Help Needed - Car Decision

[hybrid]

Hi all,

Long time since I last posted on here, but hopefully someone will be able to make up my mind on this one.

At the minute I have an 03 1.4 (petrol) fiesta, and until recently has been absolutely fantastic. However, in the last year or so i've spent a little bit of money on it replacing minor-ish parts. It's had a new coil spring, discs and a break calliper. The MOT is due mid next month and I have a feeling that I need two new tyres for the back (slightly cracking), but still loads of tread. The nearside brake calliper will probably need replacing too as the brake is beginning to stick...

Now i'm in two minds whether to pick up a newer car. I have been looking at a 59 plate Focus 1.6 TDCI and asking the dealership to bring it up for me to have a look at. I have since then found out it has a DPF fitted. My biggest bug bear with this is i'm only doing 10k miles a year in my Fiesta. Will 10k in a Focus fitted with a DPF do me more harm than good in the long run??!! I do a max of 15 miles a day reaching no more than 65mph for about 5 minutes. I'm in an absolutely stress/confusion with the whole thing...

Do I keep my old Fiesta and get it repaired come the upcoming MOT, or bite the bullet go for this DPF fitted Focus, or go for something completely different? Ideally I would like something a little less heavy on the tax front, but more economical to run.

Argggh!!

 

[[TW]Fox]

Your Fiesta has pretty much nothing wrong with it - new tyres are not a reason to change your car - and a 1.4 Fiesta is about as economical as motoring gets. 10k a year in a little petrol Fiesta is nothing, its ultra-cheap motoring.

Buy a new car if you fancy a new one but don't do it because you think it'll save you money because it categorically will not.

 

[atpbx]

Just because a car has a DPF doesn't straight away mean you will 100% be left stranded half way home in the second week of commuting because it's clogged.

It was only five minutes ago regular forum members were advising not to buy diesels at all as they were virtually saying the car would break into your house while you were sleeping and set fire to all your money.

It will more than likely be fine and offer many years of trouble free motoring.

That doesn't take away from the fact that your current car needing some tyres and what knot is a pretty terrible reason to change it.

 

[rodenal]

Agree with the above, you're also right to worry about the dpf with your kind of driving. That engine is good to drive for its output but has pretty serious issues with turbos too . If you fancy a newer car then maybe even look at the new fiesta or a petrol focus?

 

[[TW]Fox]

Just because a car has a DPF doesn't straight away mean you will 100% be left stranded half way home in the second week of commuting because it's clogged.

No, but it does mean that if your usage cycle is mostly shorter journeys around town then a DPF fitted diesel probably isn't the right choice.

 

[Minstadave]

I wouldn't want a DPF doing only 5 minutes a day at motorway speeds.

 

[atpbx]

No, but it does mean that if your usage cycle is mostly shorter journeys around town then a DPF fitted diesel probably isn't the right choice.

Google doesn't return any figures when using the search term "DPF failure rates" other than some do and some don't, and the usual half arsed nonsense from the AA saying your car may or may not break down due to DPF getting clogged. Everybody's car may or may not break down for a multitude of reasons.

 

[rodenal]

Ok, have a think (and this isn't a dig) about what a dpf does and how it works. Have a think about the conditions they need to regenerate, why they need to do this and what happens if they do not regenerate.

The owner could go a 40 min drive every weekend to at least reduce the possibility of that issue - but why buy a tool that is not designed for the job you're going to be using it for? Plus that'll be the fuel saving gone.

Point taken that lots of things may or may not break in the time you own the car, but why intentionally add something into the mix that you know is an issue? Especially when the car is more expensive to start with

 

[[TW]Fox]

Google doesn't return any figures when using the search term "DPF failure rates" other than some do and some don't, and the usual half arsed nonsense from the AA saying your car may or may not break down due to DPF getting clogged. Everybody's car may or may not break down for a multitude of reasons.

The conditions a DPF requires in order to perform a regen are unlikely to be frequently met with that usage profile, so its fairly obvious that it vastly increases the chance of issues

The very fact the AA have bothered to release a thing about it highlights a potential issue, they don't tend to do that sort of thing for everything that might fail so it suggests there is a particular issue with DPF fitted cars.

