Diesel - What to look out for?

Kabous · Post by **Kabous** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:06 pm

Hello All

My petrol runabout is on its last legs and I'm looking to replace it with a diesel - Skoda Octavia 1.6 - to cut down on the fuel cost of a 600 mile per week commute. Having never owned nor shopped for a diesel I am a little uncertain what to look out for or enquire about i.e timing belt change at 100K on my petrol etc.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Kabous

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 8:35 pm

I have had a number of diesel powered cars. If you get a manual transmission then you have to learn a different pattern of driving. The diesel is basically a low revving powerful torque engine but it operates best in the 1800 to 2000 rpm zone. This is where the turbo cuts in and gives the engine a boost to stop it flattening out. This is the difference in that the range you can travel in gears is different to petrol cars. You probably notice it more from 1st to 2nd accelerating as you need to change up quite quickly. Also it is best not use the engine as a brake especially fourth to second gear changes. For this reason automatic transmission is a good option.

Diesel is economic, especially with the, miles you do, but be warned that there is a move to ban or charge to use certain city zones. Make sure that the car you get is a Euro 6 emission rated and also check out reviews to ensure there are not loads of issues wit the DPC, the diesel particulate filter. Best to get a post 2015 car at least.

DWD

Rorschach · Post by **Rorschach** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 8:49 pm

I wouldn't touch a diesel personally unless you only plan on running it for maybe 3-5 years max. I suspect a ban will be in force by the 5 year mark or at least very close and the value of diesel vehicles will plummet.

Kabous · Post by **Kabous** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:31 pm

Thank you D and R. The future of diesel and a possible ban has me really worried. Electric is no option yet due to distance and charging at work. Can't afford new.

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 10:12 pm

Kabous wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:06 pm Having never owned nor shopped for a diesel I am a little uncertain what to look out for or enquire about i.e timing belt change at 100K on my petrol etc.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

As with any vehicle, a good service history or at least a good record of oil changes are a must (imo). I've had diesels for about the last 25 years and I love them, the earlier ones were bought with high mileage, 135k was the highest, I put another 60k on that and after I sold it it went on to 215k before dropping off the radar.

I particularly like the fact that apart from checking fluid levels they're virtually maintenance free, no plugs or points to check, previous petrol powered Vauxhalls/Bedfords that I've owned were terrible for points, they needed resetting or cleaning or replacing about every 3000 miles.

One big expense with a diesel can be the fuel injection pump if it dies.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Mon Dec 09, 2019 10:14 pm

Well realistically you are doing 30k plus miles a year and diesel is the cheaper option for you. Diesels do big miles and have better longevity than petrol, a pal of mine had a Vauxhall that did 150,000 miles. The fact is the car will be knackered in three years after you have added 100k miles and the residual value nominal. What is your budget per month to put in to the finance?

DWD

Rorschach · Post by **Rorschach** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:38 am

Here's a good way to look at it. Work out your current approx monthly cost for running your current or a replacement petrol vehicle. Then look at the running cost of a replacement diesel vehicle, again approx.

Let's say the difference per month is £100.

Take that £100, multiply by 60 months (5 years of use) and you get £6000. Is changing your vehicle going to cost you more than £6000? If so then don't bother, if not however then you will save money regardless of the value of the vehicle at the end of 5 years.

A good friend of mine also does high mileage driving. Probably similar to you, his daily commute is around the 100mile area. He was using an older petrol car as he didn't have a lot money and of course fuel costs were very high. I told him to look into a new car as I reckoned he could save money even though the outlay seems high.
He did the math with some help and ended up buying a Honda civic diesel just a few years old. The car was very expensive but buying from a garage he was able to get an interest free finance type deal to spread the cost.
After a couple of months driving he did the math again to see if he was right on his savings. His monthly fuel savings were so good (approx £250 a month I think) that he was actually saving more money that his monthly payments were on the new car but of course he was driving a much nicer car that is less likely to break down, comes with a warranty etc etc.
Now because of the math he did he accepts that he might get no money back on the car should ban come in say 5 years from now, but in his case it didn't matter.
Do the math for yourself and it may or may not work out for you.

For me it wouldn't work, now my partner has a new job our yearly mileage is 5-7k so even though we drive an old and very inefficient car there are few savings to be had.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:48 pm

It depends on your finance. It is nice to have a new car and it might be worth looking at a lease if you can afford it. You need not worry if diesels get banned as the lease last three years and then you can renew. It will never be your problem. A lot of cars now have small supercharged petrol engines that give good miles. As you do 30k miles a year the lease can work out a bit pricey but you have to measure that against having new car reliability. I am looking at a lease next time and as long as you do not care what car you get you can pick up a reasonable car for the equivalent of a £10k loan over three years plus depreciation loss on your capital in the vehicle you buy. Have a play with the mileage deposit combinations on these. https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/special-offers/ A Mercedes GLA 180 Urban on 30k Miles a year is a £1000 deposit and £330 a month. Automatic, lots of assist gadgets that will make your driving easy.

