Question about diesels.

Hi, I've just got a question about diesel cars. I don't know too much about cars so I always thought diesels were for bigger vehicles, but I've noticed there are lots of new cars with diesel options available. Can you tell me the pros and cons of diesels.

diesel in new zealand is basically a waste of time thanks to the con of the government. the roadusercharges you have to pay for a diesel are byond a joke so high and the fuel on top needs additive to prevent real expensive repairs sooner or later on any diesel new and old. These 2 factors alone kill any potential gains you would make unless of courseyou make your own fuel or you dont pay the road user charges. but be warned you have to know if you can think of a way how not to pay they are not stupid, new law is comming out for police to search cars for cheating road-user and they calculate your normal milage you would drive like tax office and if it is inconsistant they will visit you and search your car for cheating methodes. Also wof places must now enter the milage correctly every 6 monthsthey used to do theis anyhow but are soon if not already required to take accurate readings to help this new law.

got any links to this "new law"! And how the hell can they calculate what your normal usage would be! I don't think NZTA has the resources to monitor every private diesel road users usage then launch a fullscale search of the vehicle to uncover any hidden switches or what have you, sounds like wives tales to me!

Diesels are suited to every size vehicle but traditionally the technology was not there to make them good in smaller vehicles. As the engines have got lighter, quieter, more powerful and more economical they have been introduced into cars of every size right from the small VW Lupo to the big SUVs you see at the soccer field.

Pros of diesel is they use bugger all fuel, for example the Mini cooper diesel will use under 4L per 100km. Diesels are normally driven right in their power-band, unlike a petrol where you normally need to chop down a gear to get good performance in the diesel you just plant it and it will haul arse right from low RPM. This also makes them absolutely brilliant to drive on the open road because you don't have to work to hold 100 up hills and passing is just a matter of giving itthe boot.

Expensive road user charges are a bit of a myth. Because the tax is separate you notice it more and it feels more expensive but the reality is, if your petrol vehicle uses more than 8L/100km then you are actually paying more in road user charges than what a diesel car would. This work to the benefit of the thirstier diesels like 4x4 but when it comes to ultra economical diesels it is not to their advantage. It works like this because RUC is a per Km tax and on petrol the tax is per litre at a rate of about 60c per litre.

Registration is more expensive on diesels because the ACC component is higher. If the per KM savings do not overcome this extra $100 or so dollars per year (which is unlikely) then it will cost you more than running a petrol. The number of Km that this takes depends on how much cheaper the diesel version of the vehicle is to run in comparison to the petrol version. In small vehicles like the mini cooper this distance will be much higher than in large thirsty vehicles like a mitsi pajero 4x4.

Servicing on diesel engines has come a long way but in most cases will need to be serviced more than petrol engines and if you dont do your own this can be a significant cost. For example something like an older nissan terrano needs servicing every 5000km and the services are quite expensive but the petrol one would be 10,000 and cheaper services too because less oil required. In the modern diesels the servicing costs between petrols and diesels are much closer than ten years ago.

Diesels are quite sensitive to fuel quality so it is important that the fuel filters are changed according to the service schedule and the diesel tank is treated for diesel bug perhaps once a year. The fuel system works at extremely high pressure with very fine tolerances so water in the fuel or other contaminants can cause expensive damage very quickly.

Diesels arent for everyone and before buying it is important to evaluate whether they will be cost effective and suitable for your driving habits.

I thought that too, but considering the rest of the post is absolute rubbish Im sure this part is too

lol ,imagine the roadside cop doing a full strip down of everyone's utes at 2am or whatever

also this total rubbish about additives.i've been driving diesels every day for the last 10 years at least, none of them ever get any additives, nor do any of my mates ones. nobody i know has ever had any injector problems apart from 1 guy i know who had a very early high mileage neglected in every way terrano which leaked a little bit of diesel around the pump somewhere.

scaremongering by diesel haters!

I've always found this a bit of a double edged sword - the flip side is a typical turbo diesel has a power band so narrow you're forever changing gears to stay in it. Also diesels are typically (obviously there are some exceptions) slower to accelerate than an equivalent petrol car when both are in their optimum power bands.

Thats why I think the VWs DSG transmissions are natural match to their smaller TDIs

Vtec & morrisman are spot on in their own ways.
it all depends on.

What you need it for
What you do with it
Garage or personal servicing
How you treat it.

Pretty much the same for a petrol engine but being able to do the servicing /repairs etc your self has a bigger impact.

Basicly to get the best for the average person, it's a case of .

Diesel = high km's/ self servicing/ large loads/ long distance
Petrol = low km's/ garage servicing /short trips /small loads

Normal usage would be calculated from the wof km sheet over the last few years you have owned it & distance to your work-home etc
In other words, what could be expected from who / where & what you do .

I figured it could come from wof sheets but NZTA has no knowledge about where people work or how often they drive to work so I don't think it would be able to be policed

AND sir .
your home address is!
You work at !
Of which the expected distance is!

Plus Wof details

Not using additives will not necessarily cause damage or guarantee that your diesel engine or injector pump ect gets destroyed, That is a little scaremonger-ish.
However a little 2 stroke oil in the diesel or diesel fuel additives do go a long way to making components last longer by keeping the injector pump better lubricated ect.
There are good benefits. I to was highly skeptical at first because many fuel additives are a scam but having talked to a few diesel mechanics and tryed it out it does make a difference.

Me either . have had a diesel from mid 93' and have never stuck in any additive - and have never had any fuel related problems on the everyday diesel vehicle. Whats that about sticking 2 stroke oil in your gas tank!

motorup in the engine works a treat

See it just wouldn't work, I'm sure the costs of monitoring distances would outweigh the benefits anyway

wow good luck calculating use I have diesel ute and motorbike sometimes I don't use ute for weeks.the guy before me was a builder and used ute everyday.oh it was off the road for months while I rebuilt the motor

so if your on benefit and not driving to work they wont look at you!
you drive diesel car for two years then get company car.do you expect a knock on the door

I wonder where ppl come up with such crap
ps my ute is registered in Hastings and stored in akl.might have to get secret service to check it out