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Hi, i travel 60,000km a year in my 1997 3.0l Maxima to work which costs a arm and a leg, would i save much by changing to a diesel vehicle. My Maxima runs like a dream with no problems at this stage although the km's are starting to get high, but i cant afford to buy a newer model diesel so it would be in the mid 1990's. I have heard as long as you keep your diesel serviced they can keep going for very high km's ?. Do you think its worth the change. it costs about $950- $1000 month on petrol. Hopefuly i will only need to travel this sort of distance for a couple more years.
Thanks

This is really a double-edged sward. The mileage you are travelling per year is such that a diesel would be cheaper to run. However, if you are talking about an older diesel vehicle you run the risk of buying something that has the potential to suffer mechanical failures which could be expensive to repair.
While a 3.0 V6 petrol-powered car would be one of the last vehicles we would recommend to someone travelling this mileage, I would be reluctant to tell you to trade it for an older model diesel. Perhaps a 4 cylinder petrol car might be the better option.

Thanks, for your advise i have traded it for a 2 litre 2006 Ford Mondeo 126k on clock with a 2 year warranty.The Ford dealer says i can use 91 or 95 fuel and say i should get more km out of a tank of 95 than 91. What does AA think??. At the moment im getting 9.2l/100k on 95 on open road driving.
Thanks.

From a cost perspective, tests we have carried out in the past have found that there is no advantage in using 95 if the manufacturer says the car can use 91.
Some cars feel a bit more lively on 95, but for most cars there is no noticable difference and the minute difference to fuel consumption that 95 may offer is outweighedd by the lower cost of 91 fuel.