Help! Any car experts! Mechanics out there. new job need reliable fuel efficient car?

I am starting a new job, and will be doing around 40,000 miles a year. I would like to buy a diesel car, due to good fuel economy, however i have been told that repair costs can wipe out any fuel savings, dont know much about diesel cars and so would appreciate your suggestions as to most reliable/fuel efficient diesel cars. My budget is £ 2500- 3000, and so i am not fussed about the age or looks, or space, as long as it can handle long motorway journeys and is reasonable comfortable, it should be good on fuel and most importantly very reliable. Or if not then i have been thinking about buying a small petrol car like Toyota yaris or Honda Jazz, as they are bulletproof. Thankyou in advance. Or even nissan micra 1.3 etc, can these small cars handle these long journeys, if serviced regularly? Appreciate your response, thanks

dunno

I have a Citroen C3 SX 1400cc diesel, it has never let me down and it does 70 miles to the gallon on a run, the road tax is £30 per year and the insurance is group 3, I have the sensodrive gearbox but I would advise that a manual would be a better option, or the full auto gearbox, the sensodrive is a strange automated manual box and not a true auto, diesel engines are cheaper to run if you do a lot of miles, they are also longer lived, they outlast a petrol engine by many thousands of miles, the only trouble with diesel engines is that they are noisier than petrol but when driving, there is not much difference, they are more reliable than a petrol car because they do not have an electrical ignition system, no spark plugs, no plug leads and no pencil coils or coil, the Japanese cars are great cars but they cost more to tax, more to insure and do less miles to the gallon, if you weigh up the difference in the prices of diesel and petrol, you would find the diesel will be a big saving for the amount of miles that you will be doing, there are other cars with small diesel engines, such as the Renault Clio, and Renault Megane, these may be out of your price range though, the Mazda A2 and Peugeot 206 HDI are two more, but I think that you should consider each on their own merits.

Renault Clio, Kia Picanto or even the Toyota Aygo would be a fantastic choice then...

40000 miles a year is a lot, even for a brand new car, so you're going to need a fair bit of luck on your side as well as some emergency funds for repairs. I'd look for something like a Diesel Peugeot 406, VW Passat or Skoda Octavia, they're all in with a good chance of doing 200,000+ miles. Look at what local taxi drivers use. I doubt a Yaris would be up to the job to be honest.

Your best bet is a Peugeot, most manufacturers use their diesel engines anyway.

yes i have a focus 1.8 diesel estate v reg 237.000 on the clock engine still going strong excellent motor, ok starting to show its age now what with rust in some areas and brakes needing some work but on the whole best value car i have ever had i do bout 27.000 m per year and get bout 49 mpg and u could deffo pick one of these up in your price range maybe 02 03 plate trust me

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