Help - 1 Diesel Car or 2: Diesel+Petrol?

123sonny123

Hi

We had 2 cars: an Audi A2 diesel and a motability vehicle - a Ford grand C-max diesel. The A2 was used for going to work and back (8 miles each way) and for the usual town stuff + one 100 mile motorway journey to the inlaws in B'ham every month.

The motability vehicle is used by my dad to take my mum to the burns unit at broomfield hospital, chelmsford every 3-4 weeks - a 1.5 hour journey each way, and occasionally to see family that live 50+ miles away.

The mrs had a small accident in the A2 and it was written off.
The motability vehicle's 3 year term is coming to an end in August.

So, we will be without a car in August. Replacing the vehicle for my mum's needs took priority, and my parents didn't find the motability scheme cost effective, so we bought a brand new VW Touran 1.6 tdi dsg.

Once the ford goes back in August, my father says we should only keep one car as there is no point spending money on another. We (4 of us) could maybe *just about* get by on one car. I don't think this is a good idea: Using the diesel touran for ALL of our journeys. I drive like i've stolen the car as I have to start work at 4/5/6am (shifts at the airport).

Is it FAR better to get a smaller petrol for the town journys or can a modern dpf-fitted diesel handle periods of long town use + the occasional (1-3x a month) motorway journeys?

Our total annual miles average = 9000 town miles + 6000 Motorway miles if use the touran only.


We have 3-5K to spend on another car (a bit more perhaps) + yearly £400+ insurance + (insurance estimate on a Micra!, for example) + usual running costs.


Your help is much appreciated,


Sonny

UsernameAlreadyExists

8 miles work commute? get a Moped.

Herzlos

I'd probably get a small runabout as you suggest, as it'll make life a lot easier (what happens when your mum has a hospital appointment when you're out at work?), it also gives you a bit of backup should one of them be off the road for any reason (breakdown, servicing, etc).

The diesel will probably be alright with the short trips if it's got longer trips as well, but you might find the fuel economy sucks because they take longer to get up to a proper operating temperature, whereas the petrol heats up quicker.

Just get something fairly simple and in good condition, don't worry too much about the engine size as long as it doesn't affect insurance much.

123sonny123

Thanks very much