Diesel car and mileage........
I need a ULEZ compliant car. I do 15k miles a year so ideally need a diesel. Now that diesel prices are similar to petrol it makes sense to buy
another diesel.
Ive seen a 2016 (minimum age for a diesel ULEZ compliant car ) 1.5 Dci Renault with 100k on the clock. Zero tax and a claimed 80mpg.1 owner from
new.
My question is.......what is the top mileage car you would buy as a daily driver? And what is your reasoning? I.E servicing history/ MOT history
etc
Cheers
N1
My last Espace was at 144000 miles but I did have a large bill at last service due to failed abs ecu and a few other bits (overall bill was about
£1300) so I p/x'd it against a 2008 LWB Vivaro with 147,000 (it's my daily driver as well as van).
If I could get another low mileage Estate Insignia (Mk1 revised) for little money I would. 170bhp and phenomenal economy
Bought a Seat Alhambra TDI at 105k miles. Ran it to 144k until the turbo went. PX'd for the next.
Family wagons.
Personally I would prefer a high mileage diesel. My sister is currently having all sorts of issues with low mileage 'school run' diesels and
I'm 99% convinced it's her driving patterns. High mileage cars will have had plenty of time on motorways and long journeys, if nothing else
the DPF will be nice and clean. They also tend to be better maintained and a lot less wear and tear. The drivers seat will be worn, the other three
most likely will be mint!
The only exception to that would be a taxi. If it showed signs of being an ex-taxi then I'd walk away. 100k in 9 years with 1 owner doesn't
suggest taxi mileage though, that's more 'reasonable office commute'. Especially if the MOT mileages show it being dormant across
Covid.
Oh, and I'd never buy a Mazda diesel, they are shocking!
Normal rules apply regarding particular cars of course, make sure service history is up to date, particularly cam belts/chains as required. No
accident damage, etc.
[Edited on 18-7-23 by Slimy38]
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
Personally I would prefer a high mileage diesel. My sister is currently having all sorts of issues with low mileage 'school run' diesels and I'm 99% convinced it's her driving patterns. High mileage cars will have had plenty of time on motorways and long journeys, if nothing else the DPF will be nice and clean. They also tend to be better maintained and a lot less wear and tear. The drivers seat will be worn, the other three most likely will be mint!
The only exception to that would be a taxi. If it showed signs of being an ex-taxi then I'd walk away. 100k in 9 years with 1 owner doesn't suggest taxi mileage though, that's more 'reasonable office commute'. Especially if the MOT mileages show it being dormant across Covid.
Oh, and I'd never buy a Mazda diesel, they are shocking!
Normal rules apply regarding particular cars of course, make sure service history is up to date, particularly cam belts/chains as required. No accident damage, etc.
[Edited on 18-7-23 by Slimy38]
I have always taken the view that an over-size engine with high miles is a better choice than a lower mileage highly stressed engines. My Merc has 126k and trickles along at 70mpg, sadly it is not EURO6 so wont be going into London or Bristol anytime soon.
I bought my current Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel (2010) with 162k miles on it in 2019. Since then I've put 34k miles on it taking it to 196k miles and all
I've had to do is:
- 4x New Brake callipers
- 2x New rear calliper mounts
- 8x Brake discs
- 2x full pad sets
- 1x Diesel solenoid
- New wipers
- Cabin air filter & intake filter
- New Battery
- 12 tyres (including pot hole damage)
- After market CarPlay head unit
- New drop links on the rear
- New headlight adjuster drop link
- Various new bulbs
Plus oil & filter change every 8k miles.
I'm about to have to change the AC compressor as the bearing has failed, but the AC hasn't worked for 18 months so I'm not too fussed
about if it works, more that the serpentine doesn't come flying off when the bearing completely goes! I've bought a used compressor and will
fit that soon.
All in all the car has not once let me down. I had a seized on handbrake when I was down south once but managed to free it off and got the 130 miles
home. The car owes me about £2950 in total including all of the above, which works out to be about 8p/mile. If I factor in road tax, insurance,
MOT's, and fuel costs that I've logged the whole cost has been £9958.58, working out at just over 29p/mile. That's some damn cheap
motoring if you ask me!
Am I worried the car will fail? A little bit. It's old, I drive it hard, and anything could happen. I'm about to drive it 5,000 miles around
Europe this summer so I think that'll give it a pretty hard test. Realistically if it breaks now it'll suck as there isn't anything out
there half as good as this one for even three times what I paid for it, but I can't really complain as it's been an extremely reliable
companion.
