Would you buy a- dpf demo car

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 12 May 2012 11:21
Would you buy a- dpf demo car - oldroverboy

I recently read on the chevrolet forum about a man who bought an ex-demo car from a main dealer with low mileage and the "change oil light" was on, and he was asking how to get rid of it. It was suggested that he took the car back to the dealer, as this is an indication of possible oil contamination. (failed regeneration on too many short demo runs) I have read nothing more on the subject, so assume sorted, but talking to my local dealer the other day, they had an aveo 1.3vcdi demo and the warning light came on and has stayed on, so is now being dealt with.

My question is who would buy any dpf fitted car now used as there is no way to check if there are potential problems lurking! Is the only way to be sure of no problems only to buy new or to stick to petrol? my choice now seems to be coming down to an aveo 1.2 or 1.4 petrol or the cruze 1.6 petrol hatchback.

The epica has a windscreen washer level warning light on so is being dealt with same day as the MOT, which is deliberately being done 2 months before the warranty expires. I noticed also in the HJ mot report that only 70% of chevrolets pass the first mot so we'll see tuesday. Chevrolet want £650 to extend the warranty for 2 years, but beginning to feel that i would be better off buying new and downsizing a bit, as just the 2 of us 99% of the time.

Edited by OldRoverboy on 12/05/2012 at 11:22

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Sat 12 May 2012 11:32
Would you buy a- dpf demo car - unthrottled

My question is who would buy any dpf fitted car now used as there is no way to check if there are potential problems lurking! Is the only way to be sure of no problems only to buy new or to stick to petrol?

Petrol cars are also quite capable of diluting their oil with cold starts and short runs. Direct injection avoids the cold start enrichment problem but can be subject to other problems that do not affect port injected engines. Then you have throttle bodies, variable valve timing, lambda sensors, three way cat, ignition system etc etc, that diesel engines do not have.

there's a finite chance of failure in any complex system.

Personally speaking, if it ain't broke...

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Sat 12 May 2012 12:52
Would you buy a- dpf demo car - oldroverboy
my post refers to USED cars fitted with a dpf, which for the oil life depends on the previous owners usage. In my case the new car, (when I decide) will be as near to new or pre-reg as I can get, unless i plump for the cruze 5 door which is now being sold for £9995, complete with 5 year warranty. Hoewever it WILL be petrol.
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Sat 12 May 2012 13:11
Would you buy a- dpf demo car - gordonbennet

I take that MOT survey with a large pinch of salt, how can you include things like blown bulbs and bald tyres as MOT failures...hardly the makers fault.

There are certain cars i wouldn't entertain with a DPF, Mazda particularly, and i would research very carefully any other makes to find out if they have recurring problems that they fail to take responsibilty for.

I'm wary of used Diesels anyway, older ones because of the misuse of comedy fuels (thanks for that apt term the poster who coined it) and later ones for accidental misfuelling issues.

SWMBO's car, bought 18 months ago is now a 4 year old Citroen C2 with the 1.6HDi engine with FAP, that has been no trouble at all, Citroen do seem to be on the right track with their DPF system, well till ours goes wrong anyway..;)

If my car own car was written off and i had to buy tomorrow, it would be either a petrol hybrid or i would buy a low mileage petrol and get it immediately converted to LPG as is my present car, so that would limit my choice of cars both for compatibility regarding tank space and engine suitability.

I wouldn't want to buy a current DPF equipped Diesel for my own daily driver, used or otherwise.

Oil situation in an ex demo shouldn't be a problem, the mileage covered being so low, however i would always service any car i bought used immediately, that way i know what quality of oils etc has been used.

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Sat 12 May 2012 13:36
Would you buy a- dpf demo car - unthrottled

I take that MOT survey with a large pinch of salt, how can you include things like blown bulbs and bald tyres as MOT failures...hardly the makers fault.

Quite. Different marques appeal to different demographics and I suspect this is the biggest factor in the observed variance in reliability.

I'd prefer it if petrols were geared towards short tripusers rather than trying to compete with diesels for overall fuel efficiency. I think petrols will tie themselves in knots in this battle (convoluted valve trains, ultra thin rings, tiny journals, white spirit like oils etc etc.) and will still fall short.

Everyone wants a 5 litre V8 petrol that sips like a 3 pot TDI-but it is not going to happen. We need different engines for different purposes.

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Sat 12 May 2012 13:54
Would you buy a- dpf demo car - coopshere
Exactly so, it's the old Horses for Courses syndrome, if you are a high mileage company car driver then obviously at the moment diesel is the way to go. However when these hit the second hand market I wouldn't want to risk my money on having to replace the DPF then the DMF and then a DSG style gearbox. I wouldn't be surprised if the second hand values of cars fitted with these systems will nose dive soon as the cost to change these items will be a huge chunk of its value. Most modern petrol engines are now quite economical, certainly smoother and quieter to drive and fuel cost difference per litre is getting to be an issue too.
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