Diesel mileage cutoff?

snowstreams

I am looking at buying a cheap enough (~7k) small family car.
Hopefully something like a 5 year old nissan note or peugeot 2008.

But it looks like its cheaper to buy these sized cars in diesel than in petrol.
Particularly in the UK, which is where ive been mostly looking due to brexit prices.
There seems to be about 3 times more diesels for sale there than petrols.

Since diesels are looking so cheap, im tempted to get one even though Im only doing about 20km each way per day (5km of which is in traffic).

I take it that 40km a day isnt enough distance to keep the dpf and egr etc clean?

What is the usual cut off for mileage on a diesel that will keep the dpf etc clean?

snowstreams

It looks like diesels with slightly higher mileage are coming out a lot cheaper in these car models.

Does it make more financial sense to just buy diesel and get the dpf deleted when or if it gets clogged up?

Id love to get electric but there arent any in my price bracket just yet.

snowstreams

I just saw this in the news and thought it was quite relevant to the discussion on diesel vs petrol.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/aug/11/engine-failure-left-vw-owners-picking-up-a-surprise-6700-bill

The introduction of a turbo in the newer petrol engines has made them more efficient but has also made them more liable to have expensive issues in the longer term.

The safest bet for a long lasting car would be a naturally aspirated petrol rather than a turbo.

colm_mcm

Quite right.

Idbatterim

snowstreams wrote: »

I am looking at buying a cheap enough (~7k) small family car.
Hopefully something like a 5 year old nissan note or peugeot 2008.

But it looks like its cheaper to buy these sized cars in diesel than in petrol.
Particularly in the UK, which is where ive been mostly looking due to brexit prices.
There seems to be about 3 times more diesels for sale there than petrols.

Since diesels are looking so cheap, im tempted to get one even though Im only doing about 20km each way per day (5km of which is in traffic).

I take it that 40km a day isnt enough distance to keep the dpf and egr etc clean?

What is the usual cut off for mileage on a diesel that will keep the dpf etc clean?

will you be bringing it up to decent speeds on your trip? like 100kmph?

snowstreams

yeah it would be driven at 100kmph for about 8-9 mins of the commute until i hit traffic.

Ive had 3 diesel cars that all had egr & injector seal problems in the past.
My garage was always suggesting go petrol next time but with the higher cost of a petrol car coupled with the lower fuel efficiency its hard to justify the petrol.
Though after 6-7 years im sure id be glad I went petrol.

3rdDegree

snowstreams wrote: »

yeah it would be driven at 100kmph for about 8-9 mins of the commute until i hit traffic.

Ive had 3 diesel cars that all had egr & injector seal problems in the past.
My garage was always suggesting go petrol next time but with the higher cost of a petrol car coupled with the lower fuel efficiency its hard to justify the petrol.
Though after 6-7 years im sure id be glad I went petrol.

Surly your repairs to your diesels made them more expensive in the long run than a petrol?

Idbatterim

would a nissan leaf work?

snowstreams

3rdDegree wrote: »

Surly your repairs to your diesels made them more expensive in the long run than a petrol?

yes the diesel maintenance was expensive, especially when the injector seals leaked.
But if the seals hadnt leaked the costs might have added up similarly.

Idbatterim wrote: »

would a nissan leaf work?

A newer 30kwh leaf would work but thats out of my budget.
Id need to be able to make a one way 50 mile journey from Castlebar to Galway on it.
The older leaf batteries are too depreciated to make that journey in winter.

3rdDegree

To be honest OP, and to answer your original question, in my opinion your driving and mileage does not suit diesel. The daily 8 to 9 minutes at 100 kph is not really sufficient to give a diesel a good run out. You'd need to take it out every week or two for a minimum 30 minute drive without the "granny hat" on; and when you have to start doing things like that, I think it really points to the fact that you have an unsuitable car. Your big repair bills on previous diesels is also a fairly good indicator.

I'd look at petrol, hybrid or EV, obviously depending on budget.

snowstreams

Thanks. I had been thinking that I'd get away with a diesel but now i've decided to go for one of the modern petrol engines that seem efficient enough compared to diesels.

snowstreams

I ended up getting a Seat toledo 1.2 TSI in the end.
Its getting me 53.5 mpg on my journeys so far which isnt much worse than my diesel car.
Its far quieter too so im happy all round!

The engine has far less components around it in the engine bay, so im hoping any repairs wont be too expensive in the longer term compared to a diesel.