I have started Linear vs Vector topic, but i had couple answers that confused me.My good friend says diesel is much better, cheaper to repair to run and longer life.Now in previous topic some one told me that petrol is better.So i am completely confused.I would like to get more opinions on this questions.SAAB 9-3 1.9TiD is basicly same time 0-60 as 1.8T , but 1.8T makes 38mpg and TiD 42mpg.Tax is same from 2010 april 200£ a year.Insurance also is same for me, group 11-12 it is 1200£ year.So whats left?Petrol and diesel prices,and repairs if breaks.Quinophex says that petrol is cheaper to repair acording to his sources, my friend says diesel is cheaper, well he runs Citroen c5 2.0Hdi.My self prefare petrol, faster and quieter.

So guys please write your own opinions!!!
Would be cool if some one would write opinions who had and diesel and petrol.Thanx guys, hope i am not to anoying.

Careful now, I never said that petrol was cheaper to repair, just that they go wrong much less often in comparison to the diesels.

Anyhow servicing costs are certainly much lower for petrol models as they don't require a fuel filters every service and have no cam-belt changes. Diesels commonly have problems with egr valves, intake manifolds, intercoolers and suffer from water pump failures (which means when you have a cam-belt done you should really get the water pump done too, adding yet more onto the service). Diesels tend to weigh more so tend to cost slightly more in tyres, brakes and suspension components (something in the region of 5-10% extra cost). The actual saving in fuel costs when you compare mpg and price used to not be much more than 15% when diesel cost more than petrol, now it is at parity I'd have to calculate it again. Diesels cost more to buy in the first place and suffer from less depreciation but crucially as a petrol can cost significantly less to buy in the first place the actual amount of money lost can be much lower. If a petrol cost £6000 and a diesel £7500 then if both depreciated by 10% in one year than you've lost an extra £150 on the diesel.

Diesels are exceptionally unreliable if they are only used for short runs and also damn cold too in winter as the engine never really gets warm. Anyhow, would I have a diesel? At the moment no, as I only do journeys that are mostly less than 5 miles, if I was doing trips of over 15 miles at a time or huge distances then almost certainly. I know many people buy diesels because "they are cheaper to run" and feel better off as they spend less on fuel each month but over time lose far much more money. It's worth working out the real costs between the 2 before purchasing and only you can work that out for yourself. I'd also say if the comparison was on an 80's or 90's oil burner then it would stack far more in the favour of the diesel. My comparison is based on like for like petrol and diesel SAAB models of the same model year, if you start comparing different years etc. then it makes things far more difficult to calculate.

Well, u rock man.i am carefull, just expressed my self in wrong way about what u have sayd.Now i am even more confused as i love petrol engines.But also start to fancy a diesel, as i am traveling to work every day around 20 miles each way, and looking 3k miles trip to my homeland.But as u mentioned, if i understand right, diesels break more often and needs more parts replacement on service.Probably i will go for petrol anyway.I realy fancy BioPower, but insurance way to high for me.Well quinophex, u know what u talking about, and even i am bot more confused ur explane helps me to make desision easier.Aand i noticed that petrol engines is cheaper to buy around 1500 to 2000 in autotrader ir UK , but not in NI, NI is most expencive country to buy car

have also question about BioPower.when i try to check on rad tax,it doesnt show anything.any ideas why?

All depends on the mileage for me and, as said above, short or long trips. I have a 9-5 2.2 Diesel and a 9-5 2.3T petrol. The Diesel gets an average of 39mpg at the moment, the Petrol 26mpg. The diesel gets long runs of over 20 miles every day, twice a day, the Petrol one tends to be used by the current Mrs BB as baby transport and does short trips of 3-7miles, maybe three or four times a day and used by us all at the weekend for trips out. Servicing is about the same if you can do it yourself and tyre wear is also about the same as, although the cars are different in weight, the faster petrol one can eat tyres if used to it's full potential.

Both end up doing about 13k miles per year, and the fuel cost difference buying diesel at £1.12p and v-power at £1.17p is just over £1000 per year, road tax & insurance is about the same.

If I were going to keep one then I'd keep the Petrol and hang the cost. If push came to shove I'd have to convert it to LPG but the Petrol one in my case is just a generally better car/driving experience.

BB

PS As if to prove the point, I'm going to put the diesel one up for sale soon as I have an ugly French itch that I need to scratch...

I do 25,000 - 30,000 miles a year and with a steady 45 - 47 mpg on mainly motorway work, choosing diesel is a no-brainer for me. You also get a diesel's longevity (if properly serviced), and the steady low-own torque grunt, instead of neck-snapping acceleration and a screaming over-revved petrol engine. Mind you the acceleration is there where you need it - 50 - 70 mph when overtaking is very brisk indeed on my 9-5 TiD.

All that, and and it's an enormous estate car too.

The one important detail you've not told us yet is your rough annual mileage - and thereby the likely savings from the reduced fuel costs.

If you're doing 5k/year, the fuel savings are likely to be irrelevant.
If you're doing 50k/year, they'll be substantial.

But - whatever else - if your priority is low running costs, I'm not sure I'd be looking at a 9-3, petrol or diesel. Go for something smaller and simpler.

My anual milage is 10-15k.My priority is not low run cost but lower run cost on SAAB.SAAB was and is my dream so far.Hope so soon will come real.
Well thank you for all of you sharing yours experience on SAAB.It will defenately help me to chose petrol or deasel.

In that case, I'd suggest that the fuel cost difference will be small compared to the rest of your running costs - especially given how high your insurance premium is going to be - so the reduced purchase cost is going to be a far bigger factor.

As has already been said - diesel particulate filters need regular long runs to avoid clogging. Modern diesels are not good for low-mileage-short-journey use.

Machpoint005, which diesel engine 1.9 150bhp or 2.2 120bhp?

BB

Well i travel to work every day around 15 miles one way. i would like to go for 1.9 150 bhp if i go for diesel.as i sayd in any case i preafare petrol.Just cant understand why petrol cars are cheaper than diesel.Btw want to ask is there any SAAB model with RWD?from older models?

Because so many people buying used cars just assume diesel will be all-round-cheaper without actually pausing and thinking.



No. Every single Saab - apart from the recent 9-3 XWD, forthcoming 9-5 XWD and US-only rebadged Chev & Subaru 4x4s - has been FWD.

To be honest didnt understand your answer.

1.9 150bhp ('08 model)

Supply and demand. If people think diesels will save them money, they'll buy those in preference to petrols. But there's only a finite number of used 9-3s on the market - so more demand for the diesels means people will pay more to get 'em.

Diesel or petrol?

I had a similar choice to make before I got my 9-3 SS. I went for the 1.9 TID Vector Sport 150bhp (though remapped to 185bhp now).

I have a van for work so I thought as I only use the car at the weekends then I could go for a petrol (could afford a second hand Aero), but then I thought I travel 50mile round trip for basketball training/ games and my girlfrined's parents live in Cornwall (I live Darlington). So the diesel question reared its head. My brother has a 150bhp VW Bora and that is really quick and does 50mpg, which helped.

So I went for the diesel as road tax is cheaper, better mpg for what I use it for and more torque (if we're going down the performance route), and for me insurance was cheaper.

I do want an Aero, suppose like every SAAB fan but I'll be getting a diesel one I reckon not a petrol.

Hope that helps.......

Just another opinion.