You need to read my post where I said: "Unless you tow heavy or drive 40-50K a year the diesel will never pay off."

I know exactly why one would own a diesel. I sold mine after I no longer needed its capabilities and replaced it with a gasser as I no longer tow more than 5K-6K. I see a surprising number of diesel trucks that are NEVER used for towing and many are just used as if they were a car. Sad. RT

 

Thanks for all the replys everyone. What I am getting from you guys is that unless you drive 40-50k miles a year or tow big loads the duramax is not worth it? Does everyone agree? I had thought maybe the fuel milleage would be enough to make it worth while but I guess I was wrong. I must say that I would like to have the duramax just for the power and the torque but I know that would be stupid to spend that much more for only those reasons when I am not going to be useing the pulling power.

Thanks!

 

You can figure it out like this:

Take the expected mileage driven per year and divide that by the average mpg of the vehicle. That number is the gallons of fuel used each year. Then simply multiply the gallons by the per gallon price of the fuel. That is your total cost of fuel for the year.

Assumptions-Diesel and gasoline are same price, same mileage driven over the year.

10K per year:
Duramax averaging 19mpg costs $1368 per year to fuel at $2.60 per gallon.
6.0 liter averaging 12mpg costs $2166 per year to fuel at $2.60 per gallon.
Difference = $798.00 per year or about $67 per month.

25K per year:
Duramax averaging 19mpg costs $3421 per year to fuel at $2.60 per gallon.
6.0 liter averaging 12mpg cost $5416 per year to fuel at $2.60 per gallon.
Difference = $2004.00 per year or about $167 per month.

50K per year:
Duramax averaging 19mpg costs $6842 per year to fuel at $2.60 per gallon.
6.0 liter averaging 12mpg cost $10,833 per year to fuel at $2.60 per gallon.
Difference = $3991.00 per year or about $332 per month.

Yes the diesel is cheaper to operate but how much more does the payment cost each month? What happens when diesel fuel is much more expensive than gas, like recent years?


Obviously this can change drastically due to price differences between gas and diesel. Locally, gas and diesel are within a penny or two right now, but in winter diesel is much more expensive, about $1 per gallon more. This cancels out the diesel advantage quite quickly.

I used to drive long distances and tow heavy/frequently. Thats when I owned a diesel. Now I tow light trailers and short distances so the diesel has no advantage for me. The cost of the monthly payment to pay for the Duramax was much more than the fuel I was saving. I wanted it, but it didn't make financial sense. Wanting something is another topic entirely. If you can afford it, go for it. RT

 

I loved my '07 but I sold it and got a '09 1500. This one has a much better ride and with the 5.3 engine, the mileage should be about the same. The resale price on the diesel held up pretty good and I didn't get hurt too bad. But as I said earlier, when diesel fuel got up to around $5/gal., it hurt to fill it up. Of course gasoline at $4/gal. isn't fun either. If you're going to be pulling heavy loads, it's the way to go. If not, it's your choice. Good luck.

 

I don't know why diesel is so much more expensive by you. It is never more expensive than gas here other than last summer when the chinese took it all for the olympics. Diesel has consistently been $2.35-$2.40 for the past 2-3 months. Gas has jumped all over the place. I filled up yesterday for $2.59 and today it jumped up to $2.79 although it has been as low as $2.38 about a month ago.

Maybe I'm just partial, but what is wrong with just driving a diesel truck around like a car?? something like 60% of the cars in the UK are diesel powered. It's (now) cleaner, more efficient, and more powerful than gas. If it were up to me GM would have continued production on the 4.4liter duramax for the half ton trucks that was supposed to be released for the 2010 model year before all of this lack of money mumbo jumbo

 

You just made my point for me. There is nothing "wrong" with using a diesel truck like a car except its really the wrong tool for the job. Would you use a pipe wrench to hammer in a nail? No, you'd use a hammer. A diesel truck is designed to carry/pull heavy loads and is particularly suited to doing it over long distances. They are built and more importantly PRICED accordingly. I had an all-diesel fleet, still have a Mercedes and VW diesels. They get fantastic mileage compared to a gas car. So why would you drive a diesel truck like a car when there are cars, even diesel cars that do the same thing but cheaper and more efficiently? Obviously this has nothing to do with WANT. What you want is what you want, and its still a free country so you can drive what you want. But you will pay more if you WANT to drive a diesel truck as a car and have no NEED for its designed in capabilities.

RT

 

Bottom line, if you want it get it, weather it makes sence or not. If you tow, then it makes sence to get the diesel. If not, and you are inpartial to what you drive on a day to day basis, then get what makes sence (Economically speaking).

Ideally, you should have a commuting car (I would have a new CTS), and a tow vehicle (I would have a D-MAX).