TSI Engines

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 11:18

Hello,

Come October I am going to lay my Jap car infatuation to rest and sell my Celica to replace it with something more modern and cheaper to run as someone actually wants to marry me and I'll be taking on a bigger mortgage so I want to ensure that car running costs are lower than what they are now without losing too much of the performance - The Celica is expensive to insure and its due a 60K service early next year so I figure this is going to cost me up to £1K

I've always been interested in the TSI engines although reports of reliability issues have put me off so far I'm hoping this is a case of there are more units without problems than there are with.

There are a lot of different versions but I'm mostly interested in the 1.4, I know the most recent is the ACT engine and I wont be able to justify that so it will be older versions which is what worries me as these are supposed to be the most unreliable, how do I know which of the 1.4's are the most reliable particularly the engine found in the Fabia VRS or do you think I should just take it to the extreme and go 1.2 as these are supposed to be reliable and the cheaper tax and insurance is tempting however I think I'll find the performance frustrating.

Is there anyone with much experience on with this and anything worth reading on the internet?

Thanks

86JR · 29 Jul 2014 at 11:35

Go 2.0 TFSI or TSI instead.

mccarf · 29 Jul 2014 at 11:37

briskoda.net is a good place for info on the fabia, although I'm sure someone here can answer your questions too. As for performance, a simple remap will make the fab just as quick as your celica so I wouldn't worry about that to much.

Have you actually weighed up depreciation though? Most celicas aren't depreciating fast because they're getting on in life now. The cheapest mk2 fabia vRS on autotrader is 7.5k, which means it still has some way to go before it's at the low depreciation stage of life.

You might be better off just keeping what you have, once the service is done, it's done for ages. Are they really £1k to service? Seems extremely expensive for a very normal car?

leigh_boy · 29 Jul 2014 at 11:59

what celica do you have, no celica costs 1k for a service!
i have the gen 7 190 gt and a oil and filter service is £120 gear box oil is £80
if you need tyres then the you can have anythign from 200 + but thats normal for any car, same with discs and pads if you go dealer they are 120 front and 120 back.
gen 7 dont have cambelts the chain is not a service item and lasts the length of the car, they also are not bad on fuel unless you put your foot down, but thats the same with any car.

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 12:01

Insurance 600 plus approx 300 for 60k major service is 900 and that's if nothing else needs doing

rodenal · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:00

But insurance is negligible unless you buy something with a tiny engine that's a quarter of the price to cover.

The 120 tsi is fine, the 170 is a time bomb - if you buy new enough that its got a warranty or approved used I wouldn't worry about it, but under no circumstances will it be cheaper in any way.

If the reality is you want a different car then as above the 2.0 is better in an older car. Outside of the gti/a3 the 2 litre turbo in the a4 is a good match ( or exeo if you can find one)

leigh_boy · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:10

what are they doing for 300 notes, as they don't do valve clearances as part of the service so its not that. all they really do is fluids and filters.i think your just trying to convince your self you will be better of money wise . which you wont. but if you want a new car then that's fine . but don't lie to yourself

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:21

60K service at Toyota is around £300 although obviously I could get it done cheaper but it has main dealer history, I would also want the gear box oil changing which IIRC would be inc with that

Fact is I want a newer car regardless, the Celica is noisy, quite low and although I very much enjoy driving it when having a bit of a hoon its annoying most of the time and ancient inside, its also very uncomfortable and isn't without its cosmetic issues which irritate me greatly begging me to spend money on it

Insurance is £200 cheaper on a Fabia VRS and I always pay for my insurance in a lump sum

Is the 120 TSI a 1.4, which cars did they come in? I've noticed a 125 I think but they seem to be only in the larger cars like Leon's and Octavia's

Hot hatches don't seem like the right choice otherwise I should just stick with the Celica but like I say I want a newer more refined car with lower running costs

rodenal · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:25

Yeah its the 1.4 - maybe it is 125bhp same difference really. You'll get it in all the golf sized hatches.

Might be worth driving some, its a perfectly acceptable engine but I don't think I could drive a modern golf sized car with less than about 200bhp day in day out now and not be incredibly bored very quickly ( unless it was very light of course)

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:28

That's something im worried about, i get bored very easily but in this case i would like to think i was saving money and gaining a nicer, more modern car

chanjy · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:55

There are so many different versions of VW 1.4 engines. Think the general rule is that the older chain-cam one is less reliable and the new belt driven one is meant to be decent?

The Fabia uses the old one, I believe.

rodenal · 29 Jul 2014 at 14:04

Relentless81 said:
That's something im worried about, i get bored very easily but in this case i would like to think i was saving money and gaining a nicer, more modern car

Buying a newer car will almost never save money. I'm just saying if you've got the itch make sure its something that at least feels worth it.

leigh_boy · 29 Jul 2014 at 14:55

as i suspected its more of you want not its a cost saving

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:02

Well yeah of course, nobody changes a car without wanting to do so i would say that's obvious, running costs play a huge part too

ci_newman · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:09

I've just bought myself a Leon with the 2.0 TFSI engine. It's lovely

Considerably more fuel efficient than my old Accord 2.4 too.

Firestar_3x · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:10

Running a Celica must be almost as cheap as it gets?

acemastr · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:13

Pay 600 for insurance + 300(???) for service = car to use for another year.
Buy new car = payments for years to come, which are going to be 300 a month(ish).

Makey no sense.

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:28

ci_newman said:
I've just bought myself a Leon with the 2.0 TFSI engine. It's lovely

Considerably more fuel efficient than my old Accord 2.4 too.

Interesting i used have a 2.4 accord what model Leon exactly and what do you think of the interior?

acemastr said:
Pay 600 for insurance + 300(???) for service = car to use for another year.
Buy new car = payments for years to come, which are going to be 300 a month(ish).

Makey no sense.

Another year in a car im not happy with and want to change for reasons already explained

ci_newman · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:55

I've gone for the FR with a DSG box as an auto was a must for my commute.

The interior is definitely not as refined as the Accord, but then they are a different class of car. The seats are comfy enough though and it has the usual toys.

Biggest bug-bare for me is the lack of an arm rest

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:00

Maybe i should drive a few of the vag mobiles available over the next couple of months starting with a small tsi engine and work my way up, just hate test driving with no intention of buying!