Why didn't you mention depreciation in the petrol-diesel research?

Just wondering if the petrol versus diesel debate should have taken into account the depreciation of the cars in addition to the other costs shown. I would imagine that certain cars would definately sell better if they were diesel (Most Audis and Volkswagens) than if they were petrol. What do you think?

Brendan Sweeney (Buncrana)

Jun 2013 Filed under: diesel

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Expert answer

Hi Brendan,

We're acutely aware of this, which is why we mentioned depreciation and other costs in our notes at the end of the article (here it is if anyone else is interested). Predicting future values of current cars is a black art that we'd rather not take part in!

Saying that, diesel cars currently hold their value a little better, but we suspect that may change in time, with the advent of more efficient petrol technology, plus, potentially, lower bills as a car gets much older. Along with all that of course is that fact that petrol cars will become very rare soon following our new car buying habits of the past four to five years.

Thanks for getting in touch.

Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Adviser
@Shane_O_D