Petrol or Diesel

L

lola1979

Registered User
Messages
26
Hi All

Looking for some advice. I'm doing about 400 miles a week and am thinking about changing from a petrol to a diesel car, do ye think i'd save money over 2/3 years?

Also, I'm thinking of trading in my current car for a mazda 6 (2008) or a an audi a4 (06/07). Any advice?

L
 
if you get an 08 diesel most will save you on tax as well as fuel.

If you are going for A4 the 2.0TDI is the one to get look for the highest spec you can SLINE ideally.

Money is not the only thing, I much prefer the way a diesel drives. Les gear change more of a tordue push in the back on the good ones.

Lots of value to be had on some of the bigger yolks, if you live with the tax on a 3.0 and not great fuel economy a big automatic would make 400 miles a week very easy.

Not very economical but lot of car for 20 grand. [broken link removed]

So yes diesel and there is plenty of choice out there.
 
You need to look at the actual amount of money that you save - as your car is 2008 I'd imagine that you'll lose a fortune on it in the current market. Work out what you'll save in fuel costs over the year in extra MPG, multiply that by a few years and see how much you'll save. My guess is that with the amount that you lose up front, you'll struggle to make up the difference, let alone save any money.

You also need to consider that you'll be selling what is presumably a car that you bought new, and hence know well, and buying a secondhand car. Your Mazda has a very good reputation for overall low running costs.
 
Mathepac should have gone to specsavers.

Also, I'm thinking of trading in my current car for a mazda 6 (2008) or a an audi a4 (06/07). Any advice?
Click to expand...
 
No, no - my fault for watching TV while typing (and not reading properly) :D

Basically my point is to look at whole of life costs and not MPG alone. The cheapest motoring of all is to keep a good reliable car and watch the miles go past. The more reliable makes will last a lot longer than you'd expect.
 
Lola, another consideration is your car insurance. I remember when we first changed to Diesel and a much newer car, I was afraid of the impact on our insurance. However, I was amazed - apparently it is much cheaper to insure a diesel rather than petrol car!!! Not sure if it is still the case. Worth checking.
 
Just a warning on a mazda 6:
Check out honest john backroom for some stories of blown engines on the 2.0 diesel.

"2.0 litre diesels with DPFs are suffering contaminated oil and raised oil levels that can lead to engine damage"

Make sure its the new 2.2 engine
 
Switching from mazda to audi might not be too bad as many audi dealers do mazdas as well (not sure why - historic reasons I guess) and would be open to a trade-in.
 
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