Over the past couple of days I’ve been debating a few things about fuel efficiency and the importance of diesel powered vehicles.
A member of my family travels approx 80-100km/day and the gas useage has taken a toll since gas went from $0.80 to $1.32. I must ask myself, at what point does it make sense to have a diesel?
First of all let’s look at diesels. A Diesel is almost always a premium to buy, however retains it’s resale value better. In most cases diesels are used as commuter cars, therefore they tend to be higher mileage. Recently I’ve looked at a comparison analysis of some diesel trucks compared to gasoline, and the common consensus amongst the big three is that if you want diesel, it’s going to cost you. The pricetag of the diesel option will run you between $6,500 to $8,000 on most larger diesel pickups, such as the F-250, 3500 series Silverado or Dodge. Now where exactly do the savings from diesel pay off? Of course naturally towing ability would increase greatly, but where does that transfer into some hard earned dollars? According to leading automotive publications, around 100k miles is the break even point between diesel and gas.
For passenger vehicles, it’s most likely less, but passenger cars were not included in this study. Overall I find most diesels in the marketplace are over-abused. This is because the people that drive them consider them as A to B transportation, rather then pride of ownership. This causes excessive wear on the vehicles. Still, dealers and private sellers still ask for premiums for them due to their extreme fuel efficiency and bla bla bla bla. I’ve had first hand experience driving a 1992 Jetta turbo diesel and altho the car was not a monster off the line, it had some pep. Filling up for $35 and having it last for 800kms was also pretty cool.
