his mother asks you, you ask us, you're both lazy gits.
hartlepool to preston is 130miles.
by car you would use 260miles worth of petrol, assuming an average 30mpg petrol car and a fuel cost of 95p/l it would cost about £35-40.
at an average speed on 70mph it will take apprx 3hrs40mins.
if its a diesel and you go faster we can realistically assume £20 and 3hours each way.
by train it takes 4hours or up to 4 1/2 hours depending on number of changes. if you go on a morning from hartlepool and return the following evening from preston, using no railcard, during the week, it will cost £50 for a saver return ticket. at the weekend availability of trains is reduced and i could not find a journey that would be reasonable for suggestion.
£35 in a petrol car or £20 in a diesel car can get up to 5 people there and back, on a train its £50 each. add to that the inconvenience of trains, and the fact that you will burn in hell for using public transport, and the choice is clear, you need a diesel car!