All in all, if you're careful about what you pick, I wouldn't be afraid of the higher mileage stuff. The big problem with modern diesels is
the emissions gear, but that really seems to mainly be an issue for people who drive a lot of slow, local journeys rather than those who boot it down
the motorway 3 times a week. I've owned modern, newer cars with very low mileage and what I've realised is that I'd rather have the
higher mileage car that I care about less, accept the risk of some additional breakage, but relish in the massively reduced costs. Unless you're
looking at a Range Rover, in which case definitely get the warranty
quote:
Originally posted by computid
I bought my current Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel (2010) with 162k miles on it in 2019. Since then I've put 34k miles on it taking it to 196k miles and all I've had to do is:
- 4x New Brake callipers
- 2x New rear calliper mounts
- 8x Brake discs
- 2x full pad sets
- 1x Diesel solenoid
- New wipers
- Cabin air filter & intake filter
- New Battery
- 12 tyres (including pot hole damage)
- After market CarPlay head unit
- New drop links on the rear
- New headlight adjuster drop link
- Various new bulbs
Plus oil & filter change every 8k miles.
I agree, that's an awful lot for very few miles. How do you go through 8 brake discs and pads in 34k miles? And three full tyre sets?
Should easily be able to do over 60k on a set of pads and 40k on a tyre.
Anyway, back to the questions. Assuming you also have a tax system where you need to do a number of miles a year before a diesel becomes cheaper than
a petrol. The least you should expect is this for annual mileage. Anything less is interesting.
Overhere it is about 16k miles a year. I usually buy cars when they are about 8 years old which will have done over 120k.
My previous car (BMW E46 320d) was bought at about 150k miles and I ran it till slightly over 340k. Strangest things I needed were a cooling fan and
water pump. Rest was usual maintenance although I did put on some new tie-rods and front control arms. It has served me well, even when the water pump
went and threw the belt off it still got me home the remaining 30 miles.
My current car (BMW E91 320d) had 140k miles when I bought it, now at around 200k and counting. Worst thing so far were the stupid ABS sensor rings
and a rear wheel bearing. Let's see how far this one will take me (engines are known to be a bit fragile).
I'd rather have a car that had regular good use than a granny car. And as you can see, mileage doesn't scare me off.
Good luck!
I traded in my 2010 A4 2.0TDI a month or so ago because it was not ULEZ and I am in one of the shafting areas ( I'm 100m from the boundary with
green space around me, every amenity is inside the zone).
It had around 120k and it had a few things looming. Tensioner belt, front passenger suspension bush, not much though. It was going to go for another
120k with ease.
Sold me to Audi. I picked up a 2020 A5 fastback 2.0 TDI MHEV. 70+ mpg on a good run and it is lush to drive. It's actually quieter than my
wife's EV.
My conclusion, buy German. Audi, Merc or BMW all go for ever.
quote:
Originally posted by MarcV
I agree, that's an awful lot for very few miles. How do you go through 8 brake discs and pads in 34k miles? And three full tyre sets?
Should easily be able to do over 60k on a set of pads and 40k on a tyre.
Anyway, back to the questions. Assuming you also have a tax system where you need to do a number of miles a year before a diesel becomes cheaper than a petrol. The least you should expect is this for annual mileage. Anything less is interesting.
Overhere it is about 16k miles a year. I usually buy cars when they are about 8 years old which will have done over 120k.
My previous car (BMW E46 320d) was bought at about 150k miles and I ran it till slightly over 340k. Strangest things I needed were a cooling fan and water pump. Rest was usual maintenance although I did put on some new tie-rods and front control arms. It has served me well, even when the water pump went and threw the belt off it still got me home the remaining 30 miles.
My current car (BMW E91 320d) had 140k miles when I bought it, now at around 200k and counting. Worst thing so far were the stupid ABS sensor rings and a rear wheel bearing. Let's see how far this one will take me (engines are known to be a bit fragile).
I'd rather have a car that had regular good use than a granny car. And as you can see, mileage doesn't scare me off.
Good luck!
Cheers all
Very good points and very well made.
The car in question had 20k one year,15k the year before so seems to be motorway miles. I plan to view the car this weekend
However....
- 4x New Brake callipers
- 2x New rear calliper mounts
- 8x Brake discs
- 2x full pad sets
- 12 tyres (including pot hole damage)
Wow......2 sets of discs, 3 sets of tyres, 2 sets of pads in 34k miles??