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Dirty Diesel
What is the paranoia with having to own a dirty stinking smoke belching polluting diesel engine? There seems to be a fixation on fuel economy that ignores the ongoing maintenance costs of servicing and repairing diesel engines. I have a 2005 series 3 disco with a 4.4 V8 (heaven forbid) petrol engine and yes I enjoy the smooth effortless power all at around 12 to 16 litres per 100 depending on how heavy my foot is.
I read in wonder the trials and tribulations of the diesel powered owners all reporting horrific costs of repairs and maintenance. The cost of replacing a failed turbo would pay for enough fuel to run my car for 5 years or more. I did get a tank full of bad fuel on one trip that caused a few problems and had to have all the injectors serviced. That was pretty devastating having to pay out $225 for that!!!!! Oh also had to replace two ignition coils at a cost of $360 which apart from the normal servicing (oil and filter changes which I do myself for around $120) that is all I have had to spend on the engine in 250,000 k's.
Fuel is the cheapest thing you put into a car.
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No paranoia here, just need to be aware whats required re servicing, as wirh any car really. To me its a trade off between maintainability and usability. Yes my sdv6 is maintenance intensive, but it does everything i want. My wifes petrol jeep is easy to maintain, but does not have the hp or torque or fuel range of the diesel.
Happy to drive and service both.
If i had my time again would I buy a diesel D4? Probably not.
