Driving my 2010 Focus 1.6TDCi through a local town (Laurencekirk) the other week I spy a huge low loader carrying a combine harvester having trouble squeezing down the main Street between the parked cars. I park, get out and offer to guide him through. He says he'll be fine then proceeds to drive through and takes the side off my Focus. Somewhat ironic, I felt.
Anyway, looked for a replacement. Searched FB for BMW 1\3 series or Audi A3\4\6 diesels. Looking to pay £2-3k. A lot came up but mostly with 100k+.
Tried Gumtree. 55 plate A4 Avant B7 1.9 PD engine with 150k. Recent clutch & flywheel. Towbar(!) Owner had carefully documented minor faults. 11 months MOT. £700.
That won't be for sale for long - I thought. When was the ad posted? Three minutes ago!
A minute later I was on the phone to the seller. He was an engineer. Had it 4yrs. Serviced it himself. His wife was about to have another kid so they'd bought a Sharan hence the sale. I basically agreed to buy it over the phone.
When I picked it up I noticed it had a relatively new set of Michelin Cross Climates all round. One slight bubble on a front arch and leading edge of bonnet. As advised of by the seller. It drove perfectly. Old school.
I had planned on using it as a runaround while I hunted for a Jag XF 3.0S but after running it for a bit maybe I should keep it?
It's got my Holy Grail of VAG 1.9TDi and a towbar for bike racks. It gets 50mpg. No rattles or shakes. I've found a leather interior locally with heated electric seats from a B7 S-Line 3.2 for £150 and a set of Thule Wingbars for £100.
The seller hadn't been able to definitively establish whether it'd had a timing belt done before he got it at 120k. His mechanic thought it probably had.
Should I do the belt now? At 16.5yrs old maybe it's due another anyway?
Either way it's so much nicer than the Focus even if it doesn't handle as well.
I got £2.3k off the insurance company. Not bad as I'd paid £2.5k 2.5yrs ago and put 30k on it.
Ahead on the car side of things - for once!
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Good score on the car front. That engine is a well tested one. Do the belt and water pump as you are in cash. Could even sort the wing too.
Good work - the B7 is a decent car as well.
Good find, looks like a proper bargain. I had a B5 Passat and loved it - huge, economical and good on long trips. Good find on the new seats, too.
I'd say it's well worth looking after, yes, get the belt changed.
Bargain - well done!
I like Audis - started with the A4's predecessor, an 80 estate, and now run an A8.
+1 for rick's suggestion.
What rickmeister said.
It's not bangernomics.
Awesome buy.
Didn't think Bangernomics would be back for a while, but maybe...
We’ve had a few of those at work, run by the company, so properly serviced, and they would always go to very high mileage, 400k miles was not unusual.
It’s not bangernomics.
If you mean that the original concept was buy an old motor and run it into the ground, you may be technically correct.
However I think the term has broadened to mean "anything under a grand" and that you might actually take care of it as well.
That's the opposite of what it means.
Great find! Nice car. Surely a great example of bangernomics (if op keeps it which sounds like he will)
I had that engine in a Sharan. Fastest engine to ignite I've ever experienced! Literally any conditions, turn key and it was instantly fired up on rev 1.
That’s the opposite of what it means.
Don't you think it's great that it's evolved to include sustainability, in today's environmentally aware society?
I'm very much in favour of keeping cars running for as long as possible, yes. It upsets me greatly that so many good cars get scrapped because they are 'beyond economical repair' - which is rubbish really. There's no rule that says you can't spend more on a car than its market value, when the market value is such a distorted figure anyway.
Bangernomics means cars so cheap they can be thrown away if they go wrong, which is clearly a bad thing. So I'm happy the OP has a good car and is happy to keep it on the road.
And when the car dies I bet you could get a few hundred for the number plate from a Hammers fan.
You're right Molgrips. It's not technically bangernomics but if you put it in the thread title you'll probably get more folk having a look.
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions rickmeister et al. I'll get the belt & water pump done.
Nice, I had a one of those in 1.8T form. Top tip is to check the Plenum drains under the bonnet/front widscreen as these are known to clog from leaves/debris and water ingress into passenger side and potential electical gremlins become an issue, google it and you'll see 'how to's' on Audiforum.net and elsewhere...
Is that curtains in the back?
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That's inside the donor car.
Could be curtains. I'll check when I'm there at the w\e.
Scrapped my Honda this morning after an (expected) Epic MOT fail yesterday. £250 scrap value, not bad considering I paid £1000 for it 3.5 years ago and put 40k miles on it with few costs. Bangernomics in action!
Going carless for a bit, so spent this morning scoping out bike commute routes to work (the only thing I ever used the car for since moving here).
Mate had a slightly older one of those with the 1.9TDI. He put nearly 300k on it, only got rid when the general untidiness of it got too much. I think it's still going.
Is that curtains in the back?
If this car's rocking, don't come knocking.
If this car’s rocking, don’t come knocking, at this age and mileage, it'll probably just need new shocks all round.
Nice, I'd do the belt and water pump & a new wing and generally keep on top of it. I wouldn't bother with a leather interior - people never look after car seats properly and i hate the cracking/creased look, also they are cold when you first get in, I'd rather have good condition cloth seats.
