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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not want to buy a diesel car these days?

107 replies

barleyteddy · 08/01/2017 09:56

Just that really….with all the negativity around diesel cars, carcinogenic fumes etc would you buy one?
We need to buy a 2nd hand 7 seater ( 3rd baby due in Spring) and everything seems to be diesel….would prefer to buy something less polluting though.
Any thoughts? AIBU?

OP posts:
manhowdy · 09/01/2017 04:35

Bloody hell eye-opening thread. I was under no illusion that any car fumes were good, but didn't realise diesel was so bad for human health.

I have a diesel BMW parked up against the house and have always been a bit Hmm as the fumes sometimes come in the house when it's started up, especially in cold weather.

I think I shall adjust how I park it from now on. And next car I will consider alternatives.

bluetongue · 09/01/2017 08:41

I hate diesel. My daily commute is on a diesel bus and they spew out foul black smoke. So much for travelling on public transport being environmentally friendly. Sure, diesel cars aren't quite as bad but I'd never buy one and it's fairly well known that many European governments have realised that promoting diesel cars was a mistake. Just look at the problems they have in Paris.

MintyLizzy9 · 09/01/2017 08:50

Newer diesels are much more environmentally friendly, mine (almost 4 years old) is road tax exempt due to such low emmisions!

I also get the best part of 450/500 miles form a tank that costs around 50 quid to fill ☺️

CasperGutman · 09/01/2017 09:12

Buy an electric car or plug-in hybrid, and charge it at home. If you care about emissions your home electricity will already come from a low-emission source (renewables/nuclear) I'm sure.

Newtssuitcase · 09/01/2017 09:30

Yes Im also interested in whether this is true of new diesel cars (having been dragged around a car showroom yesterday). We are looking at a diesel car but the road tax is £30 and the MPG is 69. This doesn't sound as though it can be a horrible polluting machine??

Frazzled2207 · 09/01/2017 10:23

Suitcase
Minty
Diesel cars are not remotely environmentally friendly and governments are on the verge of starting to dissuade people from buying them.
Cities including Paris and Madrid are about to ban then completely from coming in, so much is the concern.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/02/four-of-worlds-biggest-cities-to-ban-diesel-cars-from-their-centres
Petrol is not exactly friendly either, and electric/hybrid is a bit better but just shifting the problem as pp said. But diesel is very bad for people's health especially children and those with pre-existing respiratory issues.

Newtssuitcase · 09/01/2017 10:49

Ah well, I'm afraid that whether or not they are "environmentally friendly" in terms of the health implications, the fact that I get so many more miles per gallon will probably more than offset any "fee" - which if anything is presumably likely to be added to road tax.

It's a shame but living in the sticks we need a large car which can handle difficult weather conditions. I shall have to polish my halo some other way Sad but at least if what is said upthread is true it's better for the planet on the whole. It seems like another of those scenarios where it's not actually black and white .

Rainmaker1 · 09/01/2017 13:29

A top tip for those concerned about DPFs - have the fucker gutted and the ECU remapped. Had great results with this on our family bus. Technically illegal, but what the hell!

WillBeatJanuaryBlues · 09/01/2017 13:39

we have diesel and it was cost driven decision.
However I was in the dark at how pollutant they are, where I live I would not buy one again no. But we are in built up town. If I had large drive and was out in country I may think differently.

BabychamSocialist · 09/01/2017 14:26

DP's is a diesel and is exempt from road tax due to it being very low in terms of emissions. I've got a Nissan Leaf which is electric and I love it!

TalkinPeace · 09/01/2017 15:06

Newts
The killer pollution from Diesels is the
NOx - the bit that VW are rather in a mess for fiddling massively
and the particulates - PM10 and PM2.5
both of which definitely cause smog, respiratory disease and pretty certainly cause cancer among other things.

There is a lot more to car pollution than CO2

my new petrol car has stop-start technology so does not idle at the lights
and as a 7 speed auto gets fantastic MPG (up to 48 on a motorway run)
even though its a big heavy, powerful estate

PossumInAPearTree · 09/01/2017 15:15

Don't get a DPF removed. It used to be all the rage to do this but I've heard that it's expected that it will soon be an mot requirement to check the dpf is still there. Some companies are still offering to do it as they say the mot check will be a visual only inspection and that they can leave the unit in situ and looking like it's connected. I wouldn't risk it.

wasonthelist · 09/01/2017 15:32

A top tip for those concerned about DPFs - have the fucker gutted and the ECU remapped. Had great results with this on our family bus. Technically illegal, but what the hell!

