Should I consider replacing my 2.5T....?

snips86x

snips86x

snips86x

Soldato
Joined
14 Nov 2012
Posts
17,971
Location
Chesterfield
I'm currently doing around 18-20k miles a year and wondering if I would be better off replacing it for a Diesel. I'm getting about 32mpg which is equating to about 365-450 per tank - depending on what driving I've been doing (long/short distance)

I'm doing longer runs (200 miles each way) twice a month which is why I'm now considering a change. There is nothing wrong with the car, but now I'm living on my own and wanting to buy a house, I can't help but think I should make savings - starting with my car.
 
How much would it cost you to change? As in how much would you get for your current car vs whatever you want to buy in diesel form? If it ends up costing you a decent amount then there's no real point in changing if it'll end up taking you months to recoup your outlay.
 
Unfortunately the most I seem to be able to get for my Mondeo is £3.5k. That's trade though. I wouldn't want to spend too much more on top however. I'm considering a diesel focus.
 
I have though found a 2.0TDCI Mondeo Tit X Sport with 54k miles. Only problem is there's a £4K difference on the part ex
 
Four grand buys you 4,012 litres of petrol at today's prices. With say a 10 mpg improvement from the diesel how long will that take you to break even? I'm on my phone and posting in a hurry, but I'd suggest the answer is "too long".
 
Rainmaker said:
Four grand buys you 4,012 litres of petrol at today's prices. With say a 10 mpg improvement from the diesel how long will that take you to break even?
Click to expand...

It also buys you a different car which you've ignored in your calculations - what is the value of his existing car in say 3 years time versus the value of the replacement car in 3 years time?

He doesn't purely get additional fuel economy for his £4000, he gets a newer, more valuable car. So the maths on whether it's worth it and what the payback period is must compare the expected residuals of both cars.
 
[TW]Fox;29192397 said:
It also buys you a different car which you've ignored in your calculations - what is the value of his existing car in say 3 years time versus the value of the replacement car in 3 years time?

He doesn't purely get additional fuel economy for his £4000, he gets a newer, more valuable car. So the maths on whether it's worth it and what the payback period is must compare the expected residuals of both cars.
Click to expand...

To add to that though, you would be buying a new car which is an unknown to you, whereas you know all about your existing car and its maintenance history.
 
Quite. That's what you get for posting in a hurry. :D Still, cost to change needs considering rather than just 'this diesel is £4k more for better MPGs'. OP the 2.5T is a nice engine. Is a few quid/mpg really worth it? Only your own feelings - and sums - can answer that.
 
Sorry to post twice consecutively; the edit function gives me an empty box then says my message is too short...

I also wanted to add that the residuals between a 2.5T and a slightly newer 2.0 diesel Mondeo surely won't be earth shattering. My stupid phone wasn't playing ball. :(
 
Gepetto said:
To add to that though, you would be buying a new car which is an unknown to you, whereas you know all about your existing car and its maintenance history.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, this should be factored in as well.

Rainmaker said:
I also wanted to add that the residuals between a 2.5T and a slightly newer 2.0 diesel Mondeo surely won't be earth shattering. My stupid phone wasn't playing ball. :(
Click to expand...

We don't know what they'll be as we know nothing about the cars in question but if he has say an 07 2.5T and the new one is a 10 2.0 TDCi then it's reasonable to expect that in 3 years time they won't be worth the same, so he gets some of his £4k back.
 
No question, which is why I made the point the OP has other things to consider rather than just paying four grand for a diesel to save money on fuel. As I said originally I'm on my phone, I wasn't professing to be providing an accountancy service. :p
 
snips86x said:
Unfortunately the most I seem to be able to get for my Mondeo is £3.5k. That's trade though. I wouldn't want to spend too much more on top however. I'm considering a diesel focus.
Click to expand...

You will be getting mugged if you take 3.5k for a 2.5T mk4 the prices have not dropped on them because they are rare and dealers seen what the mk3 ST220 was going for and started charging more as it's the only real decent engine in the mk4 up Untill the facelift version which is 2010/11 onwards I think?
Isn't it the same 2.5T that's in my ST Focus? It's a great engine and sounds amazing why would u swap that for a rattling diesel that's probably going to throw up all sorts of bills as diesel Ford's are not as reliable as the petrol engines. It's not worth spending thousands more on a newer diesel just to save a few quid in fuel!
 
Rainmaker said:
Four grand buys you 4,012 litres of petrol at today's prices. With say a 10 mpg improvement from the diesel how long will that take you to break even? I'm on my phone and posting in a hurry, but I'd suggest the answer is "too long".
Click to expand...

To add to all the other stuff about what he "gets, and doesn't get" for the extra £4k, I'll put up some proper figures for the fuel consumption issue.

At 18k per annum, based on fuel prices of £1 per liter for both (as an average), with the petrol doing 32 mpg, and the diesel doing 45 mpg, again, on average, the difference in fuel costs is around £730 per year. There will also likely be around £100 a year in VED savings to be had on the diesel too.

So about £830 per year. So it would take a little over 57 months to "pay back" the £4k outlay on just fuel and VED. Assuming the same maintenance and servicing costs. Sure, the anti-diesel brigade will come along with the DMF's this and DPF's that, but the 2.5T will surely have similar issues applicable to it (no DPF obviously though, although it doesn't sound like that should be too much of a worry with the OP's mileage). I doubt there would be huge amounts of difference between the two.

Of course, as Fox rightly points out, the newer car will be worth more than the older car, and will continue to be throughout it's lifetime. So he will see some of that extra money back on the back end. And being the diesel, will hold it's value slightly better anyway.

I would suggest it would probably take around 3 years to "break even" on the trade up. But there is value to be had in driving a newer car too. What that value is worth is entirely dependent on the individual though, so I couldn't put a figure on it.

Petrol is cheap, just now, but it wont always be. And it quickly gets old having to fill the tank every 350 miles, when you could be doing it at closer to 600+ miles. I do 25k+ a year, and wouldn't be without a diesel. I simply dont want to be at the garage every other day, dropping another £70 into the pumps.
 
Last edited:
Have you considered LPG?

In a year at 18k you'll save roughly £1300 which would cover the cost of install, after which point you'll more or less half your fuel bill.
 
Thanks for your thoughts, it's inreresting to see this from other perspectives. I'm still not 100% sure what I want to do you but I appreciate it all the same. I would imagine that selling privately could potentially cover the cost of a replacement car...it can't be all bad eh...!
 
p1RATE said:
Have you considered LPG?

In a year at 18k you'll save roughly £1300 which would cover the cost of install, after which point you'll more or less half your fuel bill.
Click to expand...

I actually didn't think of that, good shout. Are there any well known sites with useful information around compatible cars?
 
Pretty much any petrol car can be converted - the cost can vary hugely though. Number of cylinders and the sort of tank you want will have an impact on price but mainly the quality of the kit and respectability of the installer. If you do it, don't be tempted to cheap out and make sure a reputable installer does it with good kit. Id guess you're looking at about the 1500 quid mark and although you won't increase the value of the car by that much, you have to think it would add 500 to it when you come to sell it
 
I would think that fair. An extra £500 for having an LPG kit installed.

I'm not sure you would actually save £1300 a year though. You get less mpg's with LPG than with petrol. But there doesn't appear to be much drop in performance, in my experience. I figure you'd be closer to £900 per year saving though. So, with the increased car value, you'd probably see your money "back" in around 12-14 months.

It's a decent way to go if you only want cheaper fuel costs. If you were wanting a new car anyway though, it doesn't address that problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom