Potential Diesel buyer advice?

resurgent cineribus said:

Thanks,

I guess it might be a little early to know the long term reliability of these but I haven't heard much about the diesels one way or another yet. I should mention I don't know much about diesels but I consider myself a pretty decent wrench for basic jobs and am pretty diligent about maintenance I just don't want to rush into something with serious design problems. I've kept my escape (2005) going on original engine and trans at 282k miles with no sign of slowing down its just at this point the rust is starting to win the war

If the diesels are going to be trouble I guess I could still consider the gas one (they certainly are cheaper and easier to find) but that's why I'm asking around now. Also in the back of my mind trying to figure how hard it will be to source parts in 5-10 years if I kept one for the long haul.

thanks

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The main issue with modern diesels is the emissions control systems - mainly, the DPF (diesel particulate filter) sometimes clogging itself and not being able to regenerate to burn off soot - this happens if you do a lot of short trip driving or something like an air leak is causing lots of soot to build up; the car will give you warnings to "keep driving" if it fails to complete multiple times. Beyond that period, it will begin a mileage countdown to a speed limiter until you fix the emissions system. The urea injection has also been known to cause issues - freezing up, bad fluid, or bad exhaust sensors.

The Gen 2's have had LESS emissions issues around this forum than the Gen 1 diesels, but they are still new and not too many of them out there. The 1.6 diesel has been around for a couple years overseas before it came here, with a fairly good track record. The 9 sp auto is still quite new.

The Gen 2 platform of the Cruze has been fairly reliable overall - especially compared to the Gen 1. There have been a few electrical/build bugs, such as bad gaskets around the high stop lamp on sedans causing water to get into the battery tray, infotainment system glitches, and tie rods that seem to loosen up and clunk for no good reason before they were replaced with a revised part.

282K is darn impressive for that Escape if it's the CD4E automatic. We've had 2 in the family - great cars, but the automatic has failed on both ~150K. Rust is beginning to get the better of the '01 as well.

Thanks for everyones advice so far. My normal commute to my main office is about 40 miles one way and that often has a period of stop and go traffic in the middle (the only time i might regret having the manual if its not a fairly easy one to drive) and many days I have to travel throughout the day too so short trips are somewhat rare to say the least and fuel is not an insignificant part of my limited budget. I know these ones require DEF to be filled up periodically.

As long as most maintenance stuff is pretty easy I don't imagine i'll have much trouble; I'm hoping to find one that has at least some of its warranty left. I'm sure if I bought one there's lots of knowledge floating around here. I live in Mich which of course means lots of cold, horrible roads and salt/rust so keeping a car together is a challenge (If I buy anything more than a year or two old I'd probably buy it down south to buy some time before the rust takes over) So far it sounds like most diesel owners are pretty satisfied; kind of a shame the car didn't catch on better and the automakers keep killing off car models.

Which brings me to finding one. Do you think any dealers still have 2018s in stock? I don't really want the 19 since its automatic only. Hopefully hyperlinks are allowed I did just find this one on ebay that is pretty close to what I'd want (only missing the fancy seats!) I think half the time the dealers barely even know the diesel is a thing.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2018-Chevr...h=item3b2bdfc7ed:g:MVAAAOSwY7lcc0XH:rk:3:pf:0

17.5 seems pretty reasonable right? The MSRP as I spec'd it came to about 26k. Depending on finding one I wonder how aggressive the discounts are. Fortunately I have a little time to search.

Yes thanks, my goal has been to hit 300k but I'm not sure I'll get to. One of my rear strut towers rusted completely through and is now poking through the interior; furthermore the repair bracket that could be used has to attach to a piece of frame where mine is about 2/3 rusted through. Such a shame because it still runs great and the body looks pretty good cosmetically. Maybe I'm superstitious but I've always changed the oil with Valvoline maxlife 5w20 every 3,000 regardless of how many people told me that was overkill (mine is the V6). I believe mine is the CD4E which is a strange layout (no real replaceable filter but it does have a drain plug that I periodically refresh the ATF every few oil changes because its so easy. Neither the engine or trans have ever had major work done (maybe I'm just lucky?) I have no idea what I get for MPGs these days but its probably not that great; a more fuel efficient car would help a bit with making the payments.

I have a 18 diesel hatch 6sp. Purchase it as a certified used at the end of march 2018 with 7k miles. It now has 32k. Its been a perfect vehicle for my needs. Most weeks I drive 300 mile one way commute from St Augustine to Ft Lauderdale and back. The car is relatively quiet and comfortable and the hatch is very flexiable. Most weeks I average 50+ MPG. Flat FL roads. Usually set the cruise at 72-73 which seems to be ideal for speed vs mpg. Like most cars, MPG crashes as you get much above 70. Just had my first service trip due to check engine light - it was a bad sensor in the emmissions system. I have done all the oil changes/tire rotations myself.

