Diesel v Petrol

Janrey

Having mentioned before that we hope to move to Clare this year and or asap, and seeing our car could do with being traded anyway,I thought I'd ask for opinions for the age old question of diesel versus petrol.Currently have 05 Focus petrol and are considering a slighter new Focus diesel for the running cost taking into account more mileage generally run up outside Dublin compared to in.Would appreciate all opinions and input.Thank you

pappyodaniel

You'd get a better response in the motors forum, actually I wouldn't even start a new thread on it as it's probably been done 100s of times. I recommend you type petrol v diesel into the search function and you'll get your answer.

Janrey

Thanks pappyodaniel.Will do

Lady Chatterton

There was a recent 'Petrol V Diesel' thread in the Motor Forum, it may be of help.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=82877837

colm_mcm

moved Clare>>>>>Motors

JohnBoy26

If going for a diesel focus and reliabilty is a concern, go for the 1.8 tdci without the keyless ingintion system.

Janrey

Thanks again.After reading the other threads, we have decided not to go for diesel.Can't see us doing much more than 10,000 miles a year if even that and it looks like that this is too low to gain advantage with a diesel.Nor will there be horse boxes or trailers being pulled.It also seems as if the opinions are divided especially with this issue of the DPF filter.So happy to stay with petrol and sure when we move if it seems like diesel is better, we can change.But it is great to get all the opinions as I don't know too much about cars generally

shooter88

I think buying a petrol car unless specifically looking for a small engine is mad..you already have a 1.6petrol if you got a 1.8d diesel tax won't be a lot higher..mpg will be around the 50mark vs petrol at 30..it will pay for It's self weekly..dpf problems are far and few between iv never owned a diesel so far with this problem..I would definitely look deeper into this..

shooter88

I think buying a petrol car unless specifically looking for a small engine is mad..you already have a 1.6petrol if you got a 1.8d diesel tax won't be a lot higher..mpg will be around the 50mark vs petrol at 30..it will pay for It's self weekly..dpf problems are far and few between iv never owned a diesel so far with this problem..I would definitely look deeper into this..

Janrey

That is interesting(and good) that you say that you never had any problems with the dpf shooter88.Can I ask what you are driving? One thing that was a bit strange was the number of 2010 diesel cars the Ford dealership had for sale,and most with low miles.When you start to second guess car salesmen you can sometimes meet yourself on the way back but one of his argument was that these were such great cars that Ford didn't make many petrols around then, but if things are so bad financially how come so many are trading in after only two years especially if they are so good? To go along with you not having any dpf problems,I was wondering if there are so many issues with these filters unless you put in runs of a few miles to burn off,how come these cars were all lowish miles and in Dublin? I'm not sure any one has answers,I suppose they are rhetorical questions !

Big Nasty

Pre 2008 approx 70% of cars sold were petrol. Since tax has changed to emissions it's the other way 'round. The thing is over the last few years manufacturers are squeezing as much as they can out of smaller engines in order to keep emissions to a minimum. More parts = more problems. Personally I would take a petrol over diesel all day every day unless doing serious mileage.

JohnBoy26

shooter88 wrote: »

I think buying a petrol car unless specifically looking for a small engine is mad..you already have a 1.6petrol if you got a 1.8d diesel tax won't be a lot higher..mpg will be around the 50mark vs petrol at 30..it will pay for It's self weekly..dpf problems are far and few between iv never owned a diesel so far with this problem..I would definitely look deeper into this..

A 1.8 tdci focus doesn't have a DPF. There are other issues assosiated with modern diesels apart from the DPF. Things like a DMFs, Injectors, Egr valves, Turbos... etc.

was.deevey

I used to drive the 2006 1.6 TDCI focus and was getting average 55 MPG combined city center/motorway - the thing never needed juice and went like the clappers.

