jwatso8

what are some good old diesel trucks or cars. im looking for a smaller truck or car to drive to work, because my new 2010 get fuel mileage love the truck, just bad fuel mileage. so what are some one's to look at. my price range is $3500 or less. thanks

Hodge

Not much, due to availability and your price range. You can get an older diesel full size truck, but why spend that kind of money for a slight increase in mileage? We bought our teenage daughter a diesel VW Jetta (2003), and it is an excellent car, and averages over 48 mpg. But, you won't find one in you price range, unless its a basket case. For $3500, you will probably need to look for an older VW, maybe from the 80's, like a Rabbit or Jetta diesel.

willysrule

look for turboed VW TDIs...don’t be afraid of higher mileage if you can tell it was taken care of… my 98 has over 320k on it and it still runs great…

RickG

Why a diesel ? The higher cost of diesel fuel may eliminate the savings of additional mpg .
We had an '06 Liberty diesel . We'd compare fuel costs with the Liberty gas model and operating costs were about equal .

Shorts

I rode around in a '96 Wizard in Japan with the 3.1TD. I believe some Troopers here in the States have the 3.1TD. I ran 23city, 26 hwy. And I think I was on the lower end of the expected scale.

That might be in your range. But hopefully it isn't beat up.

Mutt68

VW TDI's from late 90's and new will get 50+ MPG on the highway with very little work done to them. The problem is initial cost. They are still $5000 or higher for mid to late 90's.

For gas: You Neon's, Escorts...etc will get 30 MPG. Or you can get an old Honda Civic or Toyota Corrolla and get 40 MPG. I commute 100 miles round trip each day and have a 2003 Civic and get 41 MPG on the highway. I can't afford to drive the RAM that far.

Rednecktastic

Love my Honda Accord 4cly/5speed. It's a nicer EX-L with leather and heated seats; etc.

Probably out of your range but I am pretty confident if you spend a little more on one with under 100K miles on it that's clean you can get 200K hopefully trouble free miles out of it.


It's roomy and still looks/feels new for being 7 years old. I want to paint the front end (get rid of the little rock chips) and the headliner is getting a little loose so I need to fix that soon.

I think it's worth 5-7 grand. 30mpg mixed mainly commuting isn't hard to acheive.

jwatso8

what do you guy's thank of Mercedes Benz diesel cars. i can find them on craigslist for around 2k all day long. most of them have around 250-300,000 miles on them. how long does the engines last in them? thanks.