Deisel Engines...

[joshwa]

I've seen some good deals on 2001/2002 Renault Laguna's with 1.9Dci diesel engines, but the mileage is always high, eg 92k or 109k -

do diesel engines last twice as long as petrol engines, or should I be looking for cars with 60/50k max?

cheers

Josh

[kaillum]

yup.. diesels are a lot better at handling the mileage than a petrol version..

I put 44k on my old 206 DTurbo in 18 months (ended up as 60k on an '02 reg).. and that was still running beautifully when I sold her... never missed a beat!

[kalniel]

Key is well-maintained. They do go for pretty much ever, but you have to make sure things like cam-belts are in good condition.

[Tumble]

A good Diesel will just about be run in at 60k so long as it's had a new timing belt at 40-50k...

[5lab]

tbh there is no real differecne in engine longevity - my old car had a 20 year old french engine and that was on 184k when i had to scrap it due to rust, engine was still fine. if a car has been looked after, an engine should outlast it - obviously if a timing belt goes or it overheats, you're in for trouble. it makes more sense to buy a high milage car if you're doing less miles - 90k is on the high side for that kinda age so i'd be sure to check the full services were done. reason dervs traditionally last longer is they rev less so do less work for the same milage.

might wanna be careful of the clutch too - see how much it would be to get replaced if it goes.

[Neo_VR]

careful with the DCi engines too, they are rekown for blowing turbos and crank oilseals

[Butuz]

Many engines will last for 200k+ miles if it is looked after with regard to servicing be them deisil or petrol.

I mean come on - my old engine craked 150,000 miles and that was turbocharged and tuned! And it was still running without smoke or anything when i took it out. Imagine how many miles the less stressed non turbo version of it in the primera egt for example will do if looked after?

Butuz

[joshwa]

cool cheers for the replies, v helpful - are renault's really as unreliable as people keep telling me? someone was telling me the emission testers keep going on them? also are they more expensive to fix?

obviously they're be more expensive than a ford to fix, but presumably cheaper than fixing an audi/merc/ etc?

[5lab]

you're correct in your assumptions

a good way to see how reliable a car will be is check out the price of a warentee from somewhere like warenteedirect.co.uk - the more expensive the less reliable the car- they publish tables of what cars are like as well.

if you're going to keep the car for, say, 3 years, it might be worth budgeting in a warentee for piece of mind - be sure to check all of the small print first though (about servicing and so on). i'd personally add this to the purchase budget, as it can save you money in the long run. any car can fail horrably and be very expensive to repair - people who say 'this car was crap' just had one that happened to be bad.

[chrestomanci]

What car magazen printed a reliablity survey in their august issue. I don't remember the details but renault was in the bottom third, along with most other european makes incuding ford. I don't think they are any more expensive to get fixed unless you go to a main dealer.

In terms of the millage, it sounds like you are looking at ex sales rep cars, which would be a good thing, as most of those miles will be on motorways, and the car will have been well cared for. I used to work for a French owned company, and they issued Lagunas to their sales force. Every wendneday the company car park was packed with them.

[5lab]

the reason fords are cheap is due to spare parts prices - they're unbelievably cheap - propper cost price - hence the lowish insurance costs

[Zad]

At 90+ thousand miles, check the turbo has been replaced fairly recently, they have a finite lifespan even if well maintained. Don't get a non-turbo though, they are lethargic to say the least. The *vital* thing with a diesel is that the oil has been changed regularly, preferably more often than the regular intervals. Ex company cars should be fine in that respect.

Mike