Is this a bad time to buy a used diesel?

Piggywinkle · 9 February 2018 at 11:36AM

I've finally taken the decision to chop in my trusty 14 year old Fiesta Finesse and get something with the luxury of electric windows

I've been looking at some Kia Souls, about 3/4 years old so still within the 7 year warranty. Reading reviews, it seems that they'd be a good match for me and my driving habits but DH suggested I look at getting a petrol one due to something he'd heard about the government bringing in financial disincentives for diesel drivers.

Thing is, the diesel Souls consistently get better reviews than the petrol versions. From further research, the diesel thing is only for new cars registered from April? With this in mind, should I be seriously considering getting a diesel or should I steer well clear (pun intended

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Catswhiska · 9 February 2018 at 12:05PM

We bought a brand new diesel Soul a year ago. Never regretted it. It drives much better than the petrol version and is Euro 6 standard. Its the best car we have ever owned. Its the Soul 3 by the way

bigisi · 9 February 2018 at 12:06PM

Piggywinkle wrote: »

it seems that they'd be a good match for me and my driving habits

Which are?

uknick · 9 February 2018 at 12:25PM

Piggy, how many miles do you drive each year? And how long are your journeys? Diesels are not really suited to lots of short journeys, and it used to be you need to do about 10k miles per year to make any financial savings.

Piggywinkle · 9 February 2018 at 12:41PM

bigisi wrote: »

Which are?

School run, 3 x weekly trips to work and back (10 mile round trip) and 1-2 weekly motorway/dual carriageway journeys to parent's house (40 mile round trip). I only cover around 6k per year to be honest, but I've heard the petrol engines are a lot thirstier than their diesel counterparts. VED is also currently cheaper on the diesel too.

Piggywinkle · 9 February 2018 at 12:42PM

uknick wrote: »

Piggy, how many miles do you drive each year? And how long are your journeys? Diesels are not really suited to lots of short journeys, and it used to be you need to do about 10k miles per year to make any financial savings.

About 6k per year. A mix of short journeys interspersed with some medium range ones. See above ^^

GunJack · 9 February 2018 at 12:44PM

uknick wrote: »

Piggy, how many miles do you drive each year? And how long are your journeys? Diesels are not really suited to lots of short journeys, and it used to be you need to do about 10k miles per year to make any financial savings.

It really depends on the driving you do - almost 6 months in to a diesel Ford Fusion I'm on track to save £650-700 on fuel & tax over the previous Rover 45 1.4 petrol in the first year, on 9000 miles p.a. I do a 30-mile round trip commute and some short local driving.

bigisi · 9 February 2018 at 1:15PM

Piggywinkle wrote: »

School run, 3 x weekly trips to work and back (10 mile round trip) and 1-2 weekly motorway/dual carriageway journeys to parent's house (40 mile round trip). I only cover around 6k per year to be honest, but I've heard the petrol engines are a lot thirstier than their diesel counterparts. VED is also currently cheaper on the diesel too.

So you're only wanting a diesel because you "think" it'll be cheaper?

Modern diesels don't like stop start traffic or short journeys, their clutches aren't designed for it and there is a filter in the exhaust which needs a good run to clear itself on a regular basis. Doing 6k miles per year could easily see these two things need replacing before long which could mean hundreds of pounds which will wipe out your saving on fuel and tax in an instant.

Piggywinkle · 9 February 2018 at 2:37PM

bigisi wrote: »

So you're only wanting a diesel because you "think" it'll be cheaper?

Modern diesels don't like stop start traffic or short journeys, their clutches aren't designed for it and there is a filter in the exhaust which needs a good run to clear itself on a regular basis. Doing 6k miles per year could easily see these two things need replacing before long which could mean hundreds of pounds which will wipe out your saving on fuel and tax in an instant.

The main reason I was asking if I should consider a diesel is that all of the reviews I've read have favoured it over the petrol for noise levels, torque, efficiency and emissions. I do realise that diesels are not tailored to shorter journeys, but I just didn't want to write off all diesels because they do seem to be more favoured option generally.

Catswhiska · 9 February 2018 at 2:48PM

Piggywinkle wrote: »

The main reason I was asking if I should consider a diesel is that all of the reviews I've read have favoured it over the petrol for noise levels, torque, efficiency and emissions. I do realise that diesels are not tailored to shorter journeys, but I just didn't want to write off all diesels because they do seem to be more favoured option generally.

As I said the diesel is a better drive. It is a lovely car with a high level of equipment for the price. Loads of room and nice and high off the ground. We never worried at all about buying ours. The tax is low and so is the insurance. Kai warranty is also brilliant. We will run it for a lot of years all being well

n217970 · 9 February 2018 at 2:50PM

One problem with the used market now is that 3 or 4 years ago we did not have the bad publicity about diesels, in certain models of car its actually quite difficult to find a petrol as nobody was buying them new.

Is this a bad time to buy a used diesel?

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