WTB: diesel car that gets > 42 MPG (US)

[asavage]

I bought that Sentra you are talking about. It's a lot rougher than the photos show - but I was expecting that.
The good news is that it got 54.2 mpg at speeds from 65 to 75 from Eugene to Seattle. Wow. I wasn't babying it. I thought the fill nozzle was screwed up until the fuel ran out of the fill neck.

I am very close to having biodiesel on-site: the tote is cleaned and in place, the quick-disconnect for it will be here Tuesday, and the rest is (I hope) merely plumbing.

My goal is to commute on domestically-produced fuel.

In order to make this work, I need a vehicle that can use the BD and get better than 42 MPG. I don't think I'm interested in an old Chevette. I don't think there's a Peugeot or MB that gets that kind of mileage. Ditto the 720/SD. I was looking for a Dasher diesel Wagon, but they don't come around much anymore. I've only seen two this year in CL.

I drove over 100 miles today to look at an '84 Camry 5-spd turbodiesel for $1800, and it looks sad and couldn't be started (owner had to go to work, left sister/previous owner the wrong key, new battery stone dead). Rust. 276k miles. One bad CV boot. Rust. Missing coolant overflow, no visible coolant in a replacement radiator and what I could lick off the cap was not terribly sweet (ie it probably has only water in it). One motor mount bolt backed out 1/2". Supposedly has a bad GP relay (the reason the coolant overflow is "in the trunk" -- the locked trunk. Rust. Repaint and bondo and scrapes. Two bad headlights. CL ad says "engine rebuilt two years ago" but PO says no, and she owned it for 4.5 years and replaced the dented-up oil pan herself. Fuel filter is NAPA and antique. PO says it doesn't like long drives and vibrates if you push it (fuel filter? IP?).

But . . . several folks on toyotadiesel.com have verified that you can get 45 MPG in one of these, and it is a turbo. Interiour has been stripped, cleaned, and replaced and is quite presentable. A/C (no idea if it works, but has R134a retrofit sticker). Cruise control reportedly works. Manual windows and door locks. Seat covers.

I just can't bring myself to pay $1800 for this thing, even if it turns out to run flawlessly. So, what are my alternatives?

I think the Isuzu I-Mark can only get about 40. But the Sentra diesel? Maybe, eh? Leads appreciated.

[goglio704]

If you find anything in my area, I'll do my best to go look at it. I like the Camry in general. I had an 85 (gasser) for a while. Nice little car. Kinda looks like a Gen 1 Maxima.

[dieseldorf]

AL,
I have the Ford Escort Diesel Wagon that supposedly should get close to 50 MPG. I did not conform that, since I did not drive beyond Portland yet. To find a Dasher is almost impossible. I owned a Dasher for a while and it was not fun to drive it due to lack of power. The solution would be a 1.7L diesel engine (from the Vanagon) which was never imported here. One can buy that engine lately on Ebay.

[asavage]

I've owned two Rabbit diesels ('80 & '82) and they are just too noisy (inside) for me. They get great mileage but gave me headaches on long trips.

I was hoping the Dasher, with it's north-south layout would be quieter. I didn't mind the lack of power in the Rabbits, and I don't have a competitive commute; out here in the sticks, 50+ HP will do.

I hadn't thought about the Escort/Tempo/Topaz diesels, because I was unaware that the real-world mileage was that high.

[redmondjp]

Hi Al,
Any 1996-2004 TDI-powered VW will fit your bill--mileage, power, space, and comfort. Unfortunately, they are commanding top dollar and wayyy over KBB for the older ones. Nice Cars Company in Bellingham has one or more '95-97 Passat (the 'B4' body) or '95-'99.5 Jetta ('A3' body) TDIs on the local Craigslist almost continuously, including the uber-rare B4 wagon (or B4V with the 'V' for variant) of which they only imported less than 3K in '95-97 (these go for anywhere from $8-18K).

I have a '96 Passat TDI (been sitting for almost two years waiting for me to repair the leaky IP and all of the damaged coolant hoses caused by the leak) and the WORST mileage we ever got was 39 mpg. Typically around 42-44 mpg. It's really cool to be able to drive from Seattle to Stockton CA and only having to stop once each way to refuel!

