suggest car for parents

My GF's parents currently have a toyota previa, with the 2.8 litre petrol engine in it,

bought it when they were childminding and had to carry loads of the brats to school and back, now they are retired they want something that is a lot cheaper to run (get about 200 miles to 60 quids worth of fuel they say)

her dad has always driven large vehicles (used to be a 7.5 ton truck driver for parcel line) and wants something big, but seems to be realising that on a pension, something economical is better, and big cars arent ecconomical unless you are getting a new un with the latest engine technology.

half their family is in london, so they want to be able to drive down there and back without spending their entire weeks pension on fuel.

i've said they want a medium sized diesel car, but am struggeling to think of a good un, fords wont be entertained at all, all our families agree on that.. they've all had very expensive repairs on them in the past (my dads was a fraud mundane which had the cam belt changed along with the plastic ideler wheels,

3 months later the bearing seazed in the tensioner wheel and stripped the belt, and fraud wouldent entertain even a small discount on the 1200 quid repair bill, as we haddnt specified the tensioner wheel to be replaced at cam belt time)

Anyway, the car for them will be a few years old as they prolly have around a grand to spend,

i came up with the pug 306 TD, smaller than he's used to, but not too small for their use, and about 50 or 60 mpg, but not sure what old uns are like.

what other cars like that are available? dosent have to be a turbo, but really wants to be a diesel, able to fit 5 comfortably (1 of them is a 3 year old, so 4 and a quarter really :) have a half decent boot space for an alsatian dog plus luggage.

Reply to
gazz
Loading thread data ...

It's not 4 and a quarter though, with the mandatory child seat they take up a lot of space. I had to flog a perfectly good last-shape Vectra recently because we'd had a third sprog and their seats wouldn't fit along the back seat. Gone are the days of chucking three kids in the back of your Escort...

He doesn't want to be going for smaller than Mondeo-sized and he'll still get good mpg out of a diesel. And get an estate, if he's wanting to take the dog IMHO.

But (again IMHO) you can't get three people in the back of anything smaller than a 5-series with any form of comfort as the legroom is not there, I don't care what the reviews say

Reply to
Abo

"gazz" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Jesus wept. That's about 14mpg.

There's plenty of big diesels in think of a good un,

They're good, solid, no-pretensions cars. HDi is common-rail. What about going up a size to the 406?

Is it a bulk thing or a height thing that's putting him off smaller stuff? What about something like a Berlingo Multispace?

It does have to be a turbo. Unless they want to take all week to get anywhere. TBH, I doubt you'll find anything bigger than Golf size that's non-turbo diesel.

What's their budget?

Reply to
Adrian
[...]

"Anyway, the car for them will be a few years old as they prolly have around a grand to spend,"

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Chris Whelan gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Reply to
Adrian

:-)

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

£1000 gets you f*ck all other than starship mileage old shape Vectras, MK2 Mondeos and Pug 406's I'd not touch with yours. £3-£4k is more realistic.
Reply to
Conor

Indeed.

"I want to buy a good very economical mid sized saloon that's diesel and going to be very reliable with low maintenance costs" and "around £1000" don't go in the same sentence.

Reply to
Conor

How much per year can they afford on maintenance?

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Can't see why not. I'd be happier spending around £1000 and expect it to last 3 years than to pay £3000 and expect it to last 9. That's precisely what I've been doing and it works for me. Or rather, it works for my wife - I drive much older crap.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

That's because you're too darned fussy. High mileage cars make a lot of sense for older folk who cover lower mileages themselves.

But then it'd need to last 3-4 times as long. Which is not realistic, IME.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

If they could go to a bit more I can reccomend a Puggy 206 SW. Mine is great and quite a lot of room.

Reply to
Jamie

Why a diesel? For low mileage

Reply to
Mark

Exactly. I've had a £200 Ford Sierra for the past 3 years and not a murmer or trouble. Not even a tyre or wiper needed. It does under 5000 miles a year mostly on motorways. Always passes MOT without anything need doing. Just gets a oil change once a year. The Sierra I had before cost £300 and lasted from 2001 till 2006. My next car will be the same sort of value, but verring away from a Mondy as things like a new clutch or exhaust are far too expensive compared to a Sierra. Wish I could still find a mint Sierra as far better than the Mondy for my purposes IE, cheap and easy to repair.

Reply to
Mark

I take that back Gazz after reading your post about the 85mpg diesel smart. I was just comparing the average 15-20 year old petrol or diesel as that is all I have experience of. I've never owned anythng younger than 15 years old in 35 years of motoring. BTW, I own a 20 year old diesel campervan (LT35) and far rather work on that than anything modern. Like the sound of the Iveco.

Mark

Reply to
Mark

"gazz" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

306 = ZX or Xsara - ZX getting a bit long in the tooth now, but utterly basic & bomb-proof. Xsara a bit more "padded", and not (imho) the better for it. Facelifted Xsaras introduced HDi but also multiplexing. 406 = Xantia - don't be scared of the hydraulics. Late 406s overlapped with the C5. Avoid (but the HDi came in in late Xants)

If you find a good 2.1TD Xant or 406, jump at it.

Reply to
Adrian

my iveco's engine is the same technology as the LT, just 2 fewer cylinders and direct injection, (my first motorhome conversion was on a '89 LT35)

i got about 25 mpg from the LT with the normaly aspirated diesel, i fitted a TD engine and got 28 on a good day, weighed 2.9 tons,

The iveco weighs 4.3 tons, and returns about 23mpg, but it is a coachbuilt, so not only has the aerodynamics of a wardrobe, it's a wardrobe with the door open due to the luton.

the new LT's get around 40mpg according to people in the lt motorhome club who have built motorhomes on them, same with the common rail ivecos, much as i'd like that fuel economy in my motorhome, i like to travel up swiss mountians and into the plains in spain, so prefer a simple mechanical injection engine that can be fixed with a hammer and a bit of pipe rather than a computer and half a grands worth of electronic parts.

Reply to
gazz

Yep, 25mpg is exactly what I get for my non-turbo, no pas, 2.4l 6cyl. Mines a 1987 so you probably know it well. Have you come across

formatting link
Lots of LT folk still using the LT on there. I'd certainly like a modern LT or Sprinter, especially when I'm struggling to get up hills on the motorway and speed is creeping below 45. My van cruises about 55, 60 is pushing the poor old thing, but from talking to other LT owners with same engine, 55 is about right for the non-turbo. Can't beat a simple engine, even if it is slow at times. What's the rush!! Too many people in a rush these days.

Mark

Reply to
Mark

If you have deep pockets maybe not, but after mine cost me £300 for one leak (and a week to wait for the pipe from France) then a few months later I had another catastrophic leak, I scrapped it. It's bad enough it's unreliable, but once a Xant has pissed it's hydraulic fluid all over the road, you have no power steering, no suspension and most importantly, no brakes.

My "new" car has spring and shockers, nowhere near as refined as the "magic carpet ride"TM of the Xant, but I'm not worried about being stuck at the side of the road in a puddle of luminous green fluid again :)

Reply to
Tony (UncleFista)

"Tony \(UncleFista\)" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I've had hydraulic Citroens on and off for the thick end of two decades.

With the exception of the XM I bought from Richard K which burst a pipe (after standing for three years or so unused) I've had precisely one hydraulic leak - a low-pressure return, which required a grand total of about an inch cutting off a rubber pipe and reconnecting.

My parents, between 'em, have had three Xants. None gave them a moment's trouble.

Reply to
Adrian

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.