Yeah, who gives a fuck about anyone else's lungs eh?

wasonthelist · 09/01/2017 15:36

All this talk of emissions and pollution is always very short-term as sharpenedpencil alluded to up thread.

The biggest emmisions hit on most cars is the manufacturing process - far more damaging to the environment than the use of the thing over a 15 year span. There's an argument that people running "old bangers" provided they are well maintained are some of the most environmentalist. It's not a simple equation, but switching allegiances and buying the "newer, less polluting" version every five years is just convenient way to keep the car industry going.

Original poster
barleyteddy · 09/01/2017 16:16

I agree whatsonthelist. If I didn't need more room with new baby I'd gladly stick with our current car which is now 8 years old. I'm someone who generally keeps a car until it just doesn't go anymore..... But I have found myself now needing to change our car and I'm struggling to find one big enough, cost effective, efficient and green!

OP posts:
Rainmaker1 · 09/01/2017 16:40

I've heard that it's expected that it will soon be an mot requirement to check the dpf is still there

It's already an MOT requirement. The check is merely a visual one though.

Rainmaker1 · 09/01/2017 16:48

TalkinPeace That's interesting you say that, what's the car? Really good to hear how large engined modern petrols can perform in the real world from an MPG perspective. I'm going to take a guess at a 330i/530i?

wasonthelist · 09/01/2017 16:55

But I have found myself now needing to change our car and I'm struggling to find one big enough, cost effective, efficient and green!

You can probably pick two from that list, not all four :)

PickAChew · 09/01/2017 16:55

We had the same problem with a dpf in a Mazda 6, happymum. This car did over 1000 miles a month, mostly on country roads and dual carriageways - exactly the sort of driving they're meant to do. It always clogged after a long motorway run and we got rid in the end because it was too unreliable and would have cost more than the car was worth to replace.

I suspect there's an awful lot of older diesels on the road with the dpfs drilled out because they've failed with age or because they were faulty. We weren't willing to do that, so went back to petrol.

PickAChew · 09/01/2017 17:03

Our petrol 1.8L Avensis Tourer gets the same mpg as our 2L Mazda 6 did, btw. I'm Hmm about the trend towards 1.4l engines in cars this size, mind. They'd probably be just plain frustrating on rural roads and motorways. Best for city driving.

PossumInAPearTree · 09/01/2017 17:22

I've got a dpf diesel. Car is about 8yo and has 30,000 on the clock. Does mainly short runs (seven miles to work). Touch wood no problem with the dpf.

FoggyMorn · 09/01/2017 19:46

The government wants to be seen to do something about city pollution and diesel cars are an easy target imo.

Yes, they release particulates and these are implicated (caused/contributed to) in a number of deaths (9 or 10 thousand a year in the U.K. I think), and that's awful of course, but without compassion to other sources of pollution it doesn't mean much - how many per year killed by petrol cars, coal fired power station emissions , or a hundred and one other things we are exposed to every day?

Modern Diesel engines (and city diesel) mean modern diesel cars aren't so much of an issue as lorries, trains, vans and busses which can have very large particulate emissions.

I've been involved in an incident where a petrol car caught fire while I was driving it. I narrowly escaped with my two children, one a teen and the other a toddler. The teen had minor burns. We've only had diesel cars since...

Newtssuitcase · 09/01/2017 19:54

Given that our government has very recently been incentivising people to buy diesel cars it will be interesting to see whether they do anything at all.

SukeyTakeItOffAgain · 09/01/2017 20:31

Talking of diesel, then the emissions from shipping, including cruise ships, are hardly ever mentioned, yet marine diesel is low grade and filthy. Hence cruise ports like Southampton having disproportionately poor air quality for the size of the place - these gigantic engines are constantky running, even in port. Cruise ships are an environmental disaster zone.

TalkinPeace · 09/01/2017 21:14

Foggy
Modern Diesel engines (and city diesel) mean modern diesel cars aren't so much of an issue as lorries, trains, vans and busses which can have very large particulate emissions.
Um no. Emission standards for commercial vehicles are MUCH stricter than domestic cars - and the tests cannot be fixed a la VW

rainmaker
2 litre C class

sukey
Don't I know it. i never ever go into town when more than three boats are in.
The combination of them and the gridlock they cause and the shape of the city makes it awful

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