Petrol vs Diesel

pan

Hi all,

I'm currently doing about 250 miles per week.
Is there a cross over point when a diesel should be considered over a petrol?

just starting to look for a second hand car, and thinking about an import from the UK. Probably spend up to €10k.

Thanks
pan

absurdtrivia

Nowdays, a diesel is almost always a better option. In Europe now, more than half of all new cars are diesel.

The irish road tax system previously worked against diesels, as they typically have bigger engines, and the tax was based on the engine size.

However, since it changed to be based on co2 emissions, the cost of taxing diesel cars has come down and many petrol cars have gone up.

Add to that the better fuel economy and diesel often being cheaper at the pumps, it's hard to justify buying a petrol nowdays.

mcwhirter

absurdtrivia wrote: »

Nowdays, a diesel is almost always a better option. In Europe now, more than half of all new cars are diesel.

The irish road tax system previously worked against diesels, as they typically have bigger engines, and the tax was based on the engine size.

However, since it changed to be based on co2 emissions, the cost of taxing diesel cars has come down and many petrol cars have gone up.

Add to that the better fuel economy and diesel often being cheaper at the pumps, it's hard to justify buying a petrol nowdays.

Its only justifiable if you are a petrol head and appreciate the sound of the engine such as the V8, flat four, V6 for example.
I have a diesel car and miss the rasp of the petrol engine, don't miss the poor fuel economy though.

Jokesetal

I changed from a 1.4 Petrol to a 1.9 TDI (both VW) and it costs the same fuel wise. The extra comfort is important though when you're doing 20 - 25K per year.
Note: The lower tax only applies to new cars, not 2nd hand new registrations (ex-UK).

Matt Simis

pan wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm currently doing about 250 miles per week.
Is there a cross over point when a diesel should be considered over a petrol?

just starting to look for a second hand car, and thinking about an import from the UK. Probably spend up to €10k.

Thanks
pan

How do you expect anyone to advise on a crossover point when you dont list your current MPG..?

rgunning

That's incorrect. If the vehicle was first registered in 2008, then it will conform to the new tax rules even if that first registration was in another country. There is a lot of confusion about this.

Jokesetal wrote: »

I changed from a 1.4 Petrol to a 1.9 TDI (both VW) and it costs the same fuel wise. The extra comfort is important though when you're doing 20 - 25K per year.
Note: The lower tax only applies to new cars, not 2nd hand new registrations (ex-UK).

pan

rgunning wrote: »

That's incorrect. If the vehicle was first registered in 2008, then it will conform to the new tax rules even if that first registration was in another country. There is a lot of confusion about this.

Are you sure! My understanding is that if I buy UK 2007 car and register it now in Ireland, it will go under the old road tax system.
(ah, just reread your post, I agree if the 2nd hand car is a 2008 model)

I currently driving a very old toyata corolla 1.3 petrol, I guess the MPG would be about 32 MPG, but not sure!

Thanks
pan

rgunning

You will pay the old taxation system, as the vehicle was first registered in 2007. If you bought a 2008 in the UK, then you are in the new taxation system. Some of the "57" cars in the UK were actually first registered in 2008 so have a look for them. They have less value in the UK but would qualify for an 08 plate here and would be taxed under the new system.

pan wrote: »

Are you sure! My understanding is that if I buy UK 2007 car and register it now in Ireland, it will go under the old road tax system.
(ah, just reread your post, I agree if the 2nd hand car is a 2008 model)

I currently driving a very old toyata corolla 1.3 petrol, I guess the MPG would be about 32 MPG, but not sure!

Thanks
pan

seamus789

pan wrote: »

Is there a cross over point when a diesel should be considered over a petrol?

The best way to calculate it is take your annual mileage and multiply it by the cost per mile. This takes a number of factors out of the equation.


For Example In my own situation: I had a petrol passat costing about €0.14 per mile and now have a diesel Mondeo costing about €0.09 per mile.
I do about 18,000 miles per year so the difference in fuel cost is €900 per year.
Add in the road tax difference and the change over to a diesel car paid for itself in less than a year.

Paulw

We're currently changing from a 1.4 petrol to a 2.0 (160BP) turbo diesel. From looking at all the costs - tax, insurance, cost of fuel, mileage, it looks like we stand to make a good saving over the life of the car.

pan

rgunning wrote: »

You will pay the old taxation system, as the vehicle was first registered in 2007. If you bought a 2008 in the UK, then you are in the new taxation system. Some of the "57" cars in the UK were actually first registered in 2008 so have a look for them. They have less value in the UK but would qualify for an 08 plate here and would be taxed under the new system.

Excuse my ignorance, but what does "57" cars refer to??
Is it something to do with the license plate numbers!

rgunning

Yes, in the UK, they don't have just 07 or 08 plates. The plates for a car registered in 2007 could be an "56", "07" or "57" plate.

The last few 56 plates of the year will be for the first two months in 2007, the 07 will be the 3rd to 8th month and the 57 will be 10th to 12th months. The 57 plate will then spill over to the first 2 months in 2008, so even though the UK plate says "57", it might acutally be a 2008 car for the purposes of the Irish taxation year, which unlike the english system, is the same as the calender year.

robbie99

Straying OT and rgunning explains it but I'm a bit bored so...

|----------2006---------|----------2007---------|----------2008---------
 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
----|----06-----|----56-----|----07-----|----57-----|----08-----|---58--