Petrol vs Diesel - has the formula shifted?

Elika0215

Looking to buy a car and courtesy of this site, am going for a 2-3 year old (to avoid the biggest drop in depreciation) with low mileage.

The petrol vs diesel argument has shifted since I last bought a car (in 2007). Diesels were much more efficient and didn't have a DPF which seems to be the single biggest issue with diesels doing low, city, mileage.

However, diesels now seem to be a little cheaper than many petrol models and they're depreciating quicker from what I've seen.

So my issue is should I go for petrol or diesel? A little about my driving;

-I do about 8k a year, mainly in towns and country roads.
-I don't travel regularly to big cities that may incur diesel charges in the near future.
-My driving style is pretty relaxed.
- I prioritise economy, reliability and service costs over performance.
-I don't mind a car that depreciates quickly as I intend to keep it for a while.

Finally, all that seems to point to buying a diesel, yet I've been advised to buy petrol by a dealership but as their 2nd hand petrols were more expensive, I'm a little cynical.

AdrianC

~8k/year mixed urban and rural would point towards petrol. If it's mostly short journeys from cold starts, it's more towards petrol. If it's mostly longer but infrequent journeys, getting properly up to temperature each time, then less towards petrol.

Elika0215

AdrianC wrote: »

~8k/year mixed urban and rural would point towards petrol. If it's mostly short journeys from cold starts, it's more towards petrol. If it's mostly longer but infrequent journeys, getting properly up to temperature each time, then less towards petrol.

Thank you. Do you mind explaining why that is though as I can't get my head round it :undecided

Arklight

Elika0215 wrote: »

Thank you. Do you mind explaining why that is though as I can't get my head round it :undecided

The Diesel Particulate Filter needs to heat up and stay hot for the ECU to start a cleaning cycle. This is more likely to happen reliably on a long trip. A clogged DPF can be expensive to rectify and you might feel compelled to go on unnecessary motorway drives if you've only been driving to the shops and haven't seen yours re-genning for a while.

Actually my main reason for getting a diesel would be performance. I really like the torque you get with a diesel engine, but when it came to buying a 3 year old car last year I chose the petrol version. This was because I didn't want the DPF hassle, or the other problems you hear of with diesels like clogged injectors. Also the diesel model needed a timing belt change relatively early on in the mileage, whereas the petrol version was a timing chain.

Oh, also I didn't want to have to pay a £50 green surcharge every time I decided to drive to London.

Elika0215

Arklight wrote: »

The Diesel Particulate Filter... snip.

Thank you - really appreciate it.

Goudy

Have you considered a Hybrid?
With your style of trips you'll get diesel economy without all the diesel headaches people have rightly warned you about.

Buy a Toyota Yaris Hybrid (same as the second generation Prius) and it will be extremely reliable, minicabbers have been putting 300 and 400 thousand miles on Priuses these without much hassle.

They only need the normal servicing, so no worries their either.

Buy a two year old and it'll still have three years manufacturers warranty left as they come with 5 years warranty.

edde

Arklight wrote: »

Also the diesel model needed a timing belt change relatively early on in the mileage, whereas the petrol version was a timing chain.
n.

250 quid to replace a cambelt often vs a serious bill if the chain breaking (and they do break a lot more than you'd think) I'd take the cambelt.

forgotmyname

The formula is flawed because everyone's needs and wants are different.

Nobody in their right mind would tell me to buy a Diesel. Sub 4000 miles a year, 99.9% of that short local journeys, rarely getting past 40mph. Fairly heavy traffic conditions also.

Yet my needs/wants are 40mpg rather than 20mpg and i prefer the low down pulling power of a diesel for towing.

So diesel works for me.

edde

Elika0215 wrote: »

Looking to buy a car and courtesy of this site, am going for a 2-3 year old (to avoid the biggest drop in depreciation) with low mileage.

The petrol vs diesel argument has shifted since I last bought a car (in 2007). Diesels were much more efficient and didn't have a DPF which seems to be the single biggest issue with diesels doing low, city, mileage.

However, diesels now seem to be a little cheaper than many petrol models and they're depreciating quicker from what I've seen.

So my issue is should I go for petrol or diesel? A little about my driving;

-I do about 8k a year, mainly in towns and country roads.
-I don't travel regularly to big cities that may incur diesel charges in the near future.
-My driving style is pretty relaxed.
- I prioritise economy, reliability and service costs over performance.
-I don't mind a car that depreciates quickly as I intend to keep it for a while.

Finally, all that seems to point to buying a diesel, yet I've been advised to buy petrol by a dealership but as their 2nd hand petrols were more expensive, I'm a little cynical.

Don't worry about milage a huge percentage of cars these days are clocked. Buy a cheaper higher milage one if your keeping it for a bit the money you save buying you won't loose when you sell ie buy one with 40k more for 3k less when you sell a similar to yours with 40k less won't be worth 3k more.

Diesels are more efficient the difference may have dropped but they are more efficient.

Diesels are cheaper as people worry what's going to happen however the fuel will always be around as lorrys use it. If your 8k milage in ludes longer distance driving get a diesel imo

What cars are you looking at?

Elika0215

Goudy wrote: »

Have you considered a Hybrid?
With your style of trips you'll get diesel economy without all the diesel headaches people have rightly warned you about.
...

I hadn't considered a hybrid. I'll have a look in to them - thank you.

edde wrote: »

...

What cars are you looking at?

Mazda CX-3, Audi A3 or VW Golf. Maybe the Honda HR-V

Elika0215

edde wrote: »

If your 8k milage in ludes longer distance driving get a diesel imo

What cars are you looking at?

It's mainly 3-4 mile trips a couple of times a day. A couple of times a year we'll be doing the Uni run which is about a 600 mile round trip x 2.