Hi Scotty
Would you recommend buying a diesel car over a petrol if I plan on keeping my car for a long long time (200-300,000 miles). I have read that diesel engines are much more strongly built to withstand high pressures. But I'm aware that modern diesels can be a hassle with DPF/EGR etc. Can these components reduce the lifespan of an engine? I do not mind paying for repairs if the car lasts longer.
I drive motorway and short trips averaging 9600 miles/ year. I would not mind taking the car for a blast on the motorway regularly to clear the DPF if needed.
Would much appreciate your help.
Welcome new member. Sounds like you may be in Europe (UK, perhaps?).
The short answer is no, there is likely not a significant difference in longevity. Historically, diesels were built very strong and very simple, and lasted a very long time. The Mercedes 3L diesel from the 1970s and 80s, and the Ford 7.2 Powerstroke from the 90s were good examples of that.
But contemporary diesels are significantly lighter and more complex. The goal is emissions and fuel economy over reliability and longevity. The light duty diesel engines in most cars is maybe slightly more reliable than the petrol equivalents, but since repairs are typically more expensive, there isn’t a significant difference overall.
Now that’s a generalization. For a specific make and model, there are cases where diesels are clearly superior, and cases where the petrol motor is superior (for example, I bought a 2022 GMC truck with a diesel, which is significantly more reliable than the petrol engines offered in the GM half-ton trucks).
The DPF (diesel particulate filter) is not a major worry on new models. The early DPFs and selective catalytic reduction systems had a lot of expensive problems, but new designs are better able to keep themselves clear (but if you are buying a used car from 5+ years ago, maybe look up problems with the specific model).
Good luck!
unless you need tow/haul, petrol just sounds like less hassle and cost overall. Of course that will depend model to model.
Unfortunately if you want a modern car that's reliable you basically have to get a Toyota
Unfortunately Toyota doesn't make any diesel engines for cars
