Should I go for a Diesel?

[Ricey]

Our family car is on its last legs and we’ve been looking at changing it for a while. We’ve always said when it starts to cost us money we will trade it in. Well as the head is possibly on its way out time to trade the self combusting Zafira in.

As I have a big family I need a 7 Seater and we have narrowed it down to a couple. The one we are really fond of is the Nissan X-Trail. We won’t be buying new and just looking at second hand.

Question is should I go Diesel or petrol? We have found a great deal on a Diesel one but the wife is now concerned with all the bad press diesels are getting. Is this something that’s going to affect us over the period of ownership which could be 6-10 years?

What are the pros and cons. I’ve read a few articles and they don’t really give me much indication.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Driving a diesel is like smoking around your kids.

 

[Ricky Otto]

The other half has a Mercedes A180d and it's very economical. We are both becoming more and more eco conscious though and the Met got a load of electric mini countryman which she drives for work. Buying and furnishing the house is the priority for this year but next year we might look into the electric countryman

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Stay clear of the oil burners, they will be almost worthless in a few years. There is a reason why supposedly great deals are offered - they are being dumped on the market.
The cost of diesel will rise quickly, the tax and restrictions on diesel will increase, the resale will be small and new legislation on emissions will hit the pocket hard to get through MOTs.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Driving a diesel is like smoking around your kids.

Incorrect. It is like smoking around other people kids.

 

[GBJ]

I say get one, and keep it as a collectible item.

It could be worth literally hundreds of pounds in years to come.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Cheers for posting this Ricey, I'm in a very similar position as you and have the same concerns.

Looks like everyone's advising to avoid diesels. Quite a tough one though as I find the larger vehicles are mostly diesel.

 

[RobM]

Diesel vehicles produce more torque at low revs than petrol, hence why bases and HGVs are all Diesel.

 

[Ricey]

Thanks everyone for the advice, seems the best plan of action is to avoid diesels. Makes sense why they are dropping in price and offering to good to be true deals.

 

[Member]

I would avoid diesel, there are plenty of 7-seater petrol and hybrid options if you're looking to keep it for a while and hopefully in the next few years electric will continue to fall in price.

I've only driven the diesel but the petrol Kodiaq gets decent reviews, and I imagine with an auto box wouldn't be too bad to drive. You'll be able to find them 2-3 years old now as well.

 

[Ricey]

Cheers for posting this Ricey, I'm in a very similar position as you and have the same concerns.

Looks like everyone's advising to avoid diesels. Quite a tough one though as I find the larger vehicles are mostly diesel.

The salesman I just spoke with at Nissan even told me it’s better to go for a petrol than a diesel.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Yep, diesel's are done out here. They will be phased out completely, if the government gets its way.

 

[Ricey]

Yep, diesel's are done out here. They will be phased out completely, if the government gets its way.

Amazing that only a couple of years ago they were the ones saying Diesel is the way forward.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Amazing that only a couple of years ago they were the ones saying Diesel is the way forward.

It was 2001 when Chancellor Gordon Brown cut fuel duty on diesels, in an effort to get people to switch, due to wrong information provided, and things they hadn't yet learnt. I found this, which explains why we have turned against diesels.

The cracks took a long time to appear, but when they did they splintered rapidly. In 2012 came the first major evidence of some truly dreadful health impacts. Nitrogen oxides and dioxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) pumped out by diesel exhausts were fingered as silent killers. The studies multiplied. The European Environment Agency found that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from diesel fumes had caused around 71,000 premature deaths across the continent in a single year. It said the UK experienced 11,940 annual premature deaths from NO2, the second highest in Europe behind Italy. The World Health Organisation declared diesel exhaust a carcinogenic, a cause of lung cancer in the same category as asbestos and mustard gas.

 

[Mad Cyril]

I bought a diesel but I need a car that is more of a van for my active lifestyle.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Amazing that only a couple of years ago they were the ones saying Diesel is the way forward.

Two of my neighbours have recently bought new diesels because the salesmen offered them great deals etc.
The one who bought a new Honda CRV is trying to sue the dealer as the "addblue" and engine management light keep coming on as he does too few miles, too low revs etc to keep engine "clean", he had petrol Honda from new from same place and was told it would not be a concern!
Same story with the other neighbour, she bought a Merc, only drives about 20 miles a week! and has not got a clue about cars (great baker) and was. again, miss-sold .

 

[londonblue]

It was 2001 when Chancellor Gordon Brown cut fuel duty on diesels, in an effort to get people to switch, due to wrong information provided, and things they hadn't yet learnt. I found this, which explains why we have turned against diesels.

The cracks took a long time to appear, but when they did they splintered rapidly. In 2012 came the first major evidence of some truly dreadful health impacts. Nitrogen oxides and dioxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) pumped out by diesel exhausts were fingered as silent killers. The studies multiplied. The European Environment Agency found that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from diesel fumes had caused around 71,000 premature deaths across the continent in a single year. It said the UK experienced 11,940 annual premature deaths from NO2, the second highest in Europe behind Italy. The World Health Organisation declared diesel exhaust a carcinogenic, a cause of lung cancer in the same category as asbestos and mustard gas.

That's not entirely true. A friend of mine is an economist who works for the Treasury. He was part of the team that did the original research for Gordon Brown. He even told me at the time that the issue was that diesel was bad for the local environment since the particulates are heavier and don't blow around so much. The issue may be that the take up was greater than expected. (As an aside, speed bumps also cause pollution since people are continuously speeding up and slowing down which may also have contributed to the issue, at least in housing areas.)

Going back to the original point. My previous two cars were diesel but my current one is petrol. I came to the conclusion (after a small amount of research) that petrol is bad for the world environment, and diesel is bad for the local environment. You can't win either way so I went for the one that would be better for me financially. Given that petrol cars are cheaper to buy, but diesel itself is also cheaper I had some sums to do.

It worked out that I would have to do about 20,000 miles a year over 3/4 years (can't remember which for diesel to work out cheaper. I don't even manage 10,000 miles a year.

 

[rigsby]

Wonder why Mayor Khan has suddenly reduced the life span of an electric cab along the same lines as the diesel ones.

Even if you do the decent thing the rules can change over night.

 

[Napster]

We have a diesel but will be buying electric once we change. Maybe a Tesla

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Moved away from diesel in January this year. I get more mpg from my 1.5 hybrid petrol than my old 1.8 Focus diesel.

Looking to change again at some point to a Nissan Pulsar 1.6 petrol. 50 mpg combined and 190bhp.