Quote:
Originally Posted by gangzoom
But regarding the actual thread, most people buy diesels because of better mpg and the need to do big miles. That's why my wife bought a Civic diesel and not a petrol Alfa GT. Still it does the job, nearly 50K in just over 2 years with average mpg of nearly 40. Just a shame it rattles like a tractor and has power and that lasts for 1k rpm.
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Exactly, tools for a job. But when folks buy a diesel at a premium price and only intend to drive it to the shops and drive say 5 - 8k miles a year, based on some crazy headline grabbing mpg figure, the sums just don't add up.
OK, we may say someone is very shallow to buy on the mpg figure alone, but many folks do. Read the forum reviews across the marques, where users are so up tight about not getting the 65mpg figure or whatever they were promised, often believing they will achieve the extra urban figure, as they've read the "up to 65mpg" hype.
There's a bit of human nature which comes in as well, the bulking feeling we have when fuelling a car. I'm aware of users selling cars simply because they can't stomach the thought of say 30mpg against 35mpg. But the losses they are willing to take to change to the 35mpg vehicle so that they "feel comfortable", can run in to £1,000's, never to be recovered.
I've personally been in discussion on this with users. One who took a massive hit on a trade in, to buy what was really an inferior diesel just to get a better feeling at the pumps. If the petrol had been kept and run for the duration of intended ownership, it would have been far better to drive and enjoy and still cheaper, (residual included) even with the perceived waste at the pumps.
HighlandPete