Should I stick with my diesel or let go

FrankC21

Having noticed that Diesel is now expensive than petrol, is my 2014 renault fluence still worth keeping, or switch to petrol? Mileage per year is about 30,000+ kms - leisure and work travel.

My fluence currently have 173,000km, it was about 114,000km when I got it.

And it has been reliable since I bought it 2 years ago.

Will the diesel ever go down or it will stay like that. 

bazz26

How much do you think buying another car will save you in money?

FrankC21

Well at the moment I am getting roughly about 5.71L / 100km.

€71 is about 40litres last time.

To be honest I am not sure about savings on petrol that's why I am asking here?

bazz26

But what about the cost of trading your current diesel car in for a petrol one? Are you not factoring any of that into the equation? Are you going to do the same again if diesel falls below petrol? You need to do some basic maths.

On a side note and not directed specifically at the OP but I'm baffled at the amount of people running out now looking to spend/borrow thousands of euro to change to hybrids/EVs because they are afraid of paying €2 a litre for fuel at the pumps. They are totally ignoring the money it is costing them to do so. It's like 2008 all over again except it's fuel prices this time instead of road tax. People spending thousands or tens of thousands that will take them ages to claw back in fuel savings. The lack of common sense from some folk around money is shocking.

Chris_5339762

5.7l/100km is quite high for a diesel actually. My (Opel Astra) can get a fairly reliable 4.7l/100km.

Perhaps look at driving habits? Drop from 120kmh to 100 or 105kmh on the motorway as a start. Will save a surprising amount.

Wildly Boaring

I think you should think about changing it for a year.

Serious reply.... There are very few petrol cars more economical than diesel, especially older, cheaper cars.

So petrol few cents cheaper and car less efficient. Means you wouldn't break even for a decent commute (you were similar to me? Drogheda to Dublin)

Per Chris better to drive a bit slower. I got 3.9l/100 down the M1 yesterday at 90 to 100kph at 7am, too much traffic to do much more anyway.

Any yeah probably cost thousands to change in an attempt to save a few euro

vandriver

My ex taxi Fluence is still going strong as a taxi with 500k on it.

I'd stick with it.

jmreire

I'd drive it until it refused to drive any further...just because 2nd hand cars are now making good money, thats from the dealerships point of view,,,,,but not necessarily from the owners POI. Trade in low, sell high and thats how they make their money.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787453#Comment_118787453

Serviced on time, every time I'd say or even before time? Shows what's possible with modern engines.

JimmyVik

Reading other threads and people looking to pay €40K for an EV because they think they will save enouigh to cover the change.

Crazy talk.

My sister was talking about changing her 161 Diesel sportage with 25000km on it for a new Ionic 5.

I asked her why. She said to save money. Jaysus wept.

vandriver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787515#Comment_118787515

On time, definitely.

It's the only way.

elperello

How much were you planning to spend to change?

You will find it's not easy to get a good petrol saloon car now because they were nearly all sold in diesel.

User1998

It doesn’t feel like two years since you got the Fluence Frank

FrankC21

June 2020 when I got it.

User1998

I would keep it. It will cost you a lot to change cars and fuel prices will stabilise eventually. Diesel cars are more efficient than petrol, so even if diesel is a bit more expensive it will still work out to be the same.

Lantus

You can get a small petrol car that will do the same efficiency if you drive with the lightest touch and at subdued speed.

This will save you 10c per litre or 4eu on a tank. If you fill up once a week that's 208eu a year. So if you can buy this new car and spend no more than 1000eu then after 5 years you will break even.

In year 6 you will have 200 eu in your pocket. Pure savings to spend on what you want. It would be better to trade at zero cost. More money saved. But just think if you spend just 2k to trade that's 10 years to break even....

The best thing we can do is hang on to what we have and look after it. If I had to change tomorrow I would be getting a Dacia or something simple and reliable while saving for an ev switch when the market looks a little more normal.

