Do you drive a diesel?

I'm in the market for a new car, and seriously considering a diesel, as will be doing more driving for work in the upcoming years... I'm pretty set on model, have done tons of reading, think I'm ready to pull the trigger, just one last issue I read somewhere about cold weather affecting starting up Diesel engines, and wondering if anyone has found any issues regarding this? Is it a longer warm up or sluggish driving initially, or a non issue around SOMA? Thanks in advance for any insight /tips you can share..

Can't help you with the diesel... but wondering what is driving your decision? Is it mpg's?

If so, I recently got a Ford C-max Hybrid. Enjoying the vehicle, the high ceiling & hatchback, the way it drives, and that it's been getting ~40+ mpgs in my combined hwy/city commuting (~500 miles/tank).

Fwiw: I didn't care for the drive or the split rear windshield of the Prius, and the price incentives right now of the C-max brought the price down substantially. So, that helped our decision.

On the 'con' side: It's called a C-max.

Our company owns a diesel pick-up, along with the larger 80,000 lb. trucks.

You may have trouble starting in severely cold weather such as we experience two or three times each year. You may need additive in the over-nights when the temp. is below freezing. Your diesel should have an electric receptacle to plug in the engine's pre-warming unit, over night. You will under any circumstances have to wait a few seconds for the warming light to go off on the dashboard before starting the car.

You will also be advised to wait two or three minutes for the engine's oil to warm before driving it.

If you have a garage to place it over night in winter, you will be better off.

-- That said, the truck is a 1992 and has over 300,000 miles on it. It looks like $h-t but takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

I had a diesel Mercedes from the '80s. I miss that thing and would definitely consider a new diesel for our next car.

My sister-in-law had a diesel in Boston and New Hampshire for years. She loved it and drove it through many New England winters with no troubles.

I love our 2010 VW diesel. In the winter it starts up fine - maybe it feels a little cold for the first few minutes but it warms up right away. That car is very fun to drive!

Thank you everyone for your input... I am a little concerned about not finding diesel at every station, which I guess means I need to be more diligent about filling up. Hopefully that becomes a natural habit quickly. @Sprout - yes, the diesel version of the car I'm looking at gets about 11 more highway mpg than the equivalent gas version. (For a biggish sedan, its a total of 38mpg) I checked out a few hybrids as well, but they did not have the room and trunk space this does. I've driven diesels in Europe, but it seems it is really only starting to take off in "everyday" cars here (vs trucks being diesel). First new car in 6 years - heading for test drive now. Excited! Will report back...

Didn't mean to overstate an issue with the availability of diesel. In NJ and NY, every turnpike or thruway rest area will have it. In Maplewood area, the Gulf on Springfield in Milburn, 7-11 on Valley and Delta on Morris and Burnett. Also i heard that Wooly fuel and the Sunoco in Irvington also have but havent tried them. Cross country, its much more prevalent especially in the midwest.

I know it's a month later than the original question.

But...

Um...

Yes, this is embarrassing now (I have a 2013 Jetta TDI). However, on top of the General Motors ignition switch scandal and the Japanese air bag scandal, it amply illustrates that consumers simply can't trust corporations to do the right thing.

Combine that with the generally more self centered young people, who are more ethically challenged than previous generations (see study on cheating in school), I fear that it will only get worse.

I've had a diesel for the past 3 years - I won't be getting another one. It's not that they're not good cars - I've seen extraordinarily good MPG on the highway (low 30's for a full sized SUV), but that being said (1) the MPG for local driving doesn't warrant the additional vehicle cost (my diesel was $2500 more than the traditional gas model), and (2) diesel fuel cost varies greatly over the course of the year (sometimes equal to regular gas, sometimes 50 cents more than premium). I never had a problem starting in the winter cold.

In short, so long as gas prices stay low I'm not sure I see the incentive to stay with diesel (unless you're almost exclusively driving on the highway). If gas prices increase, or if you're driving local, perhaps consider a hybrid.

Sorry - I never got back to this thread! After looking and being super excited about the diesel, finding the one I wanted at the right year, tho high mileage (certified pre-owned), I didn't end up getting it as the trade in value of my old car, and the sticker price of the new(ish) car didn't meet enough in the middle for us. In the end, I got a 2015/ 4 cylinder...

Also, bradg, you are right, the diesel was about $4k higher than the 4cyldr, and the math on gas savings vs car ownership for a few years kind of equalled out...

Exactly. Congrats on your new ride!

I've been toying with the idea of a diesel as well. From reading the thread, I gather

Diesel is good if you plan on driving more highway than city. I think I would be driving a combo, 30 miles on highway with 15 of city. The advantage (additional cost) may not be as clear if you are talking about a 4 cyl vehicle, I'm looking at a full size SUV (think Q7), now I question is it worth it?

Now that I think about it, the additional cost of diesel or hybrids, even with incentives have not been convincing so it comes down to what kind of statement you want to make.l

How do you guys feel about all the faked VW and Audi diesel emissions tests, suggestiing that the engines have been actually spewing more than 40 times the permissible pollutants into the air? What about the resale value and the marketability and support for diesels going forward?

Jasmo said:
How do you guys feel about all the faked VW and Audi diesel emissions tests, suggestiing that the engines have been actually spewing more than 40 times the permissible pollutants into the air? What about the resale value and the marketability and support for diesels going forward?

I think that the affected diesels will be subject to a massive and costly re-call, which will fix the emissions issue but may impact engine performance. As to how that will impact the resell value and future viability of diesels, I'm not sure....

(ETA: With respect to the re-call, owners who ignore it will probably be in for a rude shock the next time their vehicle requires inspection...)

The irony of this issue is that in NJ many diesels are exempt from inspection. Pre 1996, and 8501-9999 gvw passenger vehicles among them.

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Inspections/VehiclesExempt.htm

So a diesel pick-up truck doesn't have to be inspected at all, ever. But a smaller VW would be.

I drove a diesel, Kia something or other on vacation in Scotland this year. The good news is that it had good acceleration and did not feel to me like a diesel of the old days. The bad news is that diesel fuel is about 20% more expensive in the U.S. than regular gas at this point, so the fuel economy benefit of diesel may be moot. They also have worse emissions than gas engines, especially after the VW revelation recently. If I was buying a new car now I would not opt for a diesel.