Diesel or petrol

Slattsy

Hey lads,
This could be asked a lot but i couldnt find a thread (too many), if it is then maybe a Mod can merge.
I've always had a petrol car, Im thinking of upgrading and would be tempted by a diesel, maybe a 520D or an A4 TDI.

However, we dont put many miles on the car, there could be maybe 3 days a week when the car is not used. Once a month we drive from Dub to Sligo and then maybe a few spins for a weekend away during the year. The rest is short distance, i'd say typical Dublin driving (shops, football training, visiting folks, that kind of stuff)..

Will a diesel car be lost on us if we're not racking up huge miles per year ?

Thanks in advance.

biko

You're right, it has been asked a lot.
I think the consensus is - petrol for city, diesel for long distance.

Slattsy

biko wrote: »

You're right, it has been asked a lot.
I think the consensus is - petrol for city, diesel for long distance.

Thanks.
Seems to be an awful lot more diesels out there on carzone !!

bazz26

Slattsy wrote: »

Thanks.
Seems to be an awful lot more diesels out there on carzone !!

There was a huge swing from buying petrol cars to diesel cars since 2008. People who didn't need a diesel bought them because they were cheaper to tax.

Slattsy

bazz26 wrote: »

Slattsy wrote: »

Thanks.
Seems to be an awful lot more diesels out there on carzone !!

There was a huge swing from buying petrol cars to diesel cars since 2008. People who didn't need a diesel bought them because they were cheaper to tax.

Yeah wasn't thinking that.

I'd be looking at a 2008 on and about
80% of them are diesel.

I think petrol is my better option, it just narrows my options down I guess. And as they say the fewer of something there is the dearer they come.

Victor Meldrew

biko wrote: »

You're right, it has been asked a lot.
I think the consensus is - petrol for city, diesel for long distance.

also, heavy cars = Diesel if modern (2008 onwards) unless you like 2L + road tax.

Caveat here though. Do you like the drive of one over the other?

Wife just got Audi diesel. I don't like it**. Too peaky compared to petrol and the noise is so uncouth. I don't do much mileage so I can tolerate a petrol and it is worth the €600 road tax

**It's also an A1, so it is a bit embarrassing to be seen driving.

Slattsy

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

biko wrote: »

You're right, it has been asked a lot.
I think the consensus is - petrol for city, diesel for long distance.

also, heavy cars = Diesel if modern (2008 onwards) unless you like 2L + road tax.

Caveat here though. Do you like the drive of one over the other?

Wife just got Audi diesel. I don't like it**. Too peaky compared to petrol and the noise is so uncouth. I don't do much mileage so I can tolerate a petrol and it is worth the €600 road tax

**It's also an A1, so it is a bit embarrassing to be seen driving.

Only diesel I've driven was a Passat long distance automatic and also Audi A4 for a spin.
I certainly noticed the take off speeds are slower from the petrol but not huge difference once on the motorway other than noise levels.

johnos1984

Tbh perils can be smooth as can more modern common fail diesels.

I've just gone from a passat TDI to a common fail BMW unit and found the new car a lot smoother.

The latest one is auto too and makes it more relaxing to drive when in normal mode

Slattsy

johnos1984 wrote: »

Tbh perils can be smooth as can more modern common fail diesels.

I've just gone from a passat TDI to a common fail BMW unit and found the new car a lot smoother.

The latest one is auto too and makes it more relaxing to drive when in normal mode

Can I ask common fail means exactly?

mickdw

You should be able to buy a petrol version for significantly less than the diesel at 4 years old. I think you could go for either really. You need to consider also whether you are keeping this car long term or want to get rid in 2 or 3 years. If getting rid in 2 years, I would say diesel but a diesel without a diesel particulate filter as you should avoid the problems caused by short journeys then. I know 08 passat etc without this filter come in at 300 tax on the 1.9 tdi.
If keeping long term and resale is not an issue, Id get a petrol. The cheaper purchase price should cover any increased fuel costs for a long time at your small mileage and also, the tax is not bad on many 08 petrols. My 08 audi 1.8T petrol is band D - 450 approx. The petrol in general is less likely to go wrong too not to mention being a much nicer drive.

johnos1984

Slattsy wrote: »

johnos1984 wrote: »

Tbh perils can be smooth as can more modern common fail diesels.

I've just gone from a passat TDI to a common fail BMW unit and found the new car a lot smoother.

The latest one is auto too and makes it more relaxing to drive when in normal mode

Can I ask common fail means exactly?

My term for common Rail diesel engines which seem to suffer a high failure rate.

They aren't suitable for low mileage or anything worse than perfect fuel.

Sorry it's a joke to me really but lots of folk who want cheap running costs but modern common rail diesels and end up with huge repair bills

mathepac

Slattsy wrote: »

Can I ask common fail means exactly?

It's a feature of BMW diesels - they commonly fail !. Sorry couldn't resist it after the poor poster's Freudian slip.

Common rail is an alternative means of getting fuel to the cylinders - common rail direct injection or CRDi as you'll see on modern Hondas, Kias, Skodas, VWs, MBs, etc, the ones that don't commonly fail

johnos1984

mathepac wrote: »

Slattsy wrote: »

Can I ask common fail means exactly?

It's a feature of BMW diesels - they commonly fail !. Sorry couldn't resist it after the poor poster's Freudian slip.

Common rail is an alternative means of getting fuel to the cylinders - common rail direct injection or CRDi as you'll see on modern Hondas, Kias, Skodas, VWs, MBs, etc, the ones that don't commonly fail

Slip my arse!

My pd passat ate its engine but I'm happy to agree I had bad luck

Diesel is great if you are covering the miles

Slattsy

Cheers lads, getting some great info here.