Do The Sums Add Up?

Too true. The other consideration is runnings costs of each. Which should include periodic servicing, quantity of fluids and costs of same and filter and incidentals costs. Need to project those costs over, say, a 12 month period and factor those expenses into the sums.

Anything diesel is always going to cost more in the immediate future and possibly in the long run as well

Diesel fuel of course is more obtainable in remote parts of Australia if the inclination is to go there.

If the intention is to drive within the boundaries of "civilisation" then it is best to spend your money on a ULP powered vehicle

But don't forget resale value. Assuming say 25% depreciation over 3 years (typical red book value), if he sells he will only lose $2,500 of the difference between the 2 vehicles. Thus you really only have $2,500 to buy the extra petrol (~68,500kms) before you break even!!!

Cheers

Captain

marcus
The sums do add up when you look at the Turbo engine
What ever vehicle you look at to purchase the natral asprated engine can not compete with the turbo engine in ether Deisel Or Petrol
your figeres are based on sea level tourining (sorry for the spelling ) and Austrailia is not flat
to give some examples
I had a 4.7 carb vehicle which got 2 klm per litre when traviling in Low range at 1900 metres that is 35 ltres per 100 kls we were in the high country of Vic
A FRIEND of mine with a DISCO 3 HAS a 4.000 ltre petrol lhas complained about how far he got on a tank ful of petrol in the VIC high country
But while he is complaning the deisel people are saying how great the ecominy is on the deisel
now why is this so
the deisel is turbo and performs at alitude like it is at sea level
the petrol is nat asperated and only performs at sea leval at altitude it does not perform
deisel has a calrific value of some 114000 BTU british thermal unites
petrol has a calarific value of some 40000 Btu so you get a beter bang out of deisel
now you say but the engine is half the size not so the 2.7 (FORD ) v6 ENGINE manufactured in South Austrailia is turbo charged which means it performs like a 5.4 ltr nat asperated petrol engine
but wait for it it give halves the fuel usage of the 4.00 ltre petrol
on reflection i would think younwould get your money back at about 100.000 ks
sorry for the spelling but i uselll have spell check
snai;lbait

On the topic of resale values...
in 1999 I was contemplating the purchase of a Disco.
The price back then was even for both TDi and V8. (it was coming up to runout time)

Now I've been looking for the last year or so for a similar vehicle (I can't now due to non-existant finances!)
But I was alarmed thatthe TDI's were $5K+ over a less travelled V8 of the same vintage!
They still are holding their value better (quick look through the trading post) so, One would assume the trend to continue, especially as the price of fuel(s) will continue upwards!! ie. the break even point will come down!

eg. @ your quoted fuel consumption figure.......
$1.20 for both fuels,

petrol will cost $18.24/100km, the diesel will cost $12.48/100km..........$5.76 difference

6 months time........
$2.00 for both fuels :/

petrol will cost $30.40/100km, diesel will cost $20.80/100km.....$9.60 difference!

So if you(your mate) intend to keep the vehicle for 5 years, go diesel!
It's only going to get worse!!

Go with the diesel..........or save the $10K into a term depsosit, and collect $400/yr in interest!
That'll get you 2192.98 km on the petrol

Problem with the gas conversion........where do you put the tank on a S3 disco?

Friend and I were discussing this once...... Another interesting point that came out of that conversation was it is easier week by week to find the $$$ to be able to tour in the more economical diesel. (Assuming repayments don't keep you on bread and water!)

Often the difference in repayments over the month isn't that much compared with the extra day to day cost coming out of your pocket to fuel the petrol vehicle.

Quite often the higher fuel consumption of the petrol vehicle means that an extra tank is more of a necessity (or carry extra Jerrys). What is the cost of an extra tank?
If carrying extra Jerrys, where do you put them?
Dave

Hi Mark

I choose the Patrol series of vehicles and the various motoring organizations life cycle costs also showed that a petrol model was cheaper overall than the diesel model I looked at.

Mainly because depreciation is major cost on new vehicles.

While the data has proved to be correct over the time I have had mine, it can be hard for some to face the higher weekly fuel bill.

Overall I judged that running costs were not significantly different either way and hence made my descision on other factors.
In the series I vehicles I choose there was a huge performance difference and hence it made it easy for me to choose the petrol.

Robin Miller

I'm always reading these posts and I just DON'T get it. Your mate is looking at spending $50,000 to $60,000 on a 4x4 - read again $50,000 - $60,000 without accessories.
I don't know about you, but this is a LOT of money.
If you do 400kms per week and it costs you $60 in fuel and a more fuel efficient vehicle costs $40 ($20 saving) then that's only $1040 over a year.
Truely, if you're spending that much on a car, then get the one that drives better. If you like the way the diesel feels, then buy it, if you prefer the bigger power (overtaking, acceleration) that petrol usually gives, then buy the bloody petrol.
If range is going to be an issue get the long range tank or jerries or buy the diesel.
If you can't afford the fuel - then maybe you're playing above your limits.
I have a Hilux Sr5 dual cab (2003) and that was a $50k+ car with accessories. I wanted the auto V6 because the previous model diesel was weak. I've driven the new one and woudl consider upgrading because of the range and it's powerful motor. However I'm sure once I drive the 4.0 with 175km compared to my current 3.4l with 124kw I'm quite positive that's the way I'll be going (with a long range tank).
I've got so many friends with diesels than run out and spend thousands on exhaust, powerchip, throttle, etc improvements to get more power from their 4x4.
Maybe he should buy the petrol, keep the $10,000 in a seperate bank account called MY FUEL - then use it like a Fuel card. He'll go a long way on the difference between Diesel and petrol fuel consumption.