Advice please – buying an intergalactic mileage diesel

So thanks to the joy of being made redundant I have, at least in the short term, a 45 mile each way commute. With that mileage plus frequent trips away it is time to buy a diesel methinks. Don't want to/can't afford to throw money at a car: budget £3500 max but ideally the cheaper the better.

Which leads to the question: how many miles is TOO many miles, especially given that I would like it to be worth more than 75p when I sell it in two years or so with an extra 50000 miles on it? I haven't batted an eyelid as both our current (petrol) cars have sailed past 100K, but they are both going to another home fairly soon. Any problems I should be on the look out for, and any recommendations for cheap and bombproof models welcome.

(awaits game of Who Has/Has Had the Highest Mileage Car Top Trumps)

Ok, I'll start: bought my last two cars (Peugeot diesel estates) at 140,000 and 90,000 miles, both made it past 200,000 (but were pretty tired by then).

If you plan to sell it on then 100,000 might be a good cutoff.

Oil changes as per schedule very important on a turbodiesel.

You'll get a decent enough 01-05 A3/A4/320d/Golf/Passat for that kind of money.

I know there are plenty of other cars to choose from, but I've gone German for the last 10 years (with the exception of a VXT220 in 2004) and they've done the trick for me.

I'd rather buy a high-ish mileage diesel than one that's pootled around and got all clogged up.

My Ibiza's just gone past 132k miles. When I bought it, it was 3 years old with 24k miles on it. I've had it for 4yrs in September so will have put ~29k miles/yr on it. Only engine related fault so far was an intercooler pipe coming off that was traced back to the wrong fastener being put on from new.
£3500 should get you a decent 1.9TDi Ibiza or Fabia; either the 100bhp version or the 130bhp, which I have.
And it's perfectly comfortable for that sort of commute (although everyone will tell you that you need something Mondeo sized to be comfortable)……I do 120 miles/day and am currently getting high 50's mpg.

Like spacemonkey said, you can get VAG (Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda) cars for that sort of money. I drive a Seat Ibiza TDI and its fantastic.

Just make sure that you warm the car up before you drive fast, because turbo's tend to blow if you abuse them when cold.

If you're buying a high mileage diesel, buy one where the flywheel and clutch have been replaced. If you don't, you'll be the one replacing the flywheel and clutch at a cost of > £300.

I'd rather buy a high-ish mileage diesel than one that's pootled around and got all clogged up

Definitely.

Also make sure that if it has a timing belt you get it replaced ideally slightly before it's due if you don't want the engine destroying itself at some point

I've bought Passats and even a Citroen XM at 100 000 miles. Thrashed them mercilessly to 160 000. No worries.

Ford TDCi bought at 50k miles and had a fair bit go wrong in the first year and was costly to sort, but seems to have settled down in the second year.

Might have been just unlucky but wish I'd bought German and just accepted higher mileage and age.

For that budget, get a nice Focus TDCi (NOT TDI) that will handle better and be cheaper to run than a sky high mile VAG car. The VAG cars (Volkswagen Audi Group, not female flange) and older BMWs are prone to pretty nasty engine failures, the Ford isn't.

The "German cars are better made" thing hasn't rung true for a long time (apart from very recently!)

£3500 will get you a fairly decent one.

As for mileage – dealers lose interest in cars over 70k miles so are out of the equation when selling, you'll struggle to sell one with over 100k miles.

My pug XUD engine has done 237Kmiles and it's far from "tired". High mileage diesels are fine as long as the oil is changed regularly. Still used daily and get 55mpg

My other car, a Skoda 130bhp diesel is great as well and I will be keeping it (hopefully) well over 200K.

You pays yer money and takes yer chance.

My pug XUD engine has done 237Kmiles and it's far from "tired".

It's not the mechanicals that are really the problem on high mileage cars these days. It's the fact that the seats have collapsed and the the switchgear is on the way out. VW seem to do a much better job of building interiors that last – my HDI 406 was a horror of rattles and saggy seats.

Mileage shouldnt matter as long as its been looked after – ones that have been used run much better than ones that are clogged up.

Clutch/flywheel – take it for a testdrive and accelerate hard when the turbo starts to boost, if the clutch slips then its on its way out. You can also hear if the flywheel is on its way out because it will rattle when you change gear.

Timing belt – intervals are about 60k miles or every 5 years – make sure its been done because its about £200 or more to get done.

Turbo – Again take it for a test drive, the turbo should quitely whistle, not make any other noises. If it whines or sounds like a siren, its on its way out. Also check for the colour of the smoke out the exhaust, it should be black/grey. If its blue or white its early signs of turbo failure, which will costs you lots to fix (about a grand fitted).

On the subject of whistle, if you accelerate and theres a loud whistle, and excessive amounts of black smoke, it means a boost/intercooler pipe has come off or split. Its a cheap fix (if you can find which pipe it is!)

Clutch/flywheel – take it for a testdrive and accelerate hard when the turbo starts to boost, if the clutch slips then its on its way out. You can also hear if the flywheel is on its way out because it will rattle when you change gear.

