Wondering if the transition from my old-ish Diesel to a brand new Benzine is an economical move?

DraxDomax

2015, I bought an Astra 2.0 Diesel.
It served me well and can do very nice mileage on long trips.
It does have the "real car" feel, which smaller cars didn't quite get right 8 years ago.
However, as someone who is relatively mechanically inclined, I "feel" that the car is starting to get into the stage where repairs will be frequent and expensive.

Currently, looking into a new Fabia 1.0.
It's smaller but big enough.
Cheaper tires and service.

Wondering if someone has made a similar transition and can say whether the running costs are similar, better, worse?

It's just that I only ever drove Diesels and don't know if Benzine cars are much worse for refuelling costs?

WellKnownSid

How many miles does your Astra have on it? How many miles do you do a year?

Being mechanically inclined probably means you worry too much about repairs but are you expecting something expensive to go imminently / be needed eg clutch or cam belt?

RFL could well be cheaper in the Astra but I’m going through a similar process and finding the ULEZ/LEZs that are springing up are making my £30 a year diesel worth close to what I paid for it.

I’m switching to a hybrid - 60mpg / 700 mile range so actually better than my diesel, no clutch, starter motor, alternator, drive belt, two valves per cylinder, no VVT - so hopefully less to be worrying about.

force_ten1

sorry never heard of a Benzine car so l am out 

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force_ten1 said:

sorry never heard of a Benzine car so l am out 

Most of the World, by landmass call petrol benzine, (Europe, Northern Asia, North Africa & Indonesia).

Petrol is for Britain and it's ex colonies, whereas Essence is for France and what were her colonies.

Everyone else goes for gasoline, except Argentina where it is naptha.

chrisw

facade said:

force_ten1 said:

sorry never heard of a Benzine car so l am out 

Most of the World, by landmass call petrol benzine, (Europe, Northern Asia, North Africa & Indonesia).

Petrol is for Britain and it's ex colonies, whereas Essence is for France and what were her colonies.

Everyone else goes for gasoline, except Argentina where it is naptha.

You learn something new every day. 

I've seen plastic products which say don't clean with benzine. I never realised they meant petrol.

facade

chrisw said:

facade said:

force_ten1 said:

sorry never heard of a Benzine car so l am out 

Most of the World, by landmass call petrol benzine, (Europe, Northern Asia, North Africa & Indonesia).

Petrol is for Britain and it's ex colonies, whereas Essence is for France and what were her colonies.

Everyone else goes for gasoline, except Argentina where it is naptha.

You learn something new every day. 

I've seen plastic products which say don't clean with benzine. I never realised they meant petrol.

Petrol & gasoline are better names.

Benzene is the toxic & carcinogenic solvent with a carbon ring.(they can add 1% benzene to petrol as an anti-knock additive)

Benzine is a mixture of alkanes, in petrol & gasoline countries benzine refers to a petroleum distillate based solvent which is not quite petrol, being a mixture of alkanes, cycloalkanes and aromatic compounds like benzene, toluene & xylene.

To all intents and purposes, "don't clean with benzine" means don't wipe with petrol as it is unlikely we would have proper benzine or benzene around the house.

DraxDomax

I don't like calling it petrol because

1) Both Diesel and Gasoline are petroleum products (petro = rock, referring to it being drilled from the ground) (see #2)
2) And then you have BioDiesel and BioEthanol, which are Diesel and Gasoline that are NOT petroleum products

So petrol to me sounds like it applies to both but potentially neither...

That being said, I don't mind learning new things and speaking correctly, although I try to avoid misnomers

Car_54

DraxDomax said:

I don't like calling it petrol because

1) Both Diesel and Gasoline are petroleum products (petro = rock, referring to it being drilled from the ground) (see #2)
2) And then you have BioDiesel and BioEthanol, which are Diesel and Gasoline that are NOT petroleum products

So petrol to me sounds like it applies to both but potentially neither...

OK, but if you call it anything other than 'petrol' no-one will know what you're talking about. It means this thread has gone off at a tangent and diverted people from answering your original question.

Sea_Shell

Why not just get a petrol Astra, if you've liked the one you have?

We made the same switch a few years ago to the 1.4T.  Been very happy with it.

force_ten1

every garage that l go to you have a choice 

DraxDomax

I think people who pretend not to understand and choose to go on a tangent have a problem and no real desire to help
I realise this is the internet and free chat is worth what I paid for it - so I am perfectly OK with any outcome and will continue on my endeavor to find the semantically correct words and use them, as long as I believe they are right...

Pretty sure when I show up to the dealership and ask about engines, suddenly everyone who is looking to earn a commission will understand me

So thanks for the chat and have a great week ahead, fellows!