After diesel gate - diesel or petrol Mercedes?

Clio

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Not sure if this belongs here, but I couldn't see anywhere else for it. Hopefully one of the admins will move it if necessary :confused:

My husband does a lot of miles, much of it motorway but also city driving, and really loves his C220 CDi. Unfortunately, it's become quite poorly and we're considering selling/scrapping it. The question is do we stick with the diesel engine which has been incredibly cost effective for us in terms of mpg's, or switch to a petrol engine which will be more expensive to run.

As we are looking at potentially buying a 2/3 year old car, both will be Euro 6 but there's still the super fine particles to worry about and the government do seem to be very anti diesel so it wouldn't surprise me if any all diesel cars incur penalties at some point.

We've read several articles about diesel vs petrol, the bottom falling out of the diesel market, penalties for diesel cars and so forth and wondered what people on this forum thought of the situation and whether they'll be sticking with their diesels or switching when buying another Mercedes.

I was also wondering whether Mercedes would offer some kind of conversion option to switch from diesel to another fuel in the event it becomes a real problem going forward.

Apologies if the question has been discussed on the forum previously. I did check, but couldn't find anything :)
 
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M80

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If the Gov't could get away with instant penalties that would increase their revenue they would, but the back lash has already slowed their desire.
I would expect some silly excuse taxation but for it to be staged. In a few years it may well bite but too many would disagree with heavy penalties so the Gov't will attempt to cause buyers to switch over time.
IMHO.
 

geraldrobins

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A new c200 petrol has lower emissions than a 2004 c220 diesel and a lower the consumption.
However both Mercedes and Ford are doing a scrappage scheme allowing you to buy either a petrol or diesel and all are euro6. So with euro6 I don't think k you need to worry much yet in my opinion.
 
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Clio

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If the Gov't could get away with instant penalties that would increase their revenue they would, but the back lash has already slowed their desire.
I would expect some silly excuse taxation but for it to be staged. In a few years it may well bite but too many would disagree with heavy penalties so the Gov't will attempt to cause buyers to switch over time.
IMHO.

Agreed on all counts, although I've been told by a friend in the industry that diesel sales have fallen dramatically and that they're struggling to shift second hand diesels. As usual, the government has gone off half cocked!
 
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Clio

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A new c200 petrol has lower emissions than a 2004 c220 diesel and a lower the consumption.
However both Mercedes and Ford are doing a scrappage scheme allowing you to buy either a petrol or diesel and all are euro6. So with euro6 I don't think k you need to worry much yet in my opinion.

Agree with respect to lower emissions and consumption, but the other consideration is when someone plans on changing their car in the future. If the government impose penalties on diesels, including Euro 6, then residual values will go through the floor and no one will buy them.

We've spoken to a few friends who are thinking of changing their cars and they don't know what to do either. The government need to announce their intentions sooner rather than later or consumers and the car industry will suffer.
 
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M80

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I see opportunity to buy a high quality diesel at a very affordable price.

I expect many are worried and holding back to see what happens next, next could be a long time off though.

Also how much of the worry is down to the Gov't and how much is down to the media?
 

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I think tougher mot,s will be brought in with a lot stricter checks designed to get older cars off the road forcing people to buy newer models.
 

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The current plan is to get rid of both Diesel and Petrol cars with the 2040 restrictions, so I don't think that one would outlive another, for a significant time anyway. I'd just go with what is most suitable for your current situation.
 

geraldrobins

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Agreed on all counts, although I've been told by a friend in the industry that diesel sales have fallen dramatically and that they're struggling to shift second hand diesels. As usual, the government has gone off half cocked!
Maybe but I dont see any marked reduction in diesel values yet. The government hasnt actually said much apart from proposing to end new diesel and petrol car sales by 2040 and some adjusting of road fund tax rates. There is talk of charging diesel cars in some cities if they dont meet euro 6 though.
But if youre concerned then go for the petrol, I probably would if buying again, but I am not a high mileage user, and you probably need a very high mileage to make a significant fuel saving any way with modern cars.
 
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Clio

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I see opportunity to buy a high quality diesel at a very affordable price.

