Cost of driving

alastairq

do bear in mind, that a diesel [in an older car] will be a much bigger cubic capacity, than the petrol which has equivalent consumption.........and may well attract a higher rate of VED as a result.


They tend to be more costly if repairs need doing.....[something to factor in with an older car].....and diesel can cost more to buy than petrol.

What amazes me is how technology and time have altered what drivers consider as acceptable fuel consumptions....?


Back when I was a yoof, if I had a car that would achieve 30mpg's, then I thought that was really good.....the only cars capable of achieving consumptions around the 50 mpg mark were the likes of the Citroen 2CV and FIAT 500!

Nowadays, even the largest of cars, with hoooofing great V6 engines, achieve close to 50 mpg regularly.........I really must catch up with the world out there.

I regularly drive [personal driving, that is] between 300 and 350 miles a week, mostly rural.....

I used to run a lovely big old Volvo estate, 740 with the 2.0 litre engine....

simply by keeping within speed limits, and driving with anticipation rather than re-action, the car returned, on average, 30-31mpg's....

OK, I liked the space inside [I'm not exactly a small person]....and sometimes needed the towing abilities....and it was such a relaxing car to drive...would woofle down below tickover in top gear, and still pull cleanly....if not exactly smartly, away...and easy to repair..if not really cheap.....but it was an ebay bargin, gave me over 150,000 miles.....and never seriously let me down...

the battery, however, was another story...and eventually led to the Volvo's demise, to be re-incarnated as your new washing machine...


Replacing it, I came across a cheap [350?] Felicia...with the 1300 engine..which is a true Skoda engine, not a VW abortion.....and this machine returns close to 50 mpg's....same speeds, etc....bit of a tight squeeze inside, however.....especially with 600kg's of logs in the back.....but...hey ho....the tax is cheaper by far.....and I know the engines inside out, so have no fears of them....[top tip, with the genuine Skoda 136 engine, do not try and rev it out, especially in the gears...it is, by design, better to use the torque of the engine, so let it pull from low revs, rather than screaming it.....It'll last a lifetime.....well, mine, anyway!]

Strider590

newbie007 wrote: »

Yes more efficient way of driving will get a bit more mileage but the diesel is best in the longer term for your mileage. Oldish diesel cars 5-10 years old doesn't cost too much more than a petrol, you will save this money by spending less on fuel. Insurance is probably compariable to petrol.

Until the DMF and DPF goes and your fuel saving plus £1000 or more get chucked down the drain.

newbie007_2

True strider, as we always recommend here, do the research!

mark5

My wife saves between £5-10 per week on fuel running a Fiesta diesel (2008) and about £120 per year on the Tax. Its a saving if your going to change your car anyway but if your going to spend a few thousand to change cars just to save money on fuel its probably not worth you doing it.

I will also say I drive a 1.8 petrol Focus and with my usual driving style the trip computer shows an average mpg in the low 30's but when I reset the computer and take it easy for a few days its easy to get an average mpg in the high 30's to low 40's while driving the same route's.

newfoundglory

Yeah, modern diesels seem really unreliable with all the flywheel problems....

leosayer

Quick calculation says that you're getting around 30mpg from your Punto.

That is not good, I would expect at least 40 unless you are driving through town or driving everywhere at 100mph.

Rossy.

newfoundglory wrote: »

Yeah, modern diesels seem really unreliable with all the flywheel problems....

Only if the dual mass flywheel isn't replaced when the clutch is done.

There haven't been loads of failures reported due to a design fault. It's more to do with the fact it's not changed when the clutch is done

Hammyman

Strider590 wrote: »

Until the DMF and DPF goes and your fuel saving plus £1000 or more get chucked down the drain.

Older diesels don't have DMF or DPF. As for failure, my Mondeo TDCi is on 147000 miles still on the original DMF.

Hammyman

newfoundglory wrote: »

Yeah, modern diesels seem really unreliable with all the flywheel problems....

No they don't. You never hear about the majority which never have a problem. Mines currently on 147k with no signs of any trouble.

Flying-High_2

Rossy. wrote: »

Only if the dual mass flywheel isn't replaced when the clutch is done.

There haven't been loads of failures reported due to a design fault. It's more to do with the fact it's not changed when the clutch is done

No... DMFs will grenade... Seize and do what they do even if its on the original clutch. The reason most people will swap the DMF when doing the clutch as the DMF is there in front of you.... Swap it now rather than later kind of thing.

As I've said before so as long as there was a saving on the fuel bill... DMFS and DPFS would not put me off a Diesel I'm sorry......
£1500 I'd save running a diesel... I could probably DMF a car 3 0r 4 times and have change from ny fuel saving but granted thats doing it myself.... Thats if it even went in the first place.