Need 2nd car - diesel Golf or Econo Echo?

[DianeH]

Hubby is losing his work truck so we need to find a used vehicle. He commutes a fair distance to work so we were thinking diesel. However, price is also a consideration.
Any suggestions Tuggers?

Thanks
Diane

 

[wackymother]

We needed a smaller car for DH's commute a couple of years ago and test-drove a used Echo. We didn't like it. It just felt too small, too delicate, too light, like a strong wind might blow it over. And DH is coming from a Toyota Camry, not a truck!

We ended up with a 1999 Corolla, which gets good mileage (about 35 mpg highway and 25ish city), and there are more of them out there, so the prices on used Corollas are better than the prices on used Echos. Or how about a Prius?

I thought diesel was more expensive than regular gas these days, plus it burns dirty?

 

[Passepartout]

You'll spend less to maintain a Toyota than a VW and it'll be worth more when you trade it, though you may have to pay more to get a good one.

Jim Ricks

 

[BarCol]

Just to be in the minority here, we have a 1998 VW Jetta TDI and a 2002 Golf TDI - both are fantastic cars and over the years have had very few repairs, outside of oil changes every 8,000 kms (5,000 miles). The Golf takes synthetic oil so those oil changes are $60 to $80 while the '98 takes the "cheap stuff", so an oil change for it is about $30.00.

The 1998 now has 350,000 kms (217,400 miles)and the Golf about 167,000 (103,700 miles) kms. Both get over mileage over 1,000 kms per tank on trips and a about 850 km in normal driving. They are both fun to drive and very comfortable although the Golf has a "harder" ride than the Jetta. We have had no problem with cold weather starts either and they don't live in a garage during our Ontario winters. The reason we bought diesel in the first place was mileage and engine longevity as we were driving over 50,000 kms (31,000 miles) a year

We wouldn't trade them for anything (well maybe for the new Bluetech TDI's )and look forward to many more years with the same diesel vehicles - I just wish the price of fuel would come down now, similar to gas...

Just my $.02 CAD

 

[Icarus]

are those the only two choices?

-David

 

[DianeH]

We really don't know what we want, except a car that is fuel friendly and under 15K.

Diane

 

[Icarus]

Take a look at the Honda Fit and the Scion XD.

-David