Diesels - do they have a future?

Liverbirdie

Liverbirdie

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I'm thinking of going for a used Skoda Superb (ideally) or if not a Skoda Octavia (I currently have one of these on a 2007 reg, and its been great).

Guide price of 7,500-9,500 to buy or part-ex.

I've heard it bandied about that you should only buy a diesel if your going to do 15k a year plus, but is this just for when buying new, or the same for 2nd hand? I usually do 12-13k a year. I'm planning on keeping it for 5 years or so, so will going for a diesel be worth it, and are there plans to start banning them from certain cities/town centres etc, as dont want to be left with a dud.

How much could I save a year doing an average of 12k on diesel compared to petrol?

Any advice welcome.:thup:
 
Personally I find the driving characteristics of the Diesel engine far more relaxing than the petrol engine. You also get a much greater fuel economy with the diesel.
However since it's obvious the government screwed up basing car tax on CO2, with the public buying into that, tax revenues need to be increased again and so what better way than demonise the thing that most have bought into.
I would say as long as what you buy is at least Euro 6 you should be fine for the length of time you're talking about.
 
Is diesel more financially economical though across the board? It costs more doesn't it? isn't it dirtier so is servicing or general care increased?

Yes I get more miles when running around in my diesel 2l small van to that of my 320 petrol CLK by around 10mpg or more dependent on the journey but the driving experience is a world apart.
 
If buying brand new, the difference in price between a Diesel and a Petrol car is difficult to justify if you are only doing a smaller mileage.
Sometimes there is as much as £1,500.00 or more between the two versions, and £1,500.00 buys an awful lot of petrol. And modern petrol engines are getting better and better economy wise.
But buying second hand, it's not so clear cut. Sure there is still likely to be a price difference, but this may come down to something more acceptable like £500 or so.
I only do a low mileage, so if I were buying brand new it would definitely be petrol.
But if I were buying second hand I would probably buy a diesel car.
And, like others, I prefer the way a Diesel drives. Not so much gear changing, and better pulling power when loaded up.
 
I had a Zafira 1.9 Turbo Diesel & it was the quickest car I'd ever had. However, it wasn't that economical & I had problems with the Dual Mass Flywheel, something it had to have to cope with the large torque the engine produced. Then the partial filter failed D caused lots of problems. These are both items that earlier, more reliable diesels didn't have & therefore didn't go wrong. Now, added to that, a lot of modern diesels use Ad Blue, which is essentially a tank of urea, produced from pig's pee, which is injected into the exhaust. Something else to deal with & go wrong.

I switched to a 1.4 turbo petrol vehicle. Performance is very similar to the diesel. Economy is the same. Torque not quite as good, you have to keep the revs up to get it to go, but I'm an ageing boy racer anyway & that suits my driving style.

I think small petrol turbos will be the future, then hydrogen powered vehicles, although you won't get your hands on one of those for a while.
 
I get 400 miles out of about 70 quid in my 3 lt diesel. My wife gets 200 miles out of 35 quid in her 320 bhp 3 lt petrol bmw. So for me, there is no economy to be seen in buying a diesel.

It might just be me though.
 
You need to break down the style of journeys you do. If you do lots of short journeys then even if they add up to a lot you will be better with a petrol car. The diesel engine needs longer to warm and lots of short journeys will add up to problems down the line. You also wont get better economy with this style of journey. If however you do few but decent sized trips then a diesel will be better.

The cities talking of banning diesels are talking about very old ones. You will be buying a modern diesel engine that is not covered by this ban. That might change in 5 years time, who knows, but for the moment it is not an issue. The problem in cities is caused by old delivery vehicles, buses, lorries etc rather than a modern VAG diesel. London may be more aggressive towards the diesel but why would you want to drive into the middle of London?

My lease car gets changed in July. I do 17-18k a year but the journeys are decent enough to warrant diesel over petrol. I've looked at hybrid but they are not there yet for my need or pocket. I reckon the diesel is safe for a while yet. Next time around may be different and personally I would be happy to go hybrid. Hopefully there will be more on the market then and they will be more affordable. As it happens I am also looking at a Superb as well, they tick a lot of boxes.

Break down your journey distances and styles, that is the key here.
 
murphthemog said:
I get 400 miles out of about 70 quid in my 3 lt diesel. My wife gets 200 miles out of 35 quid in her 320 bhp 3 lt petrol bmw. So for me, there is no economy to be seen in buying a diesel.

