Questions about the future of diesel in the UK

Enigma2k4

Hello fellow AV Nerds,

I am a South African, who is going to be moving to Bristol in the UK in the next month for a 3 year contract. I am a fellow AV nut, and I will post more information on my custom builds in the future once I get settled into the UK.

I have always been a car nut, and in particular, I've loved my German cars. I am currently driving a Golf 7 GTI, it's been fantastic. My best cars have always been the turbo diesel BMW 3 series cars, and would love to get another 3 series when I get back to the UK. However, I don't know enough about the car market in the UK so would like to pull on your knowledge please:

1. With diesel gate, is owning a diesel car in the UK still a practical idea? Will taxes increase in the future, or the cost of diesels? How sensible is a diesel Beemer now-a-days?
2. Surprisingly, the insurance grouping for a 320D is significantly higher then a Golf GTI! This is really surprising for me as it's the very opposite in SA. Why do BMW's cost so much more to insure in the UK?
3. BMW have phenomenal service in SA and are held in very high regard. Is it the same in the UK?
4. What are the tax differences like between motor sizes? More specifically, a 3 litre and 2 litre variant.
5. What other cars should I be researching in the UK given that I love my German cars and am looking for a decent driving car?

Thanks in advance

Ryan

rousetafarian

Welcome to the forums Ryan!

Enigma2k4

Why thank you

AMc

Welcome Ryan

Regarding #1 this has been talked to death in this thread.  Would you buy another diesel?
None of us has a crystal ball but the govt has been moving against diesel having woken up to the pollution impact vs. the CO2 emissions.
Retrospective tax changes in road tax are not common, our elderly Mini Cooper S is in a very high CO2 bracket but because of it's age it doesn't cost more to take than my newer "cleaner" MKV GTi.

#2 Could be the safety features.  I know little about the BMW but the latest hot Golfs are cheaper to insure than older ones because of the autobraking systems etc.

#3 As we own a BMW built Mini I can say that my local dealership are expensive and poor for servicing and service.  They were also expensive and poor for sales.  I would avoid them like the plague but I can't say that is every dealership just the one I'd have to use.

#4 Autotrader etc will tell you what the annual tax is there are also additional taxes on some cars brand new but I've never bought a new car so will leave that to others to comment.
e.g. the 3.0 330D is £515 first year
BMW 330D on Autotrader

#5 As a Golf GTI driver I'd recommend one.  I'd also look at the 'R' which is faster still

rousetafarian

See point #5

PSM1

The bigger diesel BMW are rapid cars i.e. 335d or 340d while the 320d is not slow but will probably not excite you quite as much as your current GTI.
Would you be looking at new or used? Are you only in the UK for 3 yrs or do you think you will stay longer? If only looking to stay 3 yrs and then go then I would suggest you do not need to worry about the whole diesel/petrol element since I doubt a lot will change over that time frame and certainly not a big enough change to really cause any concern. If only staying 3 years then look at lease options as they can be quite cost effective with dealer incentives etc.
Audi would be the obvious German rival for BMW but then you may also want to consider Skoda/Seat (same engines as VW/Audi but tend to be cheaper).
If looking secondhand then the Golf R could be a good shout since they were being almost given away on leases a few years ago hence there should be a bit of a glut coming onto the market soon as these leases end.

mjn

For only a 3 year stay, I wouldn’t be too concerned about annual tax rates.

For older diesels, the VED is still cheaper than the petrols.

Enigma2k4

Hi all,
Thank you for all the responses.

I've just spent the last hour reading that Diesel mega thread..... hahaha, I see that no matter what country in the word you are in, people will still love to fight on the internet

I have a 3 year contract but will quite likely be staying a little longer, with that in mind, I think looking at those diesels isnt a bad option (I'd be looking at a 2015 or newer model). Furthermore, I have just read up on PCP finance options, which might not be a bad idea as well, especially given my time frames.

Out of interest, I jumped onto Autotrader and tried to do a comparison of a bunch of VW and BMW vehicles just to get an indication, this is what I managed to find:
                                                                               

(I tried to get as similar vehicles and mileage as possible, and they almost always have the same insurance provider)

Its good to know that the Golf R's are plentiful, I do really enjoy those cars. I've never driven the GTD, but have contacted my local dealership and will try to arrange a drive in the next few days, they seem incredible popular!

Once again, thanks for all your help!

EndlessWaves

There was a new vehicle Tax system implemented just over a year ago, so the exact tax you pay would depend on the age of the vehicles you're looking at:
www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables

Vehicle tax is generally low anyway, and since about 2007 most manufacturers have been fiddling their CO2 output* so taxes are even lower than they should be on vehicles up until the system changed last year.

*They push the test as far as they can so while it's legal, it doesn't reflect real world emissions. VW got caught pushing a little too far. Subaru have been an honourable exception, along with most smaller sportscar manufacturers (Lotus etc.). Official MPG figures are also derived from the CO2 test, so they're all bunk too. See sites like Spritmonitor and RealMPG for user submitted reports to get some idea of real world, you can even back-calculate the actual CO2 emissions if you're interested.

UK Customer service is largely dealer-based so it's down to the quality of your local dealer for that manufacturer. Some are good, others are dire.

Car insurance in the UK is far more heavily dependant on driver than car. The same car can cost anything from £200 a year to £4000 a year depending on your age/experience/location/job and any other risk factors they can get their hands on to assess.

As for other cars, I'm not familiar with the South African market but are there any brands in the UK you don't see over there? They might be worth a go while you're here. Convertibles are very popular in the UK so there'll be plenty of them around if you fancy one.

I'm not a great fan of Germanic design myself. In terms of sporty german cars a Vauxhall Adam S might tempt me, and maybe one of the smaller minis like the Roadster or old Clubman. The likes of the Golf and 3-series all look rather cheerless to me, as if they're trying to appear menacing rather than fun.

Vauxhall ADAM S review | Car review | RAC Drive
Vauxhall Adam S (2017) long-term test review

AMc

If you can try and get a scope on credit rating and borrowing based on your status.  
You may or may not be able to access some of the dealer based finance options.

I had a mate who moved to California, despite having a silicon valley salary and a work permit he couldn't get the dealers or the banks to lend him any money.  
In the end he bought a project 1970's Dodge Charger with cash it was fun and he only needed it to scoot a few miles up and down the 101 - not something I would do in the UK