Big old shite BMW mile munchers: talk to me about them

[Dave_Q]

Or a Skoda Superb? It's an A6 underneath but 17,000 times more likely to have been a minicab.

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F112520850793

[cort16]

I can just eek 45 mpg out my mega euro bollocks stop start 1.7 kia Diesel

[twosmoke300]

Superb is a passat underneath not an a6 . Skoda always one floorpan behind

[bezzabsa]

audi A8 2.5 dizzel.......sposed to be quite wafty and not like a drink....didnt Jezza do a london to edinburg and back?????

[cort16]

Phaeton v10 Diesel

[Dave_Q]

Superb is a passat underneath not an a6 . Skoda always one floorpan behind

 

You are correct of course, I assumed it was A6 because of the length, but wiki tells me it's a rebadged version of the LWB Passat they did for the Chinese market.

 

Here's a lightly "dubbed" one from Shanghai.

 

[twosmoke300]

To be fair the a6 and pisswet aren't much different

[dollywobbler]

Has your employer got electric charge points? No car is better in a traffic jam than an electric one!

[HMC]

Another a6 vote for me, my pd 130 tdi had covered 250k but it drove brilliantly, lovely torquey lump, and would do 60mpg at 60mph, 56mpg at 70 and 51mpg at 80.

[HMC]

Also how big do you want to go? That early 2000s bangle shape 7 came in 730d flavour I'm fairly sure. Someone with more of a grasp on reality than me will be along shortly to list the various ways it could bankrupt you.

[SiC]

Also how big do you want to go? That early 2000s bangle shape 7 came in 730d flavour I'm fairly sure. Someone with more of a grasp on reality than me will be along shortly to list the various ways it could bankrupt you.

My dads friend had one and at around 4yrs old, it decided to blow the airbags when just sat stationary. Luckily no one inside at the time. BMW charged 12k to fix that one.

[SiC]

Going by the house, 1 owner, a few expensive repairs and high mileage this looks to be a good buy out of many:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711141253482

[sal]

I’ve got an e60 525d auto so slightly newer version of the 5 series you mentioned and it does about 35ish mpg. It’s a good comfortable, reliable and fairly quick car just not great on fuel. In comparison to my 325 petrol car which only manages 25ish mpg it’s actually ok on fuel.

[paulplom]

I have a lovely black 2010 seat leon. It's a 1.9tdi with 72K and full service history. I'm selling it for what wbac offered me. £3000. I's a manual though and has been remapped. I get 50mpg however I drive it.

[Junkman]

I'm not sure what I would buy had I to commute 120 miles a day, because I wouldn't, but it'd certainly be neither an Insight, nor one of those shit BMWs.

I guess the toss would be between a railway ticket, a Tesla and a Ford Model T running on moonshine.

[garethj]

By this stage you've heard this before - I got around 60mpg from my 1.9 Tdi Skoda Octavia.  As I'm quite tall I found the seats uncomfortable on my hour commute each way but other cars using this engine might be better.

 

My current Volvo V70 with the old 2.5 diesel gets 50mpg but that's because it's a manual, autos were worse.  The same engine was used in the old A6 and they had slightly better mpg as a manual because they were 6 speed, not sure about the autos.

 

Would a Honda Accord be worth looking at?  Or a Peugeot 406?

[alf892]

I had an E39 530d auto for a couple of years - I could just edge it to 40mpg but it took a lot of attention which meant the reduced noise/increased comfort was offset by having to concentrate on being light footed. It was pretty reliable until the turbo kaboomed..........nice place to sit but would not do again.

 

As others have said VAG Tdi could fit the bill. I had two spread over 19 years (an 80 and an A4) and both were great on fuel and reliable.

[spike60]

 

 

Would a Honda Accord be worth looking at?  Or a Peugeot 406?

My son has a 2006 Accord Touring 2.2 diesel manual, real 40mpg general use, tad more on runs but not a sparkling motorway car. Reliable if a bit dull.

 

All these Vw/Audi/Skoda etc doing huge mpg surprise me, my 1.4 PD 3 pot manual Polo never cracked 60 mpg even when driven from Redcar to Le Mans, a good 500 mile commute. 59.5mpg for that and could (just) dip below 50mpg locally. That went because it was not the tool for a long run.

 

Friends Passat estate PD 1.9 did 41 avarage doing a good daily mileage visiting farms across the the North East, I'm sure he would have loved another 20+ mpg!

[stephen01]

100+ mile a day commute , I like driving but it'd have to be a well paid job! I know people do this and more and I know I've been lucky either working at home or just 5 miles away. 

 

I've said if I was doing this type of mileage for work ie 25k+ then I'd have a diesel on the knock. it's okay if my car fucks its self its a 10 quid taxi ride or grab a lift with the BIL 

 

I know it's way off budget but the Jaguar XE 2.0d is awesome on the juice -  60mpg easy and we saw 80MPG coming back from France last year. 

[stephen01]

My son has a 2006 Accord Touring 2.2 diesel manual, real 40mpg general use, tad more on runs but not a sparkling motorway car. Reliable if a bit dull.

 

 

I'm 600 odd miles in on my accord (2.2 estate)  first motorway outing Wednesday cursing at 70mph was just over 2k revs, I reckon I'm getting 40 round doors and should crack 50 on a run.- I can get 50mpg out of my CRV so should be easy in the accord. 

[Sir Snipes]

Superb is a passat underneath not an a6 . Skoda always one floorpan behind

Still all Audi designs though. Shity bean axle rear and shitty, over complex, always rusted split wishbones front.

B6 Passat changed to a more conventional McStrut front, making it like a bigger golf.

[alcyonecorporation]

I thought the six pot bimmer diesels remapped were the FASTEST CARS OF ALL TIME? 

 

[/pistonheads]

 

Mid 30s to the gallon is shite really for a diesel, even something large, older and slushmatic; my extremely fast* and aerodynamic** 960 estate can manage 33 on the mythical long run***. 

 

It's appalling in town, like - and the lower half of the tank is blatantly the smaller part. 

None of this surprises me, unlike my dipshit neighbour who was adamant it would only do "10 to 15 tops, that."

 

Then again, he's paying £280/month on his car but he gets free tax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!

Maybe I should do that instead.

 

Has your employer got electric charge points? No car is better in a traffic jam than an electric one!

I often think about cobalt mining when stuck in traffic jams.

[2MB]

Surely the correct answer is a crusty W210 300 turbodiesel running on waste veg and used engine oil?

[omegod]

You're going to get a high 40's possibly 50 equivalent from a well fitted and tuned LPG V8, offer dollywobbler a price he can't refuse and get his Lexus converted

[garethj]

Doing big miles with an LPG car means you either need a tank the size of the entire boot or to refill every day.  I've done a long commute with filling up every other day and it's boring as hell after a week.

[rantingYoof]

For a commute like that I'd be bouncing from Mondeo TDCi to Mondeo TDCi, buying a leggy working one with 12 months ticket for as little as possible and bridging it when one of the big three things goes wrong (turbo/injectors/clutch). A commute like that shouldn't bork the clutch and as everything will be getting warm it should also prolong the life of the other things even if they are on the way out.

 

Mondeos, while unfortunately Fords, are big, very comfy and the TDCi will cruise in 6th gear at 70mph quietly. The 130hp tuned TDCi lump has buckets and buckets of torque even at 70mph in sixth.

 

You can get a yacht of a car for not much money, high spec too... https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711201406069

 

With a commute like that, if you get it to its MOT trouble-free then it's already 'free' motoring. If it passes the MOT and continues then you're laughing.

 

They get 60mpg if driven sensibly, and 50mpg without trying.

 

PROOFED:

 

 

 

 

Downsides: You have to buy a Ford Mondeo TDCi, which is categorically not a six-cylinder BMW.

[Junkman]

Has your employer got an outside water tap? No car is more exciting in a traffic jam than a P6 V8!

 

FTFY

[NorfolkNWeigh]

For a commute like that I'd be bouncing from Mondeo TDCi to Mondeo TDCi, buying a leggy working one with 12 months ticket for as little as possible and bridging it when one of the big three things goes wrong (turbo/injectors/clutch). A commute like that shouldn't bork the clutch and as everything will be getting warm it should also prolong the life of the other things even if they are on the way out.

 

Mondeos, while unfortunately Fords, are big, very comfy and the TDCi will cruise in 6th gear at 70mph quietly. The 130hp tuned TDCi lump has buckets and buckets of torque even at 70mph in sixth.

 

You can get a yacht of a car for not much money, high spec too... https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711201406069

 

With a commute like that, if you get it to its MOT trouble-free then it's already 'free' motoring. If it passes the MOT and continues then you're laughing.

 

They get 60mpg if driven sensibly, and 50mpg without trying.

 

PROOFED:

62mpg.jpg

 

 

 

 

Downsides: You have to buy a Ford Mondeo TDCi, which is categorically not a six-cylinder BMW.

You've reminded me about a late 56 plate high spec rental I had in 2007. I picked it up in the dark and drove it to Newcastle and back to Milton Keynes the next morning , I was very impressed to see 50 mpg on the computer.

Later the same day Mrs N drove it and said ' That's the first time I've driven a car with a 6 speed gearbox'

I hadn't even noticed ! So, yes if you use 6th they're probably even better.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

E39 diesels:

 

They're needy old bangers one bill away from the weighbridge. I wouldn't personally.

 

- They can really rot - rear sills and inner sill box sections are renowned for just falling to bits, and the newer ones seem worse. 2003 cars (14 years old after all) are just as bad as a 1998. 

 

- M57 motor. A good engine spoiled by some shit ancillaries. Virtually all off them except very early 184 bhp 530d manuals (and some autos) have swirl flaps. 2 hours of language and £30 to replace with blanks. You will need to replace every vacuum hose under the manifold as they will all be fucked. New breather as well. They like a turbo at this age as well.

 

- GM autobox. Not a bad unit but they can shit themselves quite spectacularly if the TC solenoid goes pop. By 150'000 they're generally wanked anyway. Avoid autos like a plague. Manual box, prop and diff/shafts okay.

 

Alloy suspension can be an utter bastard to work on when all the bolts snap off. Changing front dampers is really good fun.

 

What else? In tank fuel pump, underfloor fuel pump, glow plug relay, ignition switch, dead pixels on dash, wiper linkage breaking, EGR thermostat, ABS module, headlights adjusters break resulting in the beam pattern being all over the place (and virtually impossible to repair on post 2000 facelift cars), Tourings have that air suspension (lovely) - plus many more!

 

 

They were tremendous cars in 2001. In 2017 they're just fucking horrible unless they're really well maintained - only about 3% of E39's are maintained at all. Avoid old shit and find a clean 525d manual saloon and you'll have a nice 30 mpg car for £1500. I can still think of better cars to own.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Right, so it might have to be 3 series if I go Bimmer.

 

I should probably add that most of my route is managed motorway, so spent mainly at 60mph. Bit faster on the way home, but even then most of it is no more than 65mph with the traffic and only a few minutes really at 70mph.

 

 

E46 diesel? No, please don't. There are only 12 good ones left.

 

W203 Merc C220CDi is about your best bet. Forget this 50-60 mpg lark as well. 40-45 is about it.