The everlasting diesel or petrol question

Joeface

I am pretty sure all the knowledgeable people are sick to death of these questions but as I am stuck in bangernomics again (my own fault ). and kinda need a sounding board

daily commute is 45km (total ) ,225km per week

I am kinda looking at Diesel this time say 08 ford focus 1.6 TDCI , I feel like I am border line on the commute to justify diesel . It's not the cost of the fuel or anything I am sure I will save some finances but my 1.6 petrol was 30 - 35euro aweek anyways and I was ok with that . Its more avoid trouble thing. My drive is pretty straight to work also after I leave my house its a bout 2.5k to main road 9k here at 80kph and then motor way for 10k at 110kph and 2.5k around an industrial estate .

Diesel in this year would be cheaper tax and cheaper at the pump but more maintaince so I feel like some of the value is lost there. Its also a second hand diesel and if it was used for just a short run daily by previous owner , feels like a bit of risk .

What are the signs I should be looking for when test driving , seeing one of these Diesels .

I am fine looking at petrol enigines .

TheBoyConor

the 1.6 tdci engines are terribly troublesome. Even with rigorous maintenance, they build up sludge which causes the turbo to go.

Your milage is small. You should get either a petrol or electric or hybrid. That would be the best fit for your milage.

_Brian

I don’t think your borderline at all. ~10-11k miles a year is still firmly petrol or maybe electric even.
At that mileage diesel isn’t needed.

biko

There is no debate imo. You'd want to be a travelling salesman to justify a diesel, anything else is petrol - particularly if you do any town driving.

Joeface

Yeah I kinda knew all that in my head , even adding on the of weekend driving isnt enough .


Cheers for the replies

TheBoyConor

I second that.

With how temperamental modern diesels are and the exorbidant repair costs when they give bother, you really would want to be doing mega open road cruising to justify a diesel.

Petrol is far simpler and more reliable.

Would you go electric or hybrid?

duffman3833

id like to see an electric or hybrid at bangernomics money as people are suggesting

Joeface

Oh I was planning to Hybrid with Vauxhall Ampera later in the year , but lots of stuff went really wrong and those cars are out of my reach for at least another year.

I have no issue with electric would happly go that way as well.

NIMAN

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I second that.

With how temperamental modern diesels are and the exorbidant repair costs when they give bother, you really would want to be doing mega open road cruising to justify a diesel.

Petrol is far simpler and more reliable.

Would you go electric or hybrid?

But are they more temperamental?

Surely the manufacturers have addressed the DPF issues, and expensive repairs? Have they not discovered a work around that doesn't need big mileage to keep it healthy?

Joeface

i think from the era I was going to be looking at they are suppose to be .........now not so much .

allthedoyles

Go diesel and throw some Dipetane / Redex into it now and again . The commute might be only 225km but you will do lots more than that .

reubenreuben

Can petrol engines do high miles as diesels do, like over 200k miles?

Shefwedfan

Whats your budget?

Lantus

About 70% of all cars in Ireland are diesel. Most are reliable as any other and are driven short and long distances.

Yes I would go petrol but I'd also not agonise over diesel so much if a good car came up.

Agent_47

JoeFace, have you got a set of Rosary beads. I had an S40 1.6TDI (from new for 11 years)which I religiously changed the oil and filter in every 12K Km. I do 35 km x 2 every work day with just 5 sets of traffic lights on my route. I could not keep that car reliable and never knew if and when the next error code would show.
Switched back to petrol and although it is less efficient it is more reliable and enjoyable as well as refined. Diesel engines are too complex and when they fail they tend to be difficult to repair cheaply.

Joeface

Funny enough I carry some religious icon with me .

Me pretty sure I am going petrol anyway. Either way can actually go wrong but as I have always been petrol I shall stick to what I know.

clfy39tzve8njq

duffman3833 wrote:

id like to see an electric or hybrid at bangernomics money as people are suggesting

Exactly do people even read the thread

clfy39tzve8njq

Agent_47 wrote:

I had an S40 1.6TDI

That was your problem if you'd got the 2 litre you'd have had no issues.

Agent_47

Jesse Tender Buddy wrote: »

That was your problem if you'd got the 2 litre you'd have had no issues.

Hindsight is wunderbar. Very few around though, think they were saucy money at the time, lovely car bar that engine......the Audi will have to keep me happy

Shefwedfan

Lantus wrote: »

About 70% of all cars in Ireland are diesel. Most are reliable as any other and are driven short and long distances.

Yes I would go petrol but I'd also not agonise over diesel so much if a good car came up.

70% are diesel because "the tax is cheeeaapppp"

NIMAN

The change in noise levels going from diesel to petrol is nice.

There's times in my old petrol car I tried to turn it on, even when the engine was idling, as I couldn't hear it. You'll never get that with a diesel.

Shefwedfan

NIMAN wrote: »

The change in noise levels going from diesel to petrol is nice.

There's times in my old petrol car I tried to turn it on, even when the engine was idling, as I couldn't hear it. You'll never get that with a diesel.

Try swapping then to electric :-) It is bliss

NIMAN

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Try swapping then to electric :-) It is bliss

I also drive EV don't forget!

