Hi

As per thread title, what is the current perceived wisdom please?

A friend is looking at BWM or Audi, mid range models, or possibly a Prius. As it probably doesn't make a lot of difference in running costs between petrol and diesel (i.e. diesel give more miles but cost more per gallon), I'm wondering if anyone has a crystal ball to see the future.

For example, is there any reason for a difference in resale value beteen petrol and diesel anyway? Will the Prius (or similar) carry a premium and any others will plummet accordingly?

Thank you

Mo

PS In the current climate of care over carbon emissions, he'll have a "particulates filter" if diesel and reckons it'll add some £400 to the cost. I guess that's what you call a green cotton filter? Ta.

Particulate filter is in the exhaust, and actively burns off emissions. It's a way of meeting the Euro IV regs.

Diesel residules will be better than petrol as the cost of oil increases, as well as the better economy of them.

Many thanks. Do you know if those particulate filters can be cleaned or have to be replaced - meaning that if they add about

Some are elctrically cleaned, others use diesel to burn off the trapped particles.

Either way its a way the manufacturers can get the cars to meet Euro IV standards (amongst other things) Peugeot has started to introduce it on its newer diesels.

And no, its not a retrofit item.

Many thanks Kentish

Mo

Diesels seem to have a slightly better resale value than petrols in the current economic climate, partly because people buying second hand are generally more thrifty and diesels are perceived to be cheaper to run - once you've offset the extra initial cost of purchasing one.

Prius. Hmm. I'm not going to describe the driving experience, suffice to say they are no more economical than a good diesel unless driven in town all the time. Resale value is a tricky one.

A big worry about hybrid cars is the cost of replacing the batteries or how long they last.

With that hanging over them I'd expect ones that are out of warranty to be pretty poor at holding their value

And I've just checked the residual values on my diesel octy compared to a 2.0 litre petrol one. At 3 years and 80k miles the diesel is worth £1000 more than the petrol which offsets much of the difference in purchase cost

And I've just checked the residual values on my diesel octy compared to a 2.0 litre petrol one. At 3 years and 80k miles the diesel is worth

Hi again. Re particulate filters:

WW_VRS said: "Particulates filter is very effective too, and IIRC they're now fitted to the newer models to meet EU IV spec. That said it is restrictive which isn't great."

Can WW_VRS or another tell me please what "restrictive" means?

Ref Post #41 here:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/reducing-exhaust-soot/53384/

Many thanks

Mo

The filters are designed to catch large particles of soot and allow the gas through , but like anything that gets in the way it will restrict the flow of air.

Stick a sock over the end of a vacuum cleaner hose and you'll see the same effect.

In practice it shouldn't cause any loss of performance as the exhaust pipe can be made slightly wider to still allow the same flow rate through it

Can WW_VRS or another tell me please what "restrictive" means?

It means the exhaust isn't as free-flowing as it would be without the filter

Chris

No idea if its applicable in this case but its definitely on the money saving/frugality front. Under the lovely Red Ken, the Prius is *currently* exempt from the London congestion charge. So if you had to drive into London every weekday you'd be looking at saving £2K a year rising to £2.5K in 2008 (today's papers). Unfortunately you can't get a £1K powershift grant on them anymore. But I doubt any car will be able to match the prius for that sort of value, Offsetting most of the depreciation.

The new Honda hybrid would also be an alternative to the prius and is a better looking car

Thank you

FAO daiking: As you probably know, there's a lot of activity in "The City" about major investment companies looking at whether they need to be "green" re carbon emissions. On that basis alone (i.e. whether one lives in London or not), your post is certainly applicable in the forward scheme of things, methinks

Thanks and regards

Mo