You can almost guarantee that the clutch / flywheel will go wrong by 120k. Once the car is displaying symptoms, you have perhaps a couple of hundred miles before you HAVE to get it fixed.

My pug is on it's original clutch at 237K. I agree that the French diesel engines are good, but the rest of the car doesn't compare to a VAG car. But bushes/wishbones etc are cheap and easy to change.

All depends how familiar you are with a socket set?

You get good and bad whatever make, you just need to able to spot them when you go for a test drive.

Any VW, Seat, Skoda or Audi with the VAG 1.9TDI.

I've had a 110hp and a 130hp and covered about 160,000 miles.

They do not break down!

The power of the 130 is impressive, even in a big car. The 110 was in a Passat and this was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the 130.

Fuel economy way over 65mpg when driven very carefully.

Beware of mileage and cambelt intervals as the cambelt service is a biggie. Factored into a long ownership, it's irrelavant however.

The magic engine!

45 miles each way is about 21,500 miles per year. Even in an old diesel shed that's going to be at least 20p/mile = £4.3K/year. That's £358/month which buys you 75K of mortgage at about 3% over 25years. Then there's the three hours a day you are going to spend in the car. Over the year that's one solid month of wasted time (12% of all your waking hours if you like).

No brainer, move house, ride bike to work.

Agree with spongebob, had a 03 bora with 130pd vag engine, remapped to 170 and at 165k ot was still pulling like a train all day long. Keep the servicing right and all will be well. Hit a deer with mine and wrote it off, miss it!

Beware of mileage and cambelt intervals as the cambelt service is a biggie. Factored into a long ownership, it's irrelavant however.

My cambelt at 60k miles was tied in with a service & came to £270 for the cambelt & the service……

I have VAG TDI PD 115 and the engine has failed. The head gasket has gone, which basically writes the car off.

Bought with 80k on, taken to 100k. Worst car i've owned and a huge amount of expensive stuff has gone wrong with it.

Modern cars are complicated, i'd buy a car < 3 years old next time, as they age they can get very costly.

You can almost guarantee that the clutch / flywheel will go wrong by 120k.

My clutch is still going strong at 130K (not had one previously) despite me owning it for the last 35K miles. No need to change the fly, you can have it skimmed (assuming its a one-piece normal item) for about £20 at any decent eng firm.

That's £358/month

Don't know about you but my D would do that on less than £200 a month fuel.

Money is tight, why spend more than you have to?

As mentioned above, the Pug XUD engines are bulletproof, as are the Rover L-series. You can pick up a competent intergalatic starship for £800 or so (points to his SDI) if you don't care about the badge. >200K miles in these is easy enough and cheap if you know how to swop out oil and filters every 9k or so, if you can bleed hydros on a mtb you can service a car.

Bollocks to depreciation and being worried by the smallest scratch.

My clutch is still going strong at 130K

My pug is on it's original clutch at 237K.

Should have been clearer in my original post – if you buy something with a dual mass flywheel (ie, most "modern" common rail diesels), it's pretty likely to go by 120k.

Standard solid flywheels & clutches, fitted to the likes of the XUD will last more or less forever if treated well.

I am in a similar situation in that I start a new job at end of september. The commute wil be 60 miles each way so I am looking at a Skoda Octavia or similar. Looking at spending £1000-1500 but no more. No chance of me moving as role is only situted there for 6 months and wifes work + baby due in October.

"You can almost guarantee that the clutch / flywheel will go wrong by 120k."
My clutch is still going strong at 130K

…and mine at 141k – that's in an HDI 406 which is far from being a horror of rattles and saggy seats (the carpet is pretty knackered, and some of the trim is a bit loose, but it's certainly not awful).

I'm actually interested in the original question myself – mine has taken 11 years to get to that mileage, but I was wondering about replacing it with a Sharan/Galaxy/Alhambra 4-5 years old with 80k-100k on the clock. Would such a thing have another 100k+ miles in it?

+1 for Seat Ibiza. 1.9 TDIs are good.

Had a 110bhp Passat estate.

Bought at 87k, sold at 180k. Original clutch, original exhaust. I'd changed the dampers, rad, cambelt twice, and the suspension bushes were starting to go. That was about it. Easy 50+ to the gallon. Still looked pretty good when it went, and I still sometimes miss it.

It was looked after, didn't spend much time sat in slow traffic and was serviced religiously. I reckon the engine had at least another 50k in it, but there would be some expensive ancillaries needing doing sooner rather than later (clutch was beginning to go), and it was just beginning to feel a bit soft and creaky all round.

You can almost guarantee that the clutch / flywheel will go wrong by 120k. Once the car is displaying symptoms, you have perhaps a couple of hundred miles before you HAVE to get it fixed.

Should probably also pipe up & say Dual Mass Flywheel in mine & it's (touch wood) still fine at 132k miles, as is the clutch.
Keep thinking of getting a re-map but have heard that it will potentially kill the clutch, so undecided. Also don't want it going through tyres any quicker than it does….

