Diesel vs Petrol

keithclancy

Alrite Peeps.

Quite poll just to get an idea of what your preference is COST wise, don't know the diesel because its unrefineds, noisy, smelly tractor etc etc.

In my experience of a Diesel vs a Petrol (unless you get a 10 year old diesel) its more expensive to maintain with servicing etc.

Namely:
Tyres wear down faster, due to more torque
DMF's cost a fortune to replace if they go wrong
And the Turbo is an extra complication.

Basically I don't think i've saved all that much between the Petrol and Diesel equivolents of my car. The only saving grace is the range of the Diesel is much more, I can drive almost a full week without having to stop and fill up at an overpriced Motorway station.

Whats your experience ?

Anan1

keithclancy wrote: »

Namely:
Tyres wear down faster, due to more torque

I don't know about that, i'd have thought tyre wear was a function of driving style and perhaps engine weight.

Lurching

Oh jesus, here we go!

keithclancy

Anan1 wrote: »

I don't know about that, i'd have thought tyre wear was a function of driving style and perhaps engine weight.

Maybe its just me but have found Diesel eat through Tyres faster, maybe is something to do with having to compensate for Turbo Lag

Anan1

keithclancy wrote: »

Maybe its just me but have found Diesel eat through Tyres faster, maybe is something to do with having to compensate for Turbo Lag

Petrols can suffer from that too, you know.;) Seriously though, I wouldn't imagine there'd be that much difference in tyre wear between say a BMW 320i and a 335d if they were driven the same way on the same tyres.

Anyway, to answer your question - petrol all the way for me, I just don't do the miles for diesel.

Cookie_Monster

hugely mileage dependant.
though quick cals shows:
L/100km Km per litre Cost Cent per KM
Petrol 35mpg 6.72 = 14.88 * 1.35 =9.0720
Deisel 50mpg 4.7 = 21.28 * 1.27 =5.9690

deisel saving per km = 3.1 cent * whatever milage you do - additional service cost. +go for Deisel, -go for petrol

(MPG just estimates from experience)

bazzachazza

I do the miles for a diesel. Reckon its paid for the difference in cost of the car over petrol by now.

My tyres aren't an issue they have 30000 miles (48,000k) on them and have a couple more thousand in them. They are Continental SC 2's.

Servicing was €200 and gets done every 30000k I know some people think that is too much of an interval but I am going to take the opinion of a major car manufacturer who has researched this is issue rather than some weekend mechanics.

Matt Simis

keithclancy wrote: »

Namely:
Tyres wear down faster, due to more torque
DMF's cost a fortune to replace if they go wrong
And the Turbo is an extra complication.

- Tyre wear is a function of driving style and road surface. Torque, a great thing, its not uniquely for diesels. My Petrol car is a lot more torque-y than my diesel car. My petrol car went through 3 clutches in 18mths.
- DMFs are in many petrol cars too. Clutches and Flywheels need to be replaced in petrol cars too, its not like its a free ride with petrol either.
- Turbos are in many, many petrol cars too.

The last 2 service items may never even affect you in your current period of ownership, they may only become a problem after or before you sell it.

Diesel costs less and has much higher economy... you would have to have a serious string of bad luck to have servicing costing more than the fuel savings. Honestly, if you question is which "costs more" in general (not specific cars) then there is no other answer than diesel cars costs less to run, assuming your mileage justifys diesel in the first place.

My diesel daily driver will pay for itself in just 9mths.

notel70

Anan1 wrote: »

I wouldn't imagine there'd be that much difference in tyre wear between say a BMW 320i and a 335d if they were driven the same way on the same tyres.

those cars engine wise have very little in common(except they both use oil), very poor comparison

bazzachazza

Don't forget to add in road tax savings. I'm saving €328 a year or just shy of €1000 over the planned life time of my car. Which is one third of the difference between the diesel and petrol versions of my car.

pajo1981

The higher reving ED BMW diesels have an nice linear torque curve and can be quite 'petrolly' to drive. The cab does vibrate a lot at tickover, however.

I'd say the gap is closing all the time, but right now NA petrol defo still has the driving pleasure edge.

Matt Simis

notel70 wrote: »

those cars engine wise have very little in common(except they both use oil), very poor comparison

Way to completely miss his point. He purposely chose a very torque'y diesel and a very un-torque'y petrol from the same range, to illustrate the tyre wear could be the same if they were driven the same.

Anan1

notel70 wrote: »

those cars engine wise have very little in common(except they both use oil), very poor comparison

?? That's why I picked them.

Edit: Sorry, Matt Simis got there first!

Matt Simis

pajo1981 wrote: »

I'd say the gap is closing all the time, but right now NA petrol defo still has the driving pleasure edge.

But.. that wasnt the question, but was kinda of one of the answers. Badly formatted Poll IMO.

pajo1981

Matt Simis wrote: »

But.. that wasnt the question, but was kinda of one of the answers. Badly formatted Poll IMO.

