Buying a Petrol or Deisel Car?

Ford_Focus_Man

I'm in a bit of a dimela at the mo people.

I currently drive a 1.4 TDCi Deisel Fiesta, which isnt a bad car at all, i just want more comfort & a bigger car

I'm currently looking at 2 types of cars to move too

1 :is the more obvious choice, a 1.6 TDCi Ford Focus 05, for 21k.
Fuel Economy should be the same, but at a high cost to upgrade

2 :1.4 Petrol Focus/Astra, 16k 05 model also
Cost is 5k less, but economy will be much more expensive.

I drive roughly 19k per year, 80% of this is motorway commuting,

I'm finding it difficult to justify the cost of moving to such an expensive 1yr old car just for the economy.
I made calculation, & petrol would cost roughly 600-700 euro per year extra for 20k

Can anyony give advice, or has experience of driving a new model petrol focus or astra?

lomb

i think diesels arent very nice to drive due to a very narrow power band and so u have to work the box. i personally would love a 2.0 gt td golf with the dsg automatic. loads of power and with an auto box none of the problems. best bet is u should test drive both cars. residuals are better with diesels so ul get some back later. some prefer diesels as they are torquey but with the above mentioned power band limitations i havent noticed the torque. all i see are the limitations.

Big Nelly

Have a 1.9Tdi 90Bhp Passat and love it, got away from expensive petrol where I was driving a 1.6 and will never go back, the 1.9 is faster than the 1.6 petrol and the tank of Diesel does twice the milage of the petrol! mate just bought the 130Bhp 6-speed Passat and it is an animal to go, tryign to get one myself now!!!

Ford_Focus_Man

I've Test Drove the 1.6 TDCi & immediatly noticed the high levels of Torque.

Take off Acceleration isn't as good as Petrol though (test drove 1.6 Variable Valve Petrol Engine)

Much noiser engine within Deisel also.
I'm more interested in the mpg differential compared to a 1.4 & 1.6 TDCi

These are the figures i calculated based on litre's per 100 km's :

Focus Focus
1.6 Diesel 1.4 Petrol

Urban 5.9 8.7

Highway 4 5.4

Combined 4.7 6.6
4.7 6.6


miles 19946.80851 19886.36364


Deisel/Petrol litres 1500 2100
Price 1.039 1.049
Annual Cost 1558.5 2202.9


Difference is €644.40
between petrol & diesel
extra cost per month €53.70

maidhc

Is the Focus TDCi a 90 or 110bhp? If it is the latter you should be comparing it to a 1.8 petrol at least since that is more or less where the performance will be at. I dont know about the 90bhp one, but it should be better through the gears than a 1.6.

You probably wont make any huge saving by going for the diesel, but

a) A 4 y.o 1.4 wont be a great seller s/h with 80k on the clock since there will be loads of ones around with only 20k. A diesel will sell better

b) Driving a 1.4 for 20k a year sounds like hard work.

Ford_Focus_Man

It's a 110bhp, so i can understand where your coming from.

What the average reccomended mileage for moving to a diesel engine,
I've heard conflicting comments of 20k to 25k before deciding to upgrade to a diesel engine.

Thats a good point about the re-sale which i want to take into account.
But chances are i'll be trading in 2-3 yrs from now for a newer model so it will have 60-80k on it before changing

bazz26

€5k between a 1.4 petrol and 1.6 TDCi Focus is expensive to be honest. I presume the 05 TDCi Focus is the higher spec Ghia model for that money? As the difference new between a 1.4 petrol Focus and a 1.6 TDCi Focus is just under €3k. It might be worth looking around for the cheaper LX TDCi Focus model.

Another factor to take into account is depreciation. If you are doing around 20k miles a year then this will impact the resale value of the 1.4 petrol Focus. With 3 years and 60k on the clock the 1.4 Focus will be worth alot less than the equivilant diesel Focus. So you will get some of that money back on the diesel model.

Just another note, take a test drive in the 1.4 Focus as I have heard this is a bit underpowered as it only has about 80bhp. The new Focus is even heavier than the old one so this can make a difference doing motorway miles. The 1.6 petrol is probably more suitable.

Henry Ford III

bazz26 wrote:

€5k between a 1.4 petrol and 1.6 TDCi Focus is expensive to be honest. I presume the 05 TDCi Focus is the higher spec Ghia model for that money? As the difference new between a 1.4 petrol Focus and a 1.6 TDCi Focus is just under €3k. It might be worth looking around for the cheaper LX TDCi Focus model.

Another factor to take into account is depreciation. If you are doing around 20k miles a year then this will impact the resale value of the 1.4 petrol Focus. With 3 years and 60k on the clock the 1.4 Focus will be worth alot less than the equivilant diesel Focus. So you will get some of that money back on the diesel model.

Just another note, take a test drive in the 1.4 Focus as I have heard this is a bit underpowered as it only has about 80bhp. The new Focus is even heavier than the old one so this can make a difference doing motorway miles. The 1.6 petrol is probably more suitable.

