Should I buy a petrol car for short trips?

Hi,

If the vast bulk of my driving is in short trips, is it better to buy petrol over diesel, or does it really matter? Unlike the mass market models, for upmarket models, like Mercedes, there isn't any significant initial price difference between petrol and diesel models. Possibly, also with diesel becoming slightly less popular, the level of depreciation might not be that significant. I would welcome any thoughts you might have.

Thank you, Philip

Philip Donegan (Ballina)

Sep 2016 Filed under: petrol vs. diesel

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Expert answer

Hi Philip,

Petrol is better for shorter trips, period. Apart from the extra cost of buying a diesel car (which as you correctly point out, narrows a bit with some models), there's the question of maintenance - doing short hops is just bad for a diesel engine as it won't warm through properly and you could develop problems with the particulate filter and other engine components.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Advisor
@neilmbriscoe