Is it worth it?

[revjames]

As you know, I often sound off on here about car woes. 

Recently I have had a bit of bother with my diesel powered Insignia. It was only the electric handbrake and, thanks to ebay, I managed to fix it and get it MOT'd fairly easily and cheaply.

Now, I'm being told that my DMF (dual mass flywheel) is starting to go. Parts alone to fix are upwards of £500. Then theres the possibility of the DPF (diesel particular filter) needing replacement at some point too - possibly £700

My question for discussion is "are diesels worth the hassle, if so at what annual mileage"

Also - now the gov't have got us all driving them and telling us that due to the low CO2 emissions etc, we should all drive them. And subsequently bribed by lower or even non existent RFL costs. NOW we are told they are terrible, polar bears are dying, respiratory diseases on the rise in cities, some cities saying they will BAN diesels altogether. 

I do about 8-9000 miles a year, I probably paid more for my 11 plate insignia than the equivalent petrol, and I know the MPG would be less but probably 30% or so. 

Seriously considering flogging it and buying a german petrol (maybe even LPG) car

What do you all think?

James

 

[NozSpark]

We have a diesel and do a similar mileage... however most of it is short runs where the engine doesn't get warm enough to even blow warm air through the heater matrix..

We get about 38 mpg,,,, I reckon that we'd get that pretty easily from a petrol....

Although I have had 48mpg out of it on a long run towing a 6 x 4 box trailer packed with camping gear and my daughters Laser dinghy on top.. It's 4.5m from the hitch to the back of the trailer with her boat overhanging by another 600 or 700mm

So for me our next car will be petrol

 

[steptoe]

I'd say,

unless you are doing upwards of 1000mile/month,  diesels are more expensive,

 

[Essex1]

I suppose as anything it all depends what kind of engine it is. 

To to be honest Vauxhalls have never screamed out about their quality of their vehicles. Nor has anyone else. To compare a Vauxhall to a Merc, Audi or BMW is a bit silly. 

I have vans, a truck (all diesel) and a car (petrol). The vans (Transits) do what they say on the tin. They perform week in, week out by drivers that I would say don't really care for them. I service them regularly and with the exception of one have never stopped. They do 25,000 miles a year and they do a tank of fuel on average a week. 

My truck (Nissan Navara) averages about 30 MPG. The engine is a 2.5 L. But it is a huge vehicle. Mechanically, apart from an issue with the 4WD (£250) it has never dropped a beat. Not once. 

My car (Jaguar) around town averages 20 MPG. On the motorway it will out perform my diesel truck and get up to 30-40 MPG. It is a 5.0 L V8. Have not had it long enough to report realistically about reliability. 

So really there is more to a vehicle than MPG. How you drive. Where you drive. How well you service it. How many repairs it needs. How old it is. Etc etc....

 

[Sharpend]

Well my diesel van does circ 16k miles/yr and has over the past couple of years started to cost a fair piece, but then it is 12yr old with 166k on clock. Prior to this it was no more than standard serviceable items or wear and tear items. 

So on balance quite happy. Can't see it costing much over the next couple of years so will keep till she dies!! 

 

[Blue Duck]

In short.... No. Waste of grapes time modern diesels, they try to make them more like petrol cars and courgette them up in the process. 

If you want a diesel buy a tractor... or an older car like an audi 80, bmw 5 series or an early vw tdi as the new ones are just cack!

DMF: another modernish conception...load of ****, if it is going you should be able to hear the flywheel trying to escape when you release the clutch.

DPF: to make diesels more environmentally friendly. meh. you need to boot it on the motorway fairly regularly to clean it out if you dont you will have some quite hefty bills! You can however have it deleted on some cars.

Essentially the car manufacturers have convinced us that diesels are great. They are not, they are killing us but who cares when I can get 60+mpg by driving like grandma.

Dont buy a VAG car they are mostly made of very expesive chocolate and are riddled with common faults & that goes for all their brands.

BMW is one of the only car manufacturers to not rig emissions tests and surpass the standards set by a long way.

The only other European car I could posibly conceive buying would be a volvo, yes they are ford's but they are over engineered by the Swedish.

diesel car related rant over.

I own an audi a4 2.0 tdi and its cost me nearly 2k since last August, hence the rage...

 

[Sharpend]

Should probably add, wifey has a Volvo S60 it again is 12 yr old, fewer miles, petrol and will probably outlast any other car, this hasn't missed a beat in all the years, mind she only does 9k/yr but it's as tight as the day we brought it, unlike the diesel which is beginning to sound like an orchestra in the blackwall tunnel! 

