased cars through him as it was cheaper (insurance was included) than it was to buy a car and insure it myself. I had 2 brand spanking new 307's (an 06 and 56 plate) and they spent 1/3 of the time i had them in the garage with electrical faults and other faults. I know people who have had 307s and had many problems with them. My dad once said the 307 kept him in a job, when the garage was losing work, but problems with 307s kept people coming back.
In my opinion doing 70 in a small diesel will not harm it. For £4000 have you considered the fiesta diesel? I dont know whether they are reliable or not. Maybe a Golf or Seat Leon, the diesel engine may be 1.9, but if they do a 1.6 it would be cheaper to insure. Skoda Fabia diesel?

Easypd

Thanks, all advice appreciated. Dont think insurance varies too much for me (within reason)

If i can use a small diesel i will, just in my head i would think the ecomony would get worse the faster you go, as it is straining more?

I will check out the cars you mention and avoid the peugeot!

Jamie

Easypd

Actually, perhaps thats why you can get low mileage 307 for such low money- they are costly and unreliable!

Is a super-low mileage car a big consideration for me? I will stack approx 70k miles onto it over the next 2 years...

rodenal

If I were you I'd look for a vag car with the 1.9 pd tdi engine in it. It's pretty bombproof and is devoid of the extra complexities more modern diesels come attached with. It will be an older car unless you are happy with the 105bhp version in a newer bodyshell but you should still be able to find a relatively low mileage one if that's what you're after, the only iteration I would personally avoid is the 150bhp version.

Don't waste your time on a 307, there are undoubtedly good ones out there but every one i've ever come across has been a pile of rubbish that is falling apart day by day. Were you spending £1k on it then I'd say go for it but not at 4 times this price.

For your mileage something golf sized is the minimum I'd want - look at the Seat toledo (saloon) with the 130 tdi in it, they sell for absolute peanuts but are a decent motor. Otherwise it'll be the usual golf, bora, octavia etc on offer.

colino

With such a high motorway component, don't waste money on a diesel, don't set fire to money by buying a Pug. Unless you need the flash/presence for the business, get a nice sensible 1.6-1.8 petrol in the mid-range from a volume maker and reap the benefits. (Incidentally your Clio really needs a seeing to as with that power to weight ratio in those ideal commute zones it should be in the mid 40's mpg).

Easypd

Was a bit worried googling 'Vag'- had to mae sure the kids werent about....

Volkwagen Audi group, phew!

I guess that as they are more reliable, i cannot get the 40k miles bargains, but i guess you get what you pay for and low mileage is not as important when reliability is good...

getmore4less

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/

check your short list real world MPG

skoda octavia 1.9 or maybe a 2.0 elegance spec min. L&K if you can find one at your price.

CLio is ok we have a 1.5Cdi one, but the larger octavia is a much better on the long runs. we have a 1.9 plenty fast enough NO DPF.

55+mpg on your runs.
[STRIKE] only 1 service after a year(fixed price) trade in after 2[/STRIKE]
misscalc the mileage, service every 6months
if you buy the right one that has had the big stuff(cambelt) done that will be it for 2 years with the usual tires/brakes etc.

The VAG 1.9 used across the range is considerd by some one of the best engines they have made so a fair few other cars to choose from if a skoda badge is an issue.

Look at your cruise speed and revs when you test drive, you need a car that is an easy comfortable drive. you could look at the DSG version but that will hit MPG in some versions.

smaller engine does not mean lower insurance.

rodenal

I would normally have said go petrol but given the op is doing in the region of 30k+ per year it starts to become worth the risk especially when there are still reasonable older gen diesel units around.

OP VW don't make the all singing reliable cars they'd like you to think they do and with your mileage things will break but the main component (i.e the pd engine) is strong - I wouldn't buy any of their 2 litre tdi's for example.

Easypd

Seems to be a lot of 1.9 seat alteas, Leons and Toledos, will check the Skodas as well- the badge could say whatever it likes, long as it gets me there!

Easypd

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201243489873721/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/4000/model/octavia/make/skoda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/ta81nd/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

Its a bit beige and ordinary, but who cares! Comfort, economy and reliability. hows this?