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118791451#Comment_118791451

If you want to change car then there is nothing stopping you. But if your objective is to save money on running costs then you won't do it by changing cars. A diesel car will be more fuel efficient than a petrol car for your mileage and that's before you even get into the cost of changing your car.

FrankC21

Thanks, Ill keep it, so far it's been reliable with on time serviced.

dockysher

Go green. Simple and easiest change to save

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787546#Comment_118787546

If you were spending €100 a week in fuel, it might make sense. I suppose everyones requirements are different.

Its about 700 a month to lease a new Model 3.

If your fuel is 400euro a month, you could probably see how general wear and tear, repairs etc on an older car could justify the cost of a lease, never mind a purchase.

Do you pay tax on a lease car? That's potentially another few hundred saving..

FrankC21

Well, i am bit disgusted and disappointed that renault resumed production in moscow. I don't know if I'll be able to drive around with renault.

fryup

put a brown paper bag over your head😐️

Killer K

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118821796#Comment_118821796

If you want to change your car, change your car. There is no need to be dreaming up bizarre reasons to justify changing. If you are unhappy with Renault and their actions, don't buy a brand new one.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118826050#Comment_118826050

And if you need parts buy spurious.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118821796#Comment_118821796

Why? Is reliability that much of a problem.

brokenangel

Stick with the car, if it is reliable and running then leave it. It will cost thousands to upgrade.

pcardin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787334#Comment_118787334

5.7 l/100km quite high? No its not. It is a very decent number.

Flyer1

Spending €40,000 to save a few cents isn't the solution.

Chris_5339762

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841609#Comment_118841609

Really? I thought it was quite high - I guess I'm used to my Astra which is extremely efficient so. I used to get 6.6l/100km out of my petrol Suzuki Swift - I figured a diesel would be better than just 1l/100km less. Maybe I'm just lucky (or a careful driver!)

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118844022#Comment_118844022

I usually get about 5.7 or slightly better in my old petrol Skoda.

Slow and steady wins the race. 🙂

Bhail

Can I jump In with the opposite.

Would I be mad to buy a diesel merc w204?

I do less than 7-10k km per Yr, usually a few long trips per month. The rest very short distance city driving.

Would the long motorway dublin cork/limerick trips once a month make up for the very short shunts around town? It's not really fuel costs but of dpf style damage.

I cant afford a hybrid/electric amd there are no petrols. It's shite.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118849678#Comment_118849678

You'll be fine as long as it gets a good spin on the motorway every couple of weeks.

Especially with the facelift, that era Mercs have aged really well and are a lovely place to be in for longer drives. The 220/250cdi does sound quite rattly but is fairly solid.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118849678#Comment_118849678

Even Dublin to Cork once a month is more than enough to keep a DPF clean, especially if your not driving much around the city (2,000km or so per year?)

Bhail

Thanks for the feedback!

It is a factor in deciding if that rattle will grate on me or not haha.

I've had my current car 7 years. Aim to keep this one the same or longer. So resale not a huge priority.

Bhail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118851699#Comment_118851699

Yep very little city driving. Maybe a few trips to the shops or events. All under 50km(ish!)

I was worried would that clog up faster than I get a chance to clean it.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118851768#Comment_118851768

City driving is a lot worse for wear and suť build up so you're fine there. Also on the off chance the dpf needs (not in your case) cleaning manually it's a 200 euro job at most so a largely irrelevant in the cost of running a car.

Bhail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118852075#Comment_118852075

I've never owned a diesel, just german petrols, so didn't know there was an in-between with dpfs. I thought I was working or f**ked!

So thanks for that info.

Montage of Feck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787546#Comment_118787546

Same crack when the tax bands went to CO2, spent €30k to save 100 with the cheap tax and didn't turn out well, lol.

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118852462#Comment_118852462

I remember people explaining how much they were saving in tax to me after trading in a perfectly good car for a new one.

I just bit my lip and said congratulations on the new car :)

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118849678#Comment_118849678

I know so many people with Diesels for many years now. All different types of drivers with different driving patterns. I could count on one hand, one finger actually how many had an issue with their dpf.