The drivetrains on the VW TDIs are pretty good (stay far away from the automatic transmissions though), BUT you get typical VW quality on the rest of the car, meaning endless niggling little electrical gremlins, door handle mechanisms (the most complicated that I have ever seen) sticking or breaking, glove box and console doors breaking off, etc etc.

The A3/B4 body styles have the roomiest back seats by far of any of the TDI-powered VW models imported to-date. When they redesigned the bodies for the next series (A4/B5), the back seat legroom in both the Passat and the Jetta took a major hit, as well as headroom. They also made the new Beetle (or NB) with a TDI, and the tallest NBA player can sit upright in the front seat of one and they get excellent fuel mileage as well.

I am a member over at TDIclub.com, where you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about a TDI-powered VW. It's a great site with lots of quality posters (not the typcal 18-22 y.o. punks found on vwvortex ).

PM or email me if you have any more specific questions on these cars.

[asavage]

I've found TDIClub very good. However, if I had a budget for a TDI anything, I'd already be in an electric car. And, having worked on a few TDI-era VWs, I'm not a fan of modern VWs. The older ones I can stand, barely.

My '81 Audi 5000 was a very nice car, but have you ever tried to work on anything related to the controls/dash? A nightmare, worse by far than any other car I've owned. I'd be looking for a 4000 diesel or 5000 diesel, but they have pretty much disappeared up here, and I'd really prefer a Wagon if at all possible (though that's not a deal-breaker).

The nice thing about that Camry I just looked at is that it has A/C and CC, both very high on my desirability list.

[Carimbo]

That was that light blue Camry? That's been listed on CL on/off for a long time. You could certainly fix most of the stuff, but the rust? (You mentioned rust 2x). To me, it always seems like so much of a waste, to fix up a car to where you are happy driving it, just to get discouraged by the rust.

How negotiable are you on the MPG figure?

See this one (close):

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/car/722468148.html

84 mazda diesel long box 5 speed 34-40mpg - $2850 (Port Angeles / Sequim)
Reply to: sale-722468148@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-06-16, 8:44PM PDT


1984 mazda diesel 5 speed 34+ in town to 40 mpg highway long box (actual, not EPA figures!)

Very nice running, dependable truck with 231,650 miles (and I'm driving it every day till it sells). Perkins 4 cyl diesel, 5 speed. No rust, some minor dings and dents. Front end sheet metal has been replaced, as well as the tailgate, so paint would make it look "spiffy" (no frame damage, just an "upgrade" from bad fenders/hood), and I've been getting a consistent 34-35mpg in town. All glass good, everything works 'cept radio, which is missing (I'll throw in an am/fm/cd player). Tires good, as well as shocks and brakes. Bed liner and tool box go with it.

I just made a trip to Maple Valley last week, and had 235 miles city miles on the truck before I started. Put a total of 452 miles on it and filled up back in Port Angeles when I got home...11.7 gallons...an average of 38.6mpg around town and on the highway. Last month's trip to Spanaway averaged 39.8...
This would be a great rig for a small business (I've been using it to haul riding lawn mowers around...small delivery vehicle...commuter for mom or dad? Any number of practical uses...do you want a volkswagen Rabbit? Yep, they get 50+mpg, but won't haul or pull anything. I've pulled a 5x10 trailer, hauled riding lawn mowers, landscape bark and rock...)


Why am I selling? I just found a little Subaru Brat that my wife enjoys more than the diesel, so I'm going to give up the Mazda. If you do the math, though, the diesel is still the more economical and dependable vehicle. They are good for 500k with not much maintenance, and the 34-40 mpg is approximately equivalent to a gas rig (allowing for a difference in price of gas of 60c per gallon, which works out to about 80% of the mileage of the diesel), you'd have to average 32mpg in the gas rig to break even with the diesel...and there aren't many of those out there that are in this price range that will get that on the highway...friend of mine works for a local dealer, and he says the Prius is going for $3-4000 more than sticker price at auction. For $2850, you can buy this, have about $1000+ to spend on diesel fuel (about 200 gallons at $5 per gallon, times 35mpg low average, comes out to 7000 free miles...and you haven't paid the full sticker for the Prius nor the tax or license! how about that for math??)

