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We’ve moved house, so now need to increase the family car count from 1 to 2. Previously I rode to work. But now it’s a 29 mile commute (each way) in the car for me, so roughly 15k miles commute miles. It’s A roads all the way, 50mph avg, no stop start/traffic.
I don’t have much to spend on the second car that I’ll be driving, £4k ish, maybe stretch a bit more.
So looking at 10 year old cars, with hatch / estate to carry dogs/bikes etc etc.
Question is, are older or higher mileage diesels to be avoided in favour of petrol and slightly worse mpg? A bit of basic research suggests diesel might be more hassle than the mpg savings are worth. What da ya reckon?
Thats a lot of money on a 10yr old car which may or may not be good for more than a few more years.
Personally Id spend about 1-2k on a disposable car. If it lasts more than that your a winner. Lots of older cars for that sort of money that wont have you feeling you have lost out if they die or get banned from town centres in a few years.
With the money you save you wont need to worry about mpg or insurance or you could even buy a new bike.
There's been a couple or eras of diesels. 10 years puts you in the era of common rail diesel so you should avoid some of the pitfalls of the earlier ones, but it's pre DEF (AdBlue) so very high local pollution level and probably wouldn't be allowed in the London ULEZ.
Your commute sounds perfect for a diesel in terms of efficiency and minimising pollution.
Tricky one at the moment, but for what it's worth I have just bought a diesel Leon estate to replace our (POS) C3 Picasso petrol.
There are a couple of things to consider with your commute.
Have you done the calculation on petrol v's diesel cost? At 15k miles I expect that the diesel will financially have a small advantage - i think the more expensive 'new' cost of a diesel won't be relevant if you are looking at cars around £4k.
You need to consider the reliability of a second hand diesel compared to a second hand petrol. For me, this wouldn't be a massive concern, but I seem to have good luck with diesels.
My last one went to 274k miles (~12yrs old) and none of the 'diesel specific' bits failed. It was still on it's original clutch, turbo, injectors, fuel pump, exhaust....but it didn't have a dpf.
I am currently driving my Wife's Ibiza 2 litre TDi. I think it's got 107k miles on it (might be 117k - can't remember) and nothing has gone wrong apart from a holed radiator.
If you are getting into territory of cars with dpf's then this would be my only area of concern. Their lifetime will be very much dependant on the driving habits of the previous owners.
The final consideration for me would be the difference in driving characteristics between a petrol & a diesel.
I like the torque characteristics of a diesel & find them more relaxing to drive than petrol equivalents, especially on a commute when you just want to get where you are going with the minimum of fuss.
29 miles each way?
Diesel.
I had a mk3 mondeo, it could take a chest freezer in the back (seats down) with ease.
Consider also, subaru legacy/outback, skoda superb, vw passat, there are loads.
It's south coast, no city/ULEZ concerns yet.
I do prefer the way diesels drive, more relaxing. The road flows well most of the time, a few over taking opportunities along the way but mostly no need, just cruise and enjoy the music.
I'd just read a few pages on DPFs, DMFs, swirl flaps etc that rasied concerns. The car would have enough time to get hot. I guess once you get down to this level it's pot luck anyway.
While I like my outback I’m not sure I can recommend the boxxer diesel. Mine needed a new short block at 125,000 miles. Fortunately Subaru UK were very generous and did it out of warranty and free of charge but the paperwork I saw at the dealership put the work north of £6k.
So I’m torn between recommending Subaru for awesome customer service or slating them for dodgy Diesel engines...