I think its an overblown issue.

To put it in context I know more people who wrote off their cars. Dont sweat the dpf

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787334#Comment_118787334

You wouldn't like mine then 😁 6-7.xl/100km average which I think is pretty good when my last one was more 7-8l/100km and that was/is with mostly motorway driving. I do like to make decent progress though when conditions allow.

I disagree with this slow down/dawdle on the motorway advice that Eamon Ryan started though. All it does is add to congestion/issues as such drivers becoming rolling roadblocks that others then have to overtake unnecessarily resulting in delays in both lanes.

Personally my time and a hassle-free drive is far more important to me.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787546#Comment_118787546

Would she be getting a new car anyway? Is she partnered? Context kinda matters. There's thousands upon thousands of €30-50k cars sitting in driveways 23.5 hours a day because people just have to have a new car. If I was in the situation where I could potentially save some money long-term on an unnecessary purchase by someone else in the house then I'd push things that way.

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118787198#Comment_118787198

100km is costing you roughly ~€11 at present.

Would you consider an EV? 100km in my EV costs me roughly €1.20 (charging at home during night rate)

30,000km in ICE = €3,300

30,000km in EV = €360

over 3 years that's a saving of almost €9k (assuming diesel doesn't get any more expensive), so if you consider an EV, remember to factor in the fuel savings into what your budget would be.

Then you have reduced maintenance costs as well as cheaper tax..

bazz26

How much did your EV cost to buy? That is a very important figure regularly omitted.

Remember that electricity has increased by 50% in the last year also, it's now increasing by another 20-30% now again. While it's still cheaper than petrol/diesel it's only heading in one direction too especially with demand increasing. It's only a matter of time before electricity pricing will be the new diesel or petrol. Demand will dictate prices.

AndyBoBandy

Mine cost €49k as I bought it brand new 2 years ago, though nowadays there are a load of sub €40k EV's, and quite a good few sub €30k ones too. The choice has increased 10 fold in only a few short years.

Electricity prices would have to increase by around 1,000% to bring price parity with petrol/diesel (and that would be assuming petrol/diesel prices remained as they are today). Although there's a way around expensive electricity prices too.. Over the last 10-12 days or so I put about 450km of range into my car from the sun, and only drove about 400km in that time. So from March to probably September, I'll be buying fcuk all electricity for the car (unless I need a full charge for a trip somewhere).

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854827#Comment_118854827

My Diesel would be about 6 to 7 l per 100km too. Probably averages closer to 7 than 6.

But it will last another 10 years if i need it to and only cost €5k :)

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118855681#Comment_118855681

The thing is though that somebody struggling to fill their fuel tank right now is hardly going to be a position to spend or borrow 30k on a new EV. Front loading the cost of running a car is great if you can afford it. And before someone else suggests a cheap Mk1 Nissan Leaf, they are practically useless to someone driving 30,000km per year.

Regarding fuel, nobody ever saw petrol or diesel hitting €2 a litre yet it happened so I wouldn't take cheap electricity for a car as a given long term. It will be the new currency for car running costs and will come at a cost too. And alternative sources of acquiring "free" electricity costs money up front too in the form of such things as installing solar panels, heat pumps, etc. Not affordable or practical for many.

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118855681#Comment_118855681

You paid about 60k to save 3k a year?

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856003#Comment_118856003

Nothing to do with savings (in terms of the car), they are simply a nice little bonus for us.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856069#Comment_118856069

But you did introduce EV's into the conversation, on the very basis of cost savings per 100km.

I would understand if the conversation was about new petrol vs new diesel, but it's far far from that.

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856513#Comment_118856513

I did introduce EV's to the conversation, because a consequence of us switching to an EV meant we saw huge savings vs our old diesel car (7.5l/100km)

It's not the main reason we switched to EV though.

OP is looking for cheaper alternatives to his current car, and an EV is going to by far give the biggest savings.