petrol or diesel - which to get?

ive narrowed my car choice down as much as i can....

5 door discovery, 7 seats, under 120,000 miles, and under £3000.....

BUT

ive hit a problem - petrol or diesel??

the car is going to be a bit of an all-rounder, il be using it as a daily drive, towing a boat, and hopefully some time getting dirty. so what would people who drive these cars every day recomend? the fuel cost isnt really an issue as the car will be a pleasure, but im more concerned with reliability, power (both for off road and towing) and ease of modification / repair and general 'driving enjoyment'. im reasonable with the spanners and intend to make my 1st purchase a Haynes manual so il be ok with the basics, but would prefer to steer clear of major mechanical work if possible so im keen to learn the plus and minus for each engine.

any help or advice much appreciated
Mark

You mention daily drive, which would suggest a regular commute... in which case, i would recommend the diesel, <20mpg ain't fun for long!

Gas

if you really dont care about fuel get a petrol v8

if you can find one with a gas conversion then thats even better

how big's the boat? Not the bigger boat that bloke wanted in jaws is't?

Some say that 120,000mls is a bit high for a V8 unless you know the history.
The V8 is just a standard overhead valve engine like the diesel, although it doesn't have the messy bits ie diesal pump, various filters, intercooler or a turbo the rest of the vehicle is as much the same and if you go for petrol then get an auto.

general concensus is a petrol with LPG conversion, i lurve the sound of a good V8 mmmmmmm

the boats only an 18ft sportsboat so nothing massive, but the idea of seeing it sail down the 1st big hill i come to with the disco flapping behind it was something that did worry me a bit. but nobody has flagged a pulling problem so happy to go the noisy route. and if the petrol is simpler (lack of turbo and eqpt) that will certainly make my life easier!! my last car was a 'souped up boy racer' astra gsi that was averaging around 11mpg so fuel isnt really a problem, and ive the lead soul out of my shoe so my right foot isnt as heavy anymore!!

is there a reason why an auto box is better for the petrol engine? im not a great fan of auto's so hadnt even considered getting 1, but if there's good reasons to go auto im open to suggestions

thanks for all the help guys
Mark

i would always say diesel. i feel they are more reliable, cheaper to run but less powerful...
i have had TDis & TD5s and tow a horse box with 2 horses regulary as well as towing cars(once towed a BMW 7 series on a trailer-total weight on the scrappy scales 5.1 tonnes!!) with ease so power is not really an issue with the diesel.plus they dont suffer damp problems like petrol engines.

if money isn't an option and you are just going to play on the lanes for off roading my advice would be go for the V8.. the main thing to do though is go and drive a couple.. if you don't love the V8 buy the derv cos no matter how much money you've got chucking petrol (or gas) in the thing gets frustrating and you've gotta love it to let it off...

I love mine

auto is better as it does all the work for you!
plus theres less strain on the transmision with the auto

I would say go for diesel.

I've had V8's in the past and no matter how much you convince yourself you're not worried about fuel costs, you will be.

Put £30 of petrol in, you'll be lucky to do 80mls !!!!

Plus if you do get into offroading and want to ford streams, there's an awful lot of electrical stuff in a petrol engine that could get mucked up.


Go for diesel, go for manual and you will be able to tow just about anything.