Diesel vehicles beat out gasoline-powered cars in low ownership costs

Let me guess, that was at a dealership.

This is why
1) the entry of other manufacturers into the market is important..
2) people should minimize the maintenance they have done at dealerships.

 

The study was comparing a diesel version with a gas version of the same model. So a Jetta TDI to one of the Jetta gas versions. So, items like the DSG will be the same for both. Then resale value has always been higher than a gas version.
http://www.dieselforum.org/files/dmfile/20130311_CD_UMTRITCOFinalReport_dd2017.pdf
That's the actual study. It is apples to apples. Its flaw is that there are so few models available to compare. For cars, it was just VW and Mercedes.

 

Enjoy the following from a Country where diesels have been established for just shy of 20 years and make up about 50% of sales;

Great diesel myth: They DON'T save you money and petrol models 'are more economical for most makes of car' | Mail Online

Diesel costs about 5p (8c) a litre more than petrol over here.

 

This, and the other link over at the other thread, appear to be only factoring in fuel costs, and not a TCO.

 

Not just fuel. The additional cost of a diesel car to buy cannot be recouped in fuel economy savings. Then diesels require servicing more often with more consumable parts.

But as hybrid owners know, it isn't just money savings that we buy the cars for.

 

For me, it is the $ savings.

 

TDI maintenance = $$$ Great torque! Mucho cost to maintain. Timing-belt replaces every 100k costs between 600-1200 depending who installs it correctly!

 

The study from the OP also factored maintenance service into the data along with higher diesel prices. It goes a step further and also includes the resale value. The arguement that a diesel will take X amount of years to recoup the cost over a regular petrol car is the same as used against hybrids from the beginning. Those making the arguement usually ignore the fact that the a diesel or hybrid tends to depreciate less, and the premium cost will be partially or completely covered at time of resale.

Which is why it is a good thing we get more choice beyond VW.
But the Cruze diesel has a timing belt also. So does the base 1.8L gas engine. There is a slight efficiency and noise advantage over a chain, but I would have thought the noise difference wouldn't mean much for even a quieter diesel.

 

Exactly! Most people that have a manual trans, upgrade to the VR6 single-mass clutch which makes much more "noise" … adding a chain to the TDI would make most sense, imho.

 

Having owned many cars, I believe you are mistaken to save 2-6 thousand over a few years lets say 3 years.

That would mean the average owner of a gas car must have a major repair. like replace engine or transmission. because regular maintenance for a gas car costs less. the car usually takes less oil to fill it up. the oil filter is cheaper for a gas car. air filter is cheaper.

I doubt I spend 2k over a 5 year period. I got 0% intrest so no ownership cost there. Oil changes will cost $200 year at max from Oil Can Henrys. a couple of other things wipers mabey a head light I think 2K is likely to cover 5 years.

I have owned diesel pickups and a diesel car. the maintenance is no cheaper. and the repairs also are no cheaper. They will tell you the engine will last so much longer. but all engines seem to last so much longer than back in the 70s. if you do your oil changes and change the timing belt when your suposed to most gas car engines will last 200k. I have a subaru with 215k and going strong, an old subaru with 260k that I sold to get a larger car. I have driven two dodge caravans sold one at 150k and the other at 190k. their engines were worn. but still worked fine. My diesel rigs also lasted just as long as my gas ones. the difference is the cost to keep them working properly. an injection pump very expensive, or a turbo also very expensive. not so on a gas engine. Thats my honest opinion.

ps My camry hybrid can hit 100 mph before the end of the on ramp

 

Don't forget the expense of the particulate filter. Not cheap.

 

They say the same thing about hybrids you won't recover the increased cost of the hybrid system. this generalization is not always accurate. And you are right it isn't just money savings that we buy cars. I would much rather spend more on a car and less on fuel, if they even come close. Because I would rather give money to our allys than to those who would like to destroy the USA, and freedom. lets stop using so much oil!

 

It bears repeating about the study that it is comparing models that offer a gasoline and diesel option, and comparing between those two. Not some industry average. Hybrids definitely weren't considered since there was no model that had a gas, diesel, and hybrid option during the time period. The hybrid Jetta is too new.

So, if you are set on a Jetta, the diesel one will cost you less than the gas one over all. If you are also looking at the Corolla, this paper will not help you.

 

If you go on Fuelly the combined MPG for Prius (48 MPG) & VW Jetta TDI (42 MPG) is about 6 MPG difference for the year 2013. Factor in the cost of maintanance and price of fuel, here it is 75 cents a gallon diference, I do not see how the study could get it's results.

 

The study wasn't looking at a Jetta to a Prius. It was comparing the diesel Jetta to the gasoline Jetta, which is users on fuelly report getting 31.5mpg on average. The study was also looking at TCO, not just fuel costs.

Not everything is about or involves the Prius.

A repeat of this study in 5 years with the Jetta hybrid would be interesting.

 

it sounds like they compaired jetta to jetta. there are many cars that are gas that will have a much lower cost. like nissan sentra at 40 mpg, dodge dart 40 mpg, camry hybrid 40 mpg average. there are many more that are the same size or a little larger than the jetta. These cars use cheaper fuel and will have less expensive maint.

If you drive lots on the hwy, then the jetta may be a car that does pretty well. but if you have mixed driving then the toyota hybrids will kick butt. one tank I drove 500+ miles with 72.7 mpg. lets see a diesel do that!

 

They are compared to their gas counterparts of the same make. Try Mazda CX-5 at these fuel prices;
RaceTrac - 9932 US-19 - Port Richey, FL - Florida Gas Prices


Compare Side-by-Side
Oh, and let's not mention this in addition to price of diesel fuel:

 

disel costs 3.63 at least expensive station in roseburg, the least expensive gas is 2.93 usuing these fuel prices a gas car geting just under 23 mpg is the same fuel cost a diesel getting 30 mpg. I am not sure but I would be suprised if the difference in mpg was that much. plus you have to buy the blue tec stuff, and the oil change will cost more, the fuel system maint is more expensive. Diesel cars are a better deal than gas if the cost of diesel is less expensive than gas. if the diesel is more expensive then its a bad deal.

 

Considering the Mercedes petrol takes premium, the more efficient diesel becomes an even a better choice for those that want a Mercedes. There may be better choices, but people have to want those choices.

Unless it is bought from a Mercedes dealer, the DEF fluid may at most at a cent per mile to the car's operating costs. It is likely less. There are diesels that don't use DEF. Their emission controls just come with a higher efficiency plenty. Take the Jetta and Passat. Same engine, but the smaller Jetta doesn't use DEF, and the Passat does. Near identical EPA ratings.
Compare Side-by-Side

The gap between diesel and gasoline cars in EPA numbers tend to be wider. Diesels tend to do better than EPA while gasoline matches it or is a little under. Fuelly will have a larger sample size, but it will be close to the reported on EPA.
Compare Side-by-Side

This study used the EPA for their calculations. The higher maintenance costs are balanced by the diesel car's higher resale value. The flaw in the study is in that it only goes out 5 yrs/15000miles.

 

Just for kicks and giggles I did a search on used 2009 Jettas in my area on Autotrader and there were 16 listings. Out of the 16, 7 were TDIs. Out of the 16, three had reduced pricing and they were all TDIs. It looks like the pricing of TDIs runs roughly $2000 more than the gassers and that's pretty much the premium for TDIs to begin with.