Diesel vs Petrol

Rose1983

Hey can sum1 help me pls? i am looking at buying the bmw 1series, i dont do alot of driving but am wondering what is my better option, a 1.9 diesal or 1.6 petrol taking into account the road tax for the petrol is 200euro cheaper per yr!! Much appriciate your opinions! Thanks

macman

What is your annual mileage? That's the only relevant factor (and the local price of fuel, given that you are apparently not in the UK).
Diesels generally only pay back if you do more than 12,000 a year, you need the higher mileage to recover the higher capital outlay.

Rose1983

No in ireland! Probly do about 7000 miles a year and the differance is usually about 10 cent per gallon!

macman

You'll not recover the extra outlay (Maybe 1250 euros premium on purchase, plus 200 euros per year extra road tax) in the first 3 or 4 years of ownership doing that mileage.
However the residuals on the diesel may be better when it comes to trade it in, so that might offset some of the extra cost.

Rose1983

Sorry 10 cent a litre!

Lum

7000 miles per year? If you get a modern diesel then the particulate filter will most likely fail just outside the warranty period unless that mileage is just a small number of long trips.

Short trips do not give the filter enough time to warm up and start the regeneration process, so they eventually clog up and die.

ed9680

Having read all the comments I am still none the wiser. I am looking to purchase a BMW 3 series no older than 5 years with upto 60,000 miles. I drive approx 20 miles a day(8000 miles a year at the most) almost all of which is on an A road. As such should i be looking at a diesel or petrol????

Lessbutbetter

Having read all the comments I am still none the wiser. I am looking to purchase a BMW 3 series no older than 5 years with upto 60,000 miles. I drive approx 20 miles a day(8000 miles a year at the most) almost all of which is on an A road. As such should i be looking at a diesel or petrol????

That's a bit of an informationless question. Do you want alot of power, or just an easy on fuel run around. If you want plenty of power and torque in a diesel i'd recommend a 330d. They're a nice drive with alot of power [around 230bhp] ready for when you want it. If you want something that wont cost the earth at the petrol pumps then look at a 320d or 320i [160bhp].

I was looking into the 325d for myself recently but will have to hold back for a while...apparently these BMW's can be expensive!

BenjaG

One thing to consider is that cold Diesel engines consume considerably more fuel and Diesel engines take longer to warm up. So Diesel is completely pointless for school run and trips to supermarkets, but brilliant for longer motorway journeys.

macman

ed9680 wrote: »

Having read all the comments I am still none the wiser. I am looking to purchase a BMW 3 series no older than 5 years with upto 60,000 miles. I drive approx 20 miles a day(8000 miles a year at the most) almost all of which is on an A road. As such should i be looking at a diesel or petrol????

So what is the price difference secondhand between the 2? If you can get the diesel at the same price, or for a minimum premium, go for that. Otherwise petrol, as you'll not get the extra back, given your low mileage.
There are probably far more diesel 3 series on the market though.