Buying a diesel is it still a smart idea?

[Cdaulby]

Hello! Newbie to the forums here but I have heard it’s the best place to have your questions answered and receive great advice.

I’m looking to change car in April time due to family arrangements so I’ll be going from my 2 seater V6 to something with 4/5 seats. I know I will most likely not get close to what I’ve grown accustomed to (engine noise, torque, speed).

Depending how much I can get from my current car I’ll have around 20-23k to spend.
I’m currently looking at a 640d which has the speed, torque and space. However is a diesel a silly idea to purchase in the UK at this point? What with the gov focusing on higher taxing?

Also toying with the idea of the FK2 Type R but heard the ride is quite brutal.

Any suggestions and advice is much appreciated as I’m at a loss here.

Thanks guys.

[Willy Nilly]

There won't be any retrospective taxes on diesels, well, I doubt it any way. The question is, and always was, is a diesel engine suitable for your usage?

You need to do some sums, putting in the cost of the vehicle, cost of fuel and cost of repairs and compare to a similar model with a petrol engine. With diesels suddenly being unpopular, they probably will be cheaper to buy used. However, that won't make them any more suitable to short trips around town, it will just make the pay back mileage shorter. But, if you usage means it doesn't get hot enough for long enough the repairs will more than use up any savings in fuel.

[troika]

My wife just went through a similar dilemma. Decided to lease for 2 years (a diesel) to let things settle down and not worry about depreciation risk.

[ZX10R NIN]

Your annual mileage will be a good indicator of which engine suits you best.

[Cdaulby]

Willy Nilly said:

There won't be any retrospective taxes on diesels, well, I doubt it any way. The question is, and always was, is a diesel engine suitable for your usage?

You need to do some sums, putting in the cost of the vehicle, cost of fuel and cost of repairs and compare to a similar model with a petrol engine. With diesels suddenly being unpopular, they probably will be cheaper to buy used. However, that won't make them any more suitable to short trips around town, it will just make the pay back mileage shorter. But, if you usage means it doesn't get hot enough for long enough the repairs will more than use up any savings in fuel.

I have a company van to get to and from work so my car is only used for social use (some evenings and weekends).
Are you saying the costs will be more for the 640d if I were to only make short trips? Which is what I do tbh, I have no need for long trips... so far.

Maybe I could get a bigger engined Petrol car but I’m afraid of running/maintenance costs.

[ZX10R NIN]

You'll hurt the 640d by just doing short journeys they're much more suited to longer runs short journeys will clog up the DPF etc with you budget it sounds like you'd be much better suited to a 640i M Sport.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Same size engine just a petrol which sounds like the engine you need, these can go wrong the (as can any car) same as the diesel & the bills would be the same but you won't cause those failures by your short journeys.

Hope this helps.

[Cdaulby]

ZX10R NIN said:

You'll hurt the 640d by just doing short journeys they're much more suited to longer runs short journeys will clog up the DPF etc with you budget it sounds like you'd be much better suited to a 640i M Sport.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Same size engine just a petrol which sounds like the engine you need, these can go wrong the (as can any car) same as the diesel & the bills would be the same but you won't cause those failures by your short journeys.

Hope this helps.

Very good option!

Anything with around this much brake but in a smaller turbo charged engine?
Anything cheaper would be a bonus too!!!

Thanks for the helpings!

[ZX10R NIN]

Cdaulby said:

Very good option!

Anything with around this much brake but in a smaller turbo charged engine?
Anything cheaper would be a bonus too!!!

Thanks for the helpings!

You could get a CL500 they're a bit worse on fuel but they're a N/A engine is bulletproof & they're also a step up from the 6 series.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/pl/track/click?min_en...

Or you could go with the later twin turbo V8 500 (I have this engine in my E500 coupe it's a peach & very rare) which is more fuel efficient & a torque monster.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/pl/track/click?min_en...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the smaller E500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the E400:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Cdaulby]

ZX10R NIN said:

Cdaulby said:

Very good option!

Anything with around this much brake but in a smaller turbo charged engine?
Anything cheaper would be a bonus too!!!

Thanks for the helpings!

You could get a CL500 they're a bit worse on fuel but they're a N/A engine is bulletproof & they're also a step up from the 6 series.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/pl/track/click?min_en...

Or you could go with the later twin turbo V8 500 (I have this engine in my E500 coupe it's a peach & very rare) which is more fuel efficient & a torque monster.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/pl/track/click?min_en...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the smaller E500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the E400:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Definitely interested in the later twin turbo 500, what’s the service costs like?

[ZX10R NIN]

Very reasonable I use an independent & the costs are between £250-600 obviously but nothing more than your 640i would cost to run.