aqkhan6us

Compare Gas and Diesel (USA)

1) Upfront cost /price of the car/SUV is expected to be more (? $2000-5000 ?? )
2) Diesel price is high 50-95 cents more compared to Reg/Mid/Prem.Gasoline price.
3) Go more once we have more diesel cars- 'Demand'
4) In future there maybe premium diesel required / need to add some chemical-additives to diesel directly/indirectly, that may shoot the diesel fuel cost up because of technology/refining.
5) DIESEL RELIABILITY: Some states have problem with bluetec/Diesel cars. MB bluetec 2007 cars are recalled, Check this website > http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/01/19/ma...gine-problems/ )
6) Diesel and recommended quality Diesel may not be available everywhere(eg. in small towns / during travel.)
7) We need some serious good mpg cars that are there in Europe and Japan without playing politics.
7) This is all Politics and it will play a major role in auto fuel and alternative fuel technology.
8) I do not know about the maintenence cost , reliability and durability of diesel opreated vehicles down the road.

Let us do some math:

Calculate average MPG :
a) Reset the trip odometer to ZERO and FILL the tank FULL (first fill). Do not Overfill.
b) Note down the miles driven (eg.300) and Refill the fuel ( Second fill>eg. 12 Gallons). Do not Overfill.
c) Divide miles driven / Gallons fuel second fill (300/12=25 MPG). This is average mpg of your car.

COST of Fuel: At present Premium Gasoline $3.45(345cents) and Diesel $4.00(400cents) per Gallon, You may calculate the cost of a mile for gasoline or Diesel by the following.

Therefore calculate the cost of a MILE per Cents (Cost of fuel in cents/mile)
a) You need MPG estimate of the car (average/city/Hwy) and cost of fuel Cents(Diesel-Gas) .
b) Divide cost of fuel in Cents / MPG (average/city/Hwy).
c) Eg. the cost of fuel $3.45(345 cents) and MPG (23-city or 33-Hwy or 28-average)
d) Divide cents 345 by 23 or 33 or 28, this will give you the cost of 1 mile (city/Hwy).

plus upfront price and cost of maintenence down the road.
These wil give you an idea for the cost of the diesel/Gas/Hybrid/any fuel vehicle for 3- 5 years

DO a GOOD MATH before you go for any fuel car.
Please post your thoughts.

smarty156

In the UK there's very little to choose between a petrol or diesel car in terms of cost - slightly cheaper in the long run with diesel or if you do a lot of miles a year.
I looked at the new list price of a 530i compared to a 530D (only ?325 difference) and the quoted combined fuel consumption figures (all from the BMW UK website). Based on diesel only costing about 6% more than petrol over here but the diesel returning about 19% more mpg it would only take 20,000 miles of driving to recoup the extra ?325 you have to pay for the diesel. After 20,000 miles the diesel is cheaper to run on fuel.
Performance-wise the diesel is only 2 tenths of a second slower 0 to 60mph (for an automatic). I know from my manual that 40 to 70mph times for my 530D are actually slightly quicker than a 545i so in the real world the diesel is quicker.
In terms of reliability, if you buy a warranty for each then there's no issue and no cost difference.

Diesel's drive a lot differently from petrols. I much prefer a performance diesel now over a petrol but that's a personal choice.

If the difference in cost price is more and diesel is a lot dearer then it will take a lot longer to recoup the cost so financially it may not make sense. I guess if more people drive diesels over there the price will come down?

new-kid

One cost factor that nobody mentions is the screw up factor ! In the UK at least, it is physically impossible to fill a petrol car with diesel (petrol filler is narrower). But loads of people accidentally fill a diesel with petrol. This can cause a repair bill of several hundred to several thousands which screws the economics - and seriously spoils your day.
(PS Don't know if can get away with ignoring it on a well warrantied or company car!)