Dirty Diesel power - 800 quid

Stormster

Stormster

Stormster

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Is this a viable option in this day and age? lol.

My Cousin is thinking about having a runaround, little turbo diesel and he was asking what seems a good bet for under a grand... just small or medium sized kinda cars.

All I could think of which are semi reliable and not that bad cars in terms of running costs were Astra MK3 1.7 isuzu TD's and Pug 306 TD's. He likes the idea of an old phase 1 306 but in mint condition... or should he really be looking at phase 2's really, bit newer, different styling but anything else really any different?

Any other ideas? Does anyone know much about 306's or Astra TD's, reliability and stuff that is prone for going wrong etc?
 
Given the price of diesel, a small engined petrol would be a better bet imo.

Not to mention Sub £1k diesels tend to be akin to tractors (I know mine is!)
 
Xsara TD? Essentially a 306 with a better interior and generally cheaper to buy.

The main thing engine-wise on the older TD's is frequent oil changes and keeping the cooling system in good condition. A Peugeot/Citroen 1.9TD will run forever if you change the oil every 6k and don't let it overheat.
 
Sounds good really... if he had one might be worth doing an oil and coolant change straight off, wont cost above 25 quid :)

I know heater matrix's go on 306's, but does anything else go which is a big expensive fix?

Good point about Xsaras, forgot about them.
 
An old Pug run on Cooking oil makes Perfect sense these days.
Good suggestion with one of the Citreons with an old Pug lump in it as well, You can also get old Rovers with them in.
 
The heater matrix tends to go if the coolant isn't changed every 2 years, preferably with genunie anti-freeze. Likewise the radiators.

Electrical niggles are the biggest issue on the 306 - make sure everything works. Blower motors, alarms and central locking in particular can cause problems.
 
Aye I used to like ZX Volcane TD's as a kid haha, but not quite that nice now.

Cheers guys will pass on the details :) Any more to look for? Mechanical wise?
 
At this price, anything with the Pug/Citroen 1.9TD engine in it is a good bet. Personally I've got a bit of a soft spot for Xantia's as we had one in the family for several years - failing that I'd be after a 406, Xsara, 306, ZX in that order.

If you're going to run it on pump diesel though, I'd be suprised if you'd get much more economy out of it than a smaller petrol.
 
On parkers some 1.9 td 306's say 42mpg average, some say 46mpg...

As you say though maybe a small petrol would be more cost effective... readily available cheap to buy cars around a grand or less that I just looked at on parkers... all cheap to run beasties I expect parts wise?

saxo 1.1 46mpg
saxo 1.4 43mpg
saxo vtr 42mpg

xsara hdi 52mpg

punto (mark 2) 1.2 16v 47mpg (sporting 44mpg?!)
punto jtd 57mpg

fiesta (mk5?) 1.8 td 53mpg
fiesta (mk4/5) 1.25 40mpg

hyundai accent 47mpg

nissan micra 1.3/1.4 46mpg

pug 106 1.1 42mpg
pug 106 1.4 44mpg
pug 106 1.5d 54mpg

pug 206 1.4 45mpg
pug 206 2.0 hdi 55mpg (not around a grand though)

pug 306 dturbo 46mpg

mk2 clio 1.2 8v 45mpg
mk2 clio 1.4 8v 41mpg

rover 25 1.4 41mpg

mk3? ibiza 90bhp tdi 56mpg

toyota starlet 43mpg

astra mk3 tds 47mpg

corsa (corsa b) 1.2 8v 41mpg
corsa 1.4 8v 38mpg
corsa 1.2 16v 44mpg
corsa 1.5 td 52mpg

vw polo 8v 1.4 44 mpg (16v 40mpg)
newer polo (6n2?) 1.4 75bhp 43mpg (16v 40mpg)

None are special... but are any actually any good in comparison to 306 option? :)
 
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Little turbo diesels are crap. Dont worry, I'm going to be a good boy and explain why.

Turbo diesels save you money when you do lots of driving. Little town cars are for popping to the shops in - ie, not doing lots of driving. So, it follows, that a TD 106 or whatever is infact a pointless car. Especially when..

.... 1.1 litre and suchlike petrol cars are really rather economical - almost as economical as the diesel versions, but quieter, more refined and of course, run on fuel thats more than 10p a litre cheaper.

This is why the idea of a 106 diesel always made me think huh. If you did the miles to justify a diesel you wouldnt have a 106 and if you did the driving to justify a 106 you wouldnt need the diesel.
 
I'd be willing to bet you'd get a Xsara 1.6 in really good condition for £800. Basically the same car as the 306 but it'll be much newer and have more kit than the 'old phase 1 306' you mentioned in the OP.
 
as said the xsara is prob your best bet. 800 will get you a 99-00 SX TD, maybe even an early 90ps HDI. mileage will be above average. SX has all the essentials at this age, including AC etc.

theyre stupidly good value for monehs now. :)
 
46mpg from a 306td is pushing your luck a bit unless the journey is all motorway miles. They usually do about 600 miles to a tank when doing motorway miles, but it's a 60 litre tank so that's not as fantastic as it first sounds.

HDI's are better at 54mpg, but that's not in your price range.

I bought my 306TD for £150 from a friend, my GF got one on Autotrader for £300, it just needed a new clutch. Bargains can be found for less than £800.
 
I never found my 1.9TD that economical - I got about 33mpg out of it, granted this was all round town and in a larger car but... even so its not fantastic. It's only 10mpg more than I get from the 530i which when looking at town mileage is hardly a big saving.
 
[TW]Fox;11750096 said:
I never found my 1.9TD that economical - I got about 33mpg out of it, granted this was all round town and in a larger car but... even so its not fantastic. It's only 10mpg more than I get from the 530i which when looking at town mileage is hardly a big saving.
Click to expand...

I agree, it's not fantastic MPG.

I've done a week to work in my parents Xantia (1.9TD) and got about 40mpg. The same usage in my Clio gets 38-40...
 
our ZX 1.9TD does 49mpg to town and back (all we use it for) easy.

as with everything, depends what state its in.
 
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