FishOnABike

reubenreuben wrote: »

Can petrol engines do high miles as diesels do, like over 200k miles?

Yes, my last car had over 248,000 miles on the clock. 1.6l petrol engine still running fine. Oil did need topping up between services but no problems with performance. Passed emissions tests in NCT every year no problem. Only got rid of the (eighteen year old) car because of uneconomic to repair rust (inner rear arches).

In short a reasonably maintained petrol engine can outlast the car's body work.

duffman3833

Id go petrol. you mentioned your drive is pretty straight to work so a nice petrol car will do decent mpg. I used to have a 03 bmw 318 and was getting 34mpg with a mixture of town and country roads. The Saab diesel im running now only getting 42mpg so feck all in it. Ill be going back to petrol for next car as any bangernomics diesels are not much more efficient than petrol's

cruizer101

duffman3833 wrote: »

id like to see an electric or hybrid at bangernomics money as people are suggesting

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars/Toyota/Prius?price_to=2000&price_from=1000

3 results returned from that, extend it to 3k and there is 15, so it is possible.

duffman3833

cruizer101 wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars/Toyota/Prius?price_to=2000&price_from=1000

3 results returned from that, extend it to 3k and there is 15, so it is possible.

not a great choice, 3 cars, but its 3 potential option for hybrid. Id still stick with a standard petrol as the straight route should return decent mpg in a regular petrol car

yermanoffthetv

duffman3833 wrote: »

not a great choice, 3 cars, but its 3 potential option for hybrid. Id still stick with a standard petrol as the straight route should return decent mpg in a regular petrol car

Id be wary enough buying an old hybrid. Ive read posts on motoring forums of people buying old Prius's and the battery is knackered so essentially your driving around in a 1.5l with a load of dead weight. Id agree with the others, stick with a petrol.

That said, even though I do at least double the OP's mileage a day, I found the Opel Insignia 2L Diesel extremely good for fuel efficiency (when driven properly).

reubenreuben

FishOnABike wrote: »

Yes, my last car had over 248,000 miles on the clock. 1.6l petrol engine still running fine. Oil did need topping up between services but no problems with performance. Passed emissions tests in NCT every year no problem. Only got rid of the (eighteen year old) car because of uneconomic to repair rust (inner rear arches).

In short a reasonably maintained petrol engine can outlast the car's body work.

What car was it?

Lantus

Shefwedfan wrote:

70% are diesel because "the tax is cheeeaapppp"

Cheaper tax, greater availability by manufacturers, assumption by public that diesel was a no brainer for fuel efficiency. It probably wasn't given a lot of thought by anyone buying a car rely. Now it is and manufacturers are adjusting to suit. Slowly but its happening.

Dealers are a lot more wary of diesel as well. Friend bought a new car last month and was advised about the possible risk and uncertainty with diesel, but went ahead anyway as its the right choice for them.

FishOnABike

reubenreuben wrote: »

What car was it?

MK1 ford focus, 1.6l petrol Ford/Yamaha sigma engine. Simple, reliable and inexpensive to maintain and easy to get parts for - alternator was about the only non service item that had to be replaced.

Replacement car a was similar, reliable bangernomics car, non-turbo, no dpf, egr or dmf to cause expensive repairs.

_Brian

Lantus wrote: »

Dealers are a lot more wary of diesel as well. Friend bought a new car last month and was advised about the possible risk and uncertainty with diesel, but went ahead anyway as its the right choice for them.

I was all ready to pull the trigger on a new motor last week and I decided to hold off and see. One dealer said the value of diesels could be through the floor in a few years and it might be a bad investment.
Will go for something 3yo for the moment.

Lantus

_Brian wrote:

I was all ready to pull the trigger on a new motor last week and I decided to hold off and see. One dealer said the value of diesels could be through the floor in a few years and it might be a bad investment. Will go for something 3yo for the moment.

When car sales tell people they may not want to buy a car should we be worried?

reubenreuben

Lantus wrote: »

When car sales tell people they may not want to buy a car should we be worried?

They want us to worry. To be in a constant anxious state. All propaganda released to the press to make everyone move away from diesel.

Do whatever suits you now

NIMAN

Diesel will be targeted with higher taxes both on the car and the fuel, but it will be a very gradual move. Gov can't afford to hit people immediately as there are so many diesel cars in Ireland.

It will be a slow and steady approach, trying to change the mindset so that people change to petrol themselves. Diesel will be here for quite a few years yet, but longterm (maybe 10 - 15 years) it will be dying out for passenger cars.

justforkicks

I have an '05 1.6 Ford TDCI , still getting good mileage. 53.4 kerry to waterford last week 205k miles on odometer . I know everyone says this engine is ****e. It has not cost me any money bar the turbo once. The regular maintenance is reasonable - timing chain, pump, plugs, antifreeze was 240. I do throw a dose of dipethane about every third or fourth tank full and the town MPG shoots up.

What is a better alternative, diesel, estate?

Just curious.

clfy39tzve8njq

justforkicks wrote:

What is a better alternative, diesel, estate?

Octavia