Shite Daily Diesels

[Snipes]

I've always hated diesel but it occured to me recently I only really hated working on them. As I don't really do that anymore, and certainly not for a living, I've starting considering them as daily transport. 

I want something with more torque and less strained than my current C4 1.6 (90hp) which is really unsuitable for motorway driving - I reckon 80% of my time is spent on motorways and a-roads and I almost never drive into cities. 

I also want cruise and Aircon and would like an auto. I'm pretty hard on car interiors nowadays (working on building sites and hopefully mountain biking again) so I don't want anything rare or unusual (ie fun) as I'll probably ruin it. I know enough to avoid low mileage cars, cars with no history and I think I'm looking at stuff old enough to avoid things like DPFs but otherwise I've no much idea what I'm looking at. VW 1.9 PDs and Peugeots use to be unburstable years ago didn't they? 

Some ideas of what I have in mind and budget;

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201908151161608

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201908151192419

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904167029674

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201909051888177

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903015427194

I've always thought diesels to be either old and crude or modern and brittle?

[gadgetgricey]

Rover 75 Tourer Diesel Auto should tick all the boxes.

Love mine, and no DPF (on the auto):or swirl flaps to cause issues.

Easily tweaked to 160bhp.

[jonathan_dyane]

Laguna 3 is supposed to be an excellent car, shame it’s not as handsome as the Laguna 2.

Saab with the gruff 2.2 diesel is the shiters choice; chain cam, no dpf. Injector pumps used to fail due to a design fault but it will almost certainly have happened and been replaced by now if it was going to. Make sure it starts well from cold though.

[SiC]

Passat bad engine

Jetta ok engine

Vectra pretty good

Saab old fashioned and unrefined - can get it with the engine in the Vectra above

Laguna pretty good too

Avoid cars with early DPF - before 2010 really. Later cars got the DPF close coupled and this solved many of the regen issues. Our 2010 A4 is quite capable of doing a regen at 20mph. Original DPF at 185.5k too. If you have engine trouble though (leaky injector, turbo seals, etc) it can quickly fill up the DPF with ash. DPF fills with soot, this is burnt off with a regen. Not all can be burnt off and you are left with ash. Eventually it's full with ash and can no longer store soot. Either replacement or nowadays there are places that can chemically clean them. 

[Flat4]

Might be slightly too techy but for sheer torque and waftiness I think you'd be hard pushed to beat a BMW 530d. Most of them are automatic and your budget should get you a pretty decent one. To me they don't feel fast and you don't actually notice the torque but that's mainly because as it's just effortless. Mine is a manual and you can stick it in 5th instead of 3rd by accident and not notice coz it just keeps going. Mine was only going to be a stop gap for summer til I buy another Legacy but if it goes through another test I can see myself keeping it and having both.

Incidentally, I think they'll be out of budget anyway, but you DON'T want a Subaru diesel. The bottom ends fail far sooner than they should do, lots of design flaws that I'm not sure have even been ironed out in the modern ones.

[bunglebus]

Love my 98 TDI Passat - personally I'd avoid the 3C ones you pictured as we used to get loads in at VW with expensive auto parking brake and steering column control module faults. Both of which can make the car immobile needing a trailer to take them for repair.

[tommotech]

It gets mistaken for a taxi but I would reckon a Skoda Octavia with DSG is a good shout. 

Certainly comes in on budget and a decent steer too. Estates are plentiful but the hatch also has loads of space. 

[Bren]

Passat b5.5. The pd engine is very good and no dpf to worry about. Finding one that is'nt minging will be difficult.

Diesel vectra's in 1.9 flava are also.pretty good. Mondeo much sharper drive but more difficult to fix.

[sierraman]

Avoid anything fashionable, pay no more than £1000, ignore anything with running/idle/smoke issues. Run it into the ground then throw away at first sign of any serious trouble. 

As for the Passat or the Laguna, I’d go and throw £1500 in the hearth, it’ll be the same outcome. The Laguna - awful reputation and any £1500 B6 Passats worth having find their way to Romania. Vectra ok but I’d be paying back pocket money for one. 

[sierraman]

1 minute ago, Bren said:

Passat b5.5. The pd engine is very good and no dpf to worry about. Finding one that is'nt minging will be difficult.

Diesel vectra's in 1.9 flava are also.pretty good. Mondeo much sharper drive but more difficult to fix.

The 1.9 is a quick motor as is the 2.0 TDCI but they’re equally prone to shitting themselves spectacularly.

[Lord Sterling]

+ 1 for the Vectra.

I'm a Vectra C FANBOI now (thanks Red5, your fault) as I'm blaring about in this;

1.9 CDTi SRi 150. Picks up speed good. Great to hoon about in and a great load lugger even in hatch form. Plenty of them still about. Just make sure you pick one up that has been serviced properly as they can go on for galactic miles. Above example is on 198k.

[Snipes]

9 hours ago, sierraman said:

Avoid anything fashionable, pay no more than £1000, ignore anything with running/idle/smoke issues. Run it into the ground then throw away at first sign of any serious trouble. 

As for the Passat or the Laguna, I’d go and throw £1500 in the hearth, it’ll be the same outcome. The Laguna - awful reputation and any £1500 B6 Passats worth having find their way to Romania. Vectra ok but I’d be paying back pocket money for one. 

