Two elderly neighbours of mine have recently taken delivery of diesel Ka's. Their previous cars were 8 & 10 year old petrol Micras and Corsa's, and they only drive around 4k miles pa.Once out of warranty, am I correct in thinking that repairs could potentially be higher than their petrol equivalents, and could they also suffer from DPF problems, assuming they are fitted to this model.
Personally I would have thought that a small petrol version would prove cheaper to run, as both owners intend to keep for another 8+ years. I see no advantage whatsoever in buying a diesel in these circumstances, but stand to be corrected.
As a low mileage motorist myself, about 8k pa, I run a 6 year old 3.0 petrol, my assumption being that the largest cost of any privately owned car is depreciation. Hopefully, by buying my convertible in January, this will be limited. This assumes low insurance costs because of my age & postcode.
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Completely agree, no advantage, should have bought petrol 1.2. They'll never break even. Plus all the DPF troubles that might lie ahead on that kind of low mileage/useage.
Wonder what kind of advice they were given by the respective sales people?
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agree
no point in buying here unless you are nicking it from widow twanky
and her pants smell
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They are probably still living in the days of Mk 1 Golf Pug 205 and 106 Diesels, when a gallon of DERV would see 60mpg just pottering around a couple of miles a day with a mostly cold engine, and given regular servicing these cars and their equivalents would run for years trouble free, and still do in many cases.
As a wise memebr of this board you should have assumed the responsibility of looking out for these old folk Legacylad, and i trust you'll feel rightly shamed when the DPF's etc start playing up soon as...;)
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Quite right gb
if I had any indication from them that they were thinking of changing their respective cars then I would have offered advice and spent a day helping them with their future purchases.
They are both in their late 70's and I see no point at this juncture in pointing out any potential future pitfalls.
My own Auntie got scammed, when, on a whim one Saturday, entered her immaculate Micra into the scrappage scheme. I could have sold that car unseen to a number of friends and saved her a considerable amount in the process.
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>> My own Auntie got scammed, when, on a whim one Saturday, entered her immaculate Micra
>> into the scrappage scheme. I could have sold that car unseen to a number of
>> friends and saved her a considerable amount in the process.
>>
Makes you weep some of the grand cherished little motors that were sacrificed on that ill thought out scheme.
Lads at one Toyota garage were nearly in tears over an immaculate Starlet a senior lady bought from them new and they'd looked after it all of her ownership seeing it taken away for scrapping.
Hopefully with an odd run out they'll be ok.
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Who knows what the price differential between petrol and diesel (cost of fuel or road tax) may be in 8-10 years when they come to sell?
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Sat 19 Jun 10 at 22:59
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Without wishing to be indelicate, it probably won't be them who will be doing the selling...
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>> Without wishing to be indelicate, it probably won't be them who will be doing the
>> selling...
>>
When legacylad said "Two elderly neighbours ........." it depends on his definition of elderly. I've seen newspaper articles where 60 year-olds were referred to as elderly!
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A Ford Ka is a properly engineered vehicle, so I don't see why it should suffer DPF problems.
The DPF on my CC3 works without me noticing it.
I reckon this couple will save about £80 a year each on fuel, so if they keep the cars 10 years they may come out about even on fuel costs.
Servicing on a diesel should be cheaper, particularly over eight or 10 years.
Petrol probably would have been a better bet, but the difference one way or the other is so small as to be not worth worrying about.
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I've driven at least 3 Ka courtesy cars and I found the driver's seat excruciatingly uncomfortable. The 25 mile journey to work was as much as I could stand. I wouldn't recommend a Ka to someone elderly.
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It`s the same diesel engine that`s fitted to the Fiat range as well as other manufacturers using it.
We were very clearly warned off buying it for short journey use by a Fiat dealer.
Very honest I thought.
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>>>We were very clearly warned off buying it for short journey use by a Fiat dealer.<<<
on what grounds?
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I was told that none of the diesels were suitable for short journey use, pmh. By the Dealer Principal himself.
We were discussing the DPF.
As is noted elsewhere - we bought petrol instead.
Last edited by: oilrag on Sun 20 Jun 10 at 10:42
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My brother has used a Panda Multijet diesel as his 'station car' for five years - four or five miles each way.
