9-3/9-5 diesel estates. What to look for/go for?

[Dibble]

Hello

I'm in the market for a new car, budget about £5-6k.

Estate, ideally diesel, ideally auto.

So 1.9 or 2.2 diesel? Pitfalls (already heard about "sump drop") and things to check for?

9-3 or 9-5? Avoid high(er) mileage cars, or ok as long as they've FSH?

[Job38]

To be brutally honest if I was looking for a SAAB the two things I'd avoid would be diesel and and auto....

(runs for cover...)

Reasons - one of SAAB ups is their development of HOT petrol turbos, they manage to deliver high power and torque from small engines ie., good performance and economy...

93 Aero Coupe, manual

[DavidY]

Dibble, diesels don't need the sump drop check, thats for petrol engines especially the LPT turbos.

The 2.2 sounds like a tractor the 1.9TiD is the way to go probably in 150bhp guise. Yes these engines have their faults too, but min e has been reliable for the last 43k miles (77k->120k), only needing a replacement alternator (common). MPG is very good even for an auto, I'm averaging 47mpg in a 9-3 saloon (150bhp 1.9TiD).

Previously I had a 9-5 2.3LPT Estate, took it from 7k miles to 221k miles, the 9-5 is much more comfortable place to sit for long journeys, but the 9-3 certainly isn't bad. Saabs don't tend to impress on a test drive, but have one for 10k miles and you'll see why people like them.

[Dibble]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm after diesel vs petrol for economy - my 2.5 turbo Volvo was returning ~21mpg...

Estate is a necessity being a dog owner. Auto also necessary due to Mrs Dibble's restricted Canadian licence.

Any other thoughts?

[Gorilla Boy]

Dibble said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm after diesel vs petrol for economy - my 2.5 turbo Volvo was returning ~21mpg...

Estate is a necessity being a dog owner. Auto also necessary due to Mrs Dibble's restricted Canadian licence.

Any other thoughts?

Subaru legacy? Loads of people rave about them iirc..

[Dibble]

Gorilla Boy said:

Dibble said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm after diesel vs petrol for economy - my 2.5 turbo Volvo was returning ~21mpg...

Estate is a necessity being a dog owner. Auto also necessary due to Mrs Dibble's restricted Canadian licence.

Any other thoughts?

Subaru legacy? Loads of people rave about them iirc..

Appear to be even less common than Saab! Struggling to find one near to me at a decent price. Will keep looking though.