Diesel Vs Petrol. Difference in price... or is there?!

[adrian]

Hi all... again!

In my current search for a BMW X5 from the UK I have come across a dilemma which I would like to ask you about. Basically, it's about diesel X5s (and cars in general I think) being more expensive to buy and VRT…and the justifying this over the term of ownership and eventual reselling. Here are the facts:

A 01 or 02 BMW 3.0 Diesel is about 2k sterling (3.5k euro) more expensive then it's equivalent 3.0i and 4.4i petrol cousins. Also, the VRT on the 3.0D is about 2k euro more expensive then the 3.0i (the 4.4i is cheaper to VRT then the 3.0D but more then the 3.0i).

So... bottom line, a 2001 or 2002 diesel X5 will be ROUGHLY 4,000 euro more expensive on the road then an equivalent petrol model (year, mileage, spec etc)

Now for the sums... the 3.0D is only 8 or 9 MPG better on fuel then the 3.0i.... and interestingly the 4.4i is only 1MPG less then the 3.0i. So, with the current cost of diesel Vs Petrol and me doing 10,000 miles a year I would only have a fuel bill of 750 euros per year more with the 3.0i or 4.4i then with the 3.0D.... meaning that I would have to keep the X5 for nearly 6 years to even “break even” on buying the diesel model at the higher price for the better MPG.

Only positive is that I guess the diesel will be easier to sell in 5 years then the petrol... but can you correct me here.... would I be better off (if owning the car for ~ 3 years) to buy the 3.0i at 4,000 euro cheaper given the above figures on fuel etc? Actually, there is an argument in favour of the 4.4i here also, but this might get the green wing shouting at me, and we don't know exactly what the government have in store for 4.4 cars so I could regret that! I think a 4.4i would be very tough to sell here anyway… so it would be the 3.0i I would be looking at.

Thanks for listening.... and any opinions always welcome!

Adrian

[colm_mcm]

If you're comparing prices for resale value. don't go on the carzone prices, these are based mainly on optimism and don't reflect what they actually sell for. Example, last year I was trying to sell a 2001 530i for 8 months, I eventually got €12k for it. If this had been diesel, I would have sold it in a month max, and got far more for it.

The diesel is definately worth 4k extra.
9mpg is a big percentage of the total mpg of the petrol models anyway.

[adrian]

The diesel is definately worth 4k extra.
9mpg is a big percentage of the total mpg of the petrol models anyway.

ONLY for resale purposes do you mean?

[colm_mcm]

No. The diesel should retain at least €3 of the €4k extra spent after 3 years, so the real extra cost of the diesel is €1,000. or €350 a year.

Saving €350 a year equates to around €7 per week. at that point you break even.

If you do 300km per week, with the petrol you'll use approx 33 litres*
with the diesel you'll use approx 26 litres*

Diesel will save you 7 litres per week on fuel, or at my local prices €8.20

On the face of it, you mightn't save on fuel alone.

When you take emmisions based road tax into account though, you could save a lot.

* based on new model BMW figures

[adrian]

Thanks Colm. Is emissions based road tax definitely coming in?

[colm_mcm]

As far as I know, emissions based VRT and road tax are coming in the next budget. We usually pre-sell cars for the coming year, but this year we don't know what the prices of cars in 2008 are going to be. which is rather annoying!

[CJ]

As far as I know, emissions based VRT and road tax are coming in the next budget.

I wonder what they'll make of the RX7's 11mpg urban fuel consumption figure? Considering the engine size (1308cc), its gonna throw them right off!

Adrian, I'd be inclined to go the diesel route and spend the extra couple of quid (OK, extra couple of grand), as has already been said, it will stand to you come resale time.

CJ

[colm_mcm]

On the other hand, the 4.4 petrol sounds amazing, we had a 645Ci convertible at work for a while and it was a pleasure to listen to. on the other hand, I was stuck behind a diesel X5 last weekend in Clare, which was in turn stuck behind some coffin dodger in a Starlet, I knew long before he indicated when he was gonna try and pass. The cloud of black smoke gave it away!

But seriously. diesel all the way!

[baldtyres]

Wiser to go with the Diesel without a doubt just for the ease of resale alone.
I take it that you've already enquired whether the insurance and tax would be considerably different for a large petrol engine compared to the smaller diesel???????

[soc]

Wouldn't the diesel be better for hauling such a large jeep around anyway - more torque for real world driving.

Plus you could always get it mapped

[soc]

On the other hand, the 4.4 petrol sounds amazing, we had a 645Ci convertible at work for a while and it was a pleasure to listen to.

Off topic here but I've a mate working in Joe Duffys and he had a 335 coupe out last night - the engine sounded magic - a coarse metallic rasp - I was very suprised.

[adrian]

Thanks for all the replies. I am kinda thinking that an X5 or something bought now will not be worth much in 4 or 5 years time with the whole green wing thing that's going on at the moment.

Have been kinda thinking about a 2L 2005 Honda CR-V.... they get unreal reviews, reliable, comfy, safe, loads of room etc etc....

[adrian]

As far as I know, emissions based VRT and road tax are coming in the next budget. We usually pre-sell cars for the coming year, but this year we don't know what the prices of cars in 2008 are going to be. which is rather annoying!

How is it planned on deciding what the VRT and emissions will be on say a 1992 911 Carerra 4? there are no manufacturers figures available as far as I know.... will they test for emissions?