We all know that short journeys are bad news for diesel engines but if buying a second hand, how low would mileage need to be to set off alarm bells?

For us, it will do 30 mile commute each way, mostly motorway, but don’t want to buy something where the damage is already done.

What is it you’re looking to buy?

Anything big enough to lug bikes and make the work commute less awful. Like to keep it around £3500 if we can. But seen some cars at ten years old with 60k on them.

Mondeo or Octavia estate?

Something like that, yes. But how low is too low on the mileage?

My brother bought a low mileage Mondeo diesel a couple of years ago, doesn’t do more than 6k a year in it (tow car for his tin tent).
He’s had no problems with it.

Depends on the car and how it was used. I bought a 9 year old 59k diesel BMW but I purchased it privately and know that it had been used for long trips as they family had other smaller cars for town use. This is pretty much how I use it myself too.

I’ve had no engine problems after putting 26k miles onto it in 1.5 years.

A bit more info, my brother bought the car 2 1/2 years ago an 08 Mondeo TDCi with 46k on it, put around 19k on it since then with no problems whatsoever. He only uses Shell or equivalent quality diesel.

Sometimes low mileage can work out expensive, eg. buying a used fordiwagon with 50ish K on it would cost more than one with 80k on it to start with, then you will need to factor in the possible cost of a cambelt service and probably front discs/pads, and maybe a cluch DM flywheel. Buy a car with 80-90 K that has had all that done wil be cheaper to start with, and could save you thousands 😉

If a Diesel has been serviced properly & not been hammered I wouldn’t worry but still check for things like cam belt & that the motc certs match servce history that kind of thing.

Octavia 130 tdi a good motor, just sold our trusty Sharan 2.0 140 & it was spot on great for getting bikes & gear inside, gone for a Avant 2.0 170 nice as it is I miss the space in the back of the old bus.

They stopped making the 130bhp tdi Octavia’s in 2004/5. From then on they only made them with 105bhp until the current model. Bit of a lottery really buying a diesel with a DPF unless you really know the history and how it’s been used. It could be cheaper in the long run to lease then get rid after 3/4 yrs. One bill for anything diesel related injectors, pump, DPF or DMF will blow any saving out of the water. I had a 2005 Mondeo 130 TDCi estate. Best car I’ve ever had until the injectors went. Three were knackered and it still ran! 1k bill to get them all replaced by a trusted garage. It went for spares and repairs in the end. I know people on here have had a go at fixing etc, but in my experience they are never the same and then something else goes wrong. When was the last time you spotted a mk3 Mondeo diesel on the road? My advice would be buy petrol or go for a new diesel on a lease or PCP deal.