Modern Diesels

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Soldato
Joined
25 Apr 2007
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I grew up in the age where diesels were loud, smelly and unfashionable. Back when diesel was much cheaper per litre than unleaded. When a bearded old bloke would pull up to the single forecourt diesel pump to fill up his Citroen ZX for a fiver, before driving off in a plume of black smoke. Back then, diesels were also known to 'last forever'.

I'm now in a position of looking to buy a modest 'family' saloon car that needs to be a diesel (as I have a fairly long commute), in the region of 5-6k. Needs to be comfortable on the motorway and ideally have some nice toys. Each time one piques my interest, I read up on it, and without fail, they seem to suffer from either niggling expenses or just downright catastrophic failures.

Vectra - don't like em much, but they'd suit my need for a reasonably priced comfortable cruiser. Cam belt only of course, and all the ones up for sale need theirs doing in the near future.

Saab 9-3 - same problems as the Vectra as it's the same engine, plus some other random causes of failure when they get into the 70k+ mileage bracket

VW Jetta - Possible failures of component parts on 2.0 TDI PD engine that can cause 9k (!) of damage, and destroy other parts worth 2k on top of that.

Toyota - 2.0 D-4D engine. Apparently suffers from head gasket failures. A 3k fix.

Ford Mondeo - the wife doesn't like the old shape, but new shape out of budget with reasonable miles on the clock. And DMF failures most widely publicised on the Ford brand.

BMW - can't afford one that I'd feel is new enough. Don't want rear wheel drive either.

Skoda/Audi/Seat 'old faithful' 1.9 diesels. I was hoping for something more modern than a car utilising such an engine, as good as they were in their day.

So, are all modern diesels made of cheese, or is it just that when you look for reported faults, you find plenty of examples, but miss out on the thousands of happy owners? I'd like a car with c.50k miles on the clock, that will put on 20k miles per year when properly serviced and potentially keep going for another 4-5 years. Without sweating on massive bills popping up. Does such a beast exist?
 
There's no such thing as a 100% reliable car. Cars go wrong, some more than others. If your looking at car forums, keep in mind that people go on there when they have problems, not when things are going swimmingly.
 
If you're doing 20k a year doesn't matter what you buy at your budget you will need a substantial pot to keep it running. You're not going to find a car that will do 150k without having some hefty expense looming.
 
tip one

don't buy a diesel





buy a sensible economical petrol equivilant for a few grand less
 
mulpsmebeauty said:
Each time one piques my interest, I read up on it, and without fail, they seem to suffer from either niggling expenses or just downright catastrophic failures.
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As mentioned, this is the way the internet works. Car works well...nobody writes somewhere how brilliant it is, it goes wrong, its all over the place. You wanna go for about 150/200k without at least one or two large outlays though, drive it like a granny and pray...
:)
 
maccapacca said:
If you're doing 20k a year doesn't matter what you buy at your budget you will need a substantial pot to keep it running. You're not going to find a car that will do 150k without having some hefty expense looming.
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I agree with you fully, but I'm looking for something that's at least partially consistent so that I can put aside a certain amount per month and have that money cover servicing, insurance, wear and tear and the unexpected. Trouble is, it's difficult to legislate for the unexpected when it's a £1500 bill or whatever.

If I bought a 2 litre petrol car from most mainstream manufacturers I'd be thinking about alternators, exhausts, brake pipes etc - all manageable failure items. With modern diesels it seems I'd have a reasonable expectation of the car being mechanically written off once the miles climb.

It may be that petrol is the way to go, but I'd probably feel better seeing lower fuel costs while risking higher repair bills. I swear by Hondas, but can't afford a decent low-mileage Accord.
 
Vectra 1.8 petrol - 39 mpg x £1.30.9/litre x 20000 miles = £2995 to fuel a year


Vectra 1.9 diesel 48 mpg x£1.36.7/litre x20000 miles £2586 a year to fuel,


£400 a year saving in fuel, will the diesel honestly throw up £400 a year less in bills? it might it might not. but all it takes one fault to cost you the equivilant of 2 years fuel savings
 
233 said:
£400 a year saving in fuel, will the diesel honestly throw up £400 a year less in bills? it might it might not. but all it takes one fault to cost you the equivilant of 2 years fuel savings
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I think you might be talking a certain amount of financial sense and I'm looking at petrol models now as well. I'd appreciate some input on a couple of things though:

1. Am I correct in my assumption that a modern, well-treated and serviced petrol engine will last for a long time without likely major failings?

2. Would I be missing out on the lack of motorway grunt? While I'm generally a fairly placid driver, I do occasionally attempt to close down blatant undertakers. Is diesel in-gear pulling power vastly more noticeable (e.g. 1.9 diesel compared to a well-sorted 2 or 2.2 litre petrol), or do their lower rev ranges limit the numerical advantage?
 
Modern diesels are way over complicated and nowhere near as economical as they used to be. Petrol engines tend to have less problems.
 
titaniumx3 said:
Too true. Why should I have do 4 lanes changes for some idiot that's doing 60 in the middle lane.
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I used to move around people in the middle lane, but when I realised (being a younger driver at the time) that passing on the left wasn't illegal, I never bother changing lanes anymore. It should get the point across too.
 
I dont understand the negativity towards diesels. my current car is an 05 plate pug 307 diesel. owned it for 2 1/2 years and only ever had to replace a hand brake cable, and light bulbs for MOTs. i can get as much as 68mpg and given it has a large tank i can sometimes hit upwards of 800 miles to a full tank.

pretty sure the mondeos that had the DMF failures where the older tdi engines iirc but was quite easy to spot if it was starting to wear as you could spot metal fillings near the alternator and clutch housing.
 
Outcast said:
btw... If people are undertaking you then you're in the wrong lane !
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I take it you've never tried to leave a Highway Code recommended safe stopping distance between you and the car in front, whilst maintaining the same speed as the traffic in that lane, only to find the berk who's two feet off your rear bumper decides to nail it up the inside lane and into the gap in front of you? :p
 
mulpsmebeauty said:
I take it you've never tried to leave a Highway Code recommended safe stopping distance between you and the car in front, whilst maintaining the same speed as the traffic in that lane, only to find the berk who's two feet off your rear bumper decides to nail it up the inside lane and into the gap in front of you? :p
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I've been a truck driver since summer 1985. Just about anything and everything has happened to me.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Annoying..Certainly but hey ho.. Karma comes a calling sooner or later.

Have you chosen a replacement vehicle yet ?
 
mulpsmebeauty said:
I take it you've never tried to leave a Highway Code recommended safe stopping distance between you and the car in front, whilst maintaining the same speed as the traffic in that lane, only to find the berk who's two feet off your rear bumper decides to nail it up the inside lane and into the gap in front of you? :p
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If the inside lane is clear enough for them to pass you then you should be in it.
 
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