GAS VS DIESEL

[craig333]

I love my cummins. Its not finicky and shrugs at cold, has gobs of power and is reliable as hell. That said get a gasser. Do the math, unless you're going to tow something really heavy it just doesn't pencil out. If I hadn't had my mind made and really run the numbers I'd be driving a gasser. Of course now that I had diesel I'll probably be driving it until I die. Might even out by then

 

[2025 deleted member]

I daily drive a diesel, but if it wasn't for pulling over 20k once a month then I would definitely have the gas. I kinda like that new 6.4 hemi, but it would be darn near impossible to beat the long term reliability of the vortec 6.0

 

[Regcabguy]

I love my diesel. The Cummins love cold weather and if you can get a well maintained 5.9 3rd gen consider it. The strong low end power and simplicity's hard to beat.
That being said,I'd go gas over the DPF,DEF equipped newer diesels and it would be an F-250 6.2.

 

[pappawheely]

I have never owned a diesel but my personal experience, (in the west), is that the farther away from the interstate you go, the harder it is to find diesel. That's why I went with an older truck with a 7.5 liter gas engine. Simple, reliable, parts are cheap.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Lot's of good posts and very good information and advice so far. I will only add this:

* Get out a pencil and paper or open up a blank Excel spreadsheet. Calculate:

1. Purchase cost of the vehicles - Gas vs. Diesel
2. Figure out average MPGs for each
3. Divided total miles driven in the vehicle by each vehicle's MPGs to find total gallons used
4. Figure out average cost per gallon for Gas and Diesel fuel (look at past history and use that instead of projecting forward) for the number of years you'll own the vehicle. Diesel now, from what I've seen, is about $1.00 more PER GALLON than Gas.
5. Calculate the total costs for the Gas and Diesel vehicles just to drive the miles.

If you don't have a good idea on which way to go yet, then get into understanding and calculating lifetime maintenance costs and add them to cost the miles.

This, obviously, is only a financial look at it.

You've said you're gonna own a vehicle for a number of years. My guess is, for the diesel to be justifiable, it will have to be driven for about 200,000 miles. That's just my guess.

 

[Clutch]

Diesel for a 4wd that will go anywhere and with no issues, try and leave all the electrics at home . Most of the time in remote areas it is hard to get Gas/Unleaded, also it is less of a risk fueling as the flammability of diesel is lower, this should be taken into account when re-fueling from metal jerry cans as the static can ignite ULP easily.

Not in the US, we have better infrastructure for petrol over diesel.

 

[Larry]

Not in the US, we have better infrastructure for petrol over diesel.

Australia is almost like a different country

 

[Clutch]

Australia is almost like a different country

Ha Ha!

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I've had diesels since 1995 and have never once had a problem finding diesel fuel in my adventures. That being said, and it pains me to say this, but I would have a hard time buying a post 2008 diesel. But I have been accused of being a luddite on more than one occasion.

 

[BrandX]

I bought a 2008 gas engine f250 when I saw that you had to remove the cab off the truck do work on the diesel version. All around diesel is more expensive(fuel, oil change,labor) and much more difficult to work on.

 

[mudrunner2645]

As a shop owner that see's a lot of trucks I've seen some patterns form over the years.

GM trucks are the most car like in ride and handling with their IFS front suspension and personaly I find the intierior more comfortable.They do like front end parts though. The Dmax engine are complicated but reliable enough. The early ones have injector and some head gasket issues but not enough that it would keep me from buying 1. My sons 02 is over 200K miles

Fords have a solid chassis and while some swear by them any ford diesel after the 7.3 has to many issues talk about. Google it and you'll see what I mean.

Some don't like the way the Dodges handle with the 5 link front suspension most are ok with it. They do like ball joints and even stock I occasionaly see death wobble issues. The Cummins is the reliability king. My 03 is at 223k and climbing. Most of that has been loaded fairly heavily.

Back to the gas vs diesel debate except for the Fords blowing spark plugs out of the cylinder head any of the gas engines are reliable enough. If your normal use is shorter trips to work and towing 2-3k lbs once in awhile you don't need a diesel. Go gas. If you have a longer commute or tow on a regular basis Diesel gets the job done more efficiantly.

 

[verdesardog]

I love my 06 CTD. I don't NEED a diesel, I tow a little over 3k once in a while. The maintenance has not been any more with this truck than any gasser I've owned. The truck I had before this was a 1994 Dakota, it had over 270,000 miles when I let it go to get this bigger, nicer truck that would take me where I want to go and back.

 

[DividingCreek]

Its sounds like the op was looking for advice on a new purchase so my experience is of no consequence. That said, I have a ford super duty with 7.3 and its bad ***.

 

[556ID10T]

Wow thanks everyone for there input. I think in the back of my head I knew I would probably get a a gasser, but I have always been intrigued by diesels. they are in the OOOH SHINY category lol something about them just attracts me towards them. Thanks again for all the input and reminding me need is better than want. As soon as I pick something up I'll be sure to post a few pics.

STU

 

[jeepovich]

Modern diesel engines for US regulations have way more electronics then gas engines. They have electronic fuel injection just like gas but operate north of 200 bar pressures. They have EGR systems with cooling = extra plumbing = another source of leaks. Particulate filters, if need replacement, cost more then the engine and during the "regeneration" process you are wastefully burning fuel. NOX sensors ( kind like O2 sensors) cost north of $600. Then there is the exhaust fluid, plumbing and injection system. I'm BMW master tech and work on cars for a living in a dealership and I can tell you that modern diesels have as 3 times the amount of coolant lines,hoses ( source of leaks), 2x the amount of electronics and then there is the turbo and turbo plumbing to deal with (additional coolant and oil lines to leak).
Also the maintenance cost more and has to be performed more often.

The older diesels with mechanical injection are absolutely awesome but then when comparing to modern gas engines , the MPG difference is almost negligible.
Unless you are planning to haul/tow a lot of weight, gas engine is more cost efficient (keep in mind the comparison to modern diesels in US) in the short and long run.

However if I had it my way, I would love to have a land cruiser 79 v8 diesel made for Australian, New Zealand market...