Cheap Diesel

kash786

kash786

kash786

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Joined
9 Nov 2010
Posts
249
Location
Leicestershire
Hi

I currently own a 2000 Seat Leon Cupra (1.8T - 180BHP), I do about 30 miles a day and have just worked out that I’m getting 30ish MPG.

So, I'm going to get rid of the Cupra, which I know I won't get much for, I’m now after a cheapish diesel for now (about £2500) - Any Recommendations?
 
Would make more sense to keep the Cupra IMO.

How much money are you going to be saving a year by going for an old Diesel which will acheive 45-50mpg?

Then you might have to fork out for repairs etc ;)
 
i have used my missus's mini D the last few days and its averaging 50mpg and that's on a 17mile round trip, my 325i on the other hand is lucky to get 25mpg on the same trip.
 
TaKeN said:
Would make more sense to keep the Cupra IMO.

How much money are you going to be saving a year by going for an old Diesel which will acheive 45-50mpg?

Then you might have to fork out for repairs etc ;)
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I'll be saving on insurance aswell, the Cupra is a group 16, just had a renewal notice through for £800 :eek:, I paid £500ish last year.
 
fabkat said:
i have used my missus's mini D the last few days and its averaging 50mpg and that's on a 17mile round trip, my 325i on the other hand is lucky to get 25mpg on the same trip.
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What possible use is this post? He doesn't have a 325i and can't buy A diesel mini for 2.5k!
 
Firestar_3x said:
My recommendation would be don't bother.
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This really. My car gets around 28-30mpg, but for its owrth, and how much it would cost to upgrade it, minus depreciation etc, its just not worth buying a new car until mine blows up. Its already had roveritis once, so hopefully I will get another 2 years out of it :D. When I priced changing cars, depreciation, and actual fuel costs (compared) it works out at a loss.

Economy is a very poor reason to change cars imo. Unless, like said, you really are munching the miles.
 
[TW]Fox;20337031 said:
What possible use is this post? He doesn't have a 325i and can't buy A diesel mini for 2.5k!
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It gives a comparison of petrol to diesel on the same trip.
 
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As said I really wouldn't bother.

I looked at possibly chopping the WRX in for something else for my 300odd miles a week, but there really would not be much point.
 
Spunkey said:
Same.

Diesel starts to become worthwhile around 20k miles a year. At a rough estimate of 30 miles a day for commuting, plus social mileage you're about half that.
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I would love to know how you figured that one out! My X Type gives me 52mpg as opposed to the 34mpg I used to get with my Astra 1.8 SRi. This is a 50% improvement for about 4% increase in the cost of fuel! There are so many diesel haters on this forum it's unreal! Yes they are more noisy than the petrol models but I can put up with that for the increased torque and economy! (and the £130 a year road tax)
 
CeeBee2 said:
I would love to know how you figured that one out! My X Type gives me 52mpg as opposed to the 34mpg I used to get with my Astra 1.8 SRi. This is a 50% improvement for about 4% increase in the cost of fuel! There are so many diesel haters on this forum it's unreal! Yes they are more noisy than the petrol models but I can put up with that for the increased torque and economy! (and the £130 a year road tax)
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Because MPG isn't the be all and end all of motoring costs, the less miles you do the less the MPG figure means in terms of total ownership costs.

A diesel costs more to buy, more expensive to fuel, run and service, then it's more likely to go wrong in a way which is going to cost more to fix than a petrol model car.

Edit: also gearbox..............
 
Because you have to give consideration to how much it costs you to buy the diesel car in the first place, as diesels tend to cost more than the petrol equivalent, and can have higher repair bills, in general.

So you need to actually look at how many miles you do and how long you'll have the car for, to work out if it's worth changing to a more efficient car.

For example, even doing 20k miles per year then your total fuel spend is only:

Petrol (34 mpg and £1.30/litre)

Total petrol used = 20000/34 = 588 gallons = 2670 litres
Total petrol spend = 2670*1.30 = £3471

Diesel (52 mpg and £1.38/litre)

Total Diesel used = 20000/52 = 384 gallons = 1743 litres
Total Diesel spend = 1743*1.38 = £2405

So in changing to a diesel, you've only saved £1000 on your yearly petrol spend (assuming 20k miles per year).

If you only do 10k miles, then your yearly save is down to £500. This saving is likely to be offset by the additional premium of a diesel car and so you'd be better of saving the money up front and buying a cheaper, but less efficient petrol car.
 
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