upgrade to diesel

sipherlucian

Hi Folks hope someone can help me.
not a great mind for cars, i have a 1.2 petrol polo, have to get rid of it too expensive to fix, im self employed so i want to get a commercial car.
looking at getting a pajero, trooper or santa fe.
i spend about €20 a week on petrol, if i go up to a 2.5 or 3L diesel like these cars will i end up with a large fuel bill at the end of the day?

Kenny Logins

Not sure how you could make any saving over a 1.2l Polo..

spank_inferno

I reckon you will face higher fuel bills alright.
The vehicles you mentioned are quite heavy lumps.

depending on your needs, a Ford Focus van might suit?

Or alternatively, remove the back seats from your Polo!

joolsveer

I drive a Subaru 2.0 diesel and it is more economical than my wife's Suzuki 1.3 petrol.

bazz26

joolsveer wrote: »

I drive a Subaru 2.0 diesel and it is more economical than my wife's Suzuki 1.3 petrol.

Yes but the OP is coming from a 1.0 litre point size supermini to a big heavy and bulky 2.5/3.0 litre 4x4.

These 4x4s are not by design fuel efficent however the OP could make some savings in that being self employed and if registered for VAT can claim the VAT back on fuel bills.

Wicklowandy

Im not being smart.....but the thread title, love the way everyone 'upgrades' to diesel

ottostreet

You're right, definite downgrade most of the time. Coming from a polo though, yeah, it's an upgrade

Wicklowandy

I dont know, most 4x4 s like whats been looked at are slow, thirsty, rough and poor handling.

At least the polos relatively easy on juice

colm_mcm

Also, if you can't justify fixing problems on a 1.2 polo, you'll get some shock if you need to replace a turbo, Clutch, tyres etc on a jeep

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Also, if you can't justify fixing problems on a 1.2 polo, you'll get some shock if you need to replace a turbo, Clutch, tyres etc on a jeep

I was thinking that first too but then assumed that maybe the OP was saying it was uneconomical to fix the Polo.

sipherlucian

Wicklowandy wrote: »

Im not being smart.....but the thread title, love the way everyone 'upgrades' to diesel

yeah dont know why but everyone seems to see a petrol as a downgrade!

sipherlucian

thanks for the advice folks, bit 50/50
its a 2.5 swb diesel so might not be too heavy, the cost to fix the polo will be at least 1200.
its a 2002 so wouldnt think id get anymore than a few hundred profit after fixing.
so i think i might as well sell it as it is and get the few hundred now, was offered roughly 600 for it as it is, needs a clutch, starter, new lock in 1 door, new or second hand tyres, an NCT and tax

The Dagda

sipherlucian wrote: »

yeah dont know why but everyone seems to see a petrol as a downgrade!

I read it as upgrading the car, considering diesel. Not upgrading from petrol to diesel.

I really don't think "everyone" thinks petrol is a downgrade.

166man

sipherlucian wrote: »

thanks for the advice folks, bit 50/50
its a 2.5 swb diesel so might not be too heavy, the cost to fix the polo will be at least 1200.
its a 2002 so wouldnt think id get anymore than a few hundred profit after fixing.
so i think i might as well sell it as it is and get the few hundred now, was offered roughly 600 for it as it is, needs a clutch, starter, new lock in 1 door, new or second hand tyres, an NCT and tax

Where are you buying your clutch and door lock? Tyres and tax are part of running costs of a car and will be the same if not higher on a 4x4 jeep. I wouldn't include them in what you have to do to the Polo.

I'd be amazed if a door lock,clutch and a starter motor came to €1200 for a 10 year old Polo tbh...

sipherlucian

clutch 500
starter 230
lock 150

then theres other small bits, sensor for airbag and exhaust set the engine light off all the time, they will need looking at sooner or later

derry

There are some technical details on this post below
where I compare my three cars a 1000cc petrol ,a 1400cc petrol and a 2000 liter diesel
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=81685408&postcount=49

Best I can say is the repair costs to 4x4 would shock you everything is €1000 euro s or €2000 or some multiple of those never €20 euro repairs .

A normal small van like a 1500cc diesel will be cheap on fuel and can tow a trailer for those awkward loads
a 2.5 liter diesel engine will still shock you to the core the fuel costs .However if your making ~€100 an hour every day every week after a few months its just chump change in the overall story .
The nature of your Enterprise should decide for you what you get its tool to do a job
If the work is up bad roads in all weathers onto farm yards with mud tracks 4X4 is your only man
If the work is on building sites with muddy tracks and your humping big tools like jack hammers and 6 kilowatt generators and lots of heavy gear then 4X4 is your only man
If your wanting to be a poser aloof with high view pick up the kids from school with the fake mud on your Chelsea tractor then the saying goes like this only two types of people get a 4x4 the rich and the foolish So far your not claiming to be rich and your asking us should we recommend you to be the latter

sipherlucian

derry wrote: »

There are some technical details on this post below
where I compare my three cars a 1000cc petrol ,a 1400cc petrol and a 2000 liter diesel
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=81685408&postcount=49

Best I can say is the repair costs to 4x4 would shock you everything is €1000 euro s or €2000 or some multiple of those never €20 euro repairs .

A normal small van like a 1500cc diesel will be cheap on fuel and can tow a trailer for those awkward loads
a 2.5 liter diesel engine will still shock you to the core the fuel costs .However if your making ~€100 an hour every day every week after a few months its just chump change in the overall story .
The nature of your Enterprise should decide for you what you get its tool to do a job
If the work is up bad roads in all weathers onto farm yards with mud tracks 4X4 is your only man
If the work is on building sites with muddy tracks and your humping big tools like jack hammers and 6 kilowatt generators and lots of heavy gear then 4X4 is your only man
If your wanting to be a poser aloof with high view pick up the kids from school with the fake mud on your Chelsea tractor then the saying goes like this only two types of people get a 4x4 the rich and the foolish So far your not claiming to be rich and your asking us should we recommend you to be the latter

thanks thats a good way of looking at it! not rich, work at home, designer.
but not looking to pose, i have a couple of dogs, springers, have an allotment so i shift a lot of compost to it, destroyed my polo with the weight of compost! usually get a truck full of pallettes dropped to my house to burn in a stove so would be good to get a trailer and collect my own.
so far good enough reasons i would think, van might be ideal in those circumstances but as i work in graphic and web design might not be ideal showing up to meetings in a van

sipherlucian

Folks thanks again for all the advice, in the end i bought a pajero, really nice drive, still trying to work out the fuel consumption but so far its a little more than the polo.
only driving it a week though and ive seen the benefits, i threw a few bags of coal in the back, dogs out for a walk etc, things you'd destroy a car doing.
thanks again for the advice though it came in useful!