I had a 1.9PD 130 Golf with 200k miles on and it pulled like an absolute train - great engine.
We have an 04 Passat with that engine. Its tatty as hell but we love it.
Ours had lots of electrical gremlins till my mate took pity on us. We bought a good comfort module with wiring loom attached from Lithunia and he fitted it for us. The whole thing now lives on top of the carpet in its box so it will never fill with water again.
So, yes, make sure you keep those drains clean.
Might be worth giving the gearbox a flush if the car's potential is to run to astronomical miles. Great result!
This is of relevance 500k + miles
Having had various B5.5 Passats with that engine... Cambelt is 5yrs or 60k regardless, whichever comes first... And as the owner of a car I had to break because the cambelt tensioner hadn't been replaced (main dealer no less! But they wouldn't pay out as the previous owner paid for the work, despite the fact I now owned the car) at the same time, DO NOT SCRIMP... Get the cambelt, tensioners and the water pump replaced at the same time for peace of mind... I was lucky, got about £1200 back in scrap on a car I paid £2k for (17" alloys were worth about £300, bodywork was mint) but the hassle of breaking it and finding another car was a nightmare!
Sounds like you've done well with this one... Avoid driving it into cities and you'll be laughing for a few years to come too!
But yeah... Get the cambelt, tensioners and the water pump replaced by an independent garage you trust implicitly... NOT a main dealer!
I'm with rusty about not retro-fitting leather seats; if the current cloth seats are (relatively) clean and undamaged I would stick with them - possibly give the interior a deep clean.
+1 for mboy's comment about using an independent garage (preferably one specialising in german cars).
But yeah… Get the cambelt, tensioners and the water pump replaced by an independent garage you trust implicitly… NOT a main dealer!
Good main dealers exist - Sinclar VW in South Wales are very good and also fairly cheap.
Had that engine in a Vento and it drove 144k without ever having an issue. Car was written off by a lorry reversing into it 🙁 . Don't change the seats, but do change the timing belt. Mine used to run at 55-60 mpg up and down the M40 daily. I bought it for a 120 miles/day commute BECAUSE it was the cheapest car with that engine. That was 2000. I mean, who WANTED a vento 😀
I take the point about seats but I like leather.
These are heated - a bonus in NE Scotland.
Plus you can wash vomit, milkshakes, mud, blood\ketchup and fizzy drinks off leather easier than cloth.
Cambelt, tensioner & water pump. Got it. My local mechanic has done my cars for 30yrs+ so I'll get him on it.
I mean, who WANTED a vento
Well, nobody. Or a Bora. Or a Jetta.
Everybody wanted a Golf so they were bargains.
Top tip is to check the Plenum drains under the bonnet/front widscreen
Cheers.
Takes me back to my MG ZT-T days. Whole threads on the 75ZT forums about that. Someone even produced a little cover you could fit to prevent it.
Funny thing was, the Vento was better than the mk3 Golf we also had. Boot was fabulous with two small kids. And it was £3k cheaper too. But the engine was fabulously economical for the commuting I did (33k per year).
you can wash vomit, milkshakes, mud, blood\ketchup and fizzy drinks off leather easier than cloth.
Your Friday nights are mire exciting than mine
Didn't know what a Vento was. Googled it. My eyes!
I’ve got a mk5 1.9 tdi golf. Been tempted to swap to a leather interior too Golf ones seem to go for £300 ish so you did well. I’ve got free roof bars tho!
One thing to look into, on the Golf, I’d need to get an additional wiring kit, heater control and have it all coded. golf’s had 3 different climate controls and the unit on mine is a basic one so not many had the seat heaters. Which all adds up to I cba’d.
Anyway a few trumps warms the cloth up nicely!
I had took a b6 a4 tdi130 to 250k with nothing other than service items. Sold it only because I knew is was on borrowed time with its original exhaust, suspension was getting a bit baggy and it needed new tyres. The guy I sold it to used to text me every year to say how much he was enjoying it!
Just checked the mot checker online and looks like it finally gave up the ghost with excessively worn suspension in 2020 with 300k at 18 years old. Loved that car
TiRed, are you saying you stowed your childten in the boot of your Vento when driving?
excessively worn suspension
That's totally fixable. Shame, the thing that really kills old cars is new cars.
**UPDATE**
Well, after 10 months & 18,000 miles of trouble free motoring we decided to sell it. The only thing I'd replaced was the battery which I knew was required when I bought it.
Had a month left on the MOT and I was planning on (finally😳) doing the cambelt & the front wings and it would need new tyres too. But Her Indoors decided she wanted to buy a 61 plate Passat B7 Estate 2.0TDi Bluemotion from friends of ours who were willing to let us have it for £1500. It's got a fantastic SH but I did warn her that the electronic handbrake will cost £1k when it goes, as will the clutch\DMF but she'll be the one driving it & she really likes it so the Audi had to go.
Put it up for £1k and sold it right away. Could have sold it several times over.
Didn't fit the leather in the end - the extra wiring looms for the fr\rr seat heaters were pretty expensive - but sold it for £100 profit so that worked out well too.
So, a good experience with the A4 but now I can look forward to some hefty bills for the Passat...
