Petrol vs diesel overall cost which is best
Petrol vs diesel overall cost which is best
Author
Discussion

dave0010

Original Poster:

1,405 posts

177 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
Now i no that there are a million variable's to this equation so for now im going to ignore them.

The question is with fuel costs shooting up month on month there are sum real bargains to be had buying petrol cars other than diesel's, so for the money you can save on buying a petrol rather than a diesel how long would it take for the diesel car to pay for its in fuel savings??

Blue Oval84

5,330 posts

177 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
Give me a petrol MPG and a diesel MPG together with the difference in cost between the two cars and I'll work it out, without that it's impossible to tell though! smile

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

206 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
Now i no that there are a million variable's to this equation so for now im going to ignore them.

The question is with fuel costs shooting up month on month there are sum real bargains to be had buying petrol cars other than diesel's, so for the money you can save on buying a petrol rather than a diesel how long would it take for the diesel car to pay for its in fuel savings??
Trouble is, variables matter.

Also PH is full of idiots who'll tell you a diesel costs more to buy, but also forget to tell you that you can then sell it for more than a petrol one too.


Apart from that - work it out yourself, it's pretty easy.....


Don't forget some vehicles run on superunleaded, so different price to 95 RON.

dave0010

Original Poster:

1,405 posts

177 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
i dont have either im affraid, was thinkin that with the vast wealth of information that accumulates on this site sumone may have already done the equation an given a general answer

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

206 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
i dont have either im affraid, was thinkin that with the vast wealth of information that accumulates on this site sumone may have already done the equation an given a general answer
There isn't a general answer though.

Here's an example:

V8 Series 1 Disco, 165-189hp and loads of torque. MPG 12-15mpg ave

Tdi Series 1 Disco, 111-112hp and less torque than the V8. MPG 22-28mpg.


You know how much fuel is per litre, so times it 4.546 to get £/gallon. Then take how many miles you do and work it out.

smile

But different cars will produce differing results....

eldar

24,184 posts

212 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
Depends. Car budget, annual mileage, how long you keep the car, depreciation, driving conditions and all that boring detail.

Thus the answer could be a Polo Bluemotion diesel, a BMW 335 petrol or a 1998 Metro. HTH

kmc1

12,450 posts

176 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
read somewhere that at 15000 miles a year, it will take about 3 years to recoup the extra outlay for a diesel but as has been said there are many variables such type of car, heavier servicing costs,etc.

once you've decided on a car it shouldn't take too long with a calculater to work out

parapaul

2,828 posts

214 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
Now i no that there are a million variable's to this equation so for now im going to ignore them.

The question is with fuel costs shooting up month on month there are sum real bargains to be had buying petrol cars other than diesel's, so for the money you can save on buying a petrol rather than a diesel how long would it take for the diesel car to pay for its in fuel savings??
In that case, the answer is probably.

dave0010

Original Poster:

1,405 posts

177 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
well the cars that im looking at are

bmw e46 330ci- e46 330d

I dont now the mpg for each car but there is a massive cost difference between the 2 models, I would probably only keep the car for a few years and not put a massive amount of miles on it.

CommanderJameson

22,096 posts

242 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
well the cars that im looking at are

bmw e46 330ci- e46 330d

I dont now the mpg for each car but there is a massive cost difference between the 2 models, I would probably only keep the car for a few years and not put a massive amount of miles on it.
Get the petrol.

Sounds nicer.

More power through the rev range (rather than the all-out-of-ideas by 4K RPM thing that diesel does).

A bit cheaper to maintain because of no turbo.

The 3L six is sweeeeeet.

As for MPG?

fk it. You can't take it with you. If you were that arsed about fuel efficiency you wouldn't be looking at three litre engines, would you now?

MondeoMan1981

2,444 posts

199 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
well the cars that im looking at are

bmw e46 330ci- e46 330d

I dont now the mpg for each car but there is a massive cost difference between the 2 models, I would probably only keep the car for a few years and not put a massive amount of miles on it.
Look at purchase price, difference, resale difference, servicing difference and of course, cost of fuel difference.

Diesel makes the most sense in the markets where the diesel models are more commona and dont attract such a big premium - say french cars are a decent example there.

dave0010

Original Poster:

1,405 posts

177 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
[redacted]

Kong

1,503 posts

187 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
well the cars that im looking at are

bmw e46 330ci- e46 330d

I dont now the mpg for each car but there is a massive cost difference between the 2 models, I would probably only keep the car for a few years and not put a massive amount of miles on it.
If youre not doing big miles then get the petrol. The 330d has the potential for much bigger bills - turbos, injectors, swirl flat etc. The 330ci engine though nothing is guaranteed, is generally regarded as being about as reliable as they come.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

206 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
well the cars that im looking at are

bmw e46 330ci- e46 330d

I dont now the mpg for each car but there is a massive cost difference between the 2 models, I would probably only keep the car for a few years and not put a massive amount of miles on it.
In that case petrol, unless you WANT the diesel.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

206 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
kmc1 said:
read somewhere that at 15000 miles a year, it will take about 3 years to recoup the extra outlay for a diesel
I don't mean is nastily, but that is wrong and bad advise. It would depend on the car and the expected mpg for the driving style/roads.

It would also vary on spec of vehicle and you MUST count depreciation and resale value into the equation or else its just pointless.

smile

parapaul

2,828 posts

214 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
[redacted]

cptsideways

13,744 posts

268 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
I have a Landcruiser 4.2td used mostly for towing, it'll do about 26mpg not towing, I bought a cheap Arosa 1.4tdi as the runabout as I do a lot of miles!

For every 10k miles (about 3 months for me) the Arosa will me save a grand in fuel bills, the Arosa does 52mpg pretty much flat out & 65mpg if I bumble about. So the Arosa will pay for itself in about 15-20k miles including all running costs.

Neither of these cars will be depreaciating much, if anything at all

volvoforlife

724 posts

179 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
well the cars that im looking at are

bmw e46 330ci- e46 330d

I dont now the mpg for each car but there is a massive cost difference between the 2 models, I would probably only keep the car for a few years and not put a massive amount of miles on it.
I have a 325 automatic and I feel it uses too much fuel. The computer says I'm getting 22mpg (mostly city driving) which is average on this forum. With the air-con on, I reckon I can see the needle moving right to left.

Jasandjules

71,197 posts

245 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
dave0010 said:
not put a massive amount of miles on it.
Then I think a petrol will, on balance, be a better option.

Also need to factor in the diesel needing more services......

cpas

1,661 posts

256 months

Sunday 12th December 2010
quotequote all
I used to do calculations based on a diesel car doing 50mpg because when I borrowed a work's car, that's what they seemed to do. However, I recently borrowed a diesel Passat from work for 2 weeks. I did exactly the same journey every day that I normally do in my 2 litre petrol Mondeo and drove pretty much the same (pretty crappy A road with 50 mph traffic). The Diesel only managed an average of about 39 MPG compared to the 29 MPG that my Mondeo averages. Whilst this is 25% better, it's not as big a difference as I would have imagined. This only works out at a saving of £400 (ish) over 10k miles, but a Diesel car such as the Passat could easily develop a £400+ problem in that year over the top of the petrol car.