Advice on buying a new car.

motorguy

shaz77 wrote: »

I bought my last car second hand which was a diesel, and it only cost me £1000 and it was a very good car, however its now time for a new vehicle.

I'm trying to find something that looks reasonable but nothing fancy, it should be a solid and efficient car.

For a long time i ran a cheap second car just to have as a runabout. The two that didnt cost me anything during the 3-4 months i usually kept them were a 2000 Ford Mondeo 1.8 Zetec and a 1996 Peugeot 406 2.0GLX. Good honest, decent sized cars with cheap mechanicals and proven engines and as cheap as chips.

The others were mostly diesels including Toyota Corolla 2.0D, peugeot 306 td, peugeot 205 diesels, Vauxhall astra diesel, Vectra Diesel, and a Ford Mondeo 1.8TD, and all of them cost on average £100 a month in maintenance - heater plugs, batteries, injectors, front suspension joints, clutch, fuel pump. All looked and drove great when i bought them.

Not saying the above should be avoided, just that older diesels seem to cost more to maintain. Also, if people have a good one, they tend to keep it until it starts to give trouble, then sell it on.

ballyblack

Totally agree. An old diesel may be 30% easier on fuel than the same petrol engine but if it gives trouble this initial saving will mean nothing!