Sturggling with petrol vs. diesel decision

cmitch79

Hi, I'm hoping there is some wise advice out there! We are looking to swap one of our smaller cars for a bigger family car. We have looked at a Skoda Octavia, Citroen C4 Picasso and then recently a Ford S-Max. The first 2 were diesel and about 1 year old, the Ford is a 61 plate, 20,000 miles and petrol. We both really enjoyed driving the Ford and were almost at the point of buying it this morning, but then people started telling us that we should get a diesel.
We'd be doing about 10,000 miles a year in it - some 1-1.5 hour journeys round the M25 (maybe 3 times a month), the odd longer journey maybe 6-8 times a year (5 hour journeys). Otherwise my husband's commute is 15 miles and can take 40 minutes, and mine is tiny and through town.

Fuel costs are similar in terms of pence per litre, so then it's understanding how much we'd be filling up based on our potential journeys and what difference that makes. And would that offset any additional running costs of a diesel throughout the year - am I right to think that servicing/repair a diesel can/is more expensive?

All help would be really appreciated! If the Ford is a good car then we need to act fairly quickly before someone else buys it. Thanks

tonyh66

your mileage is too low to consider diesel.

dannyrst

tonyh66 wrote: »

your mileage is too low to consider diesel.

Interesting. Can you tell us why a diesel would not work?

BeenThroughItAll

I'd suggest a petrol would be a better option, based on the fact that you'll most likely get a newer, lower mileage, or better specified petrol than you will a diesel of the same price. This is basically because a lot of uninformed buyers just assume a diesel is always 'better' because they give better MPG, cost less to tax, etc.


If your most common use is 15 minute stop-start commutes, my worry would be a modern diesel struggling to keep its emissions control kit (DPF/EGR) in good order. Regeneration processes are likely not to work well if the car isn't regularly (weekly, preferably) being run at constant higher speeds or higher engine RPM.


Your choice, of course, but at the end of the day, doing 10K miles a year a petrol presents lower risk of issues arising.

Herzlos

Petrol. Your journeys are generally too short for a diesel to make sense, you'll get a nicer, newer car and it shouldn't cost you any more.

You'll pay a bit more in fuel and tax, but you'll save on the purchase price and and maintenance, and you'll have a quieter ride. Or you can spend the same money and get a newer / higher spec petrol equivalent.

Everyone is focused on the tax and fuel economy, but you need to consider the bigger picture.

cmitch79

Thanks for all of your help. I was hoping for help looking outside of the tax/fuel economy so that's really useful.

Hintza

dannyrst wrote: »

Interesting. Can you tell us why a diesel would not work?

You have been on here long enough to know the reasons!

Horizon81

It's not that a diesel wouldn't work, it's more the case that a petrol would make more sense.

lazer

I do 12,000 (Max 15,000) and would not go back to petrol.


But - I bought a 7 year old car, so purchase price was about £500 more than the equivalent petrol
(Actually had my old petrol written off. and replaced it with a similar car, 6 months younger and diesel).


Save £100 a year on tax, and about £20 a week on diesel.
My car doesn't have an mpg counter, but 40 litres would take me about 300 - 350 mile in the petrol car and 500 - 600 mile in the new car.
So fuel costs have almost halved.


Also as I believe diesel engines usually have longer lives and as I have no intention of replacing the car to it stops or is no longer economic to repair, this means overall my diesel car is much more suitable for me than the old petrol.


I have had the car 18 months now, and other than replacing the water pump when I bought it as a precaution, I have had very low maintenance costs, services don't cost more (or if they do, its not much as I haven't noticed)

dannyrst

Hintza wrote: »

You have been on here long enough to know the reasons!

What, some people have had trouble with DPF's? Get a grip. My parents have owned multiple diesel cars, as have many of my family members, and not a single issue has been had.

Buying a car comes down to luck, whether it is Petrol or Diesel.

To tell someone they shouldn't even consider a diesel is a ridiculous idea.

jjj1980

I have a 1.4 diesel car and drive 15 miles to work, so 30 mile a day total commute. My previous car was a 1.4 petrol, both cars Peugeots and similar size but I was spending £80-£90 per week in fuel and £175 a year tax on the petrol and am now spending £20-£25 per week on fuel and £30 per year tax on the diesel. I have no intention of changing back to a petrol.


My car has only just gone through its MOT and service and the emissions results were better than the one done bought before I bought it.


It all depends on what you prefer but after the initial purchase cost being higher, I have found my diesel cars have been more economical to run and much nicer to drive, more responsive on the accelerator.