4 reasons why buying a diesel, believe it or not, is not always a mistake

Buying a diesel at this time is a mistake and we have been defending it for some time now, pointing to the option that, without a doubt, is currently the most recommended, for buying a hybrid car. For years we have been analyzing the reasons why it was advisable, or not, to buy a diesel. Starting from a very clear premise: the purchase of diesel, both yesterday and today, must be justified by the need to travel many – tens of thousands a year – kilometers.

In recent times, new compelling reasons have emerged to reject the purchase of diesel with a C label. The first is the increasing restrictions on vehicles with a C label, especially this year with the entry of new Low Emission Zones. The second is the existence of alternatives with an ECO label at the same price, or even cheaper than diesel.

But in this article, we want to go a little further. And we want to provide you with 4 reasons to buy a diesel or, rather, 4 ways to change our car to a diesel, which could still make sense in certain situations and could even be recommended, despite the fact that we still think that buying a diesel in 2023 is a mistake.

The restrictions for everything that is not the ECO or Zero Emissions label and the ever-decreasing difference in prices between hybrids and diesel mean that the best alternative to diesel in 2023 is hybrid cars.

9 questions about buying (or not buying) a diesel

Before advancing in these 4 tricks, or ways to buy a diesel, it is important that we point out some issues that you should know and questions that you should ask yourself before buying a diesel. We'll quickly go through these issues and provide you with links to our guides where you can dig deeper into this information:

1. Ask yourself how many kilometers you are going to cover with that diesel every year. If the answer is not tens of thousands of kilometers a year, you should not buy it. Even if you are going to travel several tens of thousands of kilometers a year, you should consider other options, many hybrids, and even cheap bi-fuel LPG cars, are capable of offering a cost per kilometer similar to that of a diesel.
2. If you are going to use it regularly in the city, it is important to remember that urban journeys are hostile to modern diesel technology, and this type of driving leads to some of the most typical – and costly – breakdowns of diesel.
3. How much will the new Low Emission Zones affect you? If you usually use your car in a city or even live or work in it, choosing a diesel with a C label is a risky option. If, on the other hand, you use your car regularly on the highway and in rural areas, a diesel could still be a viable option without too many restrictions in the coming years.
4. We have been anticipating a rise in diesel prices for some time, as a result of the movements that have occurred in the hydrocarbons market in the last year and the sanctions applied to Russian raw materials. Over time we have verified that the rise in hydrocarbon prices has not been so dramatic and, to a certain extent, and at the time of writing this article, prices have stabilized. In any case, there is always some uncertainty surrounding the evolution of diesel prices.
5. During the last months, we have been noticing the reasons why neither diesel nor gasoline is the smart purchase this year. An electric or plug-in hybrid is a suitable option – if you can afford it. But the real smart buy this year, for most drivers, is the hybrid. And the prices of hybrid cars are no longer so far from those of diesel.
6. Learn about the types of hybrid that exist as an alternative to diesel. From the most expensive to the cheapest, full hybrids, diesel micro-hybrids, and micro hybrids.
7. They are not particularly cheap and the available offer is limited, but you should know that there are micro-hybrid diesels that have the ECO label, and that could still be an interesting option.
8. It is also important to know about the existence of bi-fuel LPG cars, which have an ECO label and usually offer a cost per kilometer - the price of LPG is significantly lower than that of diesel and gasoline - similar to or lower than that of diesel.
9. Selling a second-hand diesel in a few years might not be as easy as it has been up to now. And, at the very least, it could depreciate a lot, as could many C-label gasoline cars.

Hyundai Tucson is one of the few mainstream cars that are available with C-label diesel engines, but also ECO-label micro-hybrid diesel.

1. Buy a micro-hybrid diesel with an ECO label

But let's get to the crux of the matter. We want to buy a diesel yes or yes. In this case, we will want to make a purchase minimizing risks, in accordance with all that has been said above. The diesel that presents the least risks at the moment, by far, is the diesel micro hybrids, which do enjoy the much-prized ECO label.

The difference between a diesel with a C label and a diesel with an ECO label is as simple as the presence in the latter of an electric motor, which supports the internal combustion engine, and a battery in which energy is recovered (from braking, or engine retention) to later use it to support the diesel engine.

A diesel micro hybrid that today has the ECO label will continue to have it in the coming years. And therefore it will continue to benefit from all the advantages of any other ECO label – as a full hybrid or a petrol micro hybrid.

The great advantage of micro-hybrid diesel is that they are the only option to have a diesel with an ECO label. On the other hand, they are somewhat more expensive than diesel with a C label, and, above all, their availability is very limited. In general cars, for all budgets, very few maintain a micro-hybrid diesel with an ECO label in their range, being limited above all to some Hyundai and Kia models.

Pros and cons of the micro-hybrid diesel with the ECO label

Advantages

Fewer restrictions, benefits of the ECO label, and support of an electric motor.

Drawbacks

More expensive than a C-labeled diesel, limited availability, mostly on Hyundai and Kia models.

In the premium segment, diesel is a very common option. There are numerous models from brands such as Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo that have ECO-labeled diesel engines in their range, and even powerful, high-performance engines.

Peugeot 3008 is one of the best-selling C-label diesels in Spain. But it already has micro-hybrid gasoline alternatives with the ECO label.

2. Buy diesel financing through multi-option

If what it is about is minimizing risks, one of the options that may not be well known, but more interesting, is to finance through a multi-option plan (they are also known by other trade names, such as flexible purchase, flex option, flexiplan, etc. …)

To understand why this option is interesting, we will summarize it as follows: a multi-option plan is nothing more than financing that guarantees a final price for our car and that makes it easier for us to replace it or "sell" it when the last installment of our credit.

