Hi everyone.

I was on the fence on between a VRS Tdi PD 170 or VRS T FSI then deciding on getting a VRS Tdi PD 170 2007 MODEL.

After reading the horror stories regarding DPF issues I just got back on the fence again.

I only do a round commute of 20 MILES/DAY. On a fast B road. With another 5000k on top throughout the year for other journeys.

So my questions are . Does the 2007 MODEL PD 170 have a DPF. If so could I get DPF issues on a 10MILE journey twice a day.?

If I went for the PD170 I would be saving about £500/year (petrol,insurance.road tax) but would this be false economy if the maintenance cost is higher for a PD 170?

Thanks for future replies to this topic.

Edited 12 September, 201015 yr by octiman

Not sure at what point the DPF was fitted to the vRS, however 20 miles a day is a little over 5,000 miles a year which is well below average.

I'm a fan of the punchy torque offered by the PD diesel's but then I've never driven a petrol VRs.

With your mileage and the concerns you have with DPF's I'd go for a petrol and treat the wife to a weekend away with the difference in the purchase price!

Not sure at what point the DPF was fitted to the vRS, however 20 miles a day is a little over 5,000 miles a year which is well below average.

I'm a fan of the punchy torque offered by the PD diesel's but then I've never driven a petrol VRs.

With your mileage and the concerns you have with DPF's I'd go for a petrol and treat the wife to a weekend away with the difference in the purchase price!

+1

With that sort of mileage I'd also go petrol; the forum is full of this type of conversation if you want some more opinions btw.

All the pd170s had a DPF fitted so the one you are looking at will have one. That said I had a pd 170 for nearly 4 years doing a similar distant and roads each day to work and had no issues with the DPF over this time. 10 miles will be enough to get the engine to temperature and you should have enough speed etc to regen the DPF with no issues. I did a similar 10k per year and saved nicely on fuel/tax etc. I now have the CR 170 and still no DPF issues. Test drive them both and then decide which you want from there but do not worry about the DPF.

Guys, some of you are missing the point that he's doing 20 miles/day commuting plus another 5k a year in other journeys, making it 10k a year which is pretty average.

Also, remember that in a financial sense it doesn't matter how many miles PER YEAR you do in your diesel, it's how many miles you will do in the entire time you own it (you only pay the extra purchase price once therefor you have the entire time you own the car to make back the difference by saving on fuel).

You'll also make back most of the extra outlay for a diesel when you come to sell it anyway.

I think only a tiny minority of people would not benefit financially from running a diesel (those people would have to do low milage and/or not keep their car very long).

Whether the saving is worth it or not is an entirely different matter and is a matter of personal opinion :p

Oh, and sorry I couldn't be any help on the DPF issue!

Also, remember that in a financial sense it doesn't matter how many miles PER YEAR you do in your diesel, it's how many miles you will do in the entire time you own it

Oops, I missed the extra 5K a year

The amount of miles you do a year does matter because the cost of the diesel fuel itself is more expensive, its not just about the additional cost of a diesel engine over a petrol.

When trying to work out the costs involved in running a car it makes sense to use a year as your measure. Most other costs including tax, MOT, insurance, depreciation, servicing, average mileage etc. is all often calculated on a yearly basis.

It is also sometimes very difficult to know how many years you intend to keep a car.

Even doing average mileage (12-15K) a petrol could still be a wise choice.

But I agree, the best way to decide is take them both for extended test drives

Try this site, may make your mind up.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/petrol-vs-diesel/

Sense from Steveoraith. It's the total mileage/ownership period which matters.

As an example, in our family we have an ancient diesel Peugeot 106 - passed from parent to kids. It's now done 160k miles with very little other than routine maintenance. The engine has similarly not been touched.

Fuel cost (diesel) for 160k miles £7,000

Fuel cost for petrol 106 in 160k miles £12,000 (Estimated figure - if I had bought a 1.1 petrol 106).

The car cost me £5k bought nearly new 12 years ago. It has now completely paid for itself during this period and owes me nothing at all. Other costs - servicing and insurance are the same for both versions.

I hope my diesel Superb will do the same - but unlike the Peugeot, VAG haven't finished designing it - water ingress, seized pinch bolts + 100 other things they couldn't be bothered to sort out. So, Toyota next time.

rotodiesel.

Edited 12 September, 201015 yr by rotodiesel

That's all good and well if like you the OP keeps his car for 12 years and plans to run it until it dies. Your basing your calculation on fuel costs only. Not having to sell the car means you haven't had to considor depreciation and second hand values.

I too have an ancient Peugeot diesel, but a 306. Like your 106 it owes me nothing after 11 years and 130,000 miles fault free motoring.

The only reason I chose a diesel Scout was I favored its punchy torque together with the lack of used petrols.

If it was down to purely running costs for my annual mileage the petrol would have made much more sense even if we did know at purchase how long we were going to keep it.

I would choose the petrol every time over the diesel for three very good reasons:

1 - DPF

2 - Porous Cylinder Head

3 - Turbo

My wife had an A3 with the 2.0L TDI and the bottom two hit us for a tidy £3,000 (Genuine parts, Indy garage). My father also had a turbo go on on his 2.0L TDI Golf, £1,700 (VW Main dealer).

I know the Petrol also has a turbo, but from all the info I have read on this forum the diesel seems to eat them far more often.

The porous cylinder head should be fixed by now, but I have seen people reporting it in cars as late as 2008 build.

DPF, can't comment, but seen enough posts on this forum to know that it is a pretty poor design.

Factor that all in and I will not be buying a VAG 2.0 TDI until the engine is completely redesigned.

I do about average mileage now days and I went for the diesel. That was purely for the reasons that I prefer how a diesel drives in everyday use (I find I become a rev nut when in a petrol) and just because my mileage is about average now does not mean it will stay like that (used to be doing about 30k a year) so I wanted something that should things change then I would not have to change cars.

So far I've only clocked up 7k in 9 months and so far no issues with the DPF. I do a mix of around town work and motorway driving.

I would say go test drive both see which one you prefer driving and then look at the problems/costs etc and then out weigh which is the better one to own.

I'm sure someone on here will know when the DPF came into effect

Hi all those that helped me to decide.

I have done it finally purchased a 2008 Octavia VRS T FSI Race Blue ........ Yes a petrol. Job done. End of choosing, now to enjoy driving "Bluey" (i know not very original, but that's daughters for you).

Thanks for all your replies.

Best engine and best colour, good man. Welcome to the club; I'll look out for you since I'm local (Whiteley). I'm in a T-FSI Estate in Race Blue (56 plate) now with added Briskoda.net sticker in the rear window !

Best engine and best colour, good man. Welcome to the club; I'll look out for you since I'm local (Whiteley). I'm in a T-FSI Estate in Race Blue (56 plate) now with added Briskoda.net sticker in the rear window !

Great if I see you coming I'll give you a flash (if you know what i mean).

........ Yes a petrol.

good choice.

from all the stories (dpf, build delays) i'm hearing with diesels, i'm so glad i didn't go down that path.

enjoy the new ride