# Performance Diesels?



## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

A new flat purchase is imminent and I am working out ways of tightening my 'sports car' belt for a short period of time - A max of 6-9 months time period until next July's bonus/pay review. A possible avenue i have to consider is........... and boy do I hate to say this!.................. is to sell the S for something more economical! 

One of the current problems for me is that I do a daily commute of about 25-30 miles round trip, so the fuel bills add up in the S and I end up getting through about Â£300+ a month on fuel (including weekend driving etc) 

I am going to moving closer to where i work, so a vast chunk of that Â£300 can be going towards my mortgage if i can tighten the belt enough.

One of the options is to get a PD car, but which one? With about Â£15k max to spend i have been looking at these Golf options?

The Golf MKIV 1.9TDi 150 PD (236 ft/lb torque)
The Golf MKV 2.0TD GTi 150 (236 ft/lb torque)

But are there others i should consider if i do decide to do the swap?

*must have*
Minimum of 45mpg return
'sporty' and tuneable
Good residuals
Not one of the 'cheaper' marques such as Skoda (I want to protect my residual as much as possible)

Cheers 
Kevin


----------



## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

Mini2 Diesel possibly :?


----------



## paulb (May 6, 2002)

I thought Mark V Golf GT TDi was 140 bhp...

I know you don't want a 'cheaper' marque, but I am well chuffed with my Leon. After AmD it is giving 197 bhp and 302 lb-ft. I got 54 mpg on the 140 mile journey home this evening...


----------



## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

Personally i would put off the Flat purchase for 12 months just to see what happens what with intrestrates on the rise and prices slowing down and in some cases dropping. :?


----------



## garyc (May 7, 2002)

kmpowell said:


> One of the current problems for me is that I do a daily commute of about 25-30 miles round trip, so the fuel bills add up in the S and I end up getting through about Â£300+ a month on fuel (including weekend driving etc)


Moving to a car that does 45mpg from one that does say 25mpg, will save you <Â£2 per daily commute. Say Â£10 a week. For 9 months that's about Â£400 towards the house. Factor in the inevitable loss when selling the S2K, and it hardly seems worthwhile for the commute.

Your current commute must cost about Â£4 a day, say Â£20 a week, Â£80 a month. That leaves Â£220 per month spent on leisure driving. At Â£4 a gall and 25mpg, that's approx 45 galls per month, meaning you travel about 1100 non-business miles per month?

Overall you culd probably get your fuel costs down to about Â£175 per month by switching to a 45mpg diesel. Say Â£1500 towards your flat. That would have to be traded off against cost of change. Any Â£15K car you buy is going to depreciate by at least that much in 9 months.

Doesn't seem a worthwhile exercise. The fuel benefits of switch to derv only really pay in the med term (2 years +) rather than short term. :?


----------



## gcp (Aug 8, 2002)

Keep the S

and buy a scooter


----------



## nutts (May 8, 2002)

Factor in the cash from the sale of the S minus the cost of a 2nd hand Seat or Golf PD TDi...



garyc said:


> kmpowell said:
> 
> 
> > One of the current problems for me is that I do a daily commute of about 25-30 miles round trip, so the fuel bills add up in the S and I end up getting through about Â£300+ a month on fuel (including weekend driving etc)
> ...


----------



## garyc (May 7, 2002)

nutts said:


> Factor in the cash from the sale of the S minus the cost of a 2nd hand Seat or Golf PD TDi...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Assuming there is some...


----------



## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

nutts said:


> Factor in the cash from the sale of the S minus the cost of a 2nd hand Seat or Golf PD TDi...


Yep, thats another factor in the equation. I can get Â£17k from a dealer for mine, or Â£18.5k+ if sold privately. A Golf PD is gonnna set me back about Â£12-Â£14k, therefore i will have teh remaining Â£3-4k to put into my flat deposit. The flat will be close to work, i will walk to work everyday so the only fuel i will use is social and domestic at weekends and the odd trip during the week to the golf club/gym etc, therefore getting the PD will DRAMTICALY cut my fuel overheads/insurance and day to day running.

It all makes economic sense, but i just can't bring myself to do it. I am trying EVERY solution in the book at the momment to keep the S!


