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Original poster

Diesel cars??

27 replies

Lilyminilli · 06/01/2022 19:08

I’ve been pondering treating myself to a new (secondhand) car. I’m pretty indecisive so decided to look for something which has all the buttons (heated seats, parking assist etc some luxury extras that I’d like). This brought up a few diesel cars. I’ve never had a diesel and I know that these are being phased out so is it a good idea??
I’m worried I’ll be left with a white elephant or that diesel fuel won’t be sold in a few years.

OP posts:
BleuJay · 06/01/2022 19:10

Diesel will be continued to be sold as vans, trucks and lorries are mainly diesel.

BoodleBug51 · 06/01/2022 19:12

Diesel cars are fine, as long as you're not doing lots of short journeys. It takes a good run to clear out the particle filter, and if you're not doing that, they can be problematic. DH is fine with his as he averages around 50 miles a day but DD was using hers for the school run/shopping and ended up having to get rid of the car. Do your research on DPF's before buying.
www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/emissions/diesel-particulate-filters/

I think there are far too many on the road for diesel to disappear for quite a few years.

Original poster
Lilyminilli · 06/01/2022 19:15

Thanks. I hadn’t thought about commercial vehicles. And good point on short journeys. I only average 6000 miles a year.

OP posts:

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Cars & vehicles
GlitterSquid · 06/01/2022 19:16

If you buy a brand new diesel car now, by the time it is at the end of its life and on its way to the scrapheap electric vehicles will still be in their infancy.

Until they can produce safe, reliable, cost effective, environmentally sound electric vehicles en masse the whole concept is nothing more than an embarrassing period in motor vehicle manufacturing. It's a pipe dream.

elelel · 06/01/2022 19:19

I would choose a second hand car on its age/mileage reliability history etc, trim levels come second to that.

lljkk · 06/01/2022 19:25

Car geek friends & family all advised against diesel recently, when we replaced our family car. On logic that the planned phase out means a lot of problems, and diesels as private cars aren't lasting as well / as low maintenance as they used to be.

pizzaobsessed · 06/01/2022 19:26

If you're doing 6,000 miles a year, of which most are short journeys, it doesn't make sense to buy a diesel IMO

TaylorsSwimShorts · 06/01/2022 19:29

You should take into consideration your location, I live in East London had had to swap my lively diesel for a petrol car in October when the ULEZ came in...this might be planned for other parts of the country...

TaylorsSwimShorts · 06/01/2022 19:32

The ULEZ wouldn't apply to newer diesels, so brand new or only a couple of years old wouldn't be charged 🙂

Iluvfriends · 06/01/2022 19:33

I've had older diesel cars with no issues buy had no idea about the filter on the newer ones. I got a newer used diesel a few moths ago and like a pp said make sure you give it a good run regularly. I'm now having issues with the dpf (diesel particate filter) because i've only done short journeys. Garage managed to unblock it and within a few days it was blocked again so i assume it might need a professional clean. I believe that's about £250......a new filter in the high hundreds.
I love my car i just need to make sure i go for a run every now and again to clear the filter.

Shade17 · 06/01/2022 19:34

For 6k/year, petrol is the sensible choice

sleighbellsjiggling · 07/01/2022 00:25

I agree with PP about the particulate filter, I've just had to spend a couple of hundred on mine. I didn't realise that doing short journeys and not filling up more than £20 at a time would affect it. It wasn't something that was mentioned to me.

If doing regular decent length journeys then go for it, my car ran like a dream when I was commuting daily and I got decent miles from a fill.

LondonQueen · 07/01/2022 00:38

Don't buy a diesel if you only do 6000 miles per year, you'll clog up the DPF, it's better to get a petrol for lower mileage, say under at least 10k.

MaybeHeIsMyCat · 07/01/2022 00:47

Definitely petrol. I spend my days dealing with DPF which are the bane of my life Grin

PlanetNormal · 07/01/2022 00:58

Diesels are great for high-mileage drivers, but I definitely wouldn’t buy one if I was only doing 6000 miles a year because of the DPF. Also, it’s only going to become more expensive to drive them into city centres in future as councils hate them. The fact that knackered old buses, vans & taxis belch out far more pollution than modern diesel cars doesn’t seem to cross their minds…

LemonSwan · 07/01/2022 01:16

I do a lot of short journeys in my diesel - think 1- two miles each way 6 times a week and a longer run perhaps once a month. Had it for nearly 8 years now and no issues with the DPF.

