Possible 600 mile a week commute, so new car ?

[Fatboy40]

I'm after a new job, and I've got an interview coming up for a very good position that I have a good chance of getting, but the distance I'll have to commute would go up quite a bit. I'd be going from 180 miles a week to 600 (a 60 mile each way trip each day). The drive is not a problem, a mixture of dual and single carriageway A roads, but my fuel costs will go up big style !.

With my current petrol Honda Civic I get around 33/35 MPG so the new commute would cost me approx £450 a month. A car with a VAG 1.9 TDi engine at say 50 MPG would cost approx £327 a month.

So if I'm good enough to get the job I was thinking get rid of the Civic and spend 3 to 4k on a 1.9 TDi Skoda Ocatvia with around 70 to 80k on the clock ?. I'd have to stump up the cost of the Octavia up-front but as long as she lasts me 4+ years I'll make a saving.

Any opinions ? (other than find a job nearer, there must be others on this forum that have similar or longer commutes ?).

Ta

[kalniel]

Couldn't make a better choice myself. The Octavia will be comfy enough for the long journey, frugal, reliable and cheap to service/fix if needed.

Audi A4 is the other option - bit more class inside, bit more expensive to service. With the popularity of Octavias of that type, an A4/A3 might end up the same price. (My A3 was cheaper than equivalent Golfs for example!)

[99Flake]

We currently have a Saab 9-5 3.0TiD which will return that kind of economy on long runs and early 40's late 30's round town.

Not the most sensible suggestion maybe as I know that there can be a multitude of issues with the Isuzu unit fitted to it but if you can find one with the engine changed (would normally have been done by Saab under warranty) you should be fine.

They are however very powerful (ours goes like the clappers) and good to drive, mega comfy seats, all the equipment you could want. The estate is very practical if you need space, ours was only £2500 and had only done 30k on the engine (80k odd on the car itself).

I know it is a bit different and I will probably get shot down in flames for it but just my suggestion.

Other than that then yes the VAG stuff will be good!

[Rave]

Keep the Civic.

No? Well if you've got a budget of £4k you can get a very nice Mk3 Mondeo TDCi, which should very easily to 50mpg+ on a motorway/A-road commute.

I take it the pay rise you'll be getting in this new job is more than enough to pay for the extra fuel and 5+ extra hours a week sat in a car? I'd have to be looking at serious money to do a commute like that TBH....and if I did get the offer, I'd be saving the extra up to buy a house much nearer to where I worked a couple of years down the line.

[abaxas]

Keep the Civic.

No? Well if you've got a budget of £4k you can get a very nice Mk3 Mondeo TDCi, which should very easily to 50mpg+ on a motorway/A-road commute.

I take it the pay rise you'll be getting in this new job is more than enough to pay for the extra fuel and 5+ extra hours a week sat in a car? I'd have to be looking at serious money to do a commute like that TBH....and if I did get the offer, I'd be saving the extra up to buy a house much nearer to where I worked a couple of years down the line.

Dual mass flywheel problems. 700-1k to fix.

Get a 5-6 year old VAG diesel with no DPF. Not quite a economical as the modern ones but bulletproof.

[cheesemp]

Well I took a job with a 350 mile commute 4 1/2 years ago. Purchased a 3 year old 03 plate 206 2.0 diesel. I got 56mpg average out of it for the 4 years (mainly by not driving like an idiot). It had 33,000 on clock when I purchased it. Stopped the commute 6 months ago (moved closer to work) and car had 114,000 miles on the clock. For those 80,000 miles the peugeot was easy to drive and reliable but now it started to cost a fortune (suspension, start motor etc)! The engines still very good though - I'd definitely recommend a PSA diesel as a budget buy - just don't expect VAG type mileage out of it. I think many fords use the same engines. I'd try and avoid the 1.4 though - its got no go without the turbo which makes overtaking fun!

One point to note though is even with 56Mpg it cost me almost £200 a month in commuting costs. You could reach £350 easily - You really want a high MPG car!

[finlay666]

Audi A4 is the other option - bit more class inside, bit more expensive to service. With the popularity of Octavias of that type, an A4/A3 might end up the same price. (My A3 was cheaper than equivalent Golfs for example!)

Depends on the garage, my vag specialist charges the same for all vag cars, bmws are more

[Butuz]

There's more to life than spending half your day driving.....!

......but if you insist make 100% sure you will make a profit, as generally diesels have higher servicing costs than petrol.

Butuz

[kalniel]

There's more to life than spending half your day driving.....!

......but if you insist make 100% sure you will make a profit, as generally diesels have higher servicing costs than petrol.

But need servicing less often. The audi diesels are 2 year/variable, and with that sort of driving you'll probably hit the two year mark before the variable factors kick in. A fixed service interval or petrol car will have you needing to service possibly more than once a year with that kind of mileage.

[abaxas]

But need servicing less often. The audi diesels are 2 year/variable, and with that sort of driving you'll probably hit the two year mark before the variable factors kick in. A fixed service interval or petrol car will have you needing to service possibly more than once a year with that kind of mileage.

Our A3 goes about 16-18,000 miles between services. Mixed driving about 30% country 50% dual carrigeway and 20% town.

Last service was 170 quid.

[1stRaven]

Keep the Civic.

No? Well if you've got a budget of £4k you can get a very nice Mk3 Mondeo TDCi, which should very easily to 50mpg+ on a motorway/A-road commute.

Dual mass flywheel problems. 700-1k to fix.

Yeah, I got recommend one of those, brought it for 3k and after this next garage trip, will have spent over £5k on it, all in 4 months. They also have injector issues on the 2.0 tdci.

[Rave]

Harsh. But I've seen several on ebay that already have a solid flywheel at the expense of the previous owner, so just buy one of those.

[DanceswithUnix]

Whilst a diesel is what always gets recommended for long distance driving, the cheapest motoring I have seen is a co-worker that drives about 350 miles/week in a small & cheap petrol Hyundai Accent that has been converted to LPG.

[Fatboy40]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Even with quite a wide search area an Octavia still seems to be the best, A3/A4's didn't come out as competitive on price and age.

I'd rather not do a commute like this but the job's a damn good prospect.

[Fatboy40]

I should have the job by the middle of next week, just wish the Mrs hadn't passed her driving test only last summer so then she could have the bigger car and I could buy myself a diesel Skoda Fabia instead

Still going to go for a 1.9 TDi Octavia with no more than 80k on the clock which should be a 2004/2005, Audi's haven't come anywhere near a close price wise but I do like the A3.

[Zak33]

/dons his fireproof overalls....

Peugeot 406 (NOT 407) HDI 2.0

Spend about £3500 - £4000 on a 110 bhp engine.


Comfortable. Excellent chassis. Strong engine.

And it'll sell to a taxi driver when you're finished with it