But a diesel car could be right for you if your annual mileage is around 15,000+ miles per year. This is because diesel is around 20% more efficient than petrol so it should be cheaper to run in the long term, but only for drivers who go long distances or travel on motorways regularly.
Pros of buying a diesel car
Due to diesel engines' increased fuel economy, you can get up to double the kilometres out of a tank, meaning less trips to the service station. Diesel fuel is less prone to price fluctuations than petrol. Some diesels are even more economical than hybrids and are cheaper to buy.
Diesel cars will be banned in the future with the Committee for Sydney announcing plans to ban diesel cars in 2027. Meanwhile, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has announced that the end of petrol and diesel vehicle sales will be 2035.
As the world continues to transition toward cleaner energy sources, diesel fuel is also evolving to become more sustainable. Renewable diesel, for example, is a type of biofuel that is made from renewable resources, such as vegetable oils and animal fats, and runs cleaner than standard, ultra-low-sulfur diesel.
Maintenance cost.
Diesel engines generally need less frequent maintenance than gasoline-powered vehicles. But when service time comes, diesel usually costs more to repair or maintain. Be prepared for higher recurring costs, even if they come less often.
Cons of diesel cars
Diesel fuel usually costs more. Servicing can be more expensive, although you don't need to do it as often. Diesel cars produce a lot more NO2. Diesel engines can be slightly noisier.
"You can get up to maybe 250,000 km or 300,000 km before a gas engine starts to make noise, or burn oil because it's wearing out, but a diesel can quite easily do 500,000 km and still be in excellent shape," says one certified mechanic I spoke with.
Some car industry observers think this is ambitious, but either way, in a few years years, there won't be many diesel cars on sale. They will survive beyond that, but by 2050 they could well be a rarity. We have a wide range of quality used diesel cars available, so why not take a look?
The sale of all new diesel vehicles will be banned from 2030, this includes cars and vans, with lorries being phased out.
"Diesel engines in passenger cars will not fade away until 2040. The IC engines will also phase out only after 2040," Elmar Degenhart said adding that it will be difficult to imagine commercial vehicles without diesel engines.
Australia has less than 50 days of its fuel supply left, according to the latest government figures. The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday reported that the country's supply of crude oil stands at 22 days, LPG at 59 days, petrol at 20 days and diesel at 21 days.
What will happen to classic cars after the petrol and diesel ban? It will still be possible to buy and sell classic cars after the ban on new vehicles comes in. However, classic car enthusiasts should keep in mind the long-term aim is to reach a future where there are no petrol or diesel cars on the roads.
Standards provided by the National Fire Protection Agency maintain that the storage life for diesel is 1.5 to 2 years. These standards also recommend that storage tanks for diesel are sized so that the amount of fuel able to be stored is the amount that will be used within the fuel's storage life.
Most cars around the 200,000-kilometre mark and above with a reliable service history should be an excellent purchase if the price is right.
Diesel is traded internationally and the largest trading centre in our region is Singapore. This is the reason why Australian retail prices are linked to the Gasoil price of refined diesel in Singapore. Movements in the Gasoil price are influenced by the international price of the crude oil from which it is made.
If you maintain a diesel engine well and drive carefully, it can last 400,000 km before needing a major engine overhaul.
Unlike gasoline engines which run at a constant air to fuel ratio of 14:1, diesel engines use a variable fuel ratio. At idle they may be as low as 200:1 while under heavy load it may be 5:1. So diesel engines at idle consume very little fuel leaving little reason to shut them off.
Like all internal combustion engines, however, increasing stringent environmental regulations and the need to reduce CO2 emissions means that their days are numbered in many applications. That's especially true in light trucks. They're still available, but won't be for long.
If you are planning on doing lots of long journeys in your new car, petrol may not be the best choice. This is because they are less efficient than diesel engines and use more fuel. As petrol engines operate at a higher rev range, they tend to be less reliable than diesel engines and run into problems more frequently.
From 1 July 2023, the Minimum Stockholding Obligation will require Australia's 2 refineries, and our major importers of refined fuels, to hold baseline stocks of: petrol; 24 days, increasing to 27 days in 2024 for importers. diesel fuel; 20 days, increasing to 32 in 2024 for importers.
The magic number that buyers look for on an odometer is 200,000kms. Once a car hits this number, it is significantly reduced in value. However, many vehicles around this number still have 5 good years of operation left in them.
One of the most crucial factors in relation to fuel consumption is speed, as faster driving wastes more fuel. The optimum fuel-efficient speed for most cars is 45mph to 50mph.
The diesel engine lasts longer than the petrol engine due to the property of the fuel. Diesel is a light volatile fuel that lubricates the engine parts when it burns inside the engine. It reduces wear and tear; hence, a diesel engine lasts longer than a petrol engine.
Con: Fuel is More Expensive
Several factors have contributed to this, including popular demand for diesel, higher production costs due to stricter environmental standards, and a higher federal excise tax on diesel than on gasoline.
Diesel fuel (refined from crude oil) produces many harmful emissions when it is burned, and diesel-fueled vehicles are major sources of harmful pollutants, such as ground-level ozone and particulate matter.