Thread: Diesel cars more expensive to run

Originally Posted by rovercare

And a gearbag rebuild

........... or 2 or 3 .... That was my experience. The engine was brilliant ... the gear bag was the pits

I say this is bull crap. Years ago diesels did not use a whole lot less fuel and they didnt neccessarily have more torque but they made the torque at lower rpm, this was worth the effort to most. Then diesels started getting more torque and better fuel economy and diesels became more attractive but people always went back the performace issue that diesels were always sluggish, now diesels have more power, more torque, and far better fuel economy and the only thing left to fall back on is higher purchace price and higher diesel prices. We have always paid premium prices for fast cars xr8's HSV's etc, they cost more, used more but this is ok because of the performace.

Now diesels give better performance (diesel astra is apparantly 1 sec behind a boxter S on a track and 2 secs behind an STI) and for all this better performance you win with less consumption, but apparently this is still not enough. There will always be people arguing the pure maths of petrol but its not as simple at that if you include performance and other diesel attributes.

In addiditon to all this to some people time is money, if you can fill up one time per month or one time per 2 months because you have a 1000km or 1400km range, then surely filling up several times in that period has cost you more, in fuel to the trip to the station, in time etc.. (this is splitting hairs but this is what the article does) With the i30 only winning by 50c a week in diesel this is only $25 a year, so small savings could have an impact here.

In all these cases this is buying new and as mentioned this is a poor way to save money. If you buy a proven and reliable diesel car/4x4 around the 10 to 15k mark you will be well in front.

Originally Posted by F4Phantom

...........
In all these cases this is buying new and as mentioned this is a poor way to save money. If you buy a proven and reliable diesel car/4x4 around the 10 to 15k mark you will be well in front.

Against this is the fact that as people panic at the cost of fuel, the price of second hand petrol vehicles has dropped relative to the same thing in diesel, dramatically so if the dreaded word "V8" is mentioned.

But as you point out, there are major advantages to diesels other than running cost! And these are generally what decides people to buy one.

John

Another interesting point in these tables - the two most expensive cars to run in the small car sector are the two hybrid cars - the Honda Civic hybrid affording a direct comparison, being about 12.5% more expensive to run than its conventional counterpart.

By contrast, the only LPG one I noticed was the Falcon, and here the lower fuel cost translates almost straight into lower running costs - since it is only about $1500 dearer.

John

This just shows why I'll never buy a new car.

My V8 on LPG will do me for years to come (I hope).

I wonder what the diesel Cruiser vs petrol Cruiser comparison would be once you hooked up a 3 tonne van and drove it around the country. Would the diesel still be more expensive to own?

As said some prefer diesel and some prefer petrol and will pay the extra either way. The same as some will pay the extra to own a new car over an old one.
If choosing a car was purely an economic choice then it would be pretty boring.

Originally Posted by Utemad

T.....
If choosing a car was purely an economic choice then it would be pretty boring.

That's for sure - what usually happens of course is people decide (often with the help of an astute salesman or advertising campaign) which car to buy, and then justify it. If you juggle things like how long you plan to keep it, how much fuel will cost in the future, how much depreciation there will be, etc. you can make the numbers look good regardless of your choice. Of course some people just get what they have decided, and don't even try to justify it! (They usually are not married)

John

Originally Posted by rovercare

And a gearbag rebuild

The PO had mine rebuilt before I bought it ($4500 rebuild!!! - Maxi Drive).

Originally Posted by JDNSW

That's for sure - what usually happens of course is people decide (often with the help of an astute salesman or advertising campaign) which car to buy, and then justify it. If you juggle things like how long you plan to keep it, how much fuel will cost in the future, how much depreciation there will be, etc. you can make the numbers look good regardless of your choice. Of course some people just get what they have decided, and don't even try to justify it! (They usually are not married)

John

and thats why whenever someone askes "which car for me" the answer is nearly always "buy what I got" because people want to think they made the right choice. Not so much on this site because we all own the same thing, and I dont usually see fender owners trying to convince a family of 5 to buy a 2 door series.