I expect many are worried and holding back to see what happens next, next could be a long time off though.

Also how much of the worry is down to the Gov't and how much is down to the media?

You know that dealers will never miss a trick - from what we've seen over the last few months diesel prices remain high, and prices for 'sought after' petrol engines have increased!

We've certainly been holding off for a while but, as you say, it could be a long time before the government make anything official.

Totally agree with your comment re Government vs media in terms of fanning the flames.
 
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Clio

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The current plan is to get rid of both Diesel and Petrol cars with the 2040 restrictions, so I don't think that one would outlive another, for a significant time anyway. I'd just go with what is most suitable for your current situation.

Good point re 2040, although that seems like yet another half cocked plan by the government with little real thought behind it. Where is the energy going to come from to power all these hybrid/electric cars? Where are all the scrapped cars going to go (unless they can be converted somehow)?
 
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Clio

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Maybe but I dont see any marked reduction in diesel values yet. The government hasnt actually said much apart from proposing to end new diesel and petrol car sales by 2040 and some adjusting of road fund tax rates. There is talk of charging diesel cars in some cities if they dont meet euro 6 though.
But if youre concerned then go for the petrol, I probably would if buying again, but I am not a high mileage user, and you probably need a very high mileage to make a significant fuel saving any way with modern cars.

It seems that the government have said enough to cause a problem for consumers and dealers to some extent, but aren't going to flesh it out until the Autumn 2017 budget. We had hoped to keep our car running for at least another year whilst this all pans out, but unfortunately problems with it mean that we may not be able to hold out that long.

My husband drives approx 23,000 miles a year. We've done a bit of research and the figures we've found so far suggest that his current car averages out at around 43mpg which is about right. A new C200 diesel would average 45mpg, whilst a new petrol is only 34mpg.

One of our concerns is residual values in a few years when we come to sell the car, particularly if it's diesel.
 
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Clio

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they are, but its only applicable to Euro 4 cars or older (mine is the first of the Euro 5 models)

We think ours is a Euro 4 (2014 C220 CDi).
 

geraldrobins

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It seems that the government have said enough to cause a problem for consumers and dealers to some extent, but aren't going to flesh it out until the Autumn 2017 budget. We had hoped to keep our car running for at least another year whilst this all pans out, but unfortunately problems with it mean that we may not be able to hold out that long.

My husband drives approx 23,000 miles a year. We've done a bit of research and the figures we've found so far suggest that his current car averages out at around 43mpg which is about right. A new C200 diesel would average 45mpg, whilst a new petrol is only 34mpg.

One of our concerns is residual values in a few years when we come to sell the car, particularly if it's diesel.

I'm not sure I agree with your figures but you may be right.http://www.parkers.co.uk/mercedes-benz/c-class/saloon-2014/specs/
 
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Clio

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geraldrobins

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The figures were, in theory at least, 'actuals' or forecasts based on actuals from Equa Index: http://equaindex.com/ rather than the manufacturer published mpg's. We're still researching though so may come up with something different.
Interesting but does it actually give figures for your current car as a comparison.

What car also do an mpg guide based on drivers experience.
 

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We think ours is a Euro 4 (2014 C220 CDi).

euro 5 came out at some point in 2010 I believe (or 2009 the actual regs, with compliance to be obtained by a set point in 2010) in the case of my Mondeo, the point of compliance came at the same point as a facelift which build started in November 2010 (mine was built November 18th 2010 IIRC)
 
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Clio

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Interesting but does it actually give figures for your current car as a comparison.

What car also do an mpg guide based on drivers experience.

Yes, that's an average of 43 mpg mentioned which my husband thought was about right.

I'll check out What car, thanks for that.
 
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Clio

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euro 5 came out at some point in 2010 I believe (or 2009 the actual regs, with compliance to be obtained by a set point in 2010) in the case of my Mondeo, the point of compliance came at the same point as a facelift which build started in November 2010 (mine was built November 18th 2010 IIRC)

Thanks for that. A dealer thought ours would be a Euro 4. I'll have to see if I can find out where I can check it properly.
 

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