Urgent advice, petrol vs diesel

spongebob89

I have to 2 cars to view today

Both 09 (ford) and going for same price....

1) 1.2 Petrol
2) 1.4tdi

I just do city driving inder 15k kilometres a year. they say it's only worth getting a diesel if such and such because there more expensive to initially buy. But in my case there both same price so whichever would cost me less in the long run im concerned about.

The diesel did apparently get water pump done and timing belt done. Both have around 90k mikes on clock

Any advice appreciated

colm_mcm

What cars are they?

spongebob89

colm_mcm wrote: »

What cars are they?

Fiesta

colm_mcm

Petrol in this case.

spongebob89

colm_mcm wrote: »

Petrol in this case.

Any particular reason why? Deep down something is telling me Petrol. They will probably have a similar mpg ? The diesel will hold value better for eventual resale but i believe when things go wrong under the hood it can get alot more expensive than a petrol

colm_mcm

If the diesel was holding its value it would be more expensive now. I just think the petrol will be more suited to city driving and isn't a potential ticking time bomb of repairs.

spongebob89

colm_mcm wrote: »

If the diesel was holding its value it would be more expensive now. I just think the petrol will be more suited to city driving and isn't a potential ticking time bomb of repairs.

Fair enough. Thanks man

bazz26

Sounds like you don't need a diesel car.

georgefalls

A lot of cities already ban diesel cars, and a lot will follow suit.

Stick with the petrol. Much cleaner.

georgefalls

georgefalls wrote: »

A lot of cities already ban diesel cars, and a lot will follow suit.

Stick with the petrol. Much cleaner.

Not a single city on the planet bans diesel cars.

colm_mcm

Natasha Faithful Hoodlum wrote: »

Not a single city on the planet bans diesel cars.

Delhi does.

bill66

colm_mcm wrote: »

Delhi does.

NO, no it does not. There was a short lived ban on over 10 year old, over 2l diesels. This was overturned by the Indian courts last August. Anyway, I doubt the OP will be driving to India very often.

biko

Stop about the city diesel ban.
That can be discussed here

The Bishop Basher

OP - I wouldn't rule out the Diesel.

I do a similar mileage to you with a good bit of urban driving and the odd long run thrown in and i've saved a fortune driving Diesels the last 10 years or so..

People here will tell you they go wrong more often and when they do they cost more to repair but neither is true and many of these same people have never actually owned one so have zero experience of it themselves. They've just blindly bought into the petrol = good, diesel = bad mentality..

I'm currently on my 5th Diesel now and i've had no problems whatsoever. I've had a number of expensive repairs alright but they had nothing to do with the engine or fuel type so I would have had the same costs driving a petrol. I've also been told numerous times that Diesels are more expensive to service but again that's not my experience and when I push these people to explain their position it always comes back to a heavier engine means more wear on tyres and brakes. Make of that nonsense what you will.

I'm not saying diesel is perfect. It's not and I would actually be in favour of phasing it out of domestic cars over the next 20 years or so but as long as diesel is an option and as long as there are savings to be made by opting for it then i'm always going to choose on that basis.

Driving is expensive enough in this country without making it more so for no good reason other then some blind bias against a particular fuel type.

Bushmanpm

If you're keeping it for a few years and if you can sacrifice some boot space, check out the availability of Autogas/LPG in that city (Dublin has a few as does Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford)
Once converted you can use both LPG as well as petrol but with the bonus of LPG at circa €0.74/litre!
I've been using LPG for 10+ years now and its great!

Bushmanpm

If you're keeping it for a few years and if you can sacrifice some boot space, check out the availability of Autogas/LPG in that city (Dublin has a few as does Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford)
Once converted you can use both LPG as well as petrol but with the bonus of LPG at circa €0.74/litre!
I've been using LPG for 10+ years now and its great!

MarkN

Petrol. Just petrol.

goz83

I've never owned a diesel. I almost always end up with a diesel when renting cars in Spain. I like the fuel economy....but I usually do longer trips in Spain. I hate the tractor sound. It's not so bad when you're driving a Transit 8-9 Seater, but when you're in a small hatchback, it's not pleasant.

If I were the OP, I would be going petrol all the way. City/Urban driving is not good for diesel and they really do need decent trips on motorways to make sense. If for nothing else, one less diesel car polluting our lungs in the city would be a good thing. The tiny amount of choices for petrol is a disgrace.

ABC101

At 90K miles you could be looking at a new clutch fairly soon. Clutches can vary in lifespan, but I normally have a rough guideline of around 100K miles etc.

Also for diesels you may require new injectors at around 100K, again depending on type of engine etc.

Find out has a new clutch being fitted to either car and if not, how much is the cost for a new clutch for the 1.2 petrol and 1.4 diesel, in addition find out how much for new injectors for the diesel.

I would imagine the fuel economy in the diesel to be better, but a 1.2 petrol in a small car would also give high fuel economy.

As both cars are now 8 years old, by the time you sell them on it would be at least 10 years old.

The market for a car at 10 years old is fairly small in my opinion. Once a car goes above 100K miles and 10 years old a lot of people don't want to know, therefore you aren't going to get much money for either car. Resale value would not be high on my list for those reasons. That's not to say these cars cannot be sold, it's just to shift a car like that it normally has to sell very cheaply.

colm_mcm

We are in a unique position where 10 year old cars are on a different tax system to 9 year old cars.

Kashmeer

Petrol all the way. Diesels get DPFs clogged on city runs and then you have to take them out on a "rougher", faster ride to get them cleaned again. I have a diesel Audi and she hates short shop runs...!

The petrol will be perfect for you, pity the road tax is so expensive though
Just make sure there's no bluish smoke coming out of it when started up and revved - a sign of the engine burning the engine oil...

colm_mcm

Yeah €280 tax is a killer alright