You can drive this truck anywhere. Perfect candidate for bio diesel conversion as well!

No trades at this time. Sorry.




* This item has been posted by-owner.
* Location: Port Angeles / Sequim
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests


PostingID: 722468148



(Probably no A/C or CC, but don't the aftermarket CC work reasonably well?)

[asavage]

Yes, the Camry is the light blue one. The front fenders are perforated but the rockers are not. Trunk lid and hood are rusty. While it's the same color as the previous local CL ads, I'm not sure it's the same rig.

Overall, it's just . . . not real good.

I'm not looking for a PU to commute in, and I'm not willing to pay >$2k for that old of a vehicle, unless it's painted green. I actually did a double-take on this one last night:
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/car/719901760.html
1974 Mercedes Benz 240D Diesel - $1500 (Beaverton)


. . . but, of course, the mileage won't meet my criteria. I just like the color!

This one made me read up on Quantums:
1985 VW Quantum turbodiesel
http://portland.craigslist.org/grg/car/713246924.html

Bad color, not a Wagon, long way away, blah blah blah.

[legacyelectric]

Hi Al
I have a 1979 clean 1.5 diesel 4 spd Dasher with a rod knocking
real clean I got it from a one owner that I would be willing to sell
If I can figure out how to post pics I'll do it

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/715595706.html


Larry

[rlaggren]

Al,

This may be old info, but JIC. I have owned a Toyota Tercel, 2 Hondas, a Ford and way back an Olds and have friends with VW Rabbits. The Toyota was by far the quietest and it felt stronger (structurally) than the others - few/no body rattles, squeaks, air tight, solid doors etc. I've driven a Tempo and found it not bad; not too noisy, decent acceleration, etc. Didn't get it because of almost certain tranny problems.

Because they're built heavier, Toyotas don't get the really high MPG figures, but I personally put them at the top of the list. Don't think they had a wagon diesel though, probably because of perceived performance issues. Maybe you can make a cross breed - I'd think a diesel would bolt into a wagon of a similar year, just have to get control wiring right.

The one you saw certainly is a dog! And the condition says there is endless sorrow inside where you can't see it.

Your quest is common to many of us.

Best luck. Rufus

[asavage]

On the Camry, I offered her $1100 via email last week, and never heard back. I was willing to give that much mostly (assuming it passed a driving inspection) because it had turbo, CC and A/C.

If you haven't already, take a look at legacyelectric's green '79 Dasher Wagon (at the CL link in his post above). I'd love to have one of those (with a 5-spd, of course), but it's 1600 miles away, needs an engine (or a crank kit at the least), and Larry needs about three times what I think I would pay for it if it was sitting right here in my driveway, so I keep looking.

[legacyelectric]

Hello all
I'm not trying real hard to sell this car as I know they are hard to find just sharing the pic's with others,

as you can see I never even washed the car or cleaned off the mud prints from the cats that got in the car for only a moment while we unloaded our stuff out of it

I figured if someone wanted it real bad they would pay 1500.00 for it or I'll fix it and sell it for more when diesel is 5 or 6.00 a gal.

Larry



(click on any image for larger)

[asavage]

Larry, what about that non-runner '84 Camry diesel you found with the tree limb damage?

[legacyelectric]

it's still available for a few hundred dollars or so but it is still 1600 hundred miles away from you so I never thought you would be interested in it

ps: i'm responding to this from my phone
'

[asavage]

Oh, I'm not interested in buying it, I just wondered if you'd picked it up yourself, and what the "further adventures" were

=========================================

Anybody want an clean, one-owner, 1991 MB 300TE Wagon with 4Matic, ~108k original miles, runs well, gold w/tan interiour, not a dent on it, no rust, almost no scratches, not beat up, good tires & alloy wheels, factory sunroof, everything works except A/C doesn't cool, been sitting two years and battery's shot, for $3400? That's maybe half of what it should be, right?

Catch? Missing all the seats and all the carpets. Headliner is there, door panels there, just no seats, no carpets.

That's a screaming deal. Boss just bought it very cheap from a client, wants to flip it without putting an interiour in it. It's not green and it's not diesel, or I'd own it already. I don't believe the deals my boss gets sometimes!