FYI, a tabloid today is running a prominent story comparing diesel costs with petrol costs when buying and owning a car.
The article highlights the extra purchase price, repair bills and takes several cars and points out that, for example, at 10,000 miles per year it would take 24 years miles to break even for the additional cost of diesel over petrol, etc, etc.
I mention it as the article is prominent in a mass market paper and will no doubt be a wake-up call to many car owners.
Edited by rtj70 on 27/01/2009 at 10:49
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Fascinating. I have no doubt it is well thought out.
I drive a diesel Yaris mainly on short journeys. It aveages 57mpg. A petrol Yaris on the same journeys would avearge about 40mpg. Adjust for cheaper petrol and it's about 45mpg.
SO on my 8,000 miles I save about 37 gallons or £170pa.
The VED difference pa is about £50pa.
Insurance? No change.
Depreciation? More expensive to buy (I bought sh), better resale so say - £100 in favour of petrol.
Servicing costs? Sames service intervals, no spark plugs. No difference.
I make that a small saving about £120 in favour of diesel.
Repairs? What are those?
Tyres? Same.
Can't think of anything else.
Edited by madf on 27/01/2009 at 10:30
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For me it's not about the cost but rather the pleasure of driving a diesel. There are plenty of other options available where the cost is never recovered, such as sat nav, leather, alloys and so on.
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>For me it's not about the cost but ...
For me a lot of it's about consuming less oil. Diesels may cost a bit more to buy and run now than petrols, but that may be because everyone was told to switch to reduce fuel costs, with the result we see today. Presumably if enough drivers converted to LPG the same would happen to that, especially once GB or AD upped the tax on it.
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As usual it depends on the individual car and also lots of other things...
The heading should have the words "can be" between 'cars' and 'more'...
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For the private motorist it is just another choice, I prefer diesel engines, but not in a 4x4. Motoring would be a bit boring if unmodified 1.2 Saxo's were compulsory.
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The heading should have the words "can be" between 'cars' and 'more'...
Fair point. Alas, I cannot change it now.
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Main subject header changed.
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It has long been known that with below average annual mileages, petrol cars can be cheaper to run.
But the cost of motoring is not the only consideration when choosing a car. I for one prefer the better torque you get from diesels, and find them better suited to modern driving conditions.
I think I will always have a diesel for everyday driving.
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Wouldn't be a story for them if they just repeated the accepted view so would fully expect the journo to be a little selective to make his case.
That said, way too much attention is given to fuel consumption for newer cars doing average mileages anyway. Depreciation is usually a bigger factor in the early years. That all changes for an old banger when spares and repairs become an issue.
Another case of "all depends" for best to drive too. Diesels are great in town, ticking over at 2000 rpm on a motorway, and for all 4x4s. Less good for batting along windy lanes imho.
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I have a 2.2 petrol Signum and a 2.0 diesel Mondeo estate. The fuel cost per mile is currently the same for both at a smidge over 10p.
I like driving both of them for different reasons. The diesel relies on lazy torque and seems to shrug off heavy loads without a thought. On a long run you don't have to stop to fill up so often either. The petrol one, however, feels much more responsive and instills much greater confidence when overtaking. It is also much quieter and smoother.
I like them both but there is now nothing to choose between them when it comes to fuel costs.
Don't tell anyone though. The received wisdom abounding means there are some great bargains to be had on petrol cars at the moment......
;-)
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Don't tell anyone though. The received wisdom abounding means there are some great bargains to be had on petrol cars at the moment......
Not for much longer - Mandleson is about to announce a bail-out of the car industry using tax-payers' money to force us all to buy new cars :)
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I think the cost advantage for diesel increases as the car gets larger.
For superminis such as madf's Yaris example, where even the petrol version sips fuel, I can well believe that the diesel option doesn't save you anything.
Diesel costs are much easier to justify if you're lugging a couple of tonnes around where the extra weight doesn't seem to sap fuel economy as much as it would with a petrol engine. Diesels are also far more efficient when idling in traffic, or in stop/start conditions than petrol engines, and burn much less fuel when warming up.
I agree there are too many variables to say definitively which is the cost effective choice.
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I read the story in today's Daily Mail.
Some of the fuel consumption figures are a bit far fetched, a BMW petrol doing 39mpg, I should coco. My last petrol car did 24mpg, my diesel will do over 40mpg on short runs.
I prefer diesel cars, especially when driving in France where the diesel costs much less than the petrol.
PS The Daily Mail also says that drinking coffee while pregnant can harm the baby! and house prices are falling! and the country is going to hell in a handcart.
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Wasn't that "drinking coffee while pregnant can cause house price to fall"?
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>>> The diesel relies on lazy torque and seems to shrug off heavy loads without a thought. On a long run you don't have to stop to fill up so often either. The petrol one, however, feels much more responsive and instills much greater confidence when overtaking. It is also much quieter and smoother <<<
Oddly since switching to diesel (Passat 130 and now Mondeo) I find I much prefer diesel grunt for instant overtaking shove, both on single-carriageway roads and motorways.
Last petrol car was a Volvo V40 2.0T which was quite grunty itself, but it didn't have the toe-and-go of the Passat or Mondy.
All personal preference, isn't it?
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They certainly can be more expensive, especially if you transfer the diesel from the puddle on the ground in front of the pump onto your house carpets!
Edited by L'escargot on 28/01/2009 at 12:22
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Don't you wear slippers in the house? ;)
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Don't you wear slippers in the house? ;)
I do, but I don't take my shoes off until after I've entered the house.
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It's a bit like asking which is better between an apple and an orange. Some prefer one over the other and some like both. They both fulfill the same purpose in a slightly different way.
Oranges are more fun though......
;-)
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>Which is better between an apple and an orange? Oranges are more fun though......
Either one is better than a lemon ...
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Or a bag of loose nuts....
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I thought lemons were Citroens?
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