Advice on petrol or diesel

Roversfc

Recently moved a bit further out from work and have a daily commute of 45km both ways. Currently driving my trusty 1.8 petrol Mazda 6 but would be spending in or around €50 - €60 a week on petrol . Was thinking about switching over to diesel would be looking at a 2.0 litre have about 8-9k to spend. Just wondering if it would be worth my while I know I would be saving on tax as I’m paying €636 a year for what I have now but would I be seeing much more savings on fuel? Any advice appreciated. Thanks

V8 Interceptor

One would have to know what you're thinking of buying tbh.

Best just do your sums. Take what you'd be spending on diesel and tax away from $55 and $636 respectively and multiply by 52 for the year. Then see how long it'd take to make up the $8.5k outlay. You'll have a newer car so factor that in too in terms of depreciation.

If you were thinking of trading up in the near future regardless then diesel would be your best bet.

fricatus

Your commute is perfect electric territory. I do 51 km each way and my daily fuel cost dropped from €8 of diesel to €1.60 night rate electricity. Tax fell from €994 on my Honda Accord to €120 with a Hyundai Ioniq.

Only reasons not to consider electric are if the vehicle type you need is unavailable (e.g MPV or estate) or if you make regular long journeys - the current charging network is not up to scratch for that, but it doesn’t matter if most of your driving is within range of home. You would need a wall unit installed, easy if you’re in a house, not so easy in an apartment.

Roversfc

V8 Interceptor wrote: »

One would have to know what you're thinking of buying tbh.

Best just do your sums. Take what you'd be spending on diesel and tax away from $55 and $636 respectively and multiply by 52 for the year. Then see how long it'd take to make up the $8.5k outlay. You'll have a newer car so factor that in too in terms of depreciation.

If you were thinking of trading up in the near future regardless then diesel would be your best bet.

Yes I was thinking of getting a new car regardless for some time now, I was thinking something along the lines of a Passat or mondeo. I know I would be saving around €400 a year on the tax to what I have now but I’m unsure of the saving on fuel costs as I’ve never driven that commute in a diesel. I understand there wouldn’t be huge savings but would add up over the year

almostover

Roversfc wrote: »

Yes I was thinking of getting a new car regardless for some time now, I was thinking something along the lines of a Passat or mondeo. I know I would be saving around €400 a year on the tax to what I have now but I’m unsure of the saving on fuel costs as I’ve never driven that commute in a diesel. I understand there wouldn’t be huge savings but would add up over the year

I've never subscribed to the thought process of spending €8k to save €10-15 a week. Let's say your Mazda does 40 mpg and your new diesel car does 50mpg. That's a 20% saving on fuel. So your €60 per week reduces to €48 per week minus the cheaper cost of diesel so maybe €45 per week. That's a €15 saving. Multiply by 50 weeks per year is €750 plus a tax saving of €400 per year or so. So let's say a €1200 saving per year. It will take 7 years to recoup your initial 8k outlay not considering that diesel cars have slightly higher maintenance costs.

If your Mazda is in good order and running well I'd suggest you keep it. This is only the case if you're thinking of changing cars to save money, if you genuinely just want a new car then go for it. Just don't be under the illusion that buying a new car will save you money.

Roversfc

almostover wrote: »

I've never subscribed to the thought process of spending €8k to save €10-15 a week. Let's say your Mazda does 40 mpg and your new diesel car does 50mpg. That's a 20% saving on fuel. So your €60 per week reduces to €48 per week minus the cheaper cost of diesel so maybe €45 per week. That's a €15 saving. Multiply by 50 weeks per year is €750 plus a tax saving of €400 per year or so. So let's say a €1200 saving per year. It will take 7 years to recoup your initial 8k outlay not considering that diesel cars have slightly higher maintenance costs.

If your Mazda is in good order and running well I'd suggest you keep it. This is only the case if you're thinking of changing cars to save money, if you genuinely just want a new car then go for it. Just don't be under the illusion that buying a new car will save you money.

