spec me a car for my driving?

D4nny

just got myself a new job i start on the 23rd of feb and basicly im going to be looking at getting a new car that will be better on fuel i think.for my new job i will be doing are 2miles on the a38 then around 10miles on the m1 then 8 miles going into a city so pretty slow start stop traffic,ill only have around 2grand to spend wich i know isnt very much but there are all sorts to have but my predicement is do i get something that is good and will have large mpg on a motorway drive or do i get something small engine wich will benefit more in the slow start stop type of journey?

DUTR

What do you have at present?

neilmcl

Forget the fuel economy for now all you want is a reliable car that'll get you to work and back in a safe and comfortable manner. If you're current car fits the bill then there's really no reason to change, particularly as you've only £2K to spend.

D4nny

at present i have a 2002 vauxhall astra 2.0 dti it has now done around 120,000miles and is going to be needing a clutch brake pipes and a few other bits doing to it.im a mechanic by trade and also work for vauxhall i can do the work involved not a problem its just the cost of parts against what the cars worth.at around 50mph on the motorway it is at 2k rpm i wouldnt like to go any slower than that on a motorway thats for sure.but just not sure how it would handle the start stop driving or what it will be like on fuel during that section of the journey.
so around 16miles a day city driving and 20 ish miles a day motorway driving.

Spicy_McHaggis

Plenty of taxis are 2 litre diesels and handle a mixture of roads no problem.

forgotmyname

But you can spend over £2k on a car that still needs a clutch and brake pipes etc..

If the mileage was 200,000 then i would say get something else but. No reason why it wont do another 50k miles+ if you look after it.

D4nny

ok thanks guys,i shall run it and see how i get on with it

londonTiger

With your budget of £2k, it's absolutely pointless selling your current car to buy another one because you'll only be able to buy something 100K, 10 year old ish. Which may have similar issues that will materialise in a few month or so.

If you like your car and confident that the work you listed is the only stuff needs doing then you might as well get them done and get another 40 miles out of it.

loskie

Go on be honest. You just want a different car don't you. If you really are a mechanic it will cost you peanuts fixing your Astra. Plus being an older diesel you have no DPF or DMF to worry about.
Odd question from a mechanic."What car do I need?"



/\ He means more than 40 miles I am sure.

D4nny

I will be honest no i dont want a new car iv got much better things to do with my money than buy another car and Yes iam really a mechanic and i know exactly how much it would cost me in parts to get my astra back to a half decent standard and i wouldnt say it will costs peanuts,and it does actually have a dmf.i dont see why you think it is such an odd question from a mechanic iv always been fortunate enough to never have to travel on the motorway or do city driving for work purposes so was just asking what would be better to get for better mpg a car thats better on motor way runs or a car that will be better during city stop start traffic.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Don't mind me asking, but why, as a mechanic, have you let your Astra get into its present state.
You might well leave the clutch till it starts to slip or hopefully till it gets a bit warmer before replacing, but brake pipes?...either they'd be cleaned up and coated in CL type grease or they'd be replaced with copper, which would cost you almost nothing.
Do mechanics no longer practice preventative maintenance, you see the results of neglect daily so know where it leads.

You have as good a daily hack as anything else already, if you look after it.