Newer Diesels...

[lolsteve]

I don't get it Tom, you don't have a job and do 3 trips a week in a car but you're willing to spend 5k+ plus ? Get a bike and ride it

Are you saying the 107 is an uncomfy car? Rode in one on the weekend and it never occurred to me about the ride comfort. Can do a 4 hour trip in the zr and only be slightly stiff at the other side.
Get a cuore though, 60 mpg small light and simple

[Midnightclub]

Sorry, forgot ye lot are english, was quoting in yoyos, and it regularly needed the bushes, there were always other bits too and €1000 rarely seen him out of the test (he was and still is a hard driver though)
also powerflex stuff does wear aswell, saying they never need replacing is far from the truth

1000 euro is still a silly amount of money for bushes! must be still like 7-900 quid?

Even if they do need replacing, they've got a lifetime warranty anyway so who cares, they're free replacements.

A large majority of the bushes on my car are still original, which means 14 years old minimum, If you're needing to change every bush on the car, every 12 months, there's probably a much more serious issue somewhere..

[Toms306]

I don't get it Tom

I'm not asking anyone to get it, and have deliberately left out certain details. I was asking about new diesel opinions...not opinions on my own situation.

Yes the ride in the 107 is terrible for me, but I also cant ride in the ZR on 17s for the same reason. I get easily motion sick, which isn't helped by acid reflux caused by anxiety. Unfortunately the 306 on GTi suspension has a similar effect, though not as bad which is part of the reason I don't/can't go far atm.

I'd rather this waskept on topic though.

[powerandtorque]

I hope they aren't! I bought one for covering 15-20k a year and just finished rebuilding the suspension, brakes, clutch for under £1500 inc. buying the car.

A good one costs peanuts to run and maintain frankly.

My 306 HDi hatch has been the cheapest car I've ever had to run and it continues to be, despite having nigh on quarter of a million miles on the clock now.

Sort out any previous neglect/bodges, service it properly and be proactive with maintenance and repairs and a good 306 will last you many years.

[1616six]

I'd rather this waskept on topic though.

I think I was on topic? See the links I posted on the previous page.

[Toms306]

I'd rather this waskept on topic though.

I think I was on topic? See the links I posted on the previous page.

Sorry, you edited after I'd read it.

That '30 mile' away one is more likely 2 hours away, going from other 30 mile away cars. The postcode used is Ipswich town centre which is already half hour from me, really its gotta be within 5 actual miles (not AT miles) of the town centre, unless its back towards me (very unlikely!).

I've already seen the other cars you linked, particularly the 207 1.6 HDi hence asking about the engines. Im more than capable of using autotrader lol, I'm looking for opinions on the engines/reliability which AT doesn't give and the traders certainly wont.

[1616six]

The 207 seems to be the 'new' 306 hdi.. maybe it'll work? Why not go test drive one?

[Toms306]

The 207 seems to be the 'new' 306 hdi.. maybe it'll work? Why not go test drive one?

After hearing of turbo issues with the 1.6HDi there doesn't seem any point tbh. But it is (or was?) on the list to go and view when I next go out.

[1616six]

Have you not noticed a pattern emerging that almost every car on the market has it's weak points?

It's like with myself doing over 20k a year, do I now sell my 320D because some of them stretch their chains? Amber should sell her Mini because the power steering pumps go noisy & they use rover 25 cheese gearboxes? My old man should sell his twin top astra incase the roof mechanism spazzes out, Best not get an XUD 'case it sticks a rod through it's block, forget any Renaults, them & electrics..corr.. Best not get 99% of diesels just incase the DMF rattles, turbo gets noisey, DPF gets blocked, EGR clogs, can't get a petrol cause they're too thirsty for 6k a year, can't get an older derv because they have high mileage & tax is expensive..


Something's gotta give?

I'm not being horrible Tom & I'm sure you know that from our chats in the past, I want to help you, but come on mate you've got to compromise somewhere.

[DavidA]

The only diesels I've had have been as follows:
1997 306xtdt - 50+ to the gallon and aside from dodgy electric windows never had a problem
1998 Land Rover Discovery Tdi - water pump went in first week leading to a cracked piston (probably caused by previous owner neglect)
2004 MG ZT-T which I loved but which wasn't nearly as economical as the figures suggest and can have EGR issues.
2008 Mondeo TDCi 140 estate which to date has been the best car we've ever had.
2007 Peugeot 207 GT HDi which in the 6 months I had it never gave me any problems, but it was only 6 months old and an ex dealer demonstration model.
2004 and 2006 Corsa CDTi where the newer one was used as a learner driver car but still did 50+ to the gallon around town, the 2004 did 64mpg but had been abused previously and was a bit of a lemon.
My current 1999 Meridian XUD which I've only had a short time but aside from the economy side of things is a world apart from the Corsa.

