Used car buyers tempted by frugal diesels could have to do up to 56,373 miles before reaping the financial benefit of the fuel savings they believe are on offer.

The new research by used car price experts, WiseBuyer

Used car buyers tempted by frugal diesels could have to do up to 56,373 miles before reaping the financial benefit of the fuel savings they believe are on offer.

Well thats a years millage for my old man, he changed his BMW 740 for a BMW 325tds and is saving just under

Well thats a years millage for my old man, he changed his BMW 740 for a BMW 325tds and is saving just under

Around two years ago I did the same calculation for a 1.4 16v Fabia Comfort and the TDi equivalent and worked it out to be around 48,000 miles before the extra cost was covered.

I went for the petrol and, as some may have noticed, had endless problems with it.

tHE l&k has done 54000 in 18 months so I guess its now into profit, just hope it lasts the 4 years (160000) we based the costings on

Mine has done 30k after 15 months (would have been 35) so I'm definately going to save money on mine over 4 years.

Also I prefer the huge amounts of torque a diesel gives.

That said' date=' residuals are usually better on diesels anyway... :rubchin:

[/quote']

Although I doubt ill get much for a 130k octavia if I keep it that long

That said' date=' residuals are usually better on diesels anyway... :rubchin:

Rob.[/quote']

So there you go then!

Although I doubt ill get much for a 130k octavia if I keep it that long

Suspect it would be considerably better than a 130k petrol engined one though...

Rob.

I look at it like this;-

previous car - 34 mpg , group 10 insurance , green flag cover ,

When I bought my 2.5V6 Rover 75 I worked out it would be cheaper over two years than the Diesel. The purchase price for the 10 month old V6 petrol was over

When I had a V8 discovery I did similar sums, my Tdi has started paying for its self after 8months. Also now putting

This is obviously true for short term owners or those doing low mileages, but, there are other advantages to diesels. They last longer. My last car was an Isuzu powered Corsa 1.5. I sold it to get the current Fabia when it had done a quarter of a million miles over 8 years. It was still not using oil, had the same mpg as when new and the engine was sound in every way. My Fabia 1.4TDI averages over 70 mpg and I hope to keep it for the same period. Diesels don't worry about condensation problems or stalling and have reduced potential to burn in an accident. Todays diesels are very quiet. It is a pity that the emissions are rarely controlled by a particle collection system as, otherwise, they are very environmentally friendly.

Regards to all

Viewer

Todays diesels are very quiet.

I often read this about modern diesels, and yet every time I drive one or travel in one as a passenger they still sound loud and crude compared with a petrol version of that car. The worst would be the diesel Focus I sometimes drive. I am attracted to a diesel because I do >20,000 miles per year, but I would really need to sit down and do the calculations as while the olier does more mpg, diesel is 1-2p more expensiver per litre, the car is more expensive, tends to need serviced more frequently and often costs more to service. They also tend to eat tyres compared with a petrol. So all in all I am not fully convinced that diesel is a good option.

Last year I drove the 120 miles from Bristol airport to Torpoint in a petrol 307, and the return in a diesel Feista. The Feista did use fewer litres of fuel but because it was more expensive per litre it actually cost me virtually the same amount for the fuel of each journey.

An Octy TDi on variable servicing can go to 30,000 miles between services (mine actually did over 31,000). 10,000 miles more than petrol Octy's on variable. My first set of front tyres lasted 38k miles, and I'm still on the original rears. In my 48k to date, I have had one service totalling

Last time I looked a 1.9 Diesel Skoda needed serviced every 5000 miles! The heavier diesel with more torque will wear out tyres faster than a similar powered petrol, but the exact rate of wear is heavily influenced by the drivers driving style.

My first set of front tyres lasted 38k miles

Ah, but how long would they have lasted on a petrol engined version?

Rob.

I have just done a few calculations based on comparing a 1.6 Octy Classic costing

Well, I've done 31,000 miles since end of feb, so I'm nearly in profit

Well, I've done 31,000 miles since end of feb, so I'm nearly in profit

Been cutting down on the mileage then Jon?

Once you vector in higher tax and insurance for the Tdi and prob higher servicing costs even doing as much as 20,000 miles per year

:eek: I didn't know a 1.9tdi cost more in road tax than a 1.6 petrol? I thought the reduced CO2 emmisions meant the diesel was cheaper on tax and insurance.

Just renewed tax on my fabia vrs. Cost

:eek: I didn't know a 1.9tdi cost more in road tax than a 1.6 petrol?

It doesn't.

Oh and insurance isn't more expensive either , so thats even more of William's calculations gone wrong

Group 7E for the 1.6 classic and 6E for the 1.9 TDI classic.

Servicing costs are all of

For car tax sorry you are right for a new car the Tdi is cheaper, but older cars the larger capacity of the engine set the tax and made it dearer than the 1.6. I disagree however with insurance. I have run a quote through the Elephant.co.uk web page and for me to drive a 1.6 Octy Classic would cost

Its difficult to say anything negative about diesels here without getting flamed.

I have owned and driven diesels for many years but if you are entirely honest with smaller mass market cars

1) Diesels cost a lot more to buy (new)

2) Diesels are a lot noisier than their petrol "equivalent"

3) Diesels cost a lot more to service (look beyond the 10k or 20k service - look at cambelts/mafs/sensors/fuel filters/brakes etc)

Interesting to note that the latest EuroIV diesels are coming in a lot less fuel efficient than the older EuroIII diesels (whereas newer petrol engines are getting more economical)

If they launch the new Octavia VRS in petrol and diesel variants, which would you buy and why?