I think you may be thinking of Laguna 2,  which did indeed have such a bad rep as to be comical, and I think SiC would argue it was only the phase 1s. I don't think the MK3 was either interesting enough or around long enough to get a reputation either way. 

I had forgotten about swirl flaps, which is kinda why I started this thread. I recall a mechanic mate had a steady trade removing swirl flaps from 330Ds. 

This looks alright;

Mostly because of this;

I actually like the Vectra (though not in silver) with the Saab close 2nd. I don't mind the engine being a bit harsh so long as it pulls. 

[Shirley Knott]

9 hours ago, Bren said:

Passat b5.5. The pd engine is very good and no dpf to worry about. Finding one that is'nt minging will be difficult.

 

The B5 with the pre PD (VE) engines are even tougher, again full marks for finding one that isn't hammered though.

9 hours ago, sierraman said:

The 1.9 is a quick motor as is the 2.0 TDCI but they’re equally prone to shitting themselves spectacularly.

The 1.9 in the B5.5 (Particularly the 130ps AWX) is in no way prone to shitting the bed, in fact the reverse is true. They go on forever if looked after.

Is it possible that you're thinking of the later ones?

[Snipes]

I think he meant the Vectra 1.9, which is indeed a shifter in 150 form but can be a bit fragile. 

 

[sutty2006]

Mk3 Mondeo 2.2 tdci I’m sure they do an auto version. I love them. Easy to work in and no DPF as such.

[Snipes]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-02-AUDI-A4-1-9-AVANT-TDI-SE-5D-129-BHP-DIESEL/113871834822

Not really into them but these earlier A4s look generally suitable.

I won't be getting a Mondeo. I don't like mk3s and newer ford seats hurt my back.

[dome]

My criteria was exactly the same as yours recently, auto, diesel, MTB carrier.

I've taken the leap to a modern diesel as a daily-a MK2 Octavia Scout with the last of the PD engines which is out of my comfort zone. I've bought an updated obd reader to work my way through the thing.

My other choice was a MK2 V70 D5 as I wanted an auto, the octavia is manual but came at the right price and the right time so I'll give it a chance.

You're right op about diesels being horrible to work on, especially ones where the turbo has shat itself and covered the engine bay in oil?

An mg zt-t in diesel flavour was also considered by me but nothing cropped up when I was looking. 

Good luck, keep us posted on your new purchase!

[garethj]

Thank goodness Dome mentioned a Volvo or we’d have to call

[bigstraight6]

Another shout for the Volvo D5, one of the best Diesel engines ever and you certainly won’t be working on it apart from servicing Which has been my experience for 6 years now.

[Steve79]

At last, a thread where an Invacar won't get a mention - oh wait!

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Snipes said:

I think he meant the Vectra 1.9, which is indeed a shifter in 150 form but can be a bit fragile. 

 

That’s the one. Possibly equally big problem will be the gearbox on those. That said there’s a 2.2dti near me for sale for £595, full test. That’s the way to buy them, run it till it blows. £1500 can be dodgy money for a diesel, plenty of later gear at that money with terminal issues like a DMF going - that’s a £1000 to sort out. 

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, Shirley Knott said:

The B5 with the pre PD (VE) engines are even tougher, again full marks for finding one that isn't hammered though.

The 1.9 in the B5.5 (Particularly the 130ps AWX) is in no way prone to shitting the bed, in fact the reverse is true. They go on forever if looked after.

Is it possible that you're thinking of the later ones?

It’s the B6 Passat in the original post. Not a patch on the earlier ones. 

[beko1987]

My laguna 2 1.9dci manual was sublime! Would have another! 

The Laguna 2 2.2dci Auto... Lovely but no. Mine ran fine*whilst suffering from some of the common faults the engine had

[sierraman]

The age of them you are looking at and the potential mileage what might be considered reliable could be a bag of shite given it’s likely to have done 150,000+. 

[M'coli]

I'm struggling with the idea that a modern car with 90PS and, presumably, a 5 or 6 speed gearbox, is "unsuitable for motorways"? Just what exactly can it not do? 

[sierraman]

Our Focus 1.6 is great on the motorway, better than the Mondeo in fact.

[davehedgehog31]

Might be a bit old hat, but Peugeot 406s are excellent, both XUD and early 2.0 HDis are good bets. 

[dome]

44 minutes ago, M'coli said:

I'm struggling with the idea that a modern car with 90PS and, presumably, a 5 or 6 speed gearbox, is "unsuitable for motorways"? Just what exactly can it not do? 

GLF m9

[Snipes]

56 minutes ago, M'coli said:

I'm struggling with the idea that a modern car with 90PS and, presumably, a 5 or 6 speed gearbox, is "unsuitable for motorways"? Just what exactly can it not do? 

It's doing 4000rpm at 70ish. 

[rusty998]

I've had two Skoda Fabia's 1.9 tdi 100 bhp for the last two years,  I'm currently using an estate or combi if you prefer, plenty enough power for motorway use and mine recently has done two trips to Wales fully loaded and returned an average of 68 mpg , no dmf and no dpf to worry about,  can be bought very cheap and go on forever if looked after,  I totally understand that they are not the first thought if your looking for a diesel but I really can't fault them