Diesel Cars Pros + Cons

IPushButtons

I'm thinking of buying a diesel car and am looking for the benefits and the drawbacks of a buying a diesel

bladespin

Bought my first diesel a couple of months back, pros are :
50 mpg easily achieved (have a longish commute)
noticble difference in the cost of fuel too.
Fill the tank and forget about it - seems to take ages to use it up.
Torque and power by the bucketload (easy overtaking) 151.9JTDM 150bhp model
Nice noise from the engine when it's accelerating.

can't see any cons as of yet.

-Chris-

Petrol - quieter, more refined, better noise, better engine if you push hard, no nasty smell on your hands every time you fill up.

Diesel - better mpg, if registered in '08 or '09 you'll get lower road tax, if importing, you'll get lower VRT.

mumblin deaf ro

Diesels have lower CO2 emissions if you're environmentally conscious.

Stevie Dakota

mumblin deaf ro wrote: »

Diesels have lower CO2 emissions if you're environmentally conscious.

That kind of comment will lure E92 back onto the forum!

Topmanager

Disel cars are easier run and easier on yor pocket...

Eoin

AudiChris wrote: »

Petrol - quieter, more refined, better noise, better engine if you push hard, no nasty smell on your hands every time you fill up.

Diesel - better mpg, if registered in '08 or '09 you'll get lower road tax, if importing, you'll get lower VRT.

Having gone from a diesel to a petrol engine - yes, nice top end performance (and sound) from the petrol, but there's also something nice about the low end torque as well from the diesel.

mumblin deaf ro wrote:

Diesels have lower CO2 emissions if you're environmentally conscious.

I'm not a petrol snob, but there are lots of nasty emissions from a diesel engine, it's just that only CO2 is taken into account.

HashSlinging

There are no drawbacks for driving a diesel, +1 on the fill and forget.

Any drawbacks are subjective.

pipsqueak

better resale value

Eoin

pipsqueak wrote: »

better resale value

That goes both ways as it costs more to buy it in that case.

pipsqueak

eoin wrote: »

That goes both ways as it costs more to buy it in that case.

true true!

O.A.P

Cons- more expensive to service a diesel unless you do it your self.

R.O.R

eoin wrote: »

That goes both ways as it costs more to buy it in that case.

Not always the case with new cars nowadays. With the VRT changes the cheapest models in a lot of ranges is either the diesel base model, or the manufacturer is artificially supporting the base Petrols because they have loads left and can't shift them.

-Chris-

HashSlinging wrote: »

Any drawbacks are subjective.

+1,000

Drive them both OP and tell us what you thought.

pipsqueak wrote: »

better resale value

I don't believe this will apply anymore - 95% of the A4s I've sold in the last 9 months have been diesel, that means in 2-3 years 95% of the second-hand A4s on the market will be diesel.

Oversupply = lower prices.

I'd say diesel and petrol s/h prices will equalise tbh.

bladespin

O.A.P wrote: »

Cons- more expensive to service a diesel unless you do it your self.

Wider service intervals usually make up for this, there's not much more involved in servicing a diesel.

Eoin

R.O.R wrote: »

Not always the case with new cars nowadays. With the VRT changes the cheapest models in a lot of ranges is either the diesel base model, or the manufacturer is artificially supporting the base Petrols because they have loads left and can't shift them.

That's new prices though - would the diesel not be more desirable second hand?

Anyway, choosing a car because of possible resale value is not a good idea. Get the car you want to drive, not the one the next owner does.

O.A.P

bladespin wrote: »

Wider service intervals usually make up for this, there's not much more involved in servicing a diesel.

I have a petrol astra and a diesel landrover and service them both every 10 thousand miles or 6 months myself. There is quite a bit more work to do on the landrover but this is not a car so thats understandable. I have never owened a diesel car but why would there not be less work involved as there is no plugs to change? A work mate of mine drives a diesel car and the cost of servicing it is his only complaint

Matt Simis

We should have a sticky or something on this (if we ever all agreed on it). In gross general terms here are some Pros and Cons from someone that likes both:

Pros to Diesel
Cheaper Fuel
Usually has ability to run BioDiesel (or blends), even cheaper fuel (quieter, zero smoke too)
Better MPG, depending on model may be much better or only noticably better
Torquey, good initial pushback, good for overtaking
Very forgiving to bad gear work
Works well with Autos due to high torque and gearing
Minimal engine noise due to low RPM when cruising

Cons to Diesel
Rough idle, some marques worse then others (VAG on the worse side)
Smokey on acceleration unless brand new model or well maintained (or BioD)
Feeling of "inverted" power band, starts out strong and gets weaker
Less gearwork can make a less interesting driving experience
Unlike E85, Diesel alternative fuel (Biodiesel) is not sold at any major forecourt
Minimal Engine noise when cruising means no feedback which may annoy some.
Not as friendly to tuning, due no performance grades of Diesel (in Ireland, most places) and general lack of interest with tuners, manufacturer selection of ill-suited-to-tuning turbos etc
When pushed very hard, tuned or remapped hard MPG advantage drastically diminishes
Stereotyping and stigmas, no one likes the uber-popular kid.

245

Its worth bearing in mind that when a diesel goes wrong it gets very expensive to put right. Items such as fuel pumps, turbos, dual mass flywheels and particulate filters are the main offenders. Not all problems can be associated with high mileage either - for instance a misfuelling error can result in major expense, and its easy to make the mistake at the pump. Also, particulate filters can become problematic when most of your car use is low speed/urban.

Diesel has become much more popular but future resale is probably dependent on the particular model in question. For instance, future buyers will probably always prefer a diesel Focus over a 1.4 petrol model, probably the same for the Golf but BMW might be a different matter.

IPushButtons

What do you guy's think about the Audi A4 TD red I. It has just over 100,000 miles on the clock