DWD

Chippo1 · Post by **Chippo1** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:26 pm

Not sure where the comments re “points” comes from , cant believe a single petrol car manufactured in last ten years has them.

The petrol v diesel thing is more complicated, one is pollution if it bothers you , you need to factor in the lower cost per litre of Petrol as well.

We are on our 2nd Honda Jazz, the first one did 140,000 miles with us and was used for all sorts including often loaded to the roof and lots of motor way driving when wife was still running her business, it cost routine maintenance, and one battery in its life with us, was sold on and I believe still running 5 years later. With us It returned 49mpg. Our current one has had a hard life being used as my daily transport for some time , as a van loaded to and beyond the limit, now with 78,000 miles on the clock recent MOT pass and no advisories , it current uses zero oil and last check showed mpg at 51.it has had zero non routine maintenance. Check current reliability surveys , JD Power , What car ect you will find Toyota Yaris usually No1 and Honda Jazz no 2 and surprisingly few European cars in the top ten other than Skoda.

Many petrol engines will now achieve stratospheric mileages if serviced regularly especially the oil.

My toy car also Honda , has 86,000 miles on clock i bought it new in 2001, that drinkS fuel no idea of mpg, I always try and redline it every time it’s driven the red line is 9000rpm, quite often bounce it of the Rev limiter at 9400rpm, engine still good, although they are prone to con rod failure at mileages in excess of 100,000 miles.there are number running with 250,000 miles on them though.

Having had new VAG company car in recent years the engines like to be trashed on a regular basis to get them hot and as a result never had a problem with the DPF filters , tiddle them around and you will. I also found the electronics less than perfect with odd occurrences happening that Audi couldn’t resolve with VW often doing software updates to cure problems like poor phone connection and audio issues. Also had problem with heater matrix pipes touching body work on the Passat , this was resolved as it became known issue with a WV fix , being a cable tie. Economy was good and a very big comfortable car great for long distance cruising.

ayjay · Post by **ayjay** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 7:12 pm

Chippo1 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:26 pm Not sure where the comments re “points” comes from , cant believe a single petrol car manufactured in last ten years has them.

I've had nothing but diesels for the last 25 years, so I wouldn't know. Previously I've owned an HA van, an HC estate and a Chevette, they were all the same with regard to the points, almost constant tweaking required.

Bob225 · Post by **Bob225** » Tue Dec 10, 2019 7:32 pm

Most newer petrols and hybrids will do the same if not better mpg there is no real saving any more due to fuel prices being more even, most major cities are having clean air zones in London there is a tariff on some diesel cars (pre 2006)

2018/19 MOT changes have taken a lot of diesels off the road and used prices for pre 2010 cars has dropped as no one really wants them, vag dieselgate killed the market, Honda are dropping most diesels by 2021 and Toyota only do a few (lousy BMW diesels), while the rest of the market has really tight emissions controls that choke the engines

cantabrian · Post by **cantabrian** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:41 pm

There could never be a ban on Diesels ! How about tractors etc! Where I live if a diesel engined car was banned the Economy would just shut down, the local people could not afford to upgrade their vehicles, many use C15's or the Renault , it would be really back to basics, i.e Donkey and Cart .

Chippo1 · Post by **Chippo1** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:51 pm

Diesel cars and small vans are a relatively new incarnation ( whoops ) , so why can’t we return to them following a ban , obviously banning existing vehicles would be difficult, however the ban could be introduced on a graduated basis.

After all the Japanese manufacturers never went down the diesel route and were only forced into it in order to compete in Europe, US manufacturers never liked derv either with small and even larger trucks using petrol engines albeit not very efficient.

I suspect the wide adoption of derv for small vehicles was foisted upon us by VAG , PSA and Bosch bullying the EU to promote Derv for economy, they having invested huge amounts in developing the technology.

yartin · Post by **yartin** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:58 pm

I never liked diesel engines, current car is 4.8 petrol 20mpg but only do 4000 a year.
If you are driving in town and not much motorways, get a small engine petrol, 1.1L.

Chippo1 · Post by **Chippo1** » Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:27 am

We are currently driving a 1.2L petrol Jazz and 1.2L turbo Petrol Quasqui or what ever it’s called. Both seem to do what it says on the tin for us, especially the Jazz which for the last two years has been used as a van , yesterday a load of 2.4 lengths of 100x47 timber .