What should i get? 07/08 diesel for high mpg

[HyperSonic]

Hi guys, hope you can help me get through the mire that is used cars

At the minute i'm driving a petrol 1.6 focus style (as in the title - it has shocking milage) - but as i do a lot of motorway driving i'm looking to trade it in for a diesel (doing at least 1000 miles a month on the motorways in 100+ mile stints)

i'm basically looking for the best mileage i can get in a similar sized car without having to put any more cash to it than i'll be getting for selling the focus (i imagine around £4750). Must have some boot space and room enough for 2 car seats.

i've seen Renault Megane 1.5 DCI 07/57 plates for £4400 and they're apparently good for 60+ mpg, are they any good in reality?

any other recommendations?

cheers guys - i think i'll need it

 

[HyperSonic]

i do other mileage too, but the bulk of it is made up of these trips - say 15-16 k a year.

are renaults particularly bad older cars? the ones i have seen only have 50k on the clock - will be cheaper tax and insurance too

 

[HyperSonic]

Or alternatively theres the PD100 versions of the 1.9TDi fabia or even the rediculously economical 1.4TDi all of which would cost less to buy. I'm currently averaging around 57mpg since ive had my PD100 polo on similar mileage per year so I'd imagine a Fabia would get similar

might see if i can get the fabia 1.4TDi greenline, seen some going for 6k (saw one for 5k, but probably gone)

 

[HyperSonic]

If you saw one that was £1,000 too cheap (which is still more then your budget) it was almost certainly a nail.

Don't aim at a car that's outside your price range. All that'll happen is you'll either end up spending more then you wanted to or you'll end up with a car that's going cheap because it's a dog.

agreed, it just looked too good to be true, it was actually around £1500 cheaper, with nothing in the ad to explain why.

 

[HyperSonic]

I wouldn't want to do 15k miles a year in a 1.5Dci Megane, that's for sure.

Nice enough car if you do 6K or less a year, but beyond that they are a bit flimsy, road handling/noise isn't great and the 1.5 DCi engine will feel underpowered (assuming the 80BHP version).

I had the 1.9DCi 130 for 3 years and although little went wrong (needed a new clutch in year 2 @ 80k miles), I paid £3100 for it and got near enough that trade-in for it after 3 years. I also only did approx 7k miles a year in it (yes I know, doesn't warrant a diesel etc etc, I had my reasons).

Although the car did me well, I got it for a good price and really cannot recommend it for that kind of mileage, you want somewhere comfy and refined, the seats are flimsy and the cabin rattles, go for an older/less specced larger car imo.

to be honest your selling it to me here

i basically will be driving it to work on a sunday night, and back home again on friday night (130 miles each way) so if it has a little rattle or the seats are a bit flimsy its not the end of the world as during the week it'll just sit there.

i don't fly about, ~65mph usually so power isn't really an issue either, the main reason i'm after one is the fuel economy - and although you have said that a 2.0 passat (or other older cars) can achieve a good mpg i'd like to have as new a car as possible to try and avoid any problems in the future.

I've read that 4 year old / 72000 miles meganes will be needing a new cam belt. all need a good check for oil leaks and the tdc sensor. i think i can get hold of one and make a few minor repairs (if needed) for 5k.