As I’ve said in the comment you have replied to I have been thinking about getting a new car now for quiet a while I just fancy an upgrade. I understand that spending 8k on a new car just for small savings on tax and fuel would be crazy. I’m just wondering really if I would be doing enough mileage to warrant buying a diesel. And if maintenance costs are a lot higher in diesel cars would it be worth my while to just stick with another petrol.
The Mazda I have now would be doing closer to 30mpg then 40

bazz26

I know you said 45km daily both ways but what type of commute do you have OP, is it mostly long runs at motorway speed or is spend in bumper to bumper traffic?

Roversfc

bazz26 wrote: »

I know you said 45km daily both ways but what type of commute do you have OP, is it mostly long runs at motorway speed or is spend in bumper to bumper traffic?

Yes it is mostly long runs no motorway though but on good roads of 100kph I don’t encounter any bad traffic because of the shift I am on. Journey usually takes 35-40 mins

almostover

Roversfc wrote: »

As I’ve said in the comment you have replied to I have been thinking about getting a new car now for quiet a while I just fancy an upgrade. I understand that spending 8k on a new car just for small savings on tax and fuel would be crazy. I’m just wondering really if I would be doing enough mileage to warrant buying a diesel. And if maintenance costs are a lot higher in diesel cars would it be worth my while to just stick with another petrol.
The Mazda I have now would be doing closer to 30mpg then 40

My bad, must have skipped over that part. A diesel with a good reliability track record may make sense for you!

9935452

Roversfc wrote: »

As I’ve said in the comment you have replied to I have been thinking about getting a new car now for quiet a while I just fancy an upgrade. I understand that spending 8k on a new car just for small savings on tax and fuel would be crazy. I’m just wondering really if I would be doing enough mileage to warrant buying a diesel. And if maintenance costs are a lot higher in diesel cars would it be worth my while to just stick with another petrol.
The Mazda I have now would be doing closer to 30mpg then 40

My experience is as follows.

I used to have a petrol golf, was doing 11k miles a year , petrol costing 2400 a year.

Changed to a diesel A4. mileage is up to 21k miles a year. fuel cost has gone to 2700 a year.

Im 32 miles to work a day.

For me ive got a car with twice the power, a lot more economical and comfortable. lower tax . The servicing costs are higher but not stupidly as i service the car myself

The saving in fuel over 4 years of having it has basically paid for it self.



Id say you are in a similar boat to myself .

People will also say modern petrols are as economical as diesels are now but your budget wont bring you up that far

Lantus

Expect to save 15 ish on fuel a week compared to petrol costs if a good diesel.

So 750 a year a year ish better off minus the 8 to 9 k you are spending to save money.

So you need to keep the car for 10+ years to break even on fuel savings assuming all fuel and tax costs remain unchanged.

9935452

Lantus wrote: »

Expect to save 15 ish on fuel a week compared to petrol costs if a good diesel.

So 750 a year a year ish better off minus the 8 to 9 k you are spending to save money.

So you need to keep the car for 10+ years to break even on fuel savings assuming all fuel and tax costs remain unchanged.

I think the op would have a bit more of a saving than that in my experience.

The op is doing 90 km day commuting to work 450 a week . 23400 a year which is 14500 miles a year going to work . Add in personal use of the car and that is heading for 20 k miles.
Im working shift work and do 13k miles commuting. Adding in personal use of the car pushes it to 21k miles. .
Doing my calculations im saving a little over 2 grand in fuel a year. And a few hundred more in tax.
My 09 a4 cost 10k nearly 4 years ago . 2k was from the sale of the previous car. So the upgrade cost 8k.2k saving a year means the car has paid for itself.
4 years on the car is still worth 3 or 4 grand

Just doing a few calculations as well. If the ops car is doing 30mpg. That 450k is costing round 57 euros in fuel. And thats not accounting for personal use.
My car will do that 450km for 30 to 35 euros in fuel. So up to 27 euros a week saving

I think you are also forgetting the saving on tax as well.
400 plus saving a year.