I suspect the TDCI is a Zetec trim level whereas the petrol 1.4 is an LX. My view is that the Zetec is worth the extra cost as the equipment level is way higher. A/c, alloys, fogs, computer, heated front screen, and sports seats and uprated suspension. In a 5 door hatch a 1.4 Freedom is available from €20,060, whereas a TDCI Zetec is €25250.

Interestingly that 110bhp TDCI engine is not available in any new Focus in Ireland. It's now detuned to 90bhp. I think the reasoning is that they have a 1.8 TDCI 115bhp engine which they want to sell, albeit at a premium.

bazz26

Henry Ford III wrote:

I suspect the TDCI is a Zetec trim level whereas the petrol 1.4 is an LX. My view is that the Zetec is worth the extra cost as the equipment level is way higher. A/c, alloys, fogs, computer, heated front screen, and sports seats and uprated suspension. In a 5 door hatch a 1.4 Freedom is available from €20,060, whereas a TDCI Zetec is €25250.

Interestingly that 110bhp TDCI engine is not available in any new Focus in Ireland. It's now detuned to 90bhp. I think the reasoning is that they have a 1.8 TDCI 115bhp engine which they want to sell, albeit at a premium.

I didn't know they sold the Focus Zetec with the TDCi engine? I thought only the LX and Ghia were available in diesel.

Ah just spotted that the saloon is available in Zetec trim with the diesel engine.

Henry Ford III

You can get a TDCI engine in LX, Zetec and Ghia spec.

A 90bhp 1.6 version (110bhp not available) in the LZ and Zetec, and a 1.8 115bhp version in the Ghia.

There's a "build your own" option on www.ford.ie

Ford_Focus_Man

Well Guys you'll be suprised to hear that it's a :
1.6 TDCi LX Focus 05 with only front fogs
with 20k miles on the clock.
Price is 21k euro

1.4 Focus LX has 20k miles & coming in at 16k


My dilema lies in the cost to run the Petrol v Diesel

Henry Ford III

I dunno :rolleyes:

I've been trying to sell a 6 month old Focus C-Max Zetec TDCI, with less than 6000 miles recorded for €21400.

The C-Max has a bigger roomier body, and flexible seating system. The Zetec version comes with some very nice kit too. A/c, abs, rcl, alloys, fogs, computer, better seats/leather trim etc.

Ford_Focus_Man

Are you selling it privately?
Do you plan on changing it for anything else?
What kinda of economy are you getting for it>?


Well my main question is, would you be willing to part with an extra 5grand (which comes with 7.5% interest) for a car that has a lower running cost

Than the equivalent petrol model, which is 5k less, but has a higher running cost?
Even if i drove the car at 15-20k for the next 4 years, would the extra running cost equate to 5k?

Henry Ford III

Check your private messages Ford Focus Man. I've sent you one.

A new one is on order.

tred

Ford_Focus_Man wrote:

Are you selling it privately?
Do you plan on changing it for anything else?
What kinda of economy are you getting for it>?


Well my main question is, would you be willing to part with an extra 5grand (which comes with 7.5% interest) for a car that has a lower running cost

Than the equivalent petrol model, which is 5k less, but has a higher running cost?
Even if i drove the car at 15-20k for the next 4 years, would the extra running cost equate to 5k?

I think you need to consider as well the type of driving your doing. Is it all local traffic stop and start? or do you have stretches of good road where you can cruise. I have a Mondeo TDCI 2.0 130Ps. I get 55-58 MPG between galway and Dublin. Ill get 40 heading home from work. I doubt ill ever buy a petrol car again..

m_stan

related question to the running costs topic ...

I heard a news flash on Newstalk the other day saying Dublin Bus was moving to a 95/5 mix of diesel and some other fuel because "diesel prices are projected to rise by 50% this year".

Is this higher or lower than the projected rise in petrol prices ?

The answer has a big bearing on the running cost side.

maidhc

m_stan wrote:

"diesel prices are projected to rise by 50% this year".

It would be biodiesel... 95:5 seems to be strongest mix most common rail diesels are happy with.

A 50% rise in diesel isnt going to happen while petrol stays at the same price.

I cant see how a 50% rise in diesel could happen anyway unless there is a very major shortage. Even pre-tax, a 50% rise would be a massive hit for the economy as a whole!!!

ando

m_stan wrote:

diesel prices are projected to rise by 50% this year

thats the second time I've heard that, any links or more info on this? I was thinking of selling my diesel monster during the summer, but if this is true i might sell sooner??

Big Balls

lomb wrote:

i think diesels arent very nice to drive due to a very narrow power band and so u have to work the box.

Depends how powerful your diesel engine is. If it's a big enough one there'll be so much torque that you won't have to 'work the box'.

johnnyrotten

m_stan wrote:

related question to the running costs topic ...

I heard a news flash on Newstalk the other day saying Dublin Bus was moving to a 95/5 mix of diesel and some other fuel because "diesel prices are projected to rise by 50% this year".

Is this higher or lower than the projected rise in petrol prices ?

The answer has a big bearing on the running cost side.

The cost of everything would shoot up if this happened. The hauliers would have to increase prices. Even the costs of Hauling petrol would increase

Henry Ford III

Big Balls wrote:

Depends how powerful your diesel engine is. If it's a big enough one there'll be so much torque that you won't have to 'work the box'.

Agreed.