Bargain diesel estate choices...

[turbodriver63]

In a week or two from now I intend to buy a cheap diesel estate to get me about until I can afford a decent motor.
I intend to only spend about £1000 - £1400 or so.
I think I have it narrowed down to a 2000 - 2003 skoda octavia TDI or a late B5 A4 tdi 1.9.
My main reason for these two is they deliver good mpg and are reasonably tough (if they have been maintained well by previous owners)
Has anyone any ideas of other/better cars I'm missing that are around that price + reliability and has space for carrying tools and some light timber etc.
Any help greatly appreciated

[Cottis]

THe Octavias are bone shakers in my experience. Good a solid for what you want it to but you feel all the bumps on the road. A4 would be better if you can find a decent one for the money in my opinion.

[K Simmonds]

B5 Passats are pretty much as good as B5 A4's IMO.

[rj scotty]

80 tdi estates change hands for next to **** all

[shaun5]

80 tdi estates change hands for next to **** all

I second that, you will save yourself money so if something does go wrong with it you can repair it or upgrade wheels / S2 front bumper / brakes etc

[bluequattro]

Discovery tdi
Plenty space for stuff and it will keep you mobile in inter snow better than the others (I'm buying a few ready for winter)

[anthonys2]

I would recommend an A4 they are ultra reliable good economy and just keep going. I have a 53 plate A4 1.9TDI Quattro Sport 130bhp and it is approaching 240k miles its my daily work horse and to be honest I was thinking of changing so I got a new A4 and am selling the new one and keeping the older one as its much better and more economical so A4 gets my vote plenty about just make sure its been well maintained

[s2driveruk]

just be ultra-ultra careful on the service history of the pdi's - they can be crippling if they go wrong. My A6 1.9tdi cost me £5k on two separate head problems and injectors. with a full, specialist and dealer history

Was a great car when on song and superbly comfortable....however build quality wasn't a patch on the S2 if honest and the s2 cost less to run over the same period (excluding fuel)

[Cottis]

I would recommend an A4 they are ultra reliable good economy and just keep going. I have a 53 plate A4 1.9TDI Quattro Sport 130bhp and it is approaching 240k miles its my daily work horse and to be honest I was thinking of changing so I got a new A4 and am selling the new one and keeping the older one as its much better and more economical so A4 gets my vote plenty about just make sure its been well maintained

I have recently looked at a couple of A4 TDI Quattros (1.9 PD) and could not find one that was approaching good nick. I reckon all the good ones are hung on to tightly by their grateful owners like you say. A good one on the 2nd hand market is rare as rocking horse ****. I decided to hang on to my trusty little Citroen Volcane for another winter. 200k and still going strong but no 4WD so the back roads are fun

Back to OP, forgot about Passats. Rarely do you find an owner who isn't happy with them. Probably cheaper than Audi's too and faster than a Quattro PDi. Possibly a bigger boot also.

[anthonys2]

I have recently looked at a couple of A4 TDI Quattros (1.9 PD) and could not find one that was approaching good nick. I reckon all the good ones are hung on to tightly by their grateful owners like you say. A good one on the 2nd hand market is rare as rocking horse ****. I decided to hang on to my trusty little Citroen Volcane for another winter. 200k and still going strong but no 4WD so the back roads are fun

Back to OP, forgot about Passats. Rarely do you find an owner who isn't happy with them. Probably cheaper than Audi's too and faster than a Quattro PDi. Possibly a bigger boot also.

I think the Passat is about the same size as an A6 and I've been told they're good cars I think your right about the A4's despite mine having a very high mileage because I know its history am keeping mine for another 2-3 years and by then it will have reached 300k miles and its been round the Nurburgring to!!!!

[turbodriver63]

thanks for the advice so far guys
Keep it coming if you have anymore
I was just on fleabay and it seems there's one Audi 80 tdi estate with a suspiciously low mileage.
Damaged drivers door, but that's an easy swap.
I'm really liking the idea of an S2 rep work horse.
What are the 80s like?
I'd assume they would be as economic as a more modern motor and probably bomb proof.

[Cottis]

Engines get a bit sweaty on them but what diesel isn't. Older cars will need bits and bobs replacing but if it runs well and sounds good and normal things check out ok, it is hardly an expensive punt.

[SteveH]

I've had a few PD Passats and I can't fault them. Ultra reliable if serviced every 10K with decent oil and filters. B5.5's have better build quality and fuel consumption than the B6

[turbodriver63]

Actually really starting to sway towards an 80 avant tdi.
Street cred (once it gets a few choice mods) and economy all in a cool 90's German style

[darkhorse1210]

Actually really starting to sway towards an 80 avant tdi.
Street cred (once it gets a few choice mods) and economy all in a cool 90's German style

I'm no expert on this but what about a BMW E34 525 TDS?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=814818

I had an E34 535i Sport Saloon and it was built like a tank, they reckon it's one of the most over engineered cars of all time.....