To buy a diesel or not?

[rashby]

Gday everyone,
I'm thinking of buying a 97 cherokee diesel with 160 000 ks on it. What are the diesel's like? mechanically and fuel economy. How many litres per 100ks?
I wont be doing that much off-roading, but a bit of towing and some mix of city and country driving. I'm tossing up between the cherokee and LR discovery tdi diesel of the same year. Any help would be great.
Cheers guys.

[Mur]

have a look at the problems people have had with diesels.......
ill try and find one of the threads..

[optical]

i wouldnt....................

stick with the tried and tested petrol IMHO and if milage is an issue, gas it

[murray]

Originally Posted by Mur

have a look at the problems people have had with diesels.......
ill try and find one of the threads..

if you are towing forget it
i have one and love it
problems just do a search on what i have posted

[Mur]

http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/...el+head+gasket
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/...el+head+gasket
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/...el+head+gasket

[Adrian D]

mileage ? highway, averaged 110 and got ~8L / 100kms
murray, what kind of towing are you referring to ? because i plan on ocasional towing (500kg's max) or towing small cars (friend's broken down - rare)

[indertdxj]

I get 8-10L per 100 (depends on driving conditions). My Diesel has done 280k with no signs of any major problems. In this time the previous owner had it serviced every 5k by Jeep (log books authenticate this). I have continued to service every 5k (myself). I have had to replace the starter motor (cost 1600 bucks) only because it was old tired and I filled it with mud.

Uses no oil, has plenty of power and some times gets a bit hot in very long low range driving in soft sand. I think they are very reliable and capable engine. People say they are expensive to maintain. But find me a diesel that isnt! The thing with the diesel is the 50 bucks a week you save in petrol can be used for other maintenance!