Petrol or diesel quandary

deadlast

I'm changing car at the moment and am trying to decide between petrol and diesel. My annual mileage is 10000 miles per year so 16,000km

Not sure if I'm doing my calculations right or not, never bothered before!

Here's my calculations:

Petrol:-
1.8 volvo v50 manual
estimated 7.5 litres per 100km
16,000km per year
Petrol €1.60 per litre
= €1,920 per year

Diesel:
2l TDI Passat auto
Estimated 6.42 litres per 100km
16,000km per year
Diesel €1.52 per litre
= €1,561 per year

So a saving of €359 per year with diesel.

Passat is €1k more to buy, tax is €74 less on volvo.

What other costs should I be taking into consideration?

Prenderb

There may be differing servicing intervals on the two cars. There used to be more regular servicing required on a diesel which meant that it ate up some of the fuel savings, not sure how those cars compare on that.

testicle

Diesel costs more to service than Petrol too.

Eric Cartman

what years are these cars ? there may be DPF issues with the diesel, also chances are the service interval on the diesel could be shorter , it will also have a turbo to think of.

Tabnabs

I owned a 1.8 petrol S40. That fuel economy is way out. More like 8.5L/100km (creeping up to 8.9 for the more urban stuff)

deadlast

Both 06 cars.
Service on the Passat seems to be every 16k km, while the volvo is 20k km.
No timing belt or dpf or turbo on the volvo....or torque! But less chance of a big bill on it...

I'm really just trying to justify going with a petrol car. Slightly worried about the depreciation on the volvo.

Can't make up my mind.

Edit original post:- Passat is 1k more to buy

deadlast

Tabnabs wrote: »

I owned a 1.8 petrol S40. That fuel economy is way out. More like 8.5L/100km (creeping up to 8.9 for the more urban stuff)

33mpg? That's very poor. I had a 190brake corolla that would get more than that combined.

I'm never on the road during peak times so I'd expect it to be a little higher than the average.

How do parkers get their mpg figures by the way, is it from the manufacturer?

Passat is quoted 42mpg which I thought was low, and the v50 39mpg which I thought was a bit optimistic...

lomb

I get 21mpg in mine which is truly dire but well worth it for me after adding everything up and liking the car of course.
Depreciation on newer machines is a bigger hit than fuel costs. Diesels are heavier overall and heavier on the suspension components so apart from DPFs , DMFs, more likely to get steering rack issues, shocks, bushs wear etc.

George Dalton

Tabnabs wrote: »

I owned a 1.8 petrol S40. That fuel economy is way out. More like 8.5L/100km (creeping up to 8.9 for the more urban stuff)

I was just about to say that the OP was optimistic with the petrol figure and possibly a little pessimistic with the diesel figure.

shooter88

George Dalton wrote: »

I was just about to say that the OP was optimistic with the petrol figure and possibly a little pessimistic with the diesel figure.

I think so too

sentient_6

Seems like an odd pairing of cars? A manual petrol estate vs a auto diesel saloon?

deadlast

sentient_6 wrote: »

Seems like an odd pairing of cars? A manual petrol estate vs a auto diesel saloon?

Passat estate. I'd rather an auto but my budget won't allow for it with a v50.

deadlast

lomb wrote: »

I get 21mpg in mine which is truly dire but well worth it for me after adding everything up and liking the car of course.
Depreciation on newer machines is a bigger hit than fuel costs. Diesels are heavier overall and heavier on the suspension components so apart from DPFs , DMFs, more likely to get steering rack issues, shocks, bushs wear etc.

Hardly a v50? You have to love the car to live with that!

I'm edging towards the petrol taking into account all the issues you mentioned.

00833827

I would think you are doing petrol milage alright, but dont forget that nobody in this country actually wants to buy a petrol car anymore - keep this in mind for when you sell.

Nissan doctor

What type of driving are you doing OP? If its 16k of mostly motorway/N road driving then the Diesel will be getting the use its designed for.

If your driving is mostly town/city then a diesel is not suited and may end up costing more in maintenance/repairs.

deadlast

Nissan doctor wrote: »

What type of driving are you doing OP? If its 16k of mostly motorway/N road driving then the Diesel will be getting the use its designed for.

If your driving is mostly town/city then a diesel is not suited and may end up costing more in maintenance/repairs.

Ive a 16mile commute to work on back roads at off peak times and not passing through any towns really. Also a 3 mile spin on the motorway daily to walk the dogs.

Maybe 1-2 long spins down the country per year.

At the moment I'm edging towards the v50. I haven't read anything that would concern me about its reliability with the 1.8 engine. Whereas a 2.0tdi B6 Passat seems to have a lot of reliability issues.