Diesel golf or diesel focus?

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totalimp, Jul 5, 2:52pm
Hubby wants a diesel, so kind of narrows it down to golf or focus. Don’t want to go any smaller. Will be used to and from work, approx 20-30kms each way with small hills. Looking for reasonable maintenance costs so I’m picking that outs the golf out with it being European? Any years to avoid? Budget around 15/20k.

intrade, Jul 5, 2:54pm
well Depends .
Now if you do less then 50km in one hit at moderated speed at least once a week, Then you can not buy any newer diesel. unless you want 10 tousends of dollers in repair bills.

kazbanz, Jul 5, 2:55pm
sorry totalimp but I vote neither. Given ALL the costs involved in running/rego/ruc/servicing a small diesel I just cant recommend one.

thejazzpianoma, Jul 5, 3:00pm
Focus Diesel is every bit as European as the Golf, only a lesser quality.
I would get the Golf every single time as in Diesel it comes with the super reliable 6 speed DSG transmission. Ford tried to copy this idea but theirs is renowned for catastrophic failures.
Maintenance costs are going to be much the same. The Golf has the advantage of being the most popular car in the world so if you need something unusual for it, chances are it will be cheaper, but in fairness the Focus is popular too.
I would also consider a petrol too and do the math carefully as well as considering an electric car.
A modern Petrol Golf is absurdly economical even in the city thanks to it's clever design, however I do prefer the transmission in the Diesel. (assuming a 2.0 Diesel here).
The other one I would consider for exceptional value for money and believe it or not very low running and maintenance costs is the Alfa Giulietta. A beautiful little car with an absolutely supurb ultra economical and reliable engine.
Also. Audi/Skoda are also VW products. Sometimes they can be better value than a Golf so keep an eye out there.

thejazzpianoma, Jul 5, 3:01pm
Service costs for a Diesel are usually slightly less than a Petrol.
The best way is to do the actual math on the rest of those costs. Don't guess.

thejazzpianoma, Jul 5, 3:02pm
Also, if buying a VW group product with a Petrol engine or the small Diesel. Avoid anything Pre 2011 due to a transmission issue. You should be out of that range in your budget anyway.

vtecintegra, Jul 5, 3:03pm
Diesel cars make zero sense here but there are a few other options

- Hyundai i30
- Kia Rio
- Various Peugeot and Citroen models
- Toyota Corolla
- BMW 1 series
- Mercedes Benz B Class
- Fiat Punto
- Other Volkswagen group cars like Skoda and Audi

Anyway Koreans aside they're mostly European models, even the diesel Corolla is (or was) sourced from the UK and has an engine not used widely outside of Europe and the Focus is Euro Ford

intrade, Jul 5, 3:13pm
can he drive a manual ? or is it mostly stuck in traffic to and from work?
vag manual 6 speed are the best transmission on this planet. i got it in both my bora and the passat. Ford is not knowen for good transmissions be it manual or automatic. Toyota are also not knowen to have tuff manual transmissions.

totalimp, Jul 5, 3:13pm
I’ve tried batting for petrols but hubby ain’t listening. We’ve got 2 safaris - both dieselso kind of aware of running costs. Thanks for the tips, will explore options. Keep it coming though!

totalimp, Jul 5, 3:13pm
It’ll be me driving and yup I can drive a manual. and it won’t be stop a tart, I leave at 7am and traffic is clear. Mixture Of 50/70kms, some 100.

totalimp, Jul 5, 3:18pm
WHy do diesel cars make no sense?

intrade, Jul 5, 3:25pm
look for a 6 speed manual diesel vag grupe are vw, audi ,seat, skoda,
They are all the same drivetrain if it has a 6 speed H shifter lever it will only need a flywheel clutch conversion one day .
The problem with DSG is they have 2 flywheel and you can not convert these so 2 dualmass and clutch kits once one fails you might as well do the both of them and thats if i do it 5 to 6 grand . as where a conversion of the 6 speed will be 2 grand and then next time probably 1000 for just the clutch job without flywheel.
You need the full service history of a car unless its ultra cheap.

vtecintegra, Jul 5, 3:28pm
Because of how they are taxed here.

kazbanz, Jul 5, 3:31pm
Theres your problem right there.
A 'big" vehicle like a Safari makes total sense being Diesel. Not only is it "old" technology but dollars saved running the diesel vs petrol way outweigh the cost of ruc,servicing and the extra rego costs. added to that the older diesels run super happily on our low sulphur diesel whereas the modern little cars were set up for the zero sulphur diesel available everywhere else in the world.
BUT don't take my word for it. The information is REALLY easy to access.
First of all theres the registration cost. You will find that it is double or more for diesel than the exact same model in Petrol let alone alternatives that are even more economical.
the government fuel economy rating for vehicles or the AA economy information will give you the cost in $ per km driven -just fuel costs.
RUC payable per km is easy to find.
Your local garage will tell servicing costs. remembering that diesels do require servicing more often than petrol. effectively a ratio of 3 services to petrols 2.
Again--bigger/older vehicles Diesel is the clever option. In a hatch I don't agree it is.
ONE time it does make sense is if you are diesel fleet operator. no need to explain that one

thejazzpianoma, Jul 5, 3:44pm
Your Diesel Safari's will only serve to confuse you in terms of running and service costs. Especially if old.
Modern petrols, as in from manufacturers using up to date tech are crazy economical and very hard to beat. Diesel still makes very good sense in larger less economical vehicles though.

intrade, Jul 5, 3:48pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPokMwARf1U
thats the engine ARL code
and how it accelerates.

intrade, Jul 5, 3:55pm
and thats what happens when you chip tune it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlYqxo9hM4Y

you can also drive slow with them of course but its nice to know that if you need to overtake in 1 or 2 secounds you can.

sw20, Jul 5, 3:57pm
Chip tuning? If you want more performance, buy a faster car to start with. That isn't even fast.

thejazzpianoma, Jul 5, 4:09pm
Here are some figures to help you out. I am going to assume 25km a day 6 days a week. I am not going to worry about rego costs because the difference is so small it's here nor there.

I will use the claimed city economy which is probably going to be on the heavy side for your use.

Firstly, here is a Fiat Panda, it's probably what I would use in your circumstance and will give us a good baseline for a best possible scenario in terms of petrol running cost.

Panda 0.9 Twinair Petrol (small engine but plenty of go)
$17.25 A week or $897 a Year
The Panda is also going to give you superior depreciation and ultra low service and repair costs. These are the things that will actually save you the money.

Golf 2.0 TDI
Fuel + Road Tax
$1190 a year or $23 a week

Giulietta Petrol 1.4
$1200 a year or $23 a week

The Mondeo Diesel will be similar running costs to the VW Diesel. The Guilietta will use much the same as a Golf 1.4 so I haven't worked out for those.

Looking at the figures, it would be between the Giulietta and the Panda for me. The answer would depend on how frugal I needed to be. The Difference won't be so much the direct running cost but the Panda has cheaper tyres, cheaper initial cost, and less depreciation.

That said, teh Giulietta is an absolutely supurb motor vehicle for the money and won't cost that much more in the scheme of things. Reliability wise, I would take the Giulietta over the Mondeo and even rate it well compared to the Golf.

One final note, we are assuming the vehicle is only being used for work. You are actually well under the typical Kiwi annual milage if that is the case. Most kiwis do about 15K a year so if it's also being used for shopping and at the weekends etc. Then double all figures as that will put you pretty much bang on the average.

intrade, Jul 5, 4:12pm
RE 1 i recomend you go test drive the ARL golf it can do short trips without huge issues it only has a diesel catalisator. if you need to spend another 5grand on repair and services it still be a good car if the rest is fine drives quick = its ok basically and no smoke they will make a slight puff of smoke if you floor it as do all diesel without a DPF if it has a dpf the exhaust wont smoke and is clean 2007 onwards can have dpf you see a filter in the instrument cluster with ignition on .
The clutch is due soon 160 tousend km any time after that . Flywheel must be replaced in any case. i done the clutch 2 times . when i did buy it the guy said clutch done flywheel no. 2000km later the flywheel was gone and i had to redo it all again . Probably fit the clutch and pressure plate on my passat as i think i replace that with a DMF not sure . the solid mass is quite good from valeo that i got .

thejazzpianoma, Jul 5, 4:12pm
Also, take a Panda and a Giulietta for a drive. They are a hoot in the city and even the Panda is very capable on the motorway. Just make sure you set the Giulietta to "Dynamic" as it is far more fun to drive in that mode and in normal mode you probably won't appreciate it anywhere near as much. I am fairly confident after driving those two your decision will be very easy.

totalimp, Jul 5, 4:33pm
Oh for goodness sake. This is proving to be difficult then. So what do you guys all recommend for a car, the newer the better, 15/20k, let’s open it up to petrol and diesel. Want reasonably cheap running costs including fuel and maintenance. It’s going to be my daily runner with 2 kids to and from work. Approx 50km a day. Give or take. I don’t want anything smaller than a corolla/focus/golf. I’m over 6 foot and solid. Power isn’t a biggie, we’ve got 2 old safaris so I’m used to not being able to drag race. Having said that, I used to have a 550i and sv6 so I enjoy good cars

intrade, Jul 5, 4:49pm
petrol id get LPG injected

bazfan, Jul 5, 4:49pm
2013+ Petrol Toyota Corolla with a 1.8 engine would be my pic. Also like the new Civic but it may not be in your price range

msigg, Jul 5, 5:08pm
Yes as above go test drive the newer corolla, they have excellent power and very good economy, will be cheaper overall running cost than the two diesel you are looking at. They are really nice to drive, the best of the smaller cars without a doubt. Of the diesel you are looking at if you had to I would get the golf, but it won't be as good as the corolla. Each to their own.