----------



## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

kmpowell said:


> nutts said:
> 
> 
> > Factor in the cash from the sale of the S minus the cost of a 2nd hand Seat or Golf PD TDi...
> ...


Is your S fully paid and you own no finance for it? If this is the case then keep the S. But if you have finance and you pay a loan for it, then it makes sense to downsize.

Get a good diesel and mid range you may overake TTs. :wink:


----------



## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

kmpowell said:


> nutts said:
> 
> 
> > Factor in the cash from the sale of the S minus the cost of a 2nd hand Seat or Golf PD TDi...
> ...


Can't you just cut down on the additional driving you are doing?!

Looks like I'm moving house (closer to work too) and changing my car, but the car change is simply because I need something bigger


----------



## Pammy (Nov 10, 2003)

FWIW - it looks like it is your social 7 personal driving that hikes up your bills so not driving to work isn't going to save you that much at all.

But at the end of the day - no matter how much we luv them - they're only cars and unless it is something truly rare - they can always be replaced. If changing your car gives you the money you need for a roof over your head - then it has to have higher priority, but if you are only talking a couple of thousand or so - then tbh - is it worth it?

I offered to downsize my car recently - don't tell any othe MB mates :wink: - if it helped us get a house we thought we might want - but I was talking about releasing about Â£20k after supplying me with another motor. If 2 -3 k makes all the diff - you could prob swing that on the mortgage anyway and use the money you won't spend in fuel costs to pay for it. Just a thought!


----------



## ronin (Sep 6, 2003)

Pammy said:


> wanted a TT but opted for an SLK320 instead - am I sorry - no way, my SLK ROCKS


You still not cured that rocking yet pammy ??


----------



## Pammy (Nov 10, 2003)

ronin said:


> Pammy said:
> 
> 
> > wanted a TT but opted for an SLK320 instead - am I sorry - no way, my SLK ROCKS
> ...


nah - keeps on rockin' away


----------



## Wolfsburger (Oct 21, 2002)

I was in the same situation last year. I sold my S3 and got a 150bhp Golf TDI PD.

To be honest, unless I hit the jackpot I`ll never buy petrol again, my Golf will sit at 85 and still return 50+mpg.

330d next for me!


----------



## justtin (May 6, 2002)

Wolfsburger said:


> 330d next for me!


Picked mine up yesterday, fast as ...., 40mpg motorway and central london driving....

Happy so far

Justin


----------



## Pammy (Nov 10, 2003)

Merc diesles are well worth looking at. Cracking performance!


----------



## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Pammy said:


> Merc diesles are well worth looking at. Cracking performance!


The V6 MB dervs dont like to rev like the BMWs. But theyeare still quite effective.


----------



## marksovereign (Sep 20, 2003)

330D


----------



## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Debadged Skoda Fabia RS (get a second hand one so its taken the depreciation hit) then drop it in at your preferred Chip Shop


----------



## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Kev, it could be a good time to take a look at your life and decide what you really want from it. Running a nice car is a very expensive hobby. The running costs and depreciation alone can be the equivalent to a mortgage, without taking into account the immobilisation of cash or loan interest. I would agree that downsizing is a good way to release capital and reduce overheads, but ask yourself what you are actually going to do with the car when you have moved. If you aren't doing the miles then a diesel isn't a great benefit. Even if you aren't doing the miles then insurance, servicing and depreciation don't change much so having a nice car becomes incredibly expensive per mile. Especially if you don't need it for work. Why not get something older, yet still fun for Â£7k to Â£8k. Well chosen, it will hardly depreciate and will still give you some street cred and be reliable fun whilst freeing up Â£10k towards your flat. It doesn't make you any less of a petrol head because your car won't hit 60 in less than 6 seconds!

Example taken from Autotrader 
01(51) RENAULT CLIO 16V Sport [172bhp] 2.0 Litre engine, 3 door, Hatchback, Black, 38000 miles, Manual ABS. Air conditioning. Alloy wheels. Central locking. Computer. Electric mirrors. Electric windows. Foglights. Immobiliser. Power assisted steering. Â£8000


----------



## Wolfsburger (Oct 21, 2002)

ag said:


> It doesn't make you any less of a petrol head because your car won't hit 60 in less than 6 seconds!


Agree 100% with that! I honestly fought for years against buying a diesel but now I`ve done it I know I should`ve done it ages ago.


----------

