help deciding between petrol or diesel car

paddylonglegs

Hi all,

I know its an ongoing debate about petrol and diesel, however I would like to get a bit of feedback based on my commuting circumstances.

I'm looking at vw golf/ audi a3/ corolla size car (probably 1.6) for my 5 day commute.I will be spending around 10k so it will most likely be a 09 - 10.

This entails 25km of motorway (12k motorway km per annum) until I hit traffic which will be approx. half hour of stop start. At the weekends then it won't really be any motor way, just running around the local area, visiting family, shopping etc.

Considering I will probably pay more for a diesel engine, the higher cost of petrol may counterbalance this? I have been told a diesel engine may cost more to service in the long run. Is this true?

I feel like I wouldn't be doing a diesel engine any favours with the traffic that I hit, whereas I'm not sure if the motor way mileage is enough to consider a diesel.

if anyone has any experience with this then it would be great to hear some feedback

Thanks

Moneymaker

You're a bit away from diesel mileage. A diesel will cost more to maintain, more to buy but less at the pump and will hold its value better and be easier to shift on.

Comes down to how long you plan to keep it really.

Add the i30 and Kia Ceed to that list, you'll pay less for one, they aren't any worse then the cars listed and there's a good chance 10k will get you a KIA with years and years of manufacturer warranty on it. Newer petrol engines are more economical these days now too.

Toyotafanboi

i've done this little sum for a few members before to work out how a diesel will look financially vs. a petrol over the course of a few years. it's not a true indication, but it gives you a ballpark idea. i'l use the a3 as an example. it does seem as though your budget is optimistic for an a3/ golf unless you have a car to trade in too. the corolla seems in budget but will be shot down here. to be fair there are probably nicer alternatives that either the golf or the corolla.

2009 A3 1.4 petrol to buy €11500*
2009 A3 1.9 diesel to buy €13500*
*took an average of the first page of donedeal cars in each category and rounded to the nearest €500. could be way off reality.

tax petrol €390
tax diesel €200

1.4 petrol doing 48mpg = 586 miles per tank costing €81*
1.9 diesel doing 58mpg = 708 miles per tank costing €76*
*mpgs and tank capacity taken from parkers.co.uk
based on a 55 litre tank, petrol @ €1.48, diesel @ €1.38

12,000 (20k kms) petrol miles per year = €1658
12,000 (20k kms) diesel miles per year = €1288
(17 fills of diesel vs. 20 fills of petrol)

therefore, in tax and fuel the petrol per year costs €2048 and the diesel costs €1488 (€560 less). but the diesel costs 2k more to buy. how long do you plan on owning it now becomes a factor.

2009 A3 1.4 petrol to buy €11500
2009 A3 1.9 diesel to buy €13500

5 years petrol driving €10240
5 years diesel driving €7440
"5 years driving" = price of combined tax and fuel price per year

5 years all in, petrol €21740
5 years all in, diesel € €20940

after 5 years, the difference between the two cars combined purchase and running costs is only €160 per year. not a true indication of reality i suppose as in the first year your wallet will be down by €1440 extra for example if you buy the diesel over the petrol but it will steady out long term.

servicing costs and general reliability now becomes a factor. i won't really get into it as i don't know, but both the 1.4 petrol and 1.9 diesel in that car are known to have a few issues. so you could certainly factor in at least €1k worth of general repairs (outside of routine servicing, which should be priced similarly petrol vs. diesel) to either car over that 5 year period.

paddylonglegs

Thanks for the detailed response toyotafanboi. I'll run this equation through a few more models alright.

Cheers again

Toyotafanboi

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Thanks for the detailed response toyotafanboi. I'll run this equation through a few more models alright.

Cheers again

it#s very straightforward to do. i don't mind doing it again if you want to post back with some more makes and models you are looking at as the decision draws closer.

always good to ask on here for feedback on specific makes and models as some cars (as i'm sure you know) are best avoided.

Idbatterim

if the money is being borrowed, bear in mind the differential on interest between petrol and diesel also... Also if anything goes wrong with a diesel that doesnt apply to the petrol, you could be looking at a year odd to recoup the savings on fuel alone...

Shane Fitz

What's the chances of anyone here being a whizz on excel and using toyotafanboi's figures and method to build a spreadsheet so it could be stickied?
Then when the regular question of petrol vs diesel comes up people can be directed to it, in put the figures for their particular circumstance and vehicle choice and then 'sums' are there in front of them.

kagni

I'm far from an Excel whiz but I have an sheet that i made up for my own use that will compare up to 20 cars.
I can put it up if anyone wants to use it (or suggest improvements).

The information that needs to be provided is - Initial Cost, Value after 5 yrs, Motor tax rate, MPG, Servicing costs.
There are a couple of assumptions involved - 5 yrs of ownership and all the cost will be borrowed at 8.5% over 5 yrs.