15k miles a year. Petrol or Diesel?

[mnaylor]

Hi All,

Recently my job changed and I went from not needing my car for a commute, to doing 15k miles a year. So when this happened I sold my beloved Accord Type R and borrowed a temporary car from a friend while I looked for a diesel.

With a mortgage to pay and a young family, monthly costs are an issue, so the idea was to buy a diesel because it would mean less money on fuel each month. However, it also seems that diesels are more unreliable than petrol's so I could end up with other bills that way.

What do other people doing my sort of mileage drive? My father in law is a diesel convert and thinks I am mad even considering a petrol. I think part of my problem is I can't bring myself to buy something really dull so the performance diesels I am looking at are much better on economy than a performance petrol.

For example, EP3 Civic Type R vs e46 BMW 330d. 30mpg vs 45mpg. Bit of a no brainer in theory?

I only want to spend a max of £5k on whatever car I buy, I just can't make up my mind if diesel is the right thing or not?

Any thoughts or comments welcome.

Thanks,
Mike

Edited by mnaylor on Thursday 14th August 18:21

[Centurion07]

You need to work out your likely fuel costs on both (look at the type of miles as well the number), and then compare that with the difference in purchase price of both versions of the same car.

Also bear in mind the new diesel-charge being introduced in London and whether any other diesel-hating measures are going to be brought in.

[Debaser]

When I was doing about 26000 miles a year and needed a second hand car I bought a petrol. I got something a lot newer/better condition for my money. I worked out the fuel costs and they wouldn't have been much less if I'd got an equivalent diesel.

[mnaylor]

Centurion07 said:

You need to work out your likely fuel costs on both (look at the type of miles as well the number), and then compare that with the difference in purchase price of both versions of the same car.

Also bear in mind the new diesel-charge being introduced in London and whether any other diesel-hating measures are going to be brought in.

Fuel costs are cheaper on the diesel, I have done the math. It is the unknown I can't calculate - repairs.

I commute into Sutton, I don't go anywhere near central London so that should not be an issue.

[Centurion07]

mnaylor said:

Fuel costs are cheaper on the diesel, I have done the math. It is the unknown I can't calculate - repairs.

I commute into Sutton, I don't go anywhere near central London so that should not be an issue.

Exactly; they're an unknown. You could buy either and have any one of a thousand things go wrong with them. Diesels do have a bit of a rep for injectors and DMF's failing, especially at your price bracket, but then you could have just as serious a problem with a petrol.

The diesel-charge may not affect you now, but it gives an idea that the tide is on the turn...

[mnaylor]

Yeah it's a tough one for me but I can't look passed the monthly outlay difference in terms of fuel

[NotAnotherTrader]

Depends what cars you look at. I've seen 2.0 petrol accords do well into the 40mpgs and I've seen 320d/330ds with turbo failure and swallowed swirl flaps. But if you buy a car and look after it I'm sure it will last.

[anonymous-user]

LPG........

[bodhi]

You won't get 45 mpg out of a 330d unless you're doing a long run, mine was averaging more like 37 - 39 over a tank. I do 20k a year and have just swapped back to a petrol with similar consumption to the Civic, and there's very little in it in fuel, maybe 30 quid a month. Easily balanced out by the cheaper insurance and servicing costs.

[Matt UK]

bodhi said:

You won't get 45 mpg out of a 330d unless you're doing a long run, mine was averaging more like 37 - 39 over a tank. I do 20k a year and have just swapped back to a petrol with similar consumption to the Civic, and there's very little in it in fuel, maybe 30 quid a month. Easily balanced out by the cheaper insurance and servicing costs.

Indeed. I rarely cracked 45mpg in a 1.9tdi Passat - not as good as I had hoped.
Yet a 3.0 V6 petrol Jag XJ averaged 30.3mpg over the same journey - much better than I had hoped!

[Mr Daytona]

Well, recently got rid of a Mazda CX-7 that averaged 17mpg on my daily 22 mile commute (mostly motorway - wasn't all that leaden footed) and p/x it for a V70 D5 and am currently averaging 43mpg over the same route.

Instead of paying £200-£220 a month for petrol, I'm paying just £70 or so for diesel. Bit of a no brainer for me and I suspect the 5 cylinder lump in the Volvo will go on forever. Also means I get to put aside an extra £150 a month for the Omega Speedmaster I'm saving for - win/win. That's man maths for you. Lol.