Let's put ourselves in the case in which diesel is a suitable option for us at the moment and, probably, it will be in the coming years. Our uncertainty lies in what will happen after two, three, or four years:

• Will I still need diesel or have my habits and needs changed? Perhaps in two years I will travel fewer kilometers, and do it by city, so that a hybrid, or even an electric one, is a more appropriate option.
• Will the restrictions make it difficult for me to use a diesel? Let's imagine that in two or three years the extension of the Low Emission Zones reaches our workplace, or even the areas in which we usually move, and only Zero Emissions cars with an ECO label are allowed to circulate. And from using our diesel daily, we began to use it sporadically.
• What if my needs change in a few years? Maybe the family grows, and you need a bigger car. Or prefer a different car. Or simply want to release a car every two, three, or four years.
• I want to make the jump to electric, but not yet. So I would still like to continue having a diesel to replace it with an electric one in a few years.

Financing a diesel with multiple options gives us escape routes, to continue with our diesel when the credit ends, or deliver it to the dealer with an insured price

As we said, multi-option plans are a type of credit that gives us three options when reaching the last financing term:

• Pay the last credit installment (which is usually a significant amount) and keep the diesel.
• Deliver our diesel to the dealer. We will save that last installment, we will be left without the car (obviously) and in this way, the guaranteed price of the car (under certain contractual conditions) will be that last installment that we have agreed upon when formalizing the financing.
• Trade it for another car. We will deliver our diesel and start a new financing process with a new car, for which it is normal that we receive acceptable conditions and good promotions. Given that the brands and dealers try to retain their customers and prioritize the completion of a multi-option closing with the registration of a new car.

Pros and cons of diesel financing through multi-option

Advantages

It minimizes risks, allows you to change the car at the end of the credit, and guarantees a final price.

Drawbacks

Mileage limits in the contract, may not be suitable for those who plan to cover many kilometers.

It is important to note that the multi-option plans, and the contractual conditions that we mentioned above, usually include a mileage limit. And that the value that will be given to our car in that final installment will depend on those kilometers. And that goes against the use that is usually made of diesel. If we buy a diesel with a multi-option plan to travel many kilometers (which is why we have chosen a diesel), it is normal that we exceed the kilometer limits that are usually established in multi-option plans.

Be careful: multi-option plans include kilometer limits in the contract to receive the agreed value for our car

3. A rental diesel

In recent years, another interesting option has emerged, but definitely not the most recommended and, above all, not the cheapest for most drivers. Renting is not a new solution, and for a long time it has been very common among professionals and companies, but the existence of leasing plans increasingly oriented toward private customers is.

Renting plans offer us a monthly fee for which we can use a car for a certain time, for a number of years agreed upon when formalizing the contract. At the end of the contract, the car will no longer be available to us since it is not our property, and we will have to deliver it to the company with which we have formalized the leasing contract. Although it is usually established by contract some conditions by which, at an agreed price, which we would have to pay at the end of the contract, we could keep the car.

The important thing in this case is to do numbers. And analyze if the fees that we are going to pay for renting a car compensate us, knowing that at the end of the contract, we will not have to worry about the car (and its resale) and we can replace it with another, perhaps with hybrid, plug-in hybrid technology, or electric. The leasing plans also enjoy additional advantages, such as extended warranties, all-risk insurance, consumable elements (sometimes a certain number of sets of tires are included every X years or kilometers), and even other services, such as replacement cars, help in the management of fines...

Leasing is not the best option for most drivers, but it is an alternative to take into account by calculating the numbers and assessing whether it compensates us.

We told you that it is important to make numbers and assess if it compensates us. In many leasing plans aimed at individuals it is common that, in order to obtain a reduced monthly fee, it is necessary to pay a very high initial fee, as is the case in many financing and multi-option plans.

Pros and cons of leasing diesel

Advantages

Fixed monthly fee, no resale to worry about, possibility to switch to a new car at the end of the contract.

Drawbacks

Not the cheapest option, mileage limits in the contract, and penalties for excess mileage.

As was the case with multi-option plans, leasing contracts are also agreed upon establishing an annual kilometer limit. The greater the number of kilometers, the greater the renting fee. If we exceed the agreed kilometers, we will have to pay penalties. And this is precisely one of the issues that collide with one of the premises that govern the purchase of a diesel, which is precisely that of traveling many kilometers.

4. Not necessarily crazy, a second-hand diesel

If buying a new diesel is inadvisable, to say the least, buying a second-hand diesel may seem like a crazy, crazy idea. But it all depends on the car we buy, the use we are going to make of it and the time we are going to have that diesel. If we buy a second-hand diesel that complies with Euro VI regulations (generally those registered from September 2015) it will have a C label, the same as on a new diesel.

Against this option is the fact that second-hand cars – also diesel ones – are too expensive. And that as the Low Emission Zones and the restrictions on cars with a C label advance, the price of used diesel could be devalued. But the normal thing is that the devaluation of a diesel that we buy second-hand today will continue to be lower – even much lower – than what a new diesel car will suffer.

Second-hand diesel can be an interesting transition option, to have a car to do many kilometers and if the restrictions affect us for one, two, or three years

A second-hand diesel with a C label would not necessarily be an unreasonable option for a driver who currently does not suffer from the restrictions of the Low Emission Zones and who needs an economical option, or simply one that is not excessively expensive, to cover many kilometers for one or two years. And from there make the leap to a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, or an electric.

Pros and cons of second-hand diesel

Advantages

It is cheaper than a new car, the possibility of having a C label if it complies with Euro VI regulations.

Drawbacks

Second-hand cars may be too expensive, and devaluation may be high as restrictions on C-labelled cars progress.

On our portal What car do I buy? We can see thousands of second-hand diesel listed, with up to 75,000 kilometers, with prices starting at €10,000.