ignorant wrote:
walterj wrote:
cheap to maintain
and diesel does not compute... Understand this before jumping in on one..
I get so frustrated with this misconception. Sure, a diesel takes more oil, and a failed injector pump might cost $600, but I wish people would stop looking at the short term! I was in charge of maintenance of a fleet of hundreds of vehicles for a fleet that belonged to a utility company. The fleet included gas and diesel from all three trucks. Hands down, without exception, diesel truck investments keep more money in your pocket than gas. Period. Cost to maintain might be a tiny bit higher, but when you consider the HUGE fuel savings and the monumental resale value difference, its a no-brainer. Not to mention, we were struggling to keep our gas engines alive at 180k miles, but diesels were hardly breaking a sweat at 300k (not to mention that a 300k diesel is still worth more on the open market than a 180k gas).
Don't look at the "3-gallon oil change," look at the long-term wallet effect and you'll see. In my 5 years in fleet maintenance, every single diesel vehicle (with three 6.0 powerstroke exceptions) kept more money in our pockets than the gas vehicles. There was never a single gas vehicle that had a lower cost of ownership than any of our diesels. That includes purchase price, maintenance cost, repair, everything. We could buy a gas vehicle for $20k, use it for 150k miles, and sell it for $6k on the average. We could buy a diesel vehicle for $25k, put 300k on it, and still sell it for $8-10k.
I personally bought a 95 powerstroke as my personal vehicle for $10,400 with 44k on the ticker in 2000. I drove it towing a 10,000 lb travel trailer for another 60k while we full-timed in our RV. During the course of the 3 years I owned it, it was hit twice; once denting the driver's side door, cab, and bed, the other denting the rear bumper and tailgate. I collected $3100 in insurance checks, but never repaired the vehicle. I sold it for $7100. I basically broke even on a truck that I beat to death for 3 years.
Take a look online at the percentage of diesel truck purchase price vs. selling price compared to a similar gas truck. Then compare the approximate 30% fuel savings you have over that life to the magical "3-gallon oil change" that everyone says is so terrible. Now compare the same 300k-mile diesel to a 300k-mile gas truck. Compare how many spark plugs, fuel pumps, MAF sensors, catalysts, and downright longblocks you have to go through to make that gas truck last for 300k to the lack of all of the above it took to get the diesel to last that long. Then consider that a gas truck with 50k on a reman longblock is worth about one quarter what a diesel truck of the same vintage is, and its so ridiculous to think that a diesel costs more to own.
Keep your precious 6-quart oil changes. While you suck down gasoline at 12mpg, I'll keep my 23 mpg and resale value. Not to mention when I burn fuel that I made in my garage from free waste oil and 45 cents worth of lye and methanol while saving the environment, I can safely thumb my nose at your wimpy little big block. You keep making 350 lb-ft of torque, I'll take my 600 lb-ft along with my 3-gallon oil changes.