The key is to run it at like 2500- 3000rpm on a short run. Basically always one gear too low.

DP drives it like its a bloody petrol at like 1500-2000 and after a week its chugging about and I have to take it for a mega blitz to burn off the crap - which is driving down the motorway at 70 in fourth/fifth gear (depending on how many you have) for a couple of junctions and back.

Shade17 · 07/01/2022 07:08

DP drives it like its a bloody petrol at like 1500-2000

You normally drive petrols at higher RPM than diesels. If he drives a petrol at 1500-2000RPM it must take him an age to accelerate.

butterfly990 · 07/01/2022 07:18

I am having trouble with my particulate filter. I travel long distances every day including motorway at a decent speed.

I have been told a couple of things. You can fix the filter yourself by driving it at a high rev for over 20 minutes. The garage that I went to refused to add more of the liquid as although it is located in an awkward place the real problem was that it is difficult to tell the electronic warning system that the fault has been fixed. So it can continue to flag up an error.

Have you looked at a petrol/electric hibred car?

PiglingBlonde · 07/01/2022 07:25

I have a hybrid car with all the gadgets you lost in your op (it parks itself!) and do about 8000 miles a year which it does very happily - that might be a good option?

BarbaraofSeville · 07/01/2022 07:50

@Lilyminilli

I’ve been pondering treating myself to a new (secondhand) car. I’m pretty indecisive so decided to look for something which has all the buttons (heated seats, parking assist etc some luxury extras that I’d like). This brought up a few diesel cars. I’ve never had a diesel and I know that these are being phased out so is it a good idea?? I’m worried I’ll be left with a white elephant or that diesel fuel won’t be sold in a few years.
If they're still selling diesel cars until at least 2030, diesel will still be widely available until a good 10-15 years after that.

An old diesel car in the 2030s might even become a commodity as in there may be attractive scrappage deals to swap to a new electric car. Your old diesel car could get you a big discount.

Having said that, I agree that you should be looking at petrol or hybrid for that mileage especially if you drive in cities that might be subject to ULEZ charges. You might even find that larger petrol engined cars are cheaper than diesel because higher mileage drivers are put off by the fuel costs.

Gechik · 07/01/2022 08:06

We have a diesel and will do until they are phased out but we tow a caravan and DH drives long journeys for his hobbies which are mainly in the countryside. I wouldn't get one if I did mainly short town drives and more cities will likely start charging ULEZ charges. DH had an event in Birmingham and will use my small petrol car because of this charge.

BocolateChiscuits · 07/01/2022 09:51

I used this recently to find out about the pollution at my home in a London Suburb.

www.globalcleanair.org/solutions-and-resources/london-pollution-sources-map/

I've found out my home averaged 39.38 μg/m³ of NOx. The largest contributor was road traffic, causing 45.7% of it. Diesel cars caused 40.8% of that and petrol cars caused 10.1% .

So if you do get a diesel try and drive it away from my place please :-D

dementedma · 07/01/2022 09:56

I currently have a diesel which I need to replace this year. I didn't even know about this filter thing but I do over 25,000 miles a year so maybe that's why! I'm thinking about a hybrid - anyone any thoughts on those. I don't want all electric.

LemonSwan · 07/01/2022 12:42

@Shade17

He has no excuse then! I assumed this was an old bad habit. It really irritates me when he drives like it but for the sake of our relationship I can only bring it up so often. My poor car.

TangfasticsAreFantastic · 07/01/2022 15:47

@TaylorsSwimShorts

The ULEZ wouldn't apply to newer diesels, so brand new or only a couple of years old wouldn't be charged 🙂
Agreed. I drive a 2017 diesel and as it was pre April 2017 I only pay £30 a year in car tax. I don't have to worry about the ULEZ zone, but I would have in my old diesel car that it replaced.

I drive around 12,000 miles a year, so the increased mileage out of a tank is good, but I do still feel a little uncomfortable driving a diesel, so this will be my last diesel car.

I suspect my next car will be petrol. I won't go electric until the range improves or I can afford a Tesla.

Diesels do tend to be more expensive to buy and maintain, so if your focus is on the trim levels you might want to wait it out for a while if you can.

Easier said than done at the moment I know. I heard second hand cars are in short supply at the moment so I looked up the value of my 2017 plate BMW 3 series that I paid £21k for in 2018. BMW are only currently selling one 3 series car the same reg year and spec as mine nationwide and it's £19,500. It's ridiculous!

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