Is diesel more economical any more?

Sboot3

I know this conversation has been had before, but I'm hoping you won't mind giving your opinions again.

My question is in the title really. I drive a 1.6l petrol at the moment which I get around 40mpg in and I have moved house and now do a 70 mile round trip to work each day so am looking for something cheaper to run.

I'm looking to spend only about £1.5k so I was thinking a diesel VW polo, but with the prices of fuel was wondering whether there is actually likely to be any benefit to hunting out a diesel when there are many more petrol ones for sale?

Any advice welcome.

Ebe_Scrooge

It's a tricky one.

The broad guidelines are that a diesel engine will give you more MPG than the equivalent petrol. Here's the first problem - if you compare something like a 1.4 diesel to a 1.2 petrol, the diesel should give more MPG. But if you compare a 3.5 diesel to a 1.2 petrol, the petrol engine will drink less. So you must compare like with like.

Secondly, diesel costs more, albeit you get more MPG out of it.

The usual advice is that if you're doing 20K or more miles per year, a diesel is better. This is a VERY broad generalisation, but it's a starting point.

The things you have to consider are, a diesel will cost more to buy and more to service than the equivalent petrol, but the fuel consumption will be better. So you have to do a lot of miles before the better MPG offsets the additional costs.

I think in your situation it'd be a fine line. 40mpg for a petrol ain't half bad, and I think there's a part of me that would say stick with what you know - i.e. you know how your car has been looked after, whether things are beginning to wear out, etc.

I'm afraid I can't give you any concrete advice here - it's a case of doing the sums and making your mind up.

The only thing I would say, if you're looking for a new car, the manufacturer's quoted MPG figures are a guide, don't expect to be able to achieve them in real life !

[ edit ] You may find this useful :

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/petrol-versus-diesel-which-is-cheaper-/248139

LandyAndy

Also, changing your car just to save money almost never works. In your case it might well be worth getting a diesel if you intended to change your car anyway.

Sboot3

Thank you!

If there were no other factors I believe I would still be looking to change my car, as the one I have is a Peugeot 206cc and it has served it's purpose of being a pretty car whilst I was just driving a couple of miles a day. Now I have moved I need soomething a bit more practical, which I could put the dog in it when I need to etc.

The other major factors are that my financial circumstances have changed, it is on hp which I intend to end the agreement on so I don't have the extra monthly payments. There is another £3k left to pay over the term of the hp.

It looks like it is one of those 6 of 1 and half a dozen of the other issues, and I know the biggest risk will be that on my budget the liklihood of ending up buying a duff car is pretty high!

stqueen

Sboot3 wrote: »

I know this conversation has been had before, but I'm hoping you won't mind giving your opinions again.

My question is in the title really. I drive a 1.6l petrol at the moment which I get around 40mpg in and I have moved house and now do a 70 mile round trip to work each day so am looking for something cheaper to run.

I'm looking to spend only about £1.5k so I was thinking a diesel VW polo, but with the prices of fuel was wondering whether there is actually likely to be any benefit to hunting out a diesel when there are many more petrol ones for sale?

Any advice welcome.

Hi,

I do a 70mile round trip commute a day also, and have recently swapped my 2.0L petrol for a 1.7 diesel. I have saved a small fortune in fuel costs (as I am filling up less often due to more mpg), but also saved money in lots of other ways :beer::

Car Tax - Dropped from £134.75 every 6 months (Band K) to £30.00 a year (Band C)
Insurance - Dropped from £1200 annually to £285 annually!!
Car Service - Annual service was £141, now £99 (quoted figure)

This is probably more to do with the type of car it is, and the type of car I used to run (VW Beetle, old golf engine) but my point is that I have found cost savings in other areas other than fuel. :T However, I did a straight swap for my car (so effectively I didn't spend any money on changing it!), so of course the cost of buying a diesel in the first place has to be offset against the potential savings you will be making.

For me, as a straight swap, it was a no brainer!

Something to think about!

Strider590

Brand new diesel v brand new petrol, yes you'll save on the diesel (once you've saved the difference in purchase price).

Second hand diesel v second hand petrol, your into DPF (diesel particulate filter) and DMF (dual mass flywheel) failure territory and the diesel will start to cost a small fortune in repairs.

Hammyman

FWIW, my DMF is on 150k and working fine as are the injectors and the DPF. With a 70 mile a day commute, a DPF isn't going to cause you much problems.

I do 20k a year and save just over £1000 over the petrol version of my car with a roughly 15MPG difference. The diesel cost me £1000 more to buy but I planned on keeping it at least 5 years.

colino

Its a good question, but at second hand levels like £1500, any initial saving will be shattered if it turns its been misfuelled in the past or the pump goes bang. Better the, economical, devil you know.

Alexis27

Strider590 wrote: »

Second hand diesel v second hand petrol, your into DPF (diesel particulate filter) and DMF (dual mass flywheel) failure territory and the diesel will start to cost a small fortune in repairs.

That's a bit of a generalisation. Diesels last longer than petrols as a rule (my last two petrols went at 120,000 miles).

Gordon_Hose

The cost of filling a petrol car with a 50 litre tank and filling a Diesel with a 50 litre tank is literally a couple of quid. However, you'll get more miles to the tank of Diesel.

Currently I get 500 miles out of a tank on my 1999 1.8 TDi Escort. BUT...it STILL costs me £205 a year in tax.

So if you're going to go for a 2nd hand Diesel, make sure it's built after 1st March 2001, so you get the better tax rates at least.

Sboot3

Thanks all, I really appreciate all the in-put.

Even though I'm still no clearer on what to do!