Opinions on 2nd hand diesel car options for $15-18k

[Lucas_R]

Hi All,

Im new to the diesel thing and really don't know a great deal about them. After hi-jacking someone elses thread about a week ago i thought id better start a new thread and hopefully get some opinions from you guys who own them.

I am interested in purchasing a diesel vehicle for my girlfriend. The main reasons for wanting a diesel are because she travels 800-1200km a week (Newcastle to Sydney commuting) so i want the fuel economy benefit, as well as the general reliabiliy and torque of the diesel engine for highway crusing and overtaking.

We currently have a 96 Toyota Corolla, which isnt exactly suited to anything other that city driving. It sits on 3,500rpm at 110kph on the freeway and revs its guts out. Furthermore, it has absolutely no power when you need to get up a hill or overtake - so the Corolla is going.

Now our budget really tops the scales at about $18,000 as this is a 2nd car, as we purchased a new car just earlier this year.

Ive been heavily considering a 2.0TDI Golf Mk5 (103kw/320nm) which seem to be hovering around the $15-16k mark for ones with 70,000-100,000km on them. I would prefer a GT TDI (125kw/350nm) model but these seem to still fetch $20-25k still so the GT option might be unrealistic for us at this point in time. Im thinking the DSG would suit the diesel engine well - but would like to drive a manual version as well to compare.

I drove a new Audi A3 2.0TDI to Sydney and back a few months ago and it was lovely to drive. This particular one had the 125kw engine with DSG and averaged 5.5litres/100km on the trip.

As VW fans, you will no doubt curse the fact that i have also been considering the Mazda 3 "MZR-CD" diesel (105kw/360nm) and the Polo 1.9TDI (77kw/250nm). The Mazda is only available in a manual (6 speed) so this may get frustrating but i am yet to drive one. Furthermore, the Mazda diesel is extremely rare and there are only a dozen or so for sale on CarSales at the moment (Australia wide) .The Polo is only available in a 5 speed so not sure how it's gear ratio's are suited to 110-120kph highway driving - and it probably a bit low on power for what i would like.

I drove a Hyundai i30 CRDi diesel (85kw/255nm) a few weeks ago and absolutely hated it. It was underpowered, with a noisy/rattly unrefined diesel engine and notchy gearbox. So im not considering one of these.

Not really interested in the Holden Astra diesel or the Ford Focus diesel either - would rather stick with VW or go the Jap option of the Mazda 3.

Please offer your opinions and thoughts on what the pros and cons are of these vehicles. Also, if anyone has driven a Mazda 3 diesel please share your thoughts on it.

- Manual or auto/DSG in a turbo diesel?
- Polo vs Golf vs Mazda 3 vs others?
- Freeway cruising (revs at 110kph in top gear)
- Average litres/100km

Thanks

[kaanage]

Nothing at all wrong with the Polo for this sort of use except that it will have more wind/engine/road noise than the Golfs. You should be able to get a runout "Pacific" model in this price range which comes with 15" alloys, leather steering wheel and trip computer.

Don't be deceived by the low power figure - it has bags of torque and it'll be sitting right in its sweet spot when cruising (about 2200rpm at 110km.h) so hills are no problem. Overtaking is more problematic if some decides to "contest" the pass as the power limit will come into play but normally will be fine.

You can easily get this engine remapped up to the 100kW area for around $800 if you really want more power.

From memory, her route is fairly flat so I'd expect 4.5 l/100km or better.

Check the injector failure thread in the Diesel forum when considering the MkV GT.

[Lucas_R]

Yes i have seen that there is an injector issue with the Golf diesels. Is this just limited to the Golf's with the 2.0 TDI engine (eg doesn't affect the Golf's / Polo's with the 1.9TDI ?).

[team_v]

If it were me i would go the Polo 1.9.

Not really sure why power would be an issue for you since you are looking at a diesel run-about.
The Polo will do the job fine at speed since it has the torque to pull it along.

[jazd]

Yes i have seen that there is an injector issue with the Golf diesels. Is this just limited to the Golf's with the 2.0 TDI engine (eg doesn't affect the Golf's / Polo's with the 1.9TDI ?).