Janrey

Thanks MCMLXXV and JohnBoy26.All the focus diesels they had were 1.6 and I am thinking that if the 1.8 doesn't have a DPF then the 1.6 won't either,it being lower power? If you got a minute JohnBoy,I'd appreciate any education you (and indeed anyone else)can give me on these other problems as buying a car is a once every good few years issue and so don't know too much about them

JohnBoy26

Janrey wrote: »

Thanks MCMLXXV and JohnBoy26.All the focus diesels they had were 1.6 and I am thinking that if the 1.8 doesn't have a DPF then the 1.6 won't either,it being lower power? If you got a minute JohnBoy,I'd appreciate any education you (and indeed anyone else)can give me on these other problems as buying a car is a once every good few years issue and so don't know too much about them

There was 2 versions of the 1.6 engine, One was a 90bhp version with no dpf, the other was 110bhp which had a dpf.

The DPF isn't the worst thing about these engines though. The worst thing about them is that they give expensive turbo trouble. Some say that regular maintainance will prevent this but in truth it will eventually happen even well maintained examples. The reason for this is that these engines have a flaw where they turn the engine oil to sludge, after a while this blocks the turbo oil feed pipe, which then starves the turbo of oil causing it to fail.

Apart from DMF issues, the 1.8 is fairly reliable if a little less refined than the 1.6. At the end of the day though id take this engine in a hearbeat over the 1.6 because of the 1.6s issues.

If I was buying a diesel car though id choose neither. Id go for a Hyundai I30 or Kia Ceed instead(both are the same car mechanically). While they may not be as nice of a car the Focus, They do have very reliable 1.6 diesel engines and are better built than the focus imo.

bazz26

Is fuel economy really a sticking point for someone doing only 10k miles per year? At that mileage you have to ask yourself is there any financial benefit to paying a premium for a diesel and how long would it take you to make that money back through fuel fills?

Janrey

Thank you everybody

ipodrocker

im in a similar boat as you, planning to upgrade in the next few months and deciding if i should stay with petrol or not.

On average i do 10,000 miles a year but no more than 15,000 miles.

Would it be bad or good to change to diesel??

The_Honeybadger

ipodrocker wrote: »

im in a similar boat as you, planning to upgrade in the next few months and deciding if i should stay with petrol or not.

On average i do 10,000 miles a year but no more than 15,000 miles.

Would it be bad or good to change to diesel??

Depends on the type of mileage as much as anything. Diesel engines are not suited to short journeys only, ie town driving or short commute. Generally speaking 10-15k you may well be better off with a petrol.

Great bargains to be had on used petrols as everybody has gone diesel mad. Only issue is resale value and higher weekly fuel bills but with that mileage you may well save the difference in avoiding expensive repairs. Resale value issue is not a problem if you are keeping the car for a good number of years until it dies or is worthless.

ipodrocker

mickeyk wrote: »

Depends on the type of mileage as much as anything. Diesel engines are not suited to short journeys only, ie town driving or short commute. Generally speaking 10-15k you may well be better off with a petrol.

Great bargains to be had on used petrols as everybody has gone diesel mad. Only issue is resale value and higher weekly fuel bills but with that mileage you may well save the difference in avoiding expensive repairs. Resale value issue is not a problem if you are keeping the car for a good number of years until it dies or is worthless.

Well I will be buying brand new car so resale wont be an issue as plan to keep the car for 10yrs plus. So it only fuel costs and service costs Im looking for.

Idbatterim

im in a similar boat as you, planning to upgrade in the next few months and deciding if i should stay with petrol or not.

On average i do 10,000 miles a year but no more than 15,000 miles.

Would it be bad or good to change to diesel??

i take ityou plan on upgrading your car, because going from petrol to diesel is a downgrade!

Well I will be buying brand new car so resale wont be an issue as plan to keep the car for 10yrs plus. So it only fuel costs and service costs Im looking for.

the modern petrols are extremely frugal on fuel, at least the economy ones. A new nissan leaf might be another option, if your going for a new car anyway...