petrol v deisel astra 5 dr hatch

strawberryberry

Got to get a new car sorted today as mine has gone completely -
decided to get vauxhall astra hatch 5 dr - cant decide between 1.7 deisel or 1.6 petrol.
I do about 11k a year very urban driving ( takes about an hour to do 15 - 20 miles - i know i could walk quicker)
Worked out the saving on deisel about 200 a year over 10 years and the higher cost of the deisel car is about the same. So i dont think ill save on fuel.
Need to keep the car for that long or longer if possible (depends on body work).
dealer told me id save £2300 a year on deisel as he was trying to sell a car on the forecourt - so i dont believe anything they tell me at the dealership only going there cos of the discount.
Knows im a girl by myself and taking advantage of me not knowing anything so any help would be appreciated.

What is more reliable d or p.
Over this length of time would d or p be better ?
Do they cost the same for repairs and service ?
Many thanks

balsingh

Without going into too much detail with regards to costs etc, I have driven the Astra 1.6 Petrol and it returned 44mpg round town which I thought was excellent for a petrol car. Take that into consideration before assuming the diesel will work out cheapest.

Hintza

If the plank told you would save £2300/year I would go back and speak to his boss and tell him you won't be buying from them as he has been trying to mislead you.

I calculate your saving at £285/year bit the car will cost (assuming new) about £2,000 more. I think I would be concentrating ob getting the best deal on either.

The imponderable is will the premium for diesel increase over the next few years? In europe diesel is cheaper than petrol so if you were in Italy it would be a no brainer (ie Diesel) just now.

As for servicing costs I haven't a clue but why not call a dealership and ask them.

darich

i considered a BMW diesel v petrol and was told on a BMW forum that the additional cost to buy the diesel added to the higher servicing costs means that you'd need to do around 15k miles per year to make it cheaper than the petrol.

My 1.8 celica (petrol) returns around 34mpg which is good for the performance. The diesel i considered was/is the 320coupe or the 330coupe. they return around 58 and 45mpg respectively.

As Hintza says - the premium on diesel may increase as the performance of cars improves to match and surpass petrol engined cars so the fuel may increase.

If the car is similarly priced i'd go for the diesel - if the diesel is significantly more expensive, then petrol may be the best option.

Additionally, to save £2300 per year you'd need to be spending at least double that on fuel which i very much doubt if your daily commute is 15-20miles. Ask the salesman to justify his figures - he won't be able to.

Tesco_Tom

In general servicing costs on a diesel are slightly higher, but best to check out detail - don't forget the service interval may vary also, so don't just look at cost for one-off service.

My own opinion with the current fuel price difference you need to be doing in excess of 16k miles per year. We have recently changed cars and went through the same dilema. When we started looking I was sure we would buy diesel, but after looking at the premium for diesel, we plumpted for petrol and have been very happy.

Inactive

strawberryberry wrote: »

so i dont believe anything they tell me at the dealership only going there cos of the discount.

I would forget the so called " discount " and go to a different dealer/s.

Why deal with people that try to fob you off with rubbish info.?;)

BenL

I have a 3dr 2006 Astra 1.6 and get about 400 to 420 miles to a tank.

A tank being about £50 now for 50 litres.

This looks to be about 38mpg . I am quite heavy with the right foot and don't have motorways/dual carriageways to work so its A and B roads to work.

As for saving that much its amazing. The Diesel car will pay you each year as 11000 miles at 101.9p a litre and 38 mpg = less than £1400 a year in fuel.

I used this calculator very quickly but my figures are around about correct for my 1.6.

http://www.torquecars.com/tools/uk-mpg-calculator.php

Ben

Idiophreak

I drive a 1.6 astra and to be honest have never found it to be especially economic...

edit:I forgot to mention that I drive quite quickly, so the low economy probably isn't the car's fault

One of my mates, however, has an estate LPG astra a couple of years older than mine and that goes really well and saves him stacks in fuel costs. If you have an LPG station nearby, this might be worth thinking about.

strawberryberry

Lots of good advice
( the false salesman isnt in today so i can see someone else)
Still dont know what to get will see what the best deal is and what they have in stock.
Thanks a lot for answering.

Thunderbird_2

Hi

Are looking to buy a brand new car or second hand one?
If it is second hand, is it 04 onwards or the one before 04?

If it is the older shape, i.e 98 - 04 then go for Petrol 1.6 16v LS
The most important thing to check is that the cambelt change (due every 40,000 miles) has been carried out. Failures can lead to big bills. Check for damp in footwells, as rainwater can get in.

If it is the newest shape, i.e 04 onwards, then go for 1.6 petrol Club trim.

With either cars, try to buy as new as possible to avoid teething problem on early cars.

EDIT: Most of the info above is from www.whatcar.co.uk Don't forget to use their value calculator to see the cars you are looking at worth the price tag on them or not!

Good luck

John_M_Business

Hi there

I would add that what you should also take into account is the future value of the car. If the difference, say, is 20% of the value of the car, then this is likely to be the same when you come to sell (i.e. the Diesel will 'go' for 20% more in years to come) so although you're potentially spending more now, when you sell it you should make some back (depending on how long you hold onto it for).

I hope the moderator will be understanding as this is a relevant post... but if you're looking for a deal on a New (/almost new) Astra Diesel, then check out the website that I help out on...
www.carquake.co.uk
We have just about the best prices in the country for Astra and you actually talk direct to the dealership direct - we are not brokers. But if it's a used one, then haggle with the dealer and search on the Vauxhall website for 'Network Q' cars - to make sure he isn't having you on!

Thanks

John B