diesel v petrol

[darich]

Hey all.....
I'm contemplating changing the car and wondering whether a diesel is a wise choice.

I do a small mileage....around 7k a year at most, and most of that is on motorway and B road travelling at 60-70mph, so my economy is quite reasonable even in the Quattro - I get around 27-28mpg.
If I change to a 2.0 non-turbo petrol car I expect mpg to be around 35-40mpg, but a diesel with similar displacement would be around 55-60mpg, possibly higher.
So with a fuel bill of around £130-150 a month, that would drop to under £100, meaning a saving of around £30-50 a month (around £400-600 per year).

Would the servicing and any other costs really be more than that fuel saving each year??

[Guest 2]

So you won't be wanting the 2.7 or 3.0 derv then as it is nowhere near the mpg you're after, that leaves you with the 2.0 and 1.9. As you've probably seen some (most really) 2.0 TDi's have problems with balance shafts, oil pumps and some injectors and are really a ticking time bomb if the balance shaft hasn't given up yet.

1.9 is old and reliable, 55+mpg easy but lacks power (105 v 140/170 2.0) but you should easily get 135-140 out of a remapped 1.9 and still have the reliability.

Change the oil every 8-10k using recommended Quantum 5w30 fully synthetic and you'll be onto a reliable winner.


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[darich]

Thanks Chris.
I was actually looking at the BMW 320d or even the 325d.

As far as mileage is concerned, is the idea of diesel a silly one?
Cheers

[Doctle Odd]

If you buy a diesel with a DPF they hate short journeys

[size12]

Unless you are doing 15-20k miles per year stick with petrol. The premium you will pay for a diesel vehicle and the higher cost of fuel means you probably won't save anything if anything it will cost more.

[Eshrules]

Unless you are doing 15-20k miles per year stick with petrol. The premium you will pay for a diesel vehicle and the higher cost of fuel means you probably won't save anything if anything it will cost more.

This ^

[darich]

If the diesel car costs more to buy it'll be worth more when selling.
I reckon saving on fuel cost could be around £500 a year even with a low mileage like mine.


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[Eshrules]

If the diesel car costs more to buy it'll be worth more when selling.
I reckon saving on fuel cost could be around £500 a year even with a low mileage like mine.

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Not necessarily.
What you need to do is take your annual mileage and calculate the cost per mile for diesel and petrol, allowing some room for the change in price.

You then need to calculate the cost per vehicle including servicing, tyres, likely repair bills and VED to get a true idea of what will and won't cost you.

IMHO - buying a modern diesel engine to cover just 7k a year won't save you any money at all - I appreciate the MPG is attractive, but the saving you make on the MPG/fuel cost will (in most cases) be outweighed by the higher maintenance costs.

[Sam]

BMW 320i Modern Saloon 44.8 - 46.3 mpg 27k OTR

BMW 320d Modern Saloon 61.4 - 62.8 mpg 29k OTR

Using the MPG as a base figure and taking the current UK fuel prices according to PetrolPrices.com

Super Unleaded 141.25p
Premium Diesel 149.58p

7k miles per annum.

BMW 320i - £997 pa

BMW 320d - £770 pa


It'll take you almost 9 years to recoup the cost.

As Carl says, that doesn't include the higher servicing and running costs.

[darich]

Thanks guys
Car wouldn't be new.... It would be somewhere around the 15k mark so petrol or diesel would be same cost to buy, but if comparing similar year and price then diesel has higher mileage.....around 20k more on a typical 2009/2010 car.

I know it sounds like I'm arguing.... I'm not. Just trying to be sure which I'd cheaper.

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