The Benefits Of Diesel ?

[IanXT4]

I currently run a Petrol XT4 and we were considering replacing our other family car with a latest generation Diesel engined car. However, having researched arround this forum and others, I wonder if it makes financial sense to buy a Diesel unless you are doing very serious milage each year, or the only petrol engined alternative in the car model you want to buy does less than 25Mpg.

Some interesting discussion points.

Initial cost of car is typically £1000 more than petrol

Diesel approx 5p a liter more than petrol

Diesel Cambelts have a hard life and from what I have read need replacement at 50K miles at £300 plus

There have been many reports on this and other forums of problems with Diesel Dual Mass flywheels (DMF) requiring replacement arround 50K miles for approx £1000 (I also personally know two people who have had their DMF replaced at low milages, one a VW and the other a Mitsubishi)

I could not believe the cost of a Diesel fuel pump in another thread in this forum (£1000 plus)

They have the unnecessary complexity of a Turbo, always expensive if they go bang

So where is the financial sense of buying a diesel car to do average milage say 10 - 15K mile a year, what you save in petrol is more than made up by other costs and god help you if you keep it after three years if something goes wrong outside warranty.

Thoughts ?

Its cold wet and dark, ideal weather for a controversial discussion :-)

Ian

[llith]

Hi Ian

You raise some interesting points on the diesel version .

It would make a lot of sense to extend the warranty on a diesel provided it covers the flywheel , the turbo , and the fuel pump .I think that the Toyota service interval for the cambelt is 60,000 miles on a diesel , but you say that they need to be replaced at 50,000 .If it did go at 50,000 within the warranty period then this should be covered .

My old petrol Vectra needed a cambelt every 40,000 miles according to Vauxhall !

Regards

Llith

[xt4]

I get 40 mpg for my diesel which seems very good. But if you do 15,000 miles a year you only save around £185 a year against petrol. If you drive in France then things get much better with diesel at around £0.70 a litre.

So, what else has the diesel got to offer.................simple, Torque :D

Petrol torque 192 Nm/4000 rpm

Diesel torque 250 Nm/1800-3000 rpm

The diesels flat torque delivery between 1800 and 3000 rpm means no changing down a gear for hills :D

Wonderful pulling power :D 5th gear 55 to 80 mph motorway driving is effort less

It makes a great tow-car, happly tows 4 up and a 1 ton caravan faster than most lorries

Ok I hear some say, what about BHP the petrol has 147 the diesel only 114.................well if you like low down grunt go for diesel...............if you like to rev an engine go for a petrol

[spwolfx]

Main benefit of diesel is better resale value.

After that comes better mpg and more power.

[shutty]

Main benefit of diesel is better resale value.

After that comes better mpg and more power.

Diesel Drives far better

Petrol Jerky and difficult clutch control / gear change

Diesel - Torque

I would never have a mk2 petrol purley cos they are not nice to drive compared to diesel

Yep flywheel are a "slight issue", we have replaced about 3 - 4 in 6 mths as a dealer

But also oxy sensors and cats are just as big an issue on petrol

But your right with your figures - Cost wise theres little difference after the intial purchase, cost of diesel

extra 1 litre of oil & a £5 more oil filter and a timing belt

[llith]

Yep flywheel are a "slight issue", we have replaced about 3 - 4 in 6 mths as a dealer

Hi

I would be interested to know if the flywheel comes under the 3yr warranty and if it is also covered by the extended warranty . Were the cars that had the replaced flywheels used for towing heavy loads e.g. large caravans or boats (because there could be a link in my mind) ?

Regards

Llith

[shutty]

Yep flywheel are a "slight issue", we have replaced about 3 - 4 in 6 mths as a dealer

Hi

I would be interested to know if the flywheel comes under the 3yr warranty and if it is also covered by the extended warranty . Were the cars that had the replaced flywheels used for towing heavy loads e.g. large caravans or boats (because there could be a link in my mind) ?

Regards

Llith

warranty - yes

ext warranty - yes

Towing - no

Its no bigger issue than any other manufacturer with any other model

Ive seen the same problem on VW Polo's