This is part of a statement from Fiat on complaints of DPF problems on city-driven 500's:

We would ask you to note that we have never directly advertised the Fiat 500 diesel version as a city car although the Fiat 500 has received many awards including those in the category City Car of the Year. These categories are created by the organisations or publications that produce the awards and while we are always pleased to receive accolades, we would point out that the Fiat 500 is designed to be used in all driving environments and not just urban areas.

Basically distancing themselves from the idea the car is intended to only be used around town where, suprise suprise, the DPF's are causing issues..

And this is a statement directly from Nissan:

Because of the way most DPFs work, they may not be ideal for cars which are used exclusively for short, low speed journeys.

Nissan even say this in the brochure:

"The 1.5dCi, 1.6dCi and 2.0dCi engines fitted to QASHQAI include a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to reduce emissions and help protect the environment. The functionality of a DPF may not be suitable for all customers. If your journeys are predominantly urban or low speed, a model without a DPF may be a more suitable alternative."

But no, keep thinking that DPF's are not a problem for short trips...

 

[Kenai]

Are we honestly about to have an argument over whether repeated short journeys without sufficient regen periods are bad for DPFs or not? Seriously?

That is a new low, for even the most ardent of diesel fans.

Regardless of that entire discussion, a turbo diesel just isn't the tool for the job of short journeys - that's what nice small capacity petrols are made for these days. Comparatively simple, reasonable economy and no horrible noises or rattles at the numerous traffic lights you will likely stop at.

 

[#Chri5#]

Do I keep my old Fiesta and get it repaired come the upcoming MOT, or bite the bullet go for this DPF fitted Focus, or go for something completely different? Ideally I would like something a little less heavy on the tax front, but more economical to run.

Argggh!!

How much is tax on the Fiesta? What sort of MPG does it deliver?

Bear in mind that the official (EU) MPG figures quoted by manufacturers are pretty much pie-in-the-sky, especially if you are doing lots of short journeys. I'd expect that once you factor in the cost to change the car, you'd be looking at years before the Focus TDCi delivered any proper savings.

 

[atpbx]

Ok, have a think (and this isn't a dig) about what a dpf does and how it works. Have a think about the conditions they need to regenerate, why they need to do this and what happens if they do not regenerate.

The owner could go a 40 min drive every weekend to at least reduce the possibility of that issue - but why buy a tool that is not designed for the job you're going to be using it for? Plus that'll be the fuel saving gone.

Point taken that lots of things may or may not break in the time you own the car, but why intentionally add something into the mix that you know is an issue? Especially when the car is more expensive to start with

I know exactly how they work.
I know exactly what they do, I have a fleet of vehicles fitted with them, I have a car that has one

Its dreadful, as they are all diesel as well.
I still find myself waiting on the massive repair bills I'm supposed to face with running a load of diesel engines.

Back to DPF failure, the one time I've had one go down on ANY vehicle ( a sprinter last year) it was on a vehicle that was doing 150 miles a day.
The Vans that do less than 20 miles a day around the town centers in lincoln dont have any problems.

I appreciate that there are issues, I appreciate that some manufactures do want to err on the side of caution, but I would suggest if you were to look at numbers of cars sold with a DPF, usage cycle, style of driving, the results of failure would be at the very best "mixed" .

The idea is a good one, the practicalities of it maybe not so good.

 

[Kenai]

I know exactly how they work.
I know exactly what they do, I have a fleet of vehicles fitted with them, I have a car that has one

Its dreadful, as they are all diesel as well.

Shock as diesel particulate filters are fitted to diesel cars

 

[atpbx]

Shock as diesel particulate filters are fitted to diesel cars

Yes shock!

Over egging a point there I was.

The fact is DPF's go wrong on all mileages and all usages.

 

[hybrid]

Many many thanks for all of your replies. You've put my mind at ease a little and i'll be most likely telling the dealership not to proceed with the deal.

I guess I may go for another 1.4 petrol engine, as it seems to make more sense than running the risk of low mileage DPF faults.

Thanks again!

 

[#Chri5#]

Many many thanks for all of your replies. You've put my mind at ease a little and i'll be most likely telling the dealership not to proceed with the deal.

I guess I may go for another 1.4 petrol engine, as it seems to make more sense than running the risk of low mileage DPF faults.

Thanks again!

You don't have to change your car just because it needs new tyres. Most garages should be able to fix a Fiesta, so there's no need to paying main dealer rates.

 

[2ZR-FE]

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...postcode/bl66pe/page/1/keywords/1.6?logcode=p

Hows that?