So, at what mileage would you guys recommend a diesel?

agw_01

agw_01

agw_01

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I've seen many threads on here where people have basically been laughed at because they want a diesel while doing 12,000 miles a year, because they thought it'd save them money.

Now, having just taken up a job offer which includes travelling some 80 miles a day, (equating around 18,000 miles a year) I was very interested to find out just how much money I'd save by doing that in a diesel rather than my Rover.

Let's say it costs 95p a litre to fill up with regular unleaded and with that I get an average of 30mpg, what kind of savings would I be looking at by getting a diesel which does 45mpg at around 99p a litre?

Can I just say, I'm not actually looking to buy a diesel and am more than happy to commute in my car. It was just something that I was wondering about.

Cheers.
 
Sorry, I wasn't just looking for the answer to the calculations. The thread title was the question I was more interested in...

i.e. At what annual mileage do you guys think a diesel is a better choice than petrol.

[TW]Fox;10339845 said:
Just devide the mpg by the mileage you want to do. Job done?
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Because that won't take into account the difference in fuel costs? :)
 
You'd save about 50% of your fuel money, plus tax may be cheaper and insurance usually.

I've just gone over to the dark side, and I don't do mega miles.
 
agw_01 said:
Sorry, I wasn't just looking for the answer to the calculations. The thread title was the question I was more interested in...

i.e. At what annual mileage do you guys think a diesel is a better choice than petrol.



Because that won't take into account the difference in fuel costs? :)
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You know how much a gallon of each costs though, so multiply the number of gallons used over the year on each car and you can see the cost difference. You must also take into account servicing costs and all that stuff.

What mileage makes a diesel worth it is subjective. Money doesnt have the same value to everyone.
 
Don't need a calculator tbh.

45/30 = 1.5 that's quick arithmetic, fuel is about a pound, so 50% saving. Diesel nowadays equate to 50mpg+ I would have thought, plus not too bad performance.

So therefore you save half of your annual fuel money roughly.
 
[TW]Fox;10339884 said:
Tax wont be cheaper becuase agw buys cars as old as him so they will all be pre 2001 and thus either above or below the 1549cc tax threshold.
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:D Why of course.

And I bet my 13 year old 2 litre Turbo has cost less in running costs/servicing than your 5 year old BMW. But that's for another thread :)

Jez, I'd work it out but beer + maths hurts my brain.
 
agw_01 said:
:eek: That's more than I thought.

Although, £800 wouldn't even pay for the car and insurance.
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Exactly

So theres no point getting one in addition to your current car from a simply fueling point of view. However having a backup car can be a real benefit if your getting jiggy with the Rover.

Anyway you'd get a old banger derv and run it on veggie wouldn't you?
 
Ok, here are the prices :p

1 Gallon of Unleaded @ 95ppl = 432ppg
1 Gallon of Diesel @ 99ppl = 450ppg

18,000 miles on unleaded @ 30mpg = 600gallons = £2592
18,000 miles on Diesel @ 45mpg = 400 gallons = £1800
Difference = £792, as paras quoted :) But figures are broken down for you
 
A friend of mine went from a £3000 Vectra SRi to a Seat Leon 130 TDI costing £8.5k to 'save money as its a diesel'

Yeah okay then....

Factor in the fact he only got £1k trade in on the Vectra and hes spending more a month and suffering depreciation.

There is no recommendation here at all, your title needs to really have a specific car. The window of a diesel engined car is really quite vast.
 
Jonnycoupe said:
However having a backup car can be a real benefit if your getting jiggy with the Rover.

Anyway you'd get a old banger derv and run it on veggie wouldn't you?
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heh, that's what provoked the making of this thread actually... especially when it goes in for a respray sometime next year, I'll need use of a car for a few days etc.

I'm not 100% on veggie oil, aren't the police cracking down on it?

Jez, cheers. I was just in the process of working it out for myself but you've saved me a job. The figures look impressive but when you think about it, it's not going to save me anything at all... just what I was expecting actually.

Jonny, if I got a derv it'd be something old and cheap... Rover 220SDi or similar.
 
agw_01 said:
heh, that's what provoked the making of this thread actually... especially when it goes in for a respray sometime next year, I'll need use of a car for a few days etc.

I'm not 100% on veggie oil, aren't the police cracking down on it?.
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As a consumer legally allowed to use 2500 litres for personal use I very much doubt anyone would be after you.
 
Jonnycoupe said:
As a consumer legally allowed to use 2500 litres for personal use I very much doubt anyone would be after you.
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To clarify this point, if you expect to use less than 2500L in a rolling 12 month period, you don't have to register with Customs or pay fuel duty on it.
 
I've got a Diesel. I changed for two reasons. I wanted to save money (or didn't want to shed out more for a faster car) and I wanted a Mondeo ST anyway!

I currently do a 60mile round trip each day, and I spend as much money on disel now as I did in my 1.8 Astra! Its great!

I've now moved closer to work, however, I won't be changing becasue I love my dirty diesel and the car too!

HOpe it all works out for you! :)
 
Really all this stuff about diesels costing more only applies to new diesels

If you just get a quality second hand buy it will be worth it from the word go. Mine cost me pittance and continues to cost me far less than it would be to run a petrol car, mainly thanks to its better economy over similar aged petrol cars and my choice of fuel.
 
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