 

[Blue Duck]

I read somewhere that volvo's were designed to last 200k + miles not sure if that's true but there is still loads of old ones knocking about.

Honda's are also supposed to be the most reliable cars if you like boredom.

 

[Sidewinder]


Rev,


Jump in the car the next day you have off and head for England, once you get there down the A55 etc. turn around and go home.


Try to keep to high revs low load and that should regen the DPF at least!


DMF looks around the £3-500 mark at this time.


Though I can ask around if you like?

 

[Blue Duck]

You should at some point notice a cloud of soot (more than what youre used to) then it's done it's business...

 

[Andy™]

Rev,

Jump in the car the next day you have off and head for England, once you get there down the A55 etc. turn around and go home.

Try to keep to high revs low load and that should regen the DPF at least!

DMF looks around the £3-500 mark at this time.

Though I can ask around if you like?

yes, keep him in wales. we dont want him in England! probably doesnt have a passport to get here anyway....

 

[revjames]

Rev,

Jump in the car the next day you have off and head for England, once you get there down the A55 etc. turn around and go home.

Try to keep to high revs low load and that should regen the DPF at least!

DMF looks around the £3-500 mark at this time.

Though I can ask around if you like?

Cheers for all the replies chaps. The only reason I mention the DMF is that I have just spent a long weekend with my bro in law and his family. He just had his Mondeo DMF go. He says mine is beginning to sound like his did before it went. It has done 130K. There is a metallic rattling when the clutch is released. There is also some vibration on the pedal. There is not yet any indication of DPF issues, but I was just factoring in all the hassles associated with diesels. I have had this car for 2 years (3 years old when bought) it had a comprehensive history, but I have had a fair bit of bother with it. 

I also think there is merit in having a £500 car and just hiring one to go on holiday etc....

yes, keep him in wales. we dont want him in England! probably doesnt have a passport to get here anyway....

Dos a stwffio pen I lawr y cyflysterau, y mochyn saes!

 

[Blue Duck]

If it sounds like a drummer with no rythum then is on its way out also selecting gear becomes more difficult.

 

[revjames]

not got to that stage yet.. so good time to flog it or trade it in?

 

[ProDave]

I'm a great fan of Japanese and Petrol. I will be more than happy to get another Subaru when my present one finally gives up, but it's just passed the MOT so should be good for another year. 

 

[Blue Duck]

ProDave is that you?

:lol:

another on the list is the subaru lagacy twin scroll imported of course...

 

[revjames]

Dave, I am tempted. My son drives an Imprezza and I really like it. There is someone not too far away from here trying to get rid of an 02 Legacy estate. 122K looks in really good nick - £200 ..... but.. needs a clutch. Its a 2.5 petrol. Clutch is only £100 but a marathon job to fit. Did consider it as a project.

 

[revjames]

With all the car hassles I've been having, I have been perusing sites on the internet. Considering options, leasing, PCP, trade ins etc etc. There is a site called motoring.co.uk and I get an email from them now and again. I looked at some of the offers. Didnt fill any forms in or request anything. Just got home from a weekend away in Dorset, and the phone (landline) rings; "Hi, its ------ from motoring.co.uk, I noticed you have been looking at some of our deals." I wasn't happy at being stalked like that and told him in no uncertain terms what he could do with the deals. Spooky. I don't recall giving them my phone number.

 

[Sharpend]

I read somewhere that volvo's were designed to last 200k + miles not sure if that's true but there is still loads of old ones knocking about.

Our Volvo dealer has told us that Volvo expect their vehicles to last at least 20 years hence why they have 20+ stamp space in the service books that come with their cars. 

As as a positive? My DMF was rattling for over 2 years before I eventually got her replaced, mind it still wasn't giving me any problems, just an annoying rattle. 

 

[ProDave]

No mine's a Forrester.  Same floor pan and chassis as the Imprezza but a taller, estate body. Prior to that I had three Legacy estates in a row, and before that an older L series estate.

Every one I have had has done high mileage, current one is 160K and I have had others higher. They still run sweet, never burn or leak any oil and as far as I know All on their orignal clurches. Whoever burned that one out at 120K must be one of those drivers that likes to sit at traffic lights on a hill, holding it on the clutch because they are too lazy to use the hand brake.  I would think it's an engine out job to do the clutch on these.

I like them because they are reliable, have dual ratio 4WD for the same price as any other 2WD car, and will pull just about anything you care to hang on the hook.  And a bit better ground clrearance than most ordinary cars.