[Toms306]

Yeah I know all cars are shit, and I do seem to find ones with the common faults every time. In all honestly Id rather just hide at home and not go out at all, would save any possible breakdowns but apparently it's not acceptable to do that.

What I cant make you guys understand is that if and when breakdowns occur, I cannot cope with them (amongst many other things). I can't ride in an RAC truck because even 5 miles was more than my stomach could take take in one when the 306 let me down. It also triggers panic attacks which set off IBS and I was just lucky with the 2nd breakdown that I was close enough to call my Grandad to take me back to his for the loo before the RAC truck even arrived. I really can't explain the lack of being able to cope in these situations.

I know breakdowns happen, it is to be expected with such a complicated lump of machinery, but that doesn't mean I can deal with it.

I realise there's gotta be a compromise - but its not gonna be my brain/stomach...and I can't print money so its not gonna be cost either...so really I'm f*cked from any angle lol.


This thread has run its course and may as well be ended.

[1616six]

Why don't you get a camper van? Surely that'd be the answer?

[powerandtorque]

If you want absolute reliablity then buy a Jap petrol car, not a modern European diesel.

[1616six]

If you want absolute reliablity then buy a Jap petrol car, not a modern European diesel.

Honda Jazz.

[Toms306]

Lol, have seriously thought about camper vans, the running costs are far too much though.

[1616six]

XUD and a shitter all in one room.

I've just found the answer to all your prayers, rep welcome.

[Toms306]

I'd buy a 1.6 vtec ep3 civic if I could afford to fuel/tax and insure them lol.

Also, the 107 is technically a jap car, the reliability and running costs on that were ideal!

---

Not an XUD, I'd be constantly worried about the rods falling out (yes, I know, here we go again).

[powerandtorque]

K11 Nissan Micra FTW when it comes to reliability.

I swear a tactical nuclear strike would fail to kill one of those things...

[DavidA]

The garage that condemned my Corsa recommended Japanese cars, he said they never get any in requiring work.

[Niall]

Tom your an idiot.
Your doing all of your research online, seeing one bad thing about one car and automatically discounting it without actually making up your own mind as to how suitable it would be to you.
You forget, people only ever comment on forums about their cars when they have gone wrong. Rarely do you get a post saying "just to let you know, my car has been faultless for the past 6 months". Every single car on the road from cheap things like a 107 to a rolls Royce have their issues and they are all documented online but what your not doing is looking at how common these faults are but using your own common sense to decide if it's worth the risk. Buying any car there is a risk of failure. You just need to decide on one which is good for you and instead of asking on here then discounting every single bloody car because there's a chance something may fail on it, go and test drive it and see if it suits you.

[Toms306]

Tom your an idiot.

I completely agree (aside from the grammatical error anyway lol).

[1616six]

Have you realised that the ideal car for you doesn't exist Tom?

Just keep the HDI, if your latest reason for getting rid of it is the ride comfort then get some different tyres for it & some better suspension.

[Toms306]

No that's not the reason for getting rid, well not one of the main ones.

I know the ideal car doesn't exist, always have done, just trying to think positively, which doesn't work.


Anyway as said, this thread isn't going anywhere so may as well be deleted or something.

[C.A.R.]

You have to remember that 'consumers' ie. car owners will typically only take to their keyboards when a problem actually arises with their car.

It's only us sad-acts who actually like to discuss with like-minded sad-acts about the 'mecca' which is the Peugeot 306.

So you have to weigh up the proportion of 'failures' or unhappy consumers in the grand scheme of things - ie. how many you actually see that are on the road.

If the 1.6HDi engine was as reliable as a chocolate teapot then why do you still see so many around?

I often think that a lot of what you see online is hearsay and that if you actually looked after your cars, serviced them at correct intervals with quality parts then how many of the 'common problems' would you actually experience?

[Toms306]

I often think that a lot of what you see online is hearsay and that if you actually looked after your cars, serviced them at correct intervals with quality parts then how many of the 'common problems' would you actually experience?

Yeah you are right Chris, and I do understand that a lot of content owners aren't going to posting about it.

But the part above is the part that worries me I guess, when buying a used car, you have no idea about the previous owners (unless you buy a one owner car from that owner) so you don't know whether the cars been looked after or not...service history and exterior condition mean nothing in my experience.

