Used petrol car prices taking a tanking?

Lopéz said:
The diesel nozzle does not fit in an unleaded petrol filler neck, it's too big.
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Yes but try telling some women that they get the nozzle about half inch in then pull the trigger. You will be amazed how much comes out in one surge. All over the forecourt floor.

I have had about 2 or 3 complaints from our local garage.
 
Third Opinion said:
Anyone else having trouble selling petrol cars?

Couple of people along with myself can't seem to interest people in our cars because they are not diesel. A lot of people are phoning just to make sure the ad isn't a mistake and it is diesel not petrol. When they find out it is petrol they are not interested.

All the cars in question are well below book price. Nightmare at the moment.
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If it's a 156 petrol you're referring to, you can't give those away at the moment. They look dated (which puts people off - especially when it originally sold on the basis that it was stylish alternative to a BMW3), and those twin spark engines have developed a hideous reputation in the trade due to the high cost of cambelt changes and the engine going BANG if you forget to change the water pump, idler, tensioner etc. There are simply too many bits that spin and need replacing in the engine bay.

The market that a used 156 petrol will sell into (say £1k to £3k), buyers simply won't want to pay £600 on doing the cambelt and then another £400 each year on other grubbins. Those twin sparkies also get caught by the road tax increases, and someone buying a £1k car isn't going to want to spend £300+ a year on road tax.

High maintenance car selling into low end of the market = v.difficult to sell.
 
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Best thing to do = buy a high running cost car for a reasonably low amount and calculate whether you can afford it based on nil residual.

If I get a £10 note for my car once I've finished with it, its £10 more than my projections :)
 
The Edge said:
Common rail diesels are renowned for blowing turbos up, but having said that i don't know anyone who has had it happen to them. Could be a maintenance/abuse thing i suppose because they are very sensitive to contamination.
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This makes no sense to me sorry !

I've never heard this urban myth of common rail engined turbos going bang all the time :confused: its not asif they are under some major strain just because they are used on a CR engine.. the actual fuel system on a common rail diesel is v.sensitive to contamination though !

Water in the fuel can knacker them quite quickly, and the injectors tend to get rather worn on most high milleage engines..

For example, atm my HDi has 121,000 on the clock and I'm pretty sure the injectors are quite worn inside as they tick, it might be dropping my MPG down slightly but its certainly not the end of the world, I know a chap who is a specialist on these engines who will sell me a recon set for £130

and shock shock horror horror... ;) I chose a Diesel as I like the power delivery, this is probably because I'm used to driving tractors with bags of torque..

but something still confuses me, I'm not sure if Fox here hates Diesels ? or hates diesels because complete idiots buy them to try and save themselves money ? or both ! :p
 
Not at all. There are many good diesels and diesels have many good applications.

There are also many average and crap diesels with fanboy owners who hype them to death and thinking spend a fortune on a diesel that rattles loads and makes a noise like a taxi is a good idea becuase it will save them 23p.
 
Ian_Eb said:
Is this something that happens often really? or is it just one of those stories people like to bring out?

I had a Passat with more than 120k on it and it had no turbo problems, no injector problems, no brake problems, no shocks or anything. I can hardly be classed as someone who takes any care of it either (company car) I checked the oil when it was in the garage for a service, or if the low oil pressure light came on.

My dad has a mondeo tdci with approx 100k on it and so far the only problems have been, boot struts, boot struts (again), radio, front suspension, radio (again) so no engine/turbo related problems again.

I know that this is hardly representative, but I just wondered how much of an issue this really is.
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I have a 2004 Avensis 2.0 D4D.
Perfectly serviced, not ragged (i.e. warmed up before giving it any beans) and from a manufacturer that has a lot of people believing they are up there with the best for reliability.

Since having it (8 months) the starter motor has gone, and I have been through 2 sets of injectors before reaching 55k. Luckily it was under warranty, as the injectors were almost £2k a set (including fitting).

