Diesel or Petrol Commuter?

Mansize_tissue

Mansize_tissue

Mansize_tissue

Soldato
Joined
20 Mar 2007
Posts
3,095
Location
Norwich
Looking to get my first car so I can get to and from a job I start this month. Planning on spending around £1000, could perhaps stretch to £1200 if I really have to. I'll be doing a 40 mile round trip everyday so I was thinking of getting a 2001-2003 2l diesel Mondeo, getting me about 47-50mpg depending on the particular engine. Though most of the ones I've been looking at are around the 120-150 thousand mile mark. How much of a problem is this likely to be? I'm quite unaware of the lifespan of these cars.

I've spend a lot of time looking but would rather stay away from French hatches (or just small cars in general) unless someone can convince me otherwise, though there were a few Meganes that caught my eye. I'm also currently considering a 2001ish 1.4l petrol Civic.

Basically: first car, I need something that doesn't drink too much, isn't tiny and that I won't have to spend much time/money maintaining.

Thanks in advance.
 
Avoid TDCi diesel Mondeos at this price point. They're unreliable moneypits. TDDi is slightly more reliable but we're talking tractor levels of refinement and performance. The 2001 Mondeos were also poorly built (1st batch) with components made of cheese, which regularly need replacing.
 
It probably isn't so much the distance but the type of roads on a relatively short commute like this.

40 mile round trip isn't much and you'd probably be better off looking at petrol. Especially if your route is down the A140 :)
 
At that price point go petrol. You're only going to get older and /or high mileage cars for your budget and there's more to go wrong on most diesels.
 
Ok thanks for the help everyone. I'll steer clear of the diesel Mondeos then! Thinking of going with a 1.6 Focus which is what I had originally planned on getting in the first place, or perhaps an Ibiza or Leon if I can find a decent example.
 
At this price point, if you HAD to have an oil burner - old mechanical injection french dervs are bombproof - but comparable to sitting in a paintshaker with a full set of spanners, refinement wise.
 
Mansize_tissue said:
Ok thanks for the help everyone. I'll steer clear of the diesel Mondeos then! Thinking of going with a 1.6 Focus which is what I had originally planned on getting in the first place, or perhaps an Ibiza or Leon if I can find a decent example.
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Toledo is a good bet at this price point. I think a fairly economical petrol will suit your needs just fine.
 
MarkDavis said:
Avoid TDCi diesel Mondeos at this price point. They're unreliable moneypits. TDDi is slightly more reliable but we're talking tractor levels of refinement and performance. The 2001 Mondeos were also poorly built (1st batch) with components made of cheese, which regularly need replacing.
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what the tddi is faster than the tdci

what cheese components are we talking about here ?

have you even seen one of these tractor like cheese mondeos?
 
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