The Petrol vs Diesel debate

[I wanted a GTi]

Blimey, you lot are a right cheery bunch this morning Think I'll just chuck myself over that impending cliff edge now and save all the bother

To be fair if you did you wouldn't need to fork out for the DA so every cloud and all that

[Watts]

Blimey, you lot are a right cheery bunch this morning Think I'll just chuck myself over that impending cliff edge now and save all the bother

To be fair if you did you wouldn't need to fork out for the DA so every cloud and all that

Just thinking about buying one brings me out in the wallet sweats

[Sootchucker]

Truth be told we are all Lemmings and will go where we are forced by future governments, their policies and the incentives to drive us there (there's almost nothing as strong as cost of ownership) 

If I end up in a hybrid that uses hydrogen, an electric cell with solar panels on the roof, and a windmill that pops out of the boot to top everything up when travelling at speed in 10 years then so be it. Trouble is (as Fred said), we are decades behind where we needed to be at this stage ! Rather than push Diesel cars off a cliff (as government has done), a more pragmatic and less knee jerk plan would have been to phase them out over a period of time in favour of alternatives fuels when they becomes more viable. As it is, killing off the diesel car in such a rapid space of time, threatens jobs, slows down the economy and doens't really put us into any other form of transport currently available that's appreciably better than the diesel / petrol combo choice we have now.

I can't worry about it as we will all be in the same camp and it will affect us all. What ever happens, will happen and I'll just go with the flow. I think the way this post has progressed though is that the vast majority of members on a car forum, know much more about climate control, vehicle emissions and technology than most politicians (or their aids).

 

[I wanted a GTi]

Blimey, you lot are a right cheery bunch this morning Think I'll just chuck myself over that impending cliff edge now and save all the bother

To be fair if you did you wouldn't need to fork out for the DA so every cloud and all that

Just thinking about buying one brings me out in the wallet sweats

 

[Restlessnative]

I agree.
The problem is all down to government policy over the last few decades which has favoured diesel.
Totally misguided in my view and I’m glad to see things are at last changing.

Price of diesel going up.
Value of diseasal cars going down.
Demand for diseasal cars falling.

All good.

Just for a second there- i thought i'd stumbled onto the Greenpeace Forum.
This has been a very interesting thread indeed.

[Sootchucker]

It's taken a few twists and turns this thread, but interesting all the same isn't it ?

As a little update, I'm now seriously considering whether it's practicable or not to purchase the GTD outright early next year.

I have two school of thoughts rattling around my head.

Thought 1 - early next year for relatively little money (in real terms) - £12k, I can own outright a perfectly maintained and mint GTD, in my own preferred spec (lots of extras and toys), in (IMHO) a great colour with only probably less than 22-25k on the clock (currently at 18k). Run it for about 2 years then see (by 2021) what the MK8 GTi brings to the party and then part-ex the GTD which would then be 5 years old. It seems from what I have read, that the tax on diesels will only change for newly registered cars (not existing cars which will remain at £140 - certainly for the short term). Also Euro6 diesels are also exempt form any currently planned inner city penalties (over it's petrol cousins), and that includes the 2019 London ultra low emission zones. So it seems all I'd have to worry about is the price of diesel going up relative to petrol ?

Thought 2 - Sell the GTD now (or very soon) whilst it's still worth something and buy a petrol car (be it a Golf GTI or even the new Polo GTI). I've seen over the last few months some considerable downwards movement in part ex prices on my car, so one issue with this school of thought is that as per the other recent thread about early PCP termination, I could still be in negative equity (albeit only just) with the car, whereas in December I had about £600 collateral. I could of course run the car to the end of the PCP then just had it back to VW UK after taking delivery of whatever petrol car I decided to order.

i tell you, whatever your persuasion (petrol or diesel), this and previous governments it seems have well and truly shafted diesel owners, and whether they want to keep their diesel car or not (some like me are happy with it's blend of looks, handling, performance and fuel economy), it looks like a lot of people are financially forced down the route of either keeping their old diesels until they literally fall apart (as they will be worth nothing), or spend money they never anticipated to upgrade to Petrol or Hybrid sooner than they had wanted to. Of course a net result of this (as we are already seeing) is rising prices on second hand petrol cars. Great for those who are selling, not so good for those wanting to buy.

[fredgroves]

Yes, everything they have done in this mess has just made a mess. They clearly don't want actual action or they'd say something like "Euro 4 or earlier oil burner cars will be banned totally 1st Jan 2019. Bring yours to a government pound and we'll give you 5k in cash for it"

That would do it, but no...

[dubber36]

My choice would be to keep it. If you still like the car and obviously you know it's history, why be forced into changing it?

Even if VED goes up a bit and the fuel at the pump price rises, keeping a top notch diesel will still be way cheaper than having to fund a new vehicle.

[Guzzle]

Heart says change, brain says keep? 

Unless there's something wrong with the GTD, or a big bill on the horizon, it doesn't make much sense to swap one Mk7 for another Mk7 that will be superseded in a couple of years anyway.

Unless its value is far less than the balloon payment, might as well hang on, use the savings to fund an extended warranty if need be, and see what the Mk8 brings.

[Sootchucker]

Heart says change, brain says keep? 

Ha, pretty much spot on !

Yeah, TBH, I think keeping it is the way to go. As you rightly say, even if VED goes up £50 per year it's a drop in the ocean against what I'd have to put down on a new car and then 3 years of continued payments. I already have the money sat in one of my Swiss bank accounts ( ) to fully pay off the balloon payment when the time comes, and it is a good car that will week in week out crack 43mpg at least and nearly 60mpg on a run. Suppose like you say, a decent warranty for the 4th and 5th years should alleviate any worries ?

My wife has already decided she will be buying outright her little Polo Blue GT next year (due on the exact same date as me), because she's not seen anything else (other than the new GTI), that really excites her, and Mel (that's what she calls it), is in the best colour, and has an extensive list of options I had to pony up for (Winter Pack, Navigation, Xenon's, Adaptive Cruise Control, Climate Control, Convenience Pack (Auto Lights and wipers & folding mirrors), App connect and curtain airbags. Oh, and it' currently only done 7.5kmiles in 2 years (as she only now works 2 miles away from home) 

So I guess we already have a nice petrol engined car to hoon around it (with it's 150ps it feels really very sprightly). Here it is: