# Diesel



## Sasquatch (Jan 28, 2012)

I've been considering buying a Diesel passenger vehicle when the time comes to get rid of my wife's car. That's about 1 to 2 years away.

I won't even consider domestic made Diesels because from what I've heard and read, they are crap that nightmares are made of 

I'd consider a Volkswagen or a Mercedes (if I can find one reasonably priced) and more than likely it'll be 2 to 3 years old.

Anybody out there that has one of the aforementioned vehicles or has had one in the past?

Are they really as thrifty on fuel as they claim?

Would it make sense for us because we only drive about 10 000 kms per year?

My dad had owned Diesel Cars for the last 40 years and he swears by them.

Are they more expensive to maintain, ie. more frequent service intervalls etc?

I'm curious about any comments, positive or negative. you might care to share .


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## GreenAvenue (Dec 28, 2011)

We have had diesels for the last 25 years, now I'm driving a Volkswagon, I love them. Diesel isn't hard on the engine, you can easily drive 300k with it, in the long run it's cheaper, even if you only drive only 100k/year.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I like the idea of diesels, but VW is the only company that makes mass market diesels (ie, non-luxury) in Canada, and they have a dubious quality record. I would consider one if I did some heavy commuting, like >25k km per year.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Yea +1 the only mass market 2/3 year old diesel in Canada is Jetta. The Passat just came recently as well? Their reliability is fine if you get one that was actually made in Germany vice Mexico. Many many great choices of turbo diesel's in Europe that get 1000+ kms on a tank and out perform gas engines for street driving imo (torque). I'd buy one but they cannot be imported to Canada. Even Ford makes some popular turbo diesels - not sold in NA.


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## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

What's your driving cycle like? Mostly city, mostly highway?

Diesels are more efficient than traditional gas cars, but most of the benefit comes through in highway driving (i.e.: they don't have all the extra tricks of hybrids to reduce city fuel use). The savings also aren't as good as some people claim (those who look at the ratings of diesels in european countries and compare directly to ratings of cars here, without accounting for the difference in standards and test procedures), but as long as your expectations aren't unreasonable, there are decent fuel savings to be had.

If your driving is almost exclusively highway, or if you tow, or if you live in the mountains, then they can be a great choice. If it's more mixed or mostly city, and you don't need to tow, you'll be better off with a hybrid.

The cost premium for a diesel is about the same as that for a hybrid, so it suffers the same issues for payback with low annual mileage. Of course, if you're considering a Mercedes, then payback may not be front-of-mind


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

I put 800,000km's on my Dodge diesel till it got stolen...but I guess it was domestic crap.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

cummings diesel engines are the best!period......i don't get it?domestics are'nt crap @ all.


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## GreenAvenue (Dec 28, 2011)

As far as I know all Canadian VW's come from Germany. Order one and they'll tell you it's going to take 6 months. We have a Touareg, great car, it's our second and I can recommend it. 
Cumming diesel are not as good on gas as the finer family car diesels, Cummings is for torque, it's not going to save you money in the long run. 
The only downside on the VW's is that they have rather boring interiors just like the Mercedes'. But my wallet smiles and my family fits in the car so you don't hear me complain....


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## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

Any thoughts on the new Prius C? About $21k MSRP. So about $4k more expensive than a comparable toyota yaris.

If it takes 4-5 years to recoup the original extra cost, is it still "worth it" ?


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