private buyer long term diesel / lpg choice ?

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Thu 24 Sep 2009 13:12
private buyer long term diesel / lpg choice ? - via roma
Hi all
New to the site but have been a guest viewer for quite some time and now need some honest advice.
Quick relevant background:
Never bought a new car.
Living in ITALY, petrol 1.2 euro/ltr, diesel 1.1euro/ltr, lpg 0.54/Ltr and availability no problem.
1 one year old daughter, hopefully another within the year. Space and safety therefore important, especially with some of the driving around here.
wife has company car and so this new one will be second car for now, but who knows if company car will remain and for how long. The mileage will be approx 10000 kms / year (6000 miles)for now.
With dealer discounts, gov incentives and trade in allowance for our 12 year old clio all the following cars are approx the same price on the road at 13500 - 14200 euros.

road tax here is based on power output only so all approx 170 euros tax per year apart from dealer lpg coversions TAX FREE.
which will be best, safest and last at least 10 years, hopefully more. after warranty runs out will do most basic servicing ( oils, filters, brake pads) at home so chain drive camshaft is one less worry.
depreciation is a different beast over here, people keep cars much longer and used car values are much higher.
MONEY is TIGHT so running costs very important.
all the following have abs , esp, 6 airbags and good ncap results

ford focus 1.6tdci 90hp estate or 2.0 petrol 143hp with lpg estate same price 14200 euros
citroen c3 picasso 1.6diesel 90hp 13850 euros no petrol/lpg version.
hyundai i30 estate 1.6 diesel 90hp or 1.4 petrol/lpg same price 13900 euros 5 year warranty
kia ceed estate 1.6 diesel or 1.4 petrol/lpg at 13500 euros 5 yr warranty.
hyundai / kia same car virtually with great chain cam engines.

One left field idea
hyundai i20 classic with all above safety features 1.2 petrol/lpg at 9600 euros. a 4000 euro SAVING, but will it be big enough in real life situation and if becomes main car so motorway mileage ( at 130 km/h minimum) becomes an important factor.

Any comments and experiences welcome
thanks
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Thu 24 Sep 2009 13:36
private buyer long term diesel / lpg choice ? - Happy Blue!
All good choices.

Hyundai/Kia/Ford likely to be most reliable. Citroen may be a more enjoyable experience in terms of using it as a family car, lifting children in and out is much easier if the seats are higher. The children can see more and get bored less on long journeys.

The i20 will be too small for four of you (especially if one is a baby with kit they need these days).

Difficult decision, but I don't think you would be wrong with any of your first list.
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Thu 24 Sep 2009 13:45
private buyer long term diesel / lpg choice ? - Gromit {P}
Citroen not recommended if you intend servicing yourself. Colleague has a Picasso maintained by his father in law, an independent mechanic. However, the car has to go back to Citroen main dealer for any work involving fault codes as indies can't access/reset the onboard computer.

Unless your mileage exceeds 15,000 miles/year, petrol is a safer bet than modren diesels for less complexity. Not sure I'd fancy LPG as a DIY prospect either.

Also worth checking costs for servicing while these cars are under warranty and prices of common parts to compare real running cost - that could add up to quite a difference if you intend to keep the car a long time. Also consider depreciation: are there any makes on your list likely to be less popular if you have to resell in, say, 5 years time if your motoring needs change?
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