Petrol or diesel - what should I be buying?

colml cule

I may be in the market for a car in the near future, and an unsure on what I should be looking out for in a new one basically.

Since covid I have been working from home. It seems likely that it will stay this way, so at the moment the main driving I do is just up and down to Galway from Athlone every weekend.

Would I be better off in looking for a petrol or diesel with this in mind? Would I be right in thinking that a diesel would be more suitable for mainly motorway driving?

And then is there any specific makes/models I should look for or avoid? I've heard good things about Skodas and they look quite nice.

Looking for feedback/suggestions, budget would likely be around 15k roughly.

dePeatrick

Skoda make a decent car, I chose petrol recently as I believe diesel will go up higher in price than petrol in the coming months. Also cheaper to fix when they give problems.

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118706726#Comment_118706726

I thought that was going to happen 5 years ago, I can see it reach parity in the coming years, I switched to hybrid from diesel, it gives near enough the same mpg, with out any dpf problems, then switched to plug in hybrid, I do a lot of small trips within battery range, longer trips like 100 km around 70 to 100 mpg, 300 km trips 50 mpg. A tank can last a month or 3 months depending on commutes,

If the OP has ability to charge at home, maybe consider a plug in or a Electric.

shane b

In your case petrol is the obvious choice, at less than 10K kms a year I dont think diesel would be suitable. You dont mention whether the size of the car makes any difference to you but most of the petrol cars i see on donedeal are small compact or small family car, with a VW Golf or Skoda Rapid being the biggest.

colml cule

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118708598#Comment_118708598

Don't think charging at home woule be feasible unfortunately. I'm still living at home with my parents but that will change in the next few years.

What hybrid did you get initially as a matter of interest?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118709489#Comment_118709489

Well since getting my current car I have done about 15k kms a year, so not very high numbers alright.

I don't think the size of the car matters necessarily, though I would like something that it able to move/overtake fairly quicky when on the motorway.

At that sort of mileage am I getting any benefits from the lower cost of diesel, when factoring in the initial cost, running costs etc?

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118709707#Comment_118709707

Honda insight hybrid, it felt underpowered then Lexus ct hybrid, nice car, then Mitsubishi outlander plug in, during covid 15 euro every 4 months, now a Toyota Prius plug in, last fill early December,

Your parents might appreciate a free charger, the way things are headed , it will be hard to buy a pure petrol or diesel car at the end of this decade, put a meter on it and pay them at the end of the month, grant of 600 euro to install a charger, worse comes to worse a outdoor 3 pin would work,

colml cule

A few here I have just noticed, is there anything with these cars that would stand out to you as a red flag / worrysome? And is the price on these accurate?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-octavia-2l-150bhp/30450964?campaign=23

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/162-mazda-6-2-0-petrol-low-miles/29447978?campaign=23

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-octavia-2014-2lt-150-half-leather-alloys/28884537?campaign=23

colm_mcm

The Mazda is a great car in petrol, they’re rare enough too.

Those 2 Skodas are diesel, you’d be much better off with the petrol Mazda in your case

Prices look about right for the market we’re in.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118709707#Comment_118709707

Why would living at home with parents make a difference?

bazz26

There is a fair amount of wear on the steering wheel and driver's seat bolster of that Mazda6 for a car that has only covered 123k km. Speedo is in mph/ kph so it's a UK import, I'd be making sure to do a proper history check on it to at least verify the mileage is genuine.

bazz26

OP you should consider a Lexus IS300h hybrid also, there are a few nice looking ones within your price range:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/lexus-is300h-executive-hybrid-automatic/30395373

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/lexus-is-2014/30391781

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/lexus-is300h-is300-h-luxury-spotless-one-owner-c/30377580

colml cule

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118717756#Comment_118717756

WellI wouldn't necessarily rule it out, but like most of the country I would hope to be moving out in the next few years if and when the housing market normalises.

With that in mind, with an electric I would need to be putting a charger into wherever I move along with putting one at the home house here, hence doubling that cose. As another poster said, my parents would appreciate having one I suppose, so I'm not 100% against it, just needs to be factored in to any decision.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118718422#Comment_118718422

Good to know, I wouldn't be too knowledgeable about any of these things hence my post here. Thanks for the info.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118718455#Comment_118718455

I would have assumed these would be expensive, thanks for the links, I'll check those out.

colml cule

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118718455#Comment_118718455

A couple of insurance quotes I got on these were quite high (around 800), fwiw I'm currently paying 470 for a 1.4l Corsa.

Possibly the jump in power is a bit much, maybe I should be looking at something a bit lower, although I would like something a bit more powerful that what I currently have.

colml cule

Having had some time to think about it for a while, I think I need to make a decision about what I want to get out of my next car.

I'm leaning towards getting something that I find interesting/exciting, rather than something that a bit more of a safe/boring choice - while I'm young and have relatively few commitments etc.

Have my eye on a few:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/seat-ibiza-cupra-ibiza-1-8tsi-200hp/30304561?campaign=23

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/seat-leon-sc-2-0-tdi-184hp-fr-3dr/30771708?campaign=23

Big dent on the boot of this one:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-2-series-220d-m-sport-2tb-z2mj-2dr-auto/30504259?campaign=23

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-mca-st2-1-6-182ps-2dr/30152905?campaign=23

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-focus-1-5t-180hp-zetec-s-black-edition/30215642?campaign=23

If I was to lean towards the safe/boring side, I suppose I'd be looking towards something like an Octavia (RS/VRS looks nice but pricey), Volvo V40 etc.

With the above I've considered a budget of around 20k, this could stretch a tiny bit further for something I really liked, and hoping for above a 2015/16 with relatively low mileage as I currently have a 16 corsa with low mileage. Maybe dropping in years is not a bad idea but it seems like a bit of a step down considering.

Anyone have any thoughts on the above? And safe choice or exciting choice?