how many miles a day justify a diesel?

[Guest]

Heres the deal. I am looking a getting a ford F350 quad cab. I need the space for the family. I drive to work 50 miles a day round trip. I plan on keeping the truck for 5+ years. I would like to make it a daily driver. I was wondering if you all think its worth it to pay more for a diesel and get better gas MPG or just get a gas motor. I only have a small boat now but would not rule out getting a camper/biger boat in the next five years.
Thanks

[Eric Wettschreck]

Diesel motors work great for towing and gas mileage. They are way more expensive up front to buy and spare parts are huge $$$$ compared to gas. Also, some diesel motors just don't like starting in the winter when it's cold. If it were me, and I wasn't going to be towing a lot, I'd go gas.

Just my $.02.

[mrclean]

I've had two diesels and absolutely loved them.I never had a problem starting them in the winter.This year I went back to the gas only because I buy a new truck every 2 years.You can figure mileage for a gas motor to be 10-14mpg and a diesel to be 18-22mpg.If you plan ahaving the truck for 5+ yrs then go with the diesel and just buy an extended warranty and you'll be covered.The diesel motor comes with a 100,000 mile warranty.

[Powerstroke]

I completely agree with mrclean. I recently traded in my Ford F250 Crewcab diesel for a smaller SUV since I no longer needed the large truck for the work I was doing.

I drove only 12 miles one way to work and had no problems whatsoever. Aside from routine maintenance, I never had to replace anything on this truck . They are built Ford tough and they mean it. This engine will last 400K miles without a rebuild and will out-value any gas truck.
Your casual daily use will be just fine with this truck. You will thank yourself, I guarentee it.

[Powerstroke]

Oh yeah, and the 1 and only time my truck wouldn't start EVER, was this winter when it got to -30F and I forgot to plug it in. I plugged in the block heater and waited a couple hours and she fired right up. No fuss, no muss. It didn't start cause of my own absent-mindedness.

[Lost]

About the only reason a diesel engine won't start during the winter is if the fuel gels up. A good diesel fuel additive will definitely help with that. As far as I know, all fueling stations that carry diesel fuel have a winter mix which shouldn't gel up. Plugging the engine in to keep it warm definitely helps... even on gasoline engines.

[MNice]

If your not going to be towing anything big, the extra money you spend on the diesel may not pay for itself in fuel savings. If you drive decent, not hammering it at every light, it's easy to get good milage out of a full size. I have a 01 silverado x-cab, 76,000 on the small 4.8 V-8 and get 19-20 MPG on my 32 mile one way ride to work. It will not work to pull a 30' camper, but it works for me. Just my 2 cents. Have FUN picking out you new truck & good luck.

[Grabs]

With current fuel prices you can pay for the diesel cost in a hurry! Diesel right now by me is $1.67, unleaded $2.04!

I just bought a 2004 Chev with the Duramax. I love it!!

Keep in mind you'll get the extra cost from the diesel back when it comes time for resale, its not like you are losing money, just borrowing it until you sell it.

Be sure to check out the new Duramax, it is the quietest & cleanest diesel on the road today!

[analyzer]

ok lets say you drive 50 miles per day. Thats 18,000 per year. For sake of arguement lets say Diesel gets 20mpg, gas 15. You'll need 900 gallons of Diesel and 1200 gallons of gas.

At $1.70, diesel will cost you $1530
Gas at $2.00 will cost you $2400. Over 5 years you'll save between $4000 and $4500; just about the difference in the cost of the diesel.

When you go to sell your truck after 5 years, you'll have close to 100,000 miles on it. That's just breakin for a diesel. Most people in the market for a diesel won't blink at that mileage, whereas it may scare away some gas folks.

To be fair, you can't always count on a $.30 difference between diesel and gas, but the savings is still significant.

My brother went round and round on this same issue. He's planning on keeping his truck till it pukes, so the diesel ended up being his decision. It's nothing to get half a million miles out of a diesel.

However, if you invest the $5000 dollars in the stock market (which averages 11% over the last 100 years), that $5000'll be worth $10000 in 6 1/2 years!!!

Sorry. I had to throw that in there didn't I.

Start yourself a small snowremoval / landscaping company and write it off.

[Gissert]

I bought a new Dodge in 2001 with the Cummins and absolutely love it.

I drive to the cities from Fergus Falls every Monday, and head back every Thursday or Friday.

I just rolled past 129,000 miles, and have logged every tank of fuel I have ever put in it. For the 6800 odd gallons I have ran through it, the average is in the mid 18's. Lately on summer blend fuel, I have been getting high 19's to mid 20's. Winter blends run 1.0 to 1.5 mpg less. The truck has had several pulls through the Colorado Rockies (where it really shines!), as well a lot of ice fishing trips to LOW.

The mileage really started to go up after about 30k miles.

A headwind or speeds in excess of 70mph knock the milage down to 18.5 in a hurry. Most towing has been in the mid 17's for milage.

I do not intend on going back to gas motors again. Wintertime starting has been no trouble. I keep it plugged in and on a timer. Three hours of pre-heat will have the wait to start light on only momentarily. It has started as cold as 20 below without plugging in.

There are lots of truck diesel sites on the net, many with camping forums where you can get great info.

[jerkin'm]

Had a 2001 F250 Diesel,supercab, started having quirky starter and electrical problems just before the regular warranty ran out (35,000). Got sick of bringing it in to get worked on, traded for a 2003 F150 SuperCrew. Tow an 18 foot bass boat back and forth nearly every weekend between the cities and Battle Lake. Kick myself every day for not buying a diesel again even though I got a semi-lemon. There is no comparison between a diesel and gas. If you plan on towing ANYTHING go diesel and try to wipe the smile off your face when you step on the gas under load. That is my two cents.