He's delighted with it, expense limited to fuel and (not especially cheap) servicing.
When he bought it, I told him to give it a blast every fortnight or so, which I think he's done.
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I only ask because my MJ Panda does not have a DPF :)
The use of it varies between very short and long (750miles), with not much in between. The price of diesel in France and an economy of 67 mpg on long trips makes it worth while.
The down side is the warm up time for short trips:(
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As you may know, I have the same engine (05) Punto Van, with no DPF.
Incidentally, I rang a Fiat dealer in the next town - pressed the DPF short journey situation, (very specifically) to a salesman.
He consulted a Tech in the workshop and then rang me back to say the same. He was very dismayed in putting that over - no doubt thinking of a lost sale.
The relevant thing to me though, was that he must have been selling many for short journey use - as he was not aware of the issue. It seems I was the first to ask.
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Maybe a diesel is better because it is louder and they can hear the revs when parking. Also modern small petrols are hard to control at parking speeds for old people because the engines rev up too quickly, have small flywheels and no torque. A diesel is probably just much easier to drive for them.
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...A diesel is probably just much easier to drive for them...
Good point, they probably bought diesels for the best possible reason - because that's what they wanted.
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And now I know why my MJ seems quiet, I must be going deaf, and the yellow colour just looks right thro the cataracts!
:)... (the nearest I could get to a dribbling smiley).
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>> Maybe a diesel is better because it is louder and they can hear the revs
>> when parking. Also modern small petrols are hard to control at parking speeds for old
>> people because the engines rev up too quickly, have small flywheels and no torque. A
>> diesel is probably just much easier to drive for them.
>>
Strange man ST. Very strange.
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At 4k a year, there's no point in buying diesel, not a modern one anyway. At that mileage I doubt they will be driving far enough to warm it through properly and hence keep it running nicely.
But talking about small diesel cars in general, I've always had a hankering for something like the Seat Ibiza Tdi 130, or Skoda Fabia VRS, although I prefer the looks of the former. All that torque in something that weighs next to nothing, good economy figures, and effortless overtaking. A Skoda Roomster with the Tdi engine makes sense because it's capable of carrying big loads, well suited to the diesel, and the countless small vans like the Renault Kangoo or Citroen Berlingo, all of these are popular in my area.
The downside is the usual diesel problems, but the Tdi 130 seems to be one of the best of the breed.
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>>>probably bought diesels for the best possible reason - because that's what they wanted.
Quite!
After the experience of some 65+ cars between us when we wanted a nearly new small car 6mths ago we knew we wanted a diesel because it was a better car for us (well for the good lady). It's what she wanted and what I wanted her to have.
Interestingly we had trouble finding one but were constantly being offered 1.1/1.4 petrols because they were the ones sitting unwanted on the forecourt.
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Some very good practical points made but of course not all buying decisions are made for purely practical reasons. there is normally a healthy chunk of want in with the need. Maybe they just fancied trying diesels. Nowt wrong with that is there? Maybe it could even turn out to be a clever move. If fuel prices continue to rise the re-sale value of a diesel may far outweigh any initial cost and maintenance implications.
I just hope that whatever the motivations were that they enjoy their new wee cars. Good luck to them. Bet they are chuffed with them.
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Good point, I only drive about 8k per year but fancy a diesel as I've never had one and quite fancy the torque as I've got a V6 but is become silly money to run.
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You can`t dispute the fuel consumption reasons with small diesels. My Multijet Punto Van weighs in at around 1,000kg - similar to a Panda.
It did 76mpg on a return trip over to Manchester this week. And 83 mpg one way, with a bit of a tail wind - down the M1 to Sheffield That`s on the trip computer, mind.
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At least yours is getting some use oily. The people in the orginal post wont even recoup the extra purchase cost with such limited use.
A small diesel is most certainly not for the "once a week to the shop" brigade either mechanically or economically
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>When legacylad said "Two elderly neighbours ........." it depends on his definition of elderly. I've seen newspaper articles where 60 year-olds were referred to as elderly! <
I'll give you an opinion on that at the end of August.
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Small diesel cars. Any advantages? - Baz
