Diesel cars branded ‘no good’ on certain trips with owners at risk of ‘expensive repairs’
Diesel owners could be affected by costly repairs if they use their vehicle incorrectly, according to a leading mechanic.
Diesel vehicles “are no good” driving around towns and cities but could be better than petrol on longer commutes, according to a top mechanic.
Tom at Keiths Motors and TMS Automotive stressed diesel particulate filters (DPFs) could get blocked if motorists are only committing to smaller journeys.
This runs the risk of damaging key components with repair bills very high in a blow to road users.
However, Tom admitted diesel cars could still be a better choice for those travelling over 12,000 miles per year such as those travelling into the office.
Tom issued the simple advice on the TikTok account @tmsautomotive after a viewer asked whether petrol or diesel would be the better choice for someone travelling 60 miles per day.
Tom replied: “So generally speaking for longer journeys and more mileage diesel is probably better suited.
“Diesels are no good for pooting round the town and doing a couple of miles here and there because they've all got DPFs these days and the DPFs will block up if you don't give the car a decent run.
“If you’re doing 60 miles a day obviously you’re doing a decent run on the motorway so that’s enough for it to regen.
“So 60 miles a day Monday to Friday, 400 miles a week, 1,200 a month, So you're probably doing about 14,000-15,000 a year.
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“If you’re doing anything over 12,000 a diesel is well worth considering. The repair bills can be slightly higher and if any of the diesel particulate filter system starts to cause a problem it can get really expensive really quick.”
Breakdown experts and car insurance specialists at the RAC have also stressed diesel models would not be ideal for shorter trips with clogged DPFs “expensive to repair”.
They commented: “If you find you’re mostly doing short urban journeys, a diesel should probably not be your first choice.
Slow and short drives can clog diesel particulate filters (DPFs). Driving diesels on longer, faster routes helps the system automatically regenerate, burning off the accumulated soot in the filter.”
However, Tom stressed motorists looking for an alternative to diesel machines could take a look at a range of new models entering the market.
He added: “It is worth looking at the petrol turbo engines and especially the hybrids, Toyota's and Lexus’ and such, are much better on fuel than they used to be even 10 years ago.
“So it's something you should probably consider for moving forward is that the much more modern petrol engines are not far behind and the resulting repair costs do seem to be a bit less.”