It might just be me though.
Click to expand...


A 3 ltr diesel car is not economical. The car LB is talking about is likely to be a 2.0d and should do 50mpg. Yours is doing around 40mpg, probably less. You are not comparing like with like.
 
Liverbirdie said:
I'm thinking of going for a used Skoda Superb (ideally) or if not a Skoda Octavia (I currently have one of these on a 2007 reg, and its been great).

Guide price of 7,500-9,500 to buy or part-ex.

I've heard it bandied about that you should only buy a diesel if your going to do 15k a year plus, but is this just for when buying new, or the same for 2nd hand? I usually do 12-13k a year. I'm planning on keeping it for 5 years or so, so will going for a diesel be worth it, and are there plans to start banning them from certain cities/town centres etc, as dont want to be left with a dud.

How much could I save a year doing an average of 12k on diesel compared to petrol?

Any advice welcome.:thup:
Click to expand...
They have cocked up on diesel emissions so the normal answer when politicians make a mistake is to charge you more tax .
 
I've got a Mazda 3 2.2l Diesel, apart from the odd run out to various golf meets and the odd family day at the weekend, it old goes 9miles to work and back, hardly warmed up, that said I'm getting 44MPG, this goes up a lot on longer runs, best bit is that my car tax is only £20 a year.

However the warning is that with diesels unless you do a good run and get them warmed up there's a good chance the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) will get clogged, once clogged, performance is reduced, economy goes out the window.

Having always had diesels, my next car will be petrol, well maybe petrol, I'll have to test drive a petrol car, as I do like the turbo kick a diesel gives when booting it.
 
Smiffy said:
If buying brand new, the difference in price between a Diesel and a Petrol car is difficult to justify if you are only doing a smaller mileage.
Sometimes there is as much as £1,500.00 or more between the two versions, and £1,500.00 buys an awful lot of petrol. And modern petrol engines are getting better and better economy wise.
But buying second hand, it's not so clear cut. Sure there is still likely to be a price difference, but this may come down to something more acceptable like £500 or so.
I only do a low mileage, so if I were buying brand new it would definitely be petrol.
But if I were buying second hand I would probably buy a diesel car.
And, like others, I prefer the way a Diesel drives. Not so much gear changing, and better pulling power when loaded up.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, and all the other replies, great info to work on. Going on the mileage/journey types, this would be most of my mileage on journeys:-

5 times a week to work - 15 miles away, free moving traffic twice a day. 13 miles motorway at 75 mph ,:whistle: 2 miles urban 10-40 mph.

1 run out a weekend at 40-70 miles if going golfing on an away day.

10 runs a year on holiday, forum meets etc 200-1000 miles.

Overall about 12-13k a year.

Considerations:-

1.6-1.8 is fine, but will also consider a 2.0 litre unless the insurance goes well up - only paying £300 plus a year, as on full no claims.

If £20 tax a year, may spend £10,000 on the car, if the insurance is in the same ball park.

The Superbs seem to be about 8.5-10k for 30-40k mileage, FSH, a mix of diesels and petrol. I think I'm decided on the superb over the Octavia as I would like an upgrade, after driving an old shape Octavia for 5-6 years.

Do diesels have higher servicing costs (or not)?

Anything else to consider?

Glad to hear that newer diesels aren't necessarily going to banned anytime soon. I'm likely to keep it for 5-6 years, sell it on when I get near 100k.

Should I consider the auctions, or stick with a main dealer (not necessarily a Skoda dealer). If auctions, what should I be careful of?


Thanks for all the advice, people, and Smiffy especially as he's "in the game".
 
Khamelion said:
Yes, indeed, just got my notice through, I can pay £20 one off payment, or £21 at £1.75 per month by DD, not bad for a 150bhp 2.2l diesel. If you still don't believe me, I can post a photo of my renewal.
Click to expand...

Mines is £30 a year, one of the pros I took into account when deciding to buy it 4 years ago.
 
LB - Your style of journeys are actually very similar to mine, I do more longer ones but otherwise very similar. A diesel will not give you any problems based on those figures. The Superb seems a step up from the Octavia, that is my viewing of it. Huge boot for all your golf gubbins as well :thup:
 
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