Diesel vs Petrol

Johnny_Barnes10

Have read ALL the posts in this thread (including the 3 page bickering session haha)! My question is, should I go for a 2001/2 Seat Leon (1.4/1.6 petrol), or a 2002 Focus? I'll be doing around 10,000 miles per year. Not fussed about the performance, and would prefer the most reliable car.

Thanks.

Lum

10,000 is definitely petrol territory. Is the Focus you are looking at also a petrol.

Assuming it is, personally I'd likey go for the Focus over the re-branded VW Golf as the Golfs of that era tended to have a lot of niggling electrical problems, though I honestly don't know if that affected the Seat version too.

In all honesty, you are looking at 9-10 year old cars, so buy based on condition, not model.

Johnny_Barnes10

Thanks, I've just been looking on Autotrader and now eBay. Doesn't seem to be much difference in prices, my only "want" is the Ghia or Zetec spec ideally a 1.6 petrol or 1.8 diesel.

Weird_Nev

Johnny_Barnes10 wrote: »

Thanks, I've just been looking on Autotrader and now eBay. Doesn't seem to be much difference in prices, my only "want" is the Ghia or Zetec spec ideally a 1.6 petrol or 1.8 diesel.

With those choices I would actually take the Diesel. You do enough miles to justify it, and the 1.6 petrol is neither particularly pokey or particularly efficient. The diesel is the better drive (unless you're a really sporty driver), has better residuals, and if there's no difference in the running cost then you'll be better off from day one with the diesel, IMO.
You'll also be able to sell it again when it's time comes, the petrol car will be "99p no reserve" on ebay stuff. Do try and drive one before you buy though, just in case you don't enjoy one engine or the other.

Johnny_Barnes10

Strangely enough I actually liked driving diesels. Direct comparison was the old shape Vectra, had both petrol and diesel in that, plus a Pug 306 TD. Just now more concerned with running costs, servicing etc nowadays.

Weird_Nev

Johnny_Barnes10 wrote: »

Strangely enough I actually liked driving diesels. Direct comparison was the old shape Vectra, had both petrol and diesel in that, plus a Pug 306 TD. Just now more concerned with running costs, servicing etc nowadays.

Yup, it entirely depends on your driving style and needs. Modern diesels have great mid-range shove and often make more relaxing and competent cruisers/utility cars than the equivalent petrol car.

There are so many unknown costs in car ownership that you may as well buy a car that you are going to enjoy owning and driving first and foremost, because whatever you get it WILL cost you money at some stage. The most expensive car I ever ran was a 1.9Tdi diesel. It just ate my wallet any chance it got. I've run 2 litre petrol sports cars, mid engined 2 seaters, and 2.8 liter BMW's since that have both been more fun and cost less! But I'm not biased towards petrol and do love a good diesel.

Buy what YOU want, and buy with care. The mistake some people make is to assume that because they spend £40 a week on fuel, they need a diesel to bring that down to £20 a week - well, at those miles a diesel won't be getting you the returns it should, you'll pay more for it, and if you're just driving it to the shops you could actually be damaging it and earning yourself a big repair bill....

Johnny_Barnes10

I see, well to nd from the office is 5 mins drive but my kids live 15 and 45mins away by car so would say it would be stretching its legs more time than not, plus motorway drives up to 5 times a month. That said if I see any with FSH and good condition I'll not be too fussed.

iamashoppingaddict

Guys I've had a skim through the thread and I'm more confused then ever! I currently drive a 2.3 petrol and I've been paying approx £180 a month in fuel so £2,100 a year. I do just under 6,000 miles a year. To work and back is 4 miles but I do a 70 mile duel carriage round trip once a week to another office and I'm on the duel carriage way at weekends.

I'm torn between a diesel or petrol. I do low mileage but do some faster driving at weekends. The prices for each version are actually the same and road tax for the year on the petrol is about £30 more expensive than the diesel.

What do you guys think?

Lum

The dual carriageway trip should be enough to heat up the DPF and perform the filter regeneration process.

Only real issue is that diesels don't warm up as quick, so you'll be driving around on cold oil for the entirety of your commute, but frankly at 4 miles that will also be true for petrol.

The issues with DPFs are mainly due to people like the estate agent in that daily mail article who only use it for short trips, or only do a long trip once a year.


That said, you still need to do the cost/benefit on the fact that you will be paying a premium for a diesel version of your car, possibly trading a known good car for one with potential hidden problems, and your fuel savings aren't going to be as high as you are doing low mileage.

BTW, is the petrol version of your car fitted with a dual mass flywheel, as the diesel version most probably is.

ben9090

I think if you drive short journeys in urban conditions petrol is a good choice.
Diesels seem to take much longer to warm up and until they do their economy is no better.
Diesels cant be touched though once you get on the motorway.
Dont worry about the extra grand or two of buying a diesel as you will recoup more when you sell it.