Reminder - Cost of Ownership of Gas vs Diesel

[sandman2234]

I have owned gas pickup trucks all my life. Went for a ride in a friends pickup..a 2000 Ford diesel pick up. I looked at the trailer we were hooking to and realized that my gas pickup would probably not like hauling that thing, it was big, ugly and way overbuilt. Once we loaded it and took off down the back roads, over hills and around curves, with him never shifting a gear (it was a six speed) I began thinking about how my pickup would have been shifting down at every hill to pull that empty trailer, much less a loaded one! Do I need a diesel truck like that... probably not, but since I now have one, it does everything I ask of it, without a problem. I walk right by the gas pick up most days because I enjoy driving the diesel. It is not all about the cost of ownership, but I do know that if I subjected the gas truck to the many miles that I have put the diesel through pulling as heavy of trailers that the diesel just takes in stride, I would be putting a motor and a couple of transmissions in it!
David from jax

 

[aczlan]

Interesting story from a co-worker:
He had a 2011 F350 SRW with the 6.7L Diesel, in MINT condition. He bought it new for $43,000 and has used it to tow his camper.
He went into the dealership to look at getting new tires and walked out with a new truck.
They offered him $42,300 for his truck plus $6k in rebates and he saved the $1300 it was going to cost him for new tires. So for $5700 he went from a 3 year old truck to an almost identical new one (specced the same, but that trim level now has a backup camera and seats with HVAC).

Aaron Z

 

[buickanddeere]

Interesting story from a co-worker:
He had a 2011 F350 SRW with the 6.7L Diesel, in MINT condition. He bought it new for $43,000 and has used it to tow his camper.
He went into the dealership to look at getting new tires and walked out with a new truck.
They offered him $42,300 for his truck plus $6k in rebates and he saved the $1300 it was going to cost him for new tires. So for $5700 he went from a 3 year old truck to an almost identical new one (specced the same, but that trim level now has a backup camera and seats with HVAC).

Aaron Z

Who is going to purchase that four year old pickup for $45,000+ from the dealer when they can get a new truck cheaper?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Who is going to purchase that four year old pickup for $45,000+ from the dealer when they can get a new truck cheaper?

They are out there. My family owns a Chrysler/Ram/Jeep dealership. It was my grandfather's for 40 years and now it's his brothers.

Every day people walk in looking for a "good used so and so" 9 times out of 10 you can buy an identical new one cheaper than used unless paying cash. Reason is just as stated above. Rebates, 0% financing, dealers incentives, ect. Some people just think they can't afford new and only look at used.

Chris

 

[aczlan]

Who is going to purchase that four year old pickup for $45,000+ from the dealer when they can get a new truck cheaper?

No idea, perhaps there is an extra incentive if they sell enough trucks which made up for the price?
IIRC, it was the sales manager (who has sold this guy several trucks) that made the offer. I will watch to see when it comes up on the dealers site.
I think he said that he got 0.9% financing on it.

Aaron Z

 

[MossRoad]

Interesting story from a co-worker:
He had a 2011 F350 SRW with the 6.7L Diesel, in MINT condition. He bought it new for $43,000 and has used it to tow his camper.
He went into the dealership to look at getting new tires and walked out with a new truck.
They offered him $42,300 for his truck plus $6k in rebates and he saved the $1300 it was going to cost him for new tires. So for $5700 he went from a 3 year old truck to an almost identical new one (specced the same, but that trim level now has a backup camera and seats with HVAC).

Aaron Z

And I have an interesting story, too....
I paid $20,00 for my first house, $30,000 for 20 acres of farmland, and $65,000 for my current house. 4 years tuition at Purdue is about $38,000. I have one there now and another in two years. I have never, ever spent more than $13,000 on a vehicle. So I'm fairly sure I will never, ever, own a diesel pickup truck that is in any kind of workable condition! :laughing:

 

[wsc9tt]

That article was not talking about trucks with big block diesel engines.
It was about small commuter cars with high end 4-cyl diesel engines getting 45mpg.
The fuel savings was not because diesel is cheaper it is because those cars get really good mileage.

Those trucks also get really good mileage compared to similar sized gas engines, but only if you put a 10,000 lb load on the back of the truck.
When the truck is empty they are pointless and expensive.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

In my opinion, in a 3/4 ton truck, cost of ownership of a gas vs. diesel engine is basically equal.

I drive a diesel mainly because I pull heavy loads fairly often. But, I have and I will consider a gas every time I buy.

Diesel engine vehicles cost more up front, but you recover a good bit of that at resale.

Diesel fuel cost more at the pump, but you generally get better fuel mileage.

Diesel engine maintenance cost more, but you usually do less maintenance.

I own 2 Isuzu NPR trucks, one is diesel, one is gas.

I own 2 - 3/4 ton pickups, one is diesel, one is gas.

I say the cost of ownership of gas vs. diesel is a wash in the long run.

 

[Danny C]

Last I knew gas trucks had fuel filters, transmission filters also. Gas vehicles also have emissions systems that fail. I replaced an EGR valve on the wife's car about 4 years ago.

I can't say I know but a couple of people that own newer diesel trucks and they don't have problems yet, but I do agree, it can be a problem but I do think they are getting better.

Keep this in mind, this is the future of diesel engines, like it or hate it. It the same for everybody, tractors, light trucks, big rigs, heavy equipment. We can whine about it or adapt. This is just like the late 70's and early 80's with gas vehicles, people whined and ***** about the emissions stuff but I don't read anybody complaining about it now on gas vehicles.

This forum needs a "Like" button!

 

[Danny C]

I do not want to sound like a diesel hater but... a 7.3PSD holds 14-15 quarts. The filter is about 4 times bigger than a V-8 filter, and probably 2-3 times $. Not many oil filters can go 15,000 miles. That's a few dollars. A gasoline fuel filter does not need to be changed as often as a diesel fuel filter. Spark plugs on modern engines do not need to be changed very often either. A diesel will often wear out batteries more often, and there are usually two. RollingsFarms also has an excellent point. And if diesels are so great, why do I always see them for sale at a 10-1 ratio to a gas engine? I think enough people will get fed up with this and reliability will have to return.

I would suspect your observation is due to the fact that OEM's have sold 10 diesels to every 1 gasser for about the past 14 years or so............therefore the market should have about 10 diesels for every gasser!