Recommend me a motorway runner

getmore4less

I think the VAG 1.9TDI manual in any of the models will be a tough one to better.

Just look at the number of Skoda 1.9 taxis. DMF goes, stick a SMF in, no dpf in the octavia, basic models cheap but a fully speced L&K will be hard to find at a decent price

Plenty of other motorway munchers that will do the 50+mpg.

An alternative is a VRS still get 50+ on a run and plenty of power for the fun times.

steve-L

jase1 wrote: »

... or the sort of person who likes flushing money away on depreciation.

I spent £2000 on a 5 year old car. Whereas a diesel Octavia of the same age is £5000. That extra 10mpg is going to have to mount up for a while to equal the cost saving on the vehicle, and that's before the additional potential costs of modern diesels are factored in.

Except ....
When you do 20,000 a year your Petrol will quickly die.
it might be the right car for you but Harding1985 is looking for a MOTORWAY RUNNER!

What are the potential costs of modern diesels?
1) DPF - Not an issue for Harding as he's doing MOTORWAY
2) DMF - My Honda has just under 180,000 on the original DMF and did 111,000 on the first clutch.... mostly MOTORWAY MILES..... My BMW 330d (With power and Torque boosted) is on its original clutch and DMF at 122,000 miles! (and adding more torque is one way to wear clutches) REASON, you only ear the clutch and DMF WHEN YOU USE THEM! Cruising the motorway in 5th or 6th doesn't use them. I can go from 40mph to 155mph without changing gear in either 5th or 6th.... (well I assume 5th as the 155mph is limited electronically... people who had it removed report 180mph on tracks)
No clutch use means no wear on DMF or clutch/ball joint.

The bigger diesels doing mainly motorway miles should easily do 500,000 miles on the engine. Its the rest of the car might fail!

Meanwhile:
The Petrol might live to 150,000? You still need to replace the clutch and the cost of labour is the same for clutch + DMF or clutch only.
(The BMW is RWD, cost of labour is LESS to replace clutch and or DMF)

When your clutch fails you car was purchased for £2000 and has been used so lets say its worth £1000? Will you spend £800 to replace the clutch or have to write it off? Say it fails at 130k? What do you do? The car might be lucky to get another 20k from the engine? Course it might get another 60k ... but who knows....

Meanwhile the Octavia needs a new clutch and/or flywheel.....
Choice of changing to SMF ... but personal choice as if its used mainly on motorways the DMF might well last another 100k? On the other side the DMF is hardly needed on motorway since you are not changing gears so often so perhaps replace with DMF as it will make the last 5 miles more pleasant each day.

Same for the rather likely electronics faults that occur on modern cars either diesel or petrol.
If you need a new ECU in either it will cost about the same but in one its economic to replace, in the other its not. One means scrapping the car....

Each time you change cars you are going to lose money....
For Harding, he's using it for work so he won't have the luxury of spending a month after getting rid of the next car to find a 'great bargain'.
Say he PX's he can expect to lose £500 each time he changes car....this goes a long way into what is and is not economic to repair.

The Octavia diesel engine will way outlast the 2.0 petrol.... and meantime the extra 10mpg (I'm not really sure where this comes from as it is probably more) is an extra bonus! The car will hold a value long enough to make repairs economic if it does high motorway miles.

Meanwhile both will require 'consumables' like brakes, tyres....

Consider it like buying a worksuit....
I need to have mine dry cleaned every 2 weeks... it costs a bit over £10
I can buy one from Primark for £50 or M&S for £150.

After a year I spend say £200 in dry cleaning on either. (being generous with days I don't wear a suit).
Primark price = £250, M&S price £350
After a year the Primark one has died and never actually looked that good anyway.
The M&S one has many dry cleans left! Perhaps another 4-5 years!
Over 5 years....
Primark £200x5 + 5x£50 =£1500
M&S £200x5 + £150 = £1400

In-between the M&S suit looked better!
Perhaps I lose the extra £100 having pockets mended... seems I ruin most my suits this way!

jase1

steve-L wrote: »

Except ....
When you do 20,000 a year your Petrol will quickly die.
it might be the right car for you but Harding1985 is looking for a MOTORWAY RUNNER!

Will it hell.

I took a 1.8 petrol to 265,000 miles and the engine was still absolutely fine.

This rubbish about petrol engines not lasting is getting very tiresome.

steve-L

jase1 wrote: »

Will it hell.

I took a 1.8 petrol to 265,000 miles and the engine was still absolutely fine.

And my mate has met a Saab owner with 1 MILLION on a petrol....but is that normal? there are still quite a few old Rover V8's around with LOTS AND LOTS of miles!

This rubbish about petrol engines not lasting is getting very tiresome.

Its not rubbish its statistical fact.
Most petrol engines are starting on borrowed time over 100k and some newer 1.4T way before that.

With good care and attention including previous owners a few petrol 2.0's will make the 1/4 million... a few might even make 1/2 million.
However most 2L+ diesels will make 1/4 million and a still large percent 1/2 million.

This is mainly due to the different design of the Diesel but especially true for performance petrol engines and the more performing and lighter they are the less your likely to get out of them. Start on Aluminium and you might get good performance but at the expense of longevity. On the other hand weight saving is not a concern for the diesel (or the old Rover V8).... (or even some of the V6 petrols... but standard 4 pot's are designed to give a power/weight that results in a weaker engine.



Really though it comes down to what's economic to replace.
If you want the dying engine doesn't need to mean the death of the car.... it just comes down to if its economic to stick in a refurb?

andygb

getmore4less wrote: »

I think the VAG 1.9TDI manual in any of the models will be a tough one to better.

Just look at the number of Skoda 1.9 taxis. DMF goes, stick a SMF in, no dpf in the octavia, basic models cheap but a fully speced L&K will be hard to find at a decent price

Plenty of other motorway munchers that will do the 50+mpg.

An alternative is a VRS still get 50+ on a run and plenty of power for the fun times.

:beer:

All good, excellent advice.
I have taken many cars to Europe but my Octavia 1.9 saw us proud - quiet, stressfree, economic - what nore do you need?
3000 miles later we were home.

What more do you need?