Spec me a motor! (Details inside)

[MrMarvelous]

Looking to downsize from my current Audi A4 2.0 TDi to something a bit smaller, cheaper and economical.

I'm open to all suggestions and input.

My criteria is as follows:

• £3,500 budget
• 4/5 door
• Diesel
• 1.8L or smaller
• Economical/reliable

So far i've been looking at the following vehicles:

• Mazda 3 - 1.6
• Seat Leon - 1.6
• Seat Ibiza - 1.6
• Vauxhall Astra - 1.7
• Volvo S40 - 1.6

Would appreciate advice or recommendations, thanks!

 

[MrMarvelous]

If your doing enough miles to warrant a diesel, stick with the A4 I imagine its a nicer place to motorway cruise than any of those listed.

Doing about 25 a day to work and back, leaving work a lot of it is sitting in traffic.

... you probably need to reveal more about the relaibility/age/mileage-type of your current A4 to make an ecconomic comparison.

It's a 2005 Audi A4 2.0 Diesel, just over 84K on the clock. Would have thought some newer motors would be even more economical?

It's got a 70 litre fuel tank which costs a fair bit to brim, £200 a year tax too.

Judging by the replies in this thread it might be worth keeping, one reason I want rid is that there's some rust that's creeping up on the side of front wheel arches.

 

[MrMarvelous]

O.K point taken, i'll be keeping the A4 for the foreseeable future.

Would anyone be able to give me a rough cost for the following:

1) Rear wheel bearing replacement.
I'm getting a low-pitched hum when going 50MPH + from one of the rear wheels. I assume it's the bearing as it's consistant with speed and not which gear i'm in or if i'm going up/down hills.

2) Cam belt change.
Self explanatory, i'm assuming around £300?

 

[MrMarvelous]

Alright cheers, will see how it goes when I take it in for it's eventual MOT.