Only the 125kW 2.0L

[kaanage]

Yes i have seen that there is an injector issue with the Golf diesels. Is this just limited to the Golf's with the 2.0 TDI engine (eg doesn't affect the Golf's / Polo's with the 1.9TDI ?).

It only affects the 125kW version of the PD diesel engines so of the vehicles you have listed, only the Golf GT TDi is of any concern. The Golf 103kW (normal) TDi and the 1.9 engines aren't affected by this issue.

[Transporter]

If it were me i would go the Polo 1.9.

Not really sure why power would be an issue for you since you are looking at a diesel run-about.
The Polo will do the job fine at speed since it has the torque to pull it along.

There is a big difference in performance between 1.9TDI and 2.0LTDI.

[stickshift3000]

I agree with above, quite a different engine.

I reckon the 103 kw 2.0 is a very attractive option at some of the low prices that sellers are asking. Mine sits at or below (can't remember exactly) 2000 revs at 110 km/h, and returns about 5.0 l/100 actual on the highway (it's chipped which lowered consumption a bit).

A mid to high spec model is what I was looking for. From lowest to highest spec: trendline (stay away in my opinion, lacks many handy features), comfortline, sportline. The Pacific run out model is very close to the sportline in spec.

[The_Hawk]

I seriously considered the 6R TDI... and second hand models are now listing as low at $22k, assuming a little negotiation and you would just about get into a 66TDI DSG although I understand it's stretching the upper end of your budget.

[gldgti]

for your budget you will find a 2L jetta TDI or as I did, an Octavia TDI. The octavias are great value for money - simply put. My wife and I were looking for a car to upgrade from my mk3 diesel which was getting on a bit and keeping me busy on the weekends - I didnt want to spend over 20k and I found that the golf V's seemed to be overpriced (simply because they are called a golf) whereas you could find a jetta for less money. In the end, we found our octavia for 18k which I was very happy with, and its much nicer to drive on the highway than a polo or even a golf (rides nicely).

Despite the fact its a larger car, the 1.9 pulls it just fine (I still overtake everyone on the up-hills....)

Similarly to your situation, I've been commuting central coast/sydney for about 5 years. Incidentally, my workmate come from North Lambton, he also does about 1300k's a week and most of it over the last few years was in an "opel" barina - now his back has had it because the seats were crap.

[GoLfMan]

Ive got a Polo 1.9tdi. The engine itself is pretty bullet proof and there are plenty of known fixes for its idiosyncrasies on the market also. Mine is chipped and I can honestly say its got plenty of punch standard (heaps better now its chipped!) and great fuel economy. A little noisier on the hwy but not a bad cruiser. Engine doesn't work hard at all.

I'd try and get a car without a DPF (mk5 non GT models) as replacing those if they fail is quite expensive.

Good luck!

[jamie88]

i have a 2005 golf 2l tdi, tuned, with nearing on 220km, running about 500km a week travel. fuel is around the 5-6l/100km mark. more than enough power, and no issues within the 40,000km i have had it in a year. i think any vag tdi is an awesome option for your highway cruising.

[anthony]

I was also going to suggest a Jetta TDI,as it is such good value for money.

[Lucas_R]

Thanks for your responses - looks like im pretty much on the right track then with looking for the 2.0TDI (103kw/320nm) version of the Golf. I hadn't really considered the Jetta but ill have a look - although i would prefer a hatchback. I guess its just a Golf with a boot. Ive seen a few Jetta's getting around with some nice wheels and lowered and they look quite nice. And ill try to look for the Comfortline, Sportline or Pacific models of the Golf's to get the nicer specs / colour coding / alloy wheels etc.

Im thinking the Polo might be a little underpowered and too small (size wise) for what i would like - but i would still like to look at one and test drive to know for sure.

As for someone suggesting a Skoda Octavia, once again i hadn't really considered one of these but ill see what's available on the 2nd hand market. Although i would prefer to stick to a hatch shape rather than a sedan/wagon.

Thanks again for your suggestions and insight.

Jazd / lowtdi - any chance i could meet up with either or both of you at some stage to have a look at your cars?? Seeing we are all from Newcastle.....

[Transporter]

The Octavia is sedan but it has the hatch (fifth door). I will have Golf5 Comfortline with 45,000km for sale soon - waiting for the Tiguan.