I bought the car with 134,000 miles, three years and 50,000 miles ago. Since then I've replaced the radiator, the front to rear brake pipe (you have to drop the fuel tank to do this), two sets of brake pads, the whole exhaust, the pulley end seal in the injection pump and then the whole injection pump when the bearings smashed up, one set of injectors, two cam belts and an alternator belt and one head gasket.
Also two track rod ends and one drive shaft gaitor and very soon the offside drive shaft will have to be replaced.
Until I wrote the above list I didn't realise the amount of work I have done on this car in the last three years. I suppose these jobs are to be expected on a car of this age and mileage. I think the diesel is very good and economical but is very expensive if it goes wrong so it probably is no cheaper to run in the long run although they do seem to hold value better than a petrol car.
The car is very comfortable on a long drive but there's a bit of noise from the door seals.
I've also got a 309 GLD and it's a VERY RELIABLE MOTOR. The last year mind I've done 2 wheel bearings, 2 driveshafts, new calipers, new rear brake cylinders, re-wired the engine bay, clutch, driveshaft carry bearing and then the usual stuff like servicing and a new cam belt!!
To top that off I smashed it and replaced the whole front end! I must admit they're good cars and they quite happily run for hours at 80 - 90 mph, but after spending 6k on bodywork with all the Ecosse treats on it, I just can't part with it. Next will be the diesel turbo conversion and perhaps the performance may be similar to a 1.3 petrol!!!
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