And every car I buy seems to have the common faults occur during my ownership -

1.4 306 - headgasket + gearbox
1.8 306 - ICV
PD Golf - Turbo/DMF/Chocolate cam
Vectra B - waterpump failure
106 NAD - Driveshafts/snapped glowplug
306 estate - Rusty rear arch/snapped cat pipe/clutch slip/dying release bearing/door handle snapped
Vectra C - Snapped springs/sticky stat/stuck EGR
306 hatches - Door looms/water leaks

Now I know I'm clearly unlucky, but it's pretty obvious that if theres a common fault with a car, it WILL happen during my ownership! So I try to avoid them. But it does appear that there isn't a fault free car at all.

[THE_Liam]

Bloody hell, I go away for a couple of weeks and Tom gets a new car! And then apparently another one!

I honestly don't know what to suggest mate, we've gone through this so many times. I think I'd be looking older (because we all know my hatred of newer cars), simple but bombproof, and cheap enough to be disposable. My old man had a P-reg Nissan Primera for 4 years, it cost him a grand with 48k (about 2008 this was), did 50mpg on a run (1.6 petrol), didn't feel overly slow, was very, very comfy (as comfy as the 190), and apart from a snapped drive shaft never went wrong or failed an MOT in 55k and 4 years despite the abuse and neglect my dad gives cars (he changed the oil twice in that time), he then sold it to a neighbour who's put another 8k on it, and finally had to do the clutch. Bit boring but it did the job cheaply, reliably and comfortably, even made me consider the GT with the SR20 engine.

[Niall]

Not being funny Tom but you just seem to buy dogs really. Looking at that list, they are all old cars that just haven't been looked after like they should.
Your expecting to buy a car and not have to work on it. Even brand new cars require work Tom. Anything mechanical WILL fail at some point. You can extend its life by looking after it but also rather than always working with reactive maintenance, why not also carry out preventive maintenance? So many people who service their cars them selves do the simple oil, filters etc but miss the fact that a service is also the time to give the car a bloody good going over and look for things that may need repair soon. Thats why if you look at the manufacturers service list for all cars, its huge. Most items you can see when they are getting a bit tired and can say "That drive shaft probably has 5k in it before it lets go, ill replace it next month"

If i was you, take a look at the cars on the road on a daily basis. Also, look at what company car drivers/typical lease company cars are at the moment. These will generally be relatively reliable and cheap to service and repair. DONT buy an ex lease car because although it might be cheap and its only 3 years old, you get pricks like me that drive them to their death every day.
Choose a car you like from this list of cars you've built up and ticks most of your boxes (not all because your just living in a dream world quite frankly with what you want) and go out and have a look at one. Spend a lot of time looking at it and don't feel like your wasting the sellers time. They want your money so aren't afraid to let you look around unless theres something wrong with it. Don't just walk around it going saying it looks tidy enough, open the bonnet and go yep its got an engine and then hand over the cash and drive away. Take it for a long drive on a variety of roads. If the seller won't let you do this, tell him your going to walk away.
If it makes your life easier (i know your not the best person for speaking to people ) write your self a list before hand of everything to check over (I'm sure we could write up a list for you) and tick it off as you go round the car checking. Don't be afraid to take your time and if in doubt instead of going "oh its convenient because its close and cheap", walk away and find the next one.
In your position, i wouldn't be worried about what colour it is or what interior it has. You can't be that picky. You need to find a car thats been cared for and will fill you with confidence when you drive it so look for the condition of the car. Silly things like the make of the tyres are a good indicator as to its previous life. If its a 3 year old car and its running on Linglongs, its clearly a lease bitch which hasn't had any care.

Finally, don't rely on it too much and don't expect it not to break down! I can't stress this enough. I spend so much time on the roads and the funny thing is, the cars i see broken down the most are your typical 1-5 year old cars owned/leased by middle management guys who expect it to just work because its brand new and that just isn't the case. Brand new parts will fail from time to time. Bearing in mind all of our cars at work are no more than 3 years old, the break down rate is quite high because although they are a new eco car, they get the very minimum care needed and when you expect as much as we do from the cars, its not going to last or, the new owner will buy it from an auction and break down 5 minutes down the road because something has finally given up!
Finally, don't buy an new Audi because its mostly them i see with the bonnet up at the side of the road lol

Sorry for the essay but i hope you will listen to just a bit of this. Im sure most will agree here that your looking for too much from a car but you can happily compromise if you just listen to everyone!

[1616six]

i wouldn't be worried about what colour it is or what interior it has.

This is why I drive a purple beemer with grey cloth.

Drives nice.

[THE_Liam]

Can't anyone off here go to look at cars with you Tom? I would but your a jillion miles away...

[Niall]

i wouldn't be worried about what colour it is or what interior it has.

This is why I drive a purple beemer with grey cloth.

Drives nice.

Yours is an exception with that interior. I would of carried on looking for a purple one with a black interior