Seat Toledos

This is not a thread to discuss the Mazda. I'm aware of what was wrong with it, why it was wrong, etc etc. The sump was absolutely ruined, btw.

It's fixed and its back on the road (It was the parts cost that did the most damage, the labour was reasonable and not done by Mazda). This is not a 'omg the car broke buy a new one' thread. Hence having potentially months to hunt out a really nice example of whatever might be a more suitable choice.

The point is that it's shown that its not reasonable to expect a car to simply work and never, ever throw up bills. Therefore perhaps the choice of a perceived ultra reliabile petrol Mazda was not the best. It is not an economical car, and it chews fuel at an alarming rate. If fuel is the only cost the car ever suffers, then perhaps fair enough, but clearly it isn't. It just seems now that a 1.6 litre Mazda3 is not really the most suitable car.

So I'm wondering if something like a Toledo might be a better bet. Sure it might needs some suspension bits come MOT time, etc etc - but it's also saving between £100 and £150 each month in fuel.
 
I am one of the few people outside Spain who actually owned a toledo.

Mine was a 1.8 20v but the same applies. The SE is pretty well spec'd for what it is, climate, cruise, cd multichanger and they are a pretty comfortable place to be. In the 2 years I ran mine (it was 4 years old when I got it) I had no serious problems and parts are cheap because of the heritage.

Im not sure what the markets like for them anymore but I imagine you can get a 1.8 20v for a lot less than the diesel and on motorway runs they do about 40mpg.

Any questions ask but it has been a few years since I owned mine.
 
[TW]Fox;17591810 said:
It just seems now that a 1.6 litre Mazda3 is not really the most suitable car.
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I'm not sure why you bought it in the first place if fuel economy was a major requirement. You should know that accelerating up and down motorways, joining from slip roads, cutting through rush hour traffic, having low gearing, all with an underpowered 1.6 engine in a heavy car means the engine's going to be ragged.
 
MarkDavis said:
I'm not sure why you bought it in the first place. You should know that accelerating up and down motorways, joining from slip roads, cutting through rush hour traffic, having a low 5th gear, all with an underpowered 1.6 engine means the engine's going to be ragged. It's also a relatively heavy car in it class.
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It was a distress purchase. The previous car had expired, transport was required urgently, no spare cars were available, a new car had to bought in a hurry and down here in Devon almost without exception 95% of used cars are complete and utter nails. I viewed 4 ruined Mondeos, 1 nice Mondeo that almost got purchased but was full of water, a couple of Golfs, etc etc.

This appeared and was good value, reasonably new, etc etc. It was that or a crap broken Mondeo, pretty much.

Now there is plenty of time to do the job properly, so I'm exploring the options. The Toledo seems a pretty solid one so far, hence this thread to find out more about reliability.
 
I'd look for a Bora over a Toledo. Should be able to find a decent SE with the 130 engine for under 3k.

I was very happy with the Bora as a mile muncher, apart from the revvy 1.6 in mine getting noisy above 4k rpm. The 130 should be perfect in that role and average 45mpg easily. 205/55/16s shouldn't break the bank either.

Check the suspension bushes have been done tho, the rear axle can start thumping if they're perished and it's a big labour job.
 
Yea I must admit I've seen a few Boras and prefer them personally to the Toledo. They don't seem to offer as good value for money as the Toledo though, but it might be worth hanging on to see whats around.

Grr, the Mondeo TDCI is blatantly the best car, why cant they be reliable :D
 
[TW]Fox;17590351 said:
I've never got to the bottom of whether it's simply broken, crap or she droves with lead feet, but hey
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Being a bird, she was probably in 3rd on the motorway thinking it was 5th :D

None of the things that went wrong with the 3 were actually down to Mazda engineering.....anyway back on topic, there are sorts of VAG wagons big and small that should the job. Toledo, cheap as chips, a good amount of car for the money, they're a bit grim looking though aren't they?

If it was me in this position, I'd buy a 407 SW HDi.
 
Dont get me wrong, I'm not about to start shouting that Mazda suck and cant make cars. It just highlighted that this probably isnt really the right tool for the job, thats all.

407 HDi makes me nervous reliability wise. What are they like?
 
MarkDavis said:
Well, as she's a bird, she was probably in 3rd on the motorway thinking it was 5th :D

None of the things that went wrong with the 3 were actually down to Mazda engineering.....anyway back on topic, there are sorts of VAG wagons big and small that should the job. Toledo, cheap as chips, a good amount of car for the money, they're a bit grim looking aren't they.

If it was me in this position, I'd a 407 HDi.
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Winner, get a Peugeot, and you accuse me of bad recommendations :D
 
[TW]Fox;17592019 said:
Dont get me wrong, I'm not about to start shouting that Mazda suck and cant make cars. It just highlighted that this probably isnt really the right tool for the job, thats all.

407 HDi makes me nervous reliability wise. What are they like?
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Absolutely ****, that was the last car we used as company cars before giving up and giving out money instead.
 
[TW]Fox;17592019 said:
407 HDi makes me nervous reliability wise. What are they like?
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Reliability wise, no idea. At this price point, and given its not from a manufactuer where you might be able to get away with a little bit of neglect, I suspect the key is finding one that's been well maintained and with frequent oil changes given that its a turbo'd motor.

But for a £2.5k car, they're lightyears better looking and a lot more modern than the £2.5k competition, and will crush miles in comfort.
 
It strikes me that its probably like the Megane in that the reason it's cheap for such a new car is because they are just completely unreliable.

I'd rather than something that was cheap because its unpopular - ie because it's a saloon and everyone wants the hatch instead, or similar.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1983971.htm

That would have been nice, probably nearer £3k if it was a 110 as well..
 
But the Toledo would be better.

Seriously, you're in a market that we both know is crap. Looking for a cheap, economical, reliable diesel car that just doesn't exist for this sort of money. Don't see the sense in making things harder for yourself by looking at the dregs of the Bora market?
 
Joshy said:
But the Toledo would be better.

Seriously, you're in a market that we both know is crap. Looking for a cheap, economical, reliable diesel car that just doesn't exist for this sort of money. Don't see the sense in making things harder for yourself by looking at the dregs of the Bora market?
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I'd go for the VW on the basis that Seat were lower down the pecking order when it came to the engines. The Bora got the 130 a couple of years before the Seat.
 
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