# Undecided between diesel and petrol car **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [July 29, 2021, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364 "2021-07-29T19:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slayer92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@Slayer92](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Slayer92)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/1 "2021-07-29T19:08:14Z")
Hello, I am taking driving lessons in a diesel car and I want to buy my first car. However, I am not sure whether to chose a diesel or a petrol car considering the following: 1)I will use the car mostly outside of the city one or two times a week which means between 100 and 200 kilometers a week, so just for the road to my countryside and back. I don’t intend to use it much in the urban area. 2)My girlfriend has a diesel car so there could be situations where I will drive her car one week and the next week I will drive my car. So the question is, if I buy a petrol car, considering that she has a diesel, will I be able to adapt every week to diesel/petrol routine? I would like to buy a petrol car just for the fact that since it will be a used car I am afraid of all the problems with injectors, turbines that diesel has. Otherwise, I don’t have a preference between diesel and petrol. What are your suggestions? Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/2 "2021-07-29T19:14:03Z")
> [@Slayer92](#): > > So the question is, if I buy a petrol car, considering that she has a diesel, will I be able to adapt every week to diesel/petrol routine? That is an excellent question. I would say that we average 2 or 3 posts each month from people who put diesel fuel into their petrol-powered vehicle, and are now wanting to know how expensive the “fix” will be. All I can say is that, if you are a person who is not easily confused, and who truly focuses on what he is doing, then you shouldn’t have a problem. Obviously, there are significant numbers of people who don’t have those qualities, but if you do, you should be okay with a petrol-powered car. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/3 "2021-07-29T19:14:05Z")
This Forum is mostly populated with US members and you must be in Europe . Deisels are just not a common vehicle here . Both types will drive pretty much the same way so that should not be a problem except if you put the wrong type of fuel in the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Slayer92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@Slayer92](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Slayer92)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/4 "2021-07-29T19:24:42Z")
Thank you. And what about the way I intend to use the car from point 1? Should diesel or petrol be more suitable? Also is it really that easier to drive a diesel car today and tomorrow to drive a petrol car and the next week a diesel and so on? If I buy a petrol car, wouldn’t I be tempted to drive my girlfriend’s diesel car in a different/bad way? ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/5 "2021-07-29T19:28:16Z")
> [@Slayer92](#): > > If I buy a petrol car, wouldn’t I be tempted to drive my girlfriend’s diesel car in a different/bad way? You are making this too complicated . As for the girl friends vehicle , if you are not driving it the way she wants you will hear about it. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/6 "2021-07-29T20:06:01Z")
My only concerns would be with gas/petrol vehicles getting fueling mixed up, and with a diesel vehicle the imposition of any government controls/limitations on diesels that wouldn’t apply to petrol cars. Being in the US, we don’t know what they’ll be doing in the UK, which is where I assume you live. ---
**Author:** ![eddo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/eddo/32/2594_2.png) [@eddo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/eddo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 8:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/7 "2021-07-29T20:16:13Z")
> [@Slayer92](#): > > If I buy a petrol car, wouldn’t I be tempted to drive my girlfriend’s diesel car in a different/bad way? How can we possibly answer what is going to tempt you and what isn’t? Other than the fuel, how are the two vehicles different? If one is a sports car and one is a top heavy SUV, then I could see where you could have issues/concerns driving one like the other. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/8 "2021-07-30T02:27:04Z")
In the US even when diesel cars were sold in some numbersm the same car with a gasoline engine was cheaperand easier to find mechanics for. The only reason to buy a diesel here was if you drove a lot of miles a year, you could recover the extra cost with fuel economy. With your driving pattern, the payback period would be never. I don’t know what the relative cost of diesel VS gas is where you live , but here gas is cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/undecided-between-diesel-and-petrol-car/178364/9 "2021-07-30T03:06:13Z")
Suit yourself is all. Your questions and concerns have little to do with the actual choice. I put 480,000 miles on my diesel (I don’t know what that is in Kilometers) but would I do it again? Never. I paid $1000 more for the diesel. Put at least two engines in and head gaskets. About 4 or 5 injector pumps at $500 (until I got smart and bought used ones and did it myself), a $300 starter, and on and on. The only advantage was that I got 27 mpg instead of 20 or something. Did I ever get my money out of it? No.