Would I purchase again - yes. However, I would consider the automatic, simply because you cant get the bose sound system/sunroof with the 6sp and at times I am starting to get lazy and shifting is a bit more trouble. Audio is important but cant justify spending the $$ to upgrade - sorta of defeats the money saved from the 50mpg. Only real complaint is the leather seats are hot with no ventilation. I purchased a wicker seat cover off of amazon that had a lumbar support. Made a big difference, although at times I feel like a cab driver. The other thing to think about is that the price premium for diesel eats into the savings from the mpg. Use gas buddy to find where to purchase, as diesel seems to have a larger variation between stations than gas. Truck stops are the last place you want to buy fuel.

Good luck with the decision and search. 6speeds were few and far between a year ago. I still follow the market and 6speed hatchbacks are just no where to be found.

I've had my 2018 TD manual for just over 12k miles and it really checks all the boxes. I've had two road trips where it got 66 mpg for the whole trip, and have hit 70 mpg on the "last 50" a handful of times. It's very fun to drive, the space is pretty generous (granted I am a 5'6" woman), comfortable interior. The downside as others have mentioned is the potential for emissions system trouble, and the potential flywheel issues. I got an extended warranty for those reasons. Also I'm hopefully an outlier, but my turbo failed last month and it took GM five weeks to provide the dealer with a part. So unfortunately if I'm honest I would consider potential lack of support from GM as a factor. However, the fact that I stuck that out and plan to stick with the car says something ... I couldn't think of anything that could even begin to replace it. So I will continue to rave about this car but just suggest you be prepared for some of the potential difficulties and the fact you may end up with a loaner here and there. The positives still outweigh the negatives to me.

Sorry to hear your Escape is being eaten by rust. I know that pain. I finally took my beloved 87 Mercedes off the road in 2016 with 314k miles. I am actually in the process of restoring it but am lucky to have the space and budget for more than one car. Original engine and transmission, ran great, was the most reliable car I had. Rust stinks!

Barry Allen said:

Unless you can get a diesel Cruze for zero or very close to zero cost over a comparable gasoline model, it's a worthless purchase. Even for zero cost it's still questionable. Fuel costs will be higher to the point that the higher fuel economy will not offset the additional purchase price of a gasoline model. That, and every single part to maintain or repair a diesel model is higher cost than the gasoline engine. You can easily achieve 40+ mpg highway with gasoline Cruze vehicles. Buying a diesel gets you about 50 mpg, so it's a 25% increase in fuel economy. But the cost of fuel is higher and then DEF is a cost factor.

In about 16,000 miles of driving I have figured out that a diesel purchase just doesn't make sense when you can get high efficiency with a gasoline model.

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Hmmm, I just had a gasoline Cruze rental on a business trip. 169 miles, virtually all highway... 33MPG, calculated from 5 gallons of fuel. I just got 52MPG in my Diesel, calculated, virtually identical driving conditions. That is a pretty massive difference. I could add that the gasoline engine screams higher RPM yet doesn't have the get up an go low end torque of the diesel. Where I live there is minimal cost difference from gasoline to Diesel, some parts of the US diesel is cheaper. As to DEF, it's statistically insignificant. A $7 2.5gallon jug at Walmart will get you well over 6000 miles... That is about a penny every 10 miles, and it's possible to get cheaper DEF at truck stops.
Yes, it's true the Diesel costs more to buy, but I got 2 of mine for $20k, well equipped... A comparable gasoline car with similar options would be about $17-18 k.. over the first 6 years with 12k/year the fuel cost savings cover that and then some, drive 24k per year it's covered in about 3 years. Beyond that the fuel savings cover the possible additional parts costs. This is just math. I should point out that it's typical to get near double the milage before overhaul than a much higher RPM gasoline engine.. that and there have been some difficulty with the gasoline engine and burning pistons, and some have determined that it really is best to use 89 or higher octane fuel to get best performance... All that said, the gasoline engine car is a fine option for some, especially if you look to replace the car before 5 years, and definitely if you drive limited miles. The diesel is an option that can make sense for higher milage, especially highway heavy drivers.

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MRO1791 said:

it's typical to get near double the milage before overhaul

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People keep saying this like it's something that frequently happens in passenger cars. Oh, yeah, someone put 300,000 miles on a car and then put the engine in for an overhaul to keep on truckin'.

No one does that. Or almost no one does that. These aren't semi tractors where rebuilt engines are frequently fitted to dodge new emissions regulations and the cost of buying new. Passenger cars routinely rust/fall apart around the engine. I can count two people I've known in my life that had an engine rebuilt. One was a Chevy Astro van that they had a guy do a ring job and light rebuild on a weekend because it was cheap enough to make it worth it for a vehicle that was otherwise fine. The other was a Chevy Equinox with the POS made-in-China engine that dropped a valve, so a Jasper rebuilt engine was in order for a vehicle with only 40,000 miles on it.

Everything else becomes worthless to say you're going to overhaul and engine and keep the same vehicle. Technology is advancing enough that people desire new cars to get the latest Bluetooth satellite radio whatever. Or their car has tons of rust. Or the brakes, struts, tires, etc. are also all clapped out and it's another $2,000 to fix all that.

These mythical engine rebuilds for long-term car ownership just don't happen.