FH, I feel dumb- I just read the title and didn't see the poll.

keithclancy

Matt Simis wrote: »

But.. that wasnt the question, but was kinda of one of the answers. Badly formatted Poll IMO.

Hows it a badly formatted poll

Feck sake theres always a critic on boards :P

voxpop

I dont get this argument that diesels cost more to service.

My last service (petrol) cost more than my previous service (diesel) - mainly due to the 6 spark plugs.So in my case petrol costs more to service.


Do diesels cars still cost alot more than their petrol equivalents, is the "you have to do the miles for a diesel" argument still valid ?
In my neighbourhood, Ive seen a few 2010 cars and all have been diesel - where their previous cars were petrol. I think diesel makes sense for most ppl and has come along way since no turbo, slow, tractors of old, petrol really only suits enthusiasts these days.

keithclancy

voxpop wrote: »

I dont get this argument that diesels cost more to service.

My last service (petrol) cost more than my previous service (diesel) - mainly due to the 6 spark plugs.So in my case petrol costs more to service.


Do diesels cars still cost alot more than their petrol equivalents, is the "you have to do the miles for a diesel" argument still valid ?
In my neighbourhood, Ive seen a few 2010 cars and all have been diesel - where their previous cars were petrol. I think diesel makes sense for most ppl and has come along way since no turbo, slow, tractors of old, petrol really only suits enthusiasts these days.

Don't know about Ireland anymore,

But to justify the cost difference in the initial purchase price, the road tax and the fuel cost difference. You have to drive over 30,000KM / year.

Matt Simis

keithclancy wrote: »

Hows it a badly formatted poll

Feck sake theres always a critic on boards :P

Well I just mean the thread title sets the stage for a general "what is your preference" Poll, then the Poll answers are phased in a way that one is "better" than the other for general reasons.... but way down in the body text you reveal you are asking which, in our experience (preference is an odd word to use there) saves more money.

A lot of people prefer Petrols to drive and will come in and click the petrol link immediately after seeing the title and answer choice. As can be seen in the results so far.

keithclancy wrote: »

Don't know about Ireland anymore,
But to justify the cost difference in the initial purchase price, the road tax and the fuel cost difference. You have to drive over 30,000KM / year.

You cant make a sweeping statement like that, its not always true as its very car specific. BTW, generally, Tax and Fuel cost is cheaper on Diesel, not petrol in Ireland.
Also the 30k per year is a bit high, have a look at: http://fuel.netcessible.com

keithclancy

Matt Simis wrote: »

Well I just mean the thread title sets the stage for a general "what is your preference" Poll, then the Poll answers are phased in a way that one is "better" than the other for general reasons.... but way down in the body text you reveal you are asking which, in our experience (preference is an odd word to use there) saves more money.

A lot of people prefer Petrols to drive and will come in and click the petrol link immediately after seeing the title and answer choice. As can be seen in the results so far.

Fair enuff .. Poll does say on it "Which is cheaper to run"

Is there a manual around here somewhere on how to write a post that doesn't rub someone the wrong way !

Anan1

Matt Simis wrote: »

Well I just mean the thread title sets the stage for a general "what is your preference" Poll, then the Poll answers are phased in a way that one is "better" than the other for general reasons.... but way down in the body text you reveal you are asking which, in our experience (preference is an odd word to use there) saves more money.

A lot of people prefer Petrols to drive and will come in and click the petrol link immediately after seeing the title and answer choice. As can be seen in the results so far.

In fairness to the OP, he can't really be held responsible for actions of the the click/type first, read later brigade.;)

GTE

With regards to tyre wear you could argue and I would that the heavier diesel engine causes more wear on the front then a similar horse power petrol.

Sure, diesels are only now coming in with stop start technology because of the heavy parts not playing nicely with it, and thats even in a small car. Its French I think.

Ill say diesels are just a little bit worse but I guess you could get a similar HP car with a big auto, air con and other heavy toys that would even out the difference.

Torque I dont think has anything to do with it because your right foot dictates how much is used.

robbie99

Here's a comparison...

.......................... 320i SE saloon 320d SE saloon
price new .............. €38,650 ........ €39,070
5 year Service Pack . €995 ............ €995
BHP ...................... 168 ............. 181
Motor tax .............. €302 ............ €156
mpg ..................... 44.1 ............ 60.1
l/100km ................. 6.4 .............. 4.7
fuel /l ................... €1.33 ............ €1.24
fuel /km ................ €0.08512 ....... €0.05828

mileage (km) annual saving
10000 ........ €414.4
15000 ........ €548.6
20000 ........ €682.8
30000 ........ €951.2

It'd only take the average driver about nine months to recover the initial cost of the more expensive diesel model and they'd own a car with better resale value.