petrol vs diesel running costs - dont understand!
Discussion
Ive read and been told that anything over 10k miles a year then a diesel will work out cheapest. But does it?
Im looking for a used car and what i normally do with anything is look at the make/model i want and then go from there. So lets just say for this example:
1.6 petrol ford focus
vs
1.6 diesel ford focus
if i do 5k miles a year then it'd still be better value wouldnt it?
cheaper tax on the diesel is a definate.
diesel is more expensive per littre and you get more mpg - so you wont be going to the petrol station and buying as much.
Am i missing something? are parts more expensive? diesels have more problems?
Sorry if this is a stupid question or if its been debated to death before but i just cant seem to understand it.
Im looking for a used car and what i normally do with anything is look at the make/model i want and then go from there. So lets just say for this example:
1.6 petrol ford focus
vs
1.6 diesel ford focus
if i do 5k miles a year then it'd still be better value wouldnt it?
cheaper tax on the diesel is a definate.
diesel is more expensive per littre and you get more mpg - so you wont be going to the petrol station and buying as much.
Am i missing something? are parts more expensive? diesels have more problems?
Sorry if this is a stupid question or if its been debated to death before but i just cant seem to understand it.
kambites said:
I think the main point is that modern diesels have components which have a strong tendency to fail if not properly warmed up. If you use a modern diesel solely for short trips, the chances are you'll be on first name terms with whoever who buy particulate filters from.
If you do 5k miles a year by driving one 70 mile trip every week, a diesel makes sense. If you do a five mile each way commute every day, it doesn't.
Thats kind of what i was looking for in the least technical kind of response.If you do 5k miles a year by driving one 70 mile trip every week, a diesel makes sense. If you do a five mile each way commute every day, it doesn't.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 7th January 14:17
I agree with all the posts. I sort of knew that petrol would be cheaper but on paper, couldnt work out how.
plus, ive ever only owned petrol cars. imo, much more fun to drive
RE92 said:
I wouldn't put a 1.6 focus into the fun category 
. They are both horribly dull but at least the derv is dull with lower tax and consumption.
Insurance is also a major factor. Compare quotes between the two. When I passed my test diesels were a lot cheaper to insure because they were less popular with the boy racers.
actually my mk1 focus was quite fun. i enjoyed it. you could chuck it about around corners better than any other hatch and was going strong until somewhere past 110k miles.. They are both horribly dull but at least the derv is dull with lower tax and consumption. Insurance is also a major factor. Compare quotes between the two. When I passed my test diesels were a lot cheaper to insure because they were less popular with the boy racers.
I imagine the mk2 focus is much heavier though and harder to work on.
yes, diesel engines normally go alot longer and they are cheaper on insurance because of a few factors, i think they are under powered compared to their petrol models.
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