what diesel. 330d, saab v6 tid, audi v6 tdi and the Volvo v70 d5, any others?

[\\\\ToNy////]

hi guys and happy new year.


in the next month or 2 ill be wanting to find a smooth powerful turbo diesel estate, my budget will be £2000-£3000.


the cars ive been thinking of is the bmw 330d, saab v6 tid, audi v6 tdi and the Volvo v70 d5, any others?


anyone had any of these cars, any common problems I might expect, whats the yearly tax on each of these cars, do any have rubbish heaters, I like a nice hot heater.


I know that rust and swirl flaps are a problem with the bmw.


any advice will be very welcome

[grahamw48]

Hi Tony.

I've used diesels for work cars since 1989, but sadly can't help on those models.

My mate swears by his Saab, and I always promised myself a Beemer 330D. Not cheap cars to repair and replace on though.

Have you tried having a look on the dedicated diesel car forums...might see some honest opinions and experiences from owners there ?

I've had the 2 litre TD Beemer, and that was fine, just a bit drab inside like most BMWs. The Saabs usually have lots of toys.

[Trefor]

How many miles will you do per annum? At this price point a diesel will be more expensive to run thana the equivalent petrol. I would recommend checking the numbers carefully. I get 30mpg average from my 530i, the diesel would only give me 8 mpg more.

[Terpe]

There's always lot of stuff to weigh up when buying a car.
I must admit I'd also thought about the cost of fuel. In the day's when I had a diesel the fuel cost differential made a bigger difference in it's favour than it appears to these days.

As Trefor says, do you expect to cover enough miles to justify the extra costs of diesel?

Also, I'm not sure if this is still the case or not, but I was always told that with a diesel you really need to make a decent number of long runs such as motoway driving etc to minimise filter problems. Too many short runs could lead to some still repair bills.

On the positive side, those models all represent a lot of car for your money. Especially at your budget range.
I think it's still the case that diesels hold their value much better than petrol equivalents.....not sure.

[mike1]

Have you thought about the vw passat ? one of the biggest luggage spaces you will find in an estate, and reliable - or a cheaper option , the Skoda Octavia another good , reliable estate