Yes, I get good fuel economy, but driving a slow car (and anyone who says diesels are getting near petrols for performance is deluding themselves), getting diesel over my hands whenever I touch a fuel pump trigger, higher costs per litre, tractor sounds under the bonnet, and very temperamental and expensive to fix engines - all add up to me buying a petrol car next, regardless of what tax hikes they put in place.
 
[TW]Fox;11682011 said:
Not at all. There are many good diesels and diesels have many good applications.

There are also many average and crap diesels with fanboy owners who hype them to death and thinking spend a fortune on a diesel that rattles loads and makes a noise like a taxi is a good idea becuase it will save them 23p.
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Thanks for clearing that up :)
 
emailiscrap said:
getting diesel over my hands whenever I touch a fuel pump trigger, higher costs per litre, tractor sounds under the bonnet, and very temperamental and expensive to fix engines
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I would go along with most of what you say apart from the fact that in 10 years of driving a diesel (through no choice of my own) i have probably only had to wipe my hands of fuel maybe 4 or 5 times. thats over something like 300 - 400k miles.

Maybe i am lucky and pick stations where they keep the pumps clean maybe (certainly not the case with the WC's :eek: )
 
Ian_Eb said:
I would go along with most of what you say apart from the fact that in 10 years of driving a diesel (through no choice of my own) i have probably only had to wipe my hands of fuel maybe 4 or 5 times. thats over something like 300 - 400k miles.

Maybe i am lucky and pick stations where they keep the pumps clean maybe (certainly not the case with the WC's :eek: )
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I'd say about 4 out of every 5 times I fill up, I have diesel on my hands. None of my local stations keep the plastic glove dipensers filled up either.
 
emailiscrap said:
I have a 2004 Avensis 2.0 D4D.
Perfectly serviced, not ragged (i.e. warmed up before giving it any beans) and from a manufacturer that has a lot of people believing they are up there with the best for reliability.

Since having it (8 months) the starter motor has gone, and I have been through 2 sets of injectors before reaching 55k. Luckily it was under warranty, as the injectors were almost £2k a set (including fitting).

Yes, I get good fuel economy, but driving a slow car (and anyone who says diesels are getting near petrols for performance is deluding themselves), getting diesel over my hands whenever I touch a fuel pump trigger, higher costs per litre, tractor sounds under the bonnet, and very temperamental and expensive to fix engines - all add up to me buying a petrol car next, regardless of what tax hikes they put in place.
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BMW 335d 0 0-60 in around 6s, top speed 155mph.

Very comparable to a petrol.

I also like driving diesels in a large car, lots of torks make it nice on the motorway.
 
On the motorway you are generally sat at a constant 80 ish mph. Pretty much any engine would be fine for that as long as it didn't have a very short 5th gear.
 
[TW]Fox;11682148 said:
'On the Motorway' I accelerate to 70mph and set the cruise. I'm not sure how TORQUESLOL could help me there.
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Well I don't, heh, probbably why I chose a diesel.
 
jamoor said:
Well I don't, heh, probbably why I chose a diesel.
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Are you one of those ******* who spends his time weaving in an out of traffic, rushing up behind traffic in the outside lane at 100mph and then nailing the throttle once they move out the way?

I mean why else do you need massive torque on a Motorway?
 
^^ beats falling asleep at the wheel

Two turbos for a diesel sounds like a waste of snails
Performance says otherwise though

335d's twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 generates a healthy 265 horsepower. More impressive is the staggering torque output — 425 pound-feet at just 1,750 rpm. So in other words, the 335d's inline-6 generates as much torque as Chrysler's 6.1-liter Hemi V8. It's enough power to get the 335d from zero to 60 mph in just 6.2 seconds, BMW claims. All that power doesn't torpedo the 335d's fuel economy, as BMW claims mileage figures of 23 mpg city and 33 mpg highway.
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http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/autoshows/detroit/2008/2009bmw335d.html
 
With the road tax increases and rising fuel I have seen 3 litre engines like E46 330 and 3.2 V6 A3 take a beating in value.

Good for buyers, bad for sellers.
 
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