My DMF and Clutch was fine too. Then one day it started slipping. It's a big pain in the neck to get fixed, and it's easily avoided by making sure you buy a car that's had the thing done already.

The VAG cars (Volkswagen Audi Group, not female flange) and older BMWs are prone to pretty nasty engine failures, the Ford isn't.

Except fuel pump failures. Bosch (OE) replacement is £1000+ repair bill.

The focus TDCI is defo worth considering, but be weary of this part, most dealers wont take em in P/X if it hasn't been replaced.

Oh and check out the honest john website – he gives a rundown of what to look out for on all models.

If you're getting a TDCi Ford check the Diesel Particulate Filter. Every three 3 years or 36k miles it's expected to need doing and it's about £400 for what is essentially "maintenance"

i've got a mk4 vw golf gt tdi with 182k on the clock, and she still purrs. i even set my personal record of 614miles on 1 tank of diesel.

The VAG cars (Volkswagen Audi Group, not female flange) and older BMWs are prone to pretty nasty engine failure

Only some of them…

HoratioHufnagel – Member

I have VAG TDI PD 115 and the engine has failed. The head gasket has gone, which basically writes the car off.

Bought with 80k on, taken to 100k. Worst car i've owned and a huge amount of expensive stuff has gone wrong with it.

Modern cars are complicated, i'd buy a car < 3 years old next time, as they age they can get very costly.

Unfortunate, but if you buy a car that has done 80k miles, you don't know the history and 80k miles is a significant history!

A failure at 100k is not entirely unikelty either. As for the other stuff, I can't comment, but suffice it to say, my current car is due it's 9th birthday in less than a month and all i've had go wrong with it is two perished CV gaiters. Not bad imho, but then I am the original owner and have treated the vehicle with respect from day one.

My wife hahd a petrol engined Golf for 9 years and that was equally reliable. The only issue was the electric window mechanism. A particular plastic component breaks on a certain vintage, but i managed to repair them.

I never heard of a head gasget constituting a total engine failure. Sounds a bit extreme to me, but what do I know.

I once drove a Ford Mondeo diesel and it was shocking. Gutless at certain rev points, noisy and, made by Ford. I have seen a few Fords in my time, they used to be run of the mill, mediocre in almost every respect, but i know the latest iterations are now looking pretty damn good. I'm still a Ford Sceptic, but old age is making me a stick in the mud! 😉

I had an 03 Mondeo, it was the best diesel I have had spongebob 🙂

Hesitating and flat spots can be caused by a gummed up EGR valve, which is a messy yet easy job to clear out. Our car had only done 50k and the inside of the EGR had a 5mm layer of soot coating it, it didn't have any particular problems before but power delivery was much smoother through the revs afterwards 🙂

One suggestion I would make is steer clear of higher mileage cars that have spent their lives competing for parking spaces rather than just cruising up onto a nice drive. Our old Citroen ZX (with the same XUD engine as the pug) got to around 135k but what finally forced us to trade it in was a leaking power steering rack. It was only a matter of time as it was squeezed into and out of tiny parking spaces four times a day for the six years I owned it, which meant lots of lock to lock steering whilst stationary. When it finally went it was drinking a litre of power steering fluid a week, topped it up outside the dealers then hid the bottle whilst completing the sale on the new one 🙂 A new rack fitted would have been approx £400, dread to think how much it would have cost for something like the Mondeo. Cost £100 labour just to replace a perished water hose tucked down the front of the engine as so many bits had to be removed (on the Mondeo).

Ours – '02 A4 Avant 1.9, the OH's company car from new (we bought it at about 140k), currently 160k+, first clutch replaced at around 120k.

Standard solid flywheels & clutches, fitted to the likes of the XUD will last more or less forever if treated well.

Mines a commonrail too.

You really can't generalise like that, well you can but it's not very accurate.

igimap – Member

45 miles each way is about 21,500 miles per year. Even in an old diesel shed that's going to be at least 20p/mile = £4.3K/year. That's £358/month which buys you 75K of mortgage at about 3% over 25years. Then there's the three hours a day you are going to spend in the car. Over the year that's one solid month of wasted time (12% of all your waking hours if you like).

No brainer, move house, ride bike to work.

True in many ways but:

He might not want to move,
Will he get a Mortgage after redundancy?
He will have to supply a larger deposit,
The housing market could up or down,
He loses his job again and loses his home?!
The flexibilty to move
and expect its short term not 25 yrs.

(I do agree if it was for a few yrs it would be best moving and buying a house! I have lived here 6yrs at my current address -so it was worth buying but now moving to a new place for 1.5yrs and will be commuting too and then moving again so its best for a drive).

And if he's keen-get a road bike to train on -do one way and train home?
Might be too much but twice a week blast?

my 1.9tdi 90bhp octavia is just shy of 165k, still works ok, the interior is a little tired but on the whole no issues. Managed to get an indicated 71mpg on a run to Chester a few months back. More normal driving gives an indicated 60mpg. Which means one gallon of fuel a day.