Fuel Consumption (Petrol vs. Diesel)

[oweneades]

Work out my savings please....

45000k per year (you can use the 5ers as you base for price calcualtion).

How much would i save compared to the 530i if i drove the 530d?

Well I don't know the prices of the 5 series but as an easy example lets say the 530D is £1500 more than the 530i.

45k in the petrol costs (45,000 miles / 29mpg ) x 4.54 litres/gal x 0.919 = £6474.18 per year.

45k in the diesel costs (45,000 miles / 39mpg ) x 4.54 litres/gal x 0.949 = £4971.32 per year.

So thats a saving just on the fuel of £1502.86.

So in the first year you would save enough to make the diesel justified.

 

[NickXX]

You what?

Since when? Even the latest most amazing diesels still suffer from being noisy when cold. The Honda 2.2 CDti is the quietest smoothest diesel around (well pretty much anyway), even that isn't as quiet as a petrol (although it comes close)

I'm not against Diesels but purchase price is a big factor, if i was buying a modern car i'd give it good consider it though

I've always found Diesels to be quieter than Petrols when doing motorway cruising.

 

[v0n]

Work out my savings please....

45000k per year (you can use the 5ers as you base for price calcualtion).

How much would i save compared to the 530i if i drove the 530d?

With beemers situation is quite bizarre.
Scenario 1:
Let's say you bought previous shape 530i SE on 52 plate with 24k on the clock for the Glass's value of £11,750. After one year and 45k added to the mileage the car would be worth £8,080 loosing you whooping £3,670 in depreciation and going by 29mpg and 0.949 p per litre fuel would cost you £6705 making a total loss of £10,375 in one year...
Scenario 2:
Let's say you bought 530d SE on 52 plate with 24k on the clock for the Glass's value of £13,500. After one year your car with extra 45k of mileage added would be worth £9350 loosing you £4,150 in depreciation and using 39mpg and 0.969p per litre fuel would cost you another £5,085 making a total loss of £9,235 in just one year.

Pre tax, insurance, servicing savings would amount to

And that's where things become funny - Although you would need to come up with £1750 less initially driving petrol version you would feel thirsty demanging £135 more in fuel every month. HOWEVER, due to bizarre market economics, a diesel 5 series would in this particular case create higher depreciation and although not felt as direct wallet hit, effectively would shrink the difference in annual cost between these two particular cars to £1,140...

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I can't help but think that none of the above analysis are as complete as they should be.

Actual comparison costs for running a car should include:
- Cost to buy
- Depreciation
- Servicing
- Insurance
- Opportunity cost

Let me give a slightly more complete view on the costs, using Parkers for technical data and estimated costs s/h. Link here:
http://parkers.co.uk/choosing/carreviews/review.aspx?model_id=78&page=8

If you had bought a 530 SE new in 2003, the petrol would have cost £29395, the diesel £29400.
I'm unaware of BMW servicing costs, the insurance for the petrol was 17, the diesel 15. Opportunity cost between the two cars is negligible in the first 3 years, but will impact on the second.
Running costs for say 15,000 miles per year and assuming 95p/ltr would be Diesel = £1589 and Petrol = £2136, thus saving £547 per annum.

More interesting is the values after 3 and 6 years:
@3 years, Diesel cost to buy = £17025, Petrol = £14730
@6 years, Diesel cost to buy = £8935, Petrol = £9185
(note these costs are based on Independant dealer estimates)

Thus actual running costs would be:
First 3 years:
Diesel
Depreciation £12375
Fuel £4767
Total £17142

Petrol:
Depreciation £14670
Fuel £6408
Total £21078

Savings during first 3 years for the diesel = £3936 plus reduced insurance costs

Second 3 years:
Diesel
Depreciation £8089
Fuel £4767
Opportunity cost @ estimate of 4% = £275
Total £13131

Petrol:
Depreciation £5545
Fuel £6408
Total £11953

Savings during second 3 years for the Petrol = £1178, partly offset by more expensive insurance costs.


So in summary, on the example above, it depends.
In the first three years, the diesel is clearly cheaper to run.
In the second three years, the petrol is cheaper to run.
Clearly that does also depend however on the cost of servicing, the 2 insurance groups difference and the number of miles.

Just goes to show that real estimates are quite difficult to prepare and really should be done on a case by case basis.

 

[clv101]

@6 years, Diesel cost to buy = £8935, Petrol = £9185

Are you sure that's right? Why is the 6 year old diesel cheaper than the 6 year old petrol, all else being equal?

 

[v0n]

I can't help but think that none of the above analysis are as complete as they should be.

I think 3-6 year old estimate is skewing towards unrealistic. I don't think you can buy 90k "high miler" 6 year old 530d cheaper than 530i of identical age and mileage anywhere on this planet....

 

[davidjones90]

The only problem there is with diesel is the sound the engine makes.

Inside the car you don't really hear it but when you are outside its horrible!

Usually you will find many company cars are diesels due to the fact you get tax reductions(especially EU4), no service costs, insurance etc. Therefore you do a straight comparision on the fuel costs over the year!

Yes the initial investment is slightly greater, you will be saving money in terms of fuel costs over a sustained period of time.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Are you sure that's right? Why is the 6 year old diesel cheaper than the 6 year old petrol, all else being equal?

The data was all sourced from Parkers, so I'm not going to claim it's 100% acccurate, but it may be a reasonable guideline.

 

[clv101]

That it lists the diesel as cheaper than the petrol tells me it isn't a reasonable guideline.

 

[NickXX]

The only problem there is with diesel is the sound the engine makes.

Inside the car you don't really hear it but when you are outside its horrible!

Usually you will find many company cars are diesels due to the fact you get tax reductions(especially EU4), no service costs, insurance etc. Therefore you do a straight comparision on the fuel costs over the year!

Yes the initial investment is slightly greater, you will be saving money in terms of fuel costs over a sustained period of time.

Some diesels sound better than others - VAG in particular are quite ticky at low speeds, but they do have a nice roar when they're going for it

Diesels no longer benefit from EU4 tax reductions and diesels incur a surcharge over petrols, but yes - the CO2 emissions are considerably lower on diesels compared to equivalent petrols. BIK tax is therefore usually considerably lower on diesel equivalents as a result.

 

[Demon]

That it lists the diesel as cheaper than the petrol tells me it isn't a reasonable guideline.

I would love to know where Parkers get their figures from, as whenever I've looked for a specific car/year I can never find it at anywhere near the low figures they suggest, including depreciation legends such as the Vectra/Mondeo!

 

[[TW]Fox]

Scenario 2:
Let's say you bought 530d SE on 52 plate with 24k on the clock for the Glass's value of £13,500. After one year your car with extra 45k of mileage added would be worth £9350 loosing you £4,150 in depreciation and using 39mpg and 0.969p per litre fuel would cost you another £5,085 making a total loss of £9,235 in just one year.

Whilst I'm not going to dispute the rest of your findings if you can show me where I can get a 51 plate 530d SE with 69k on the clock for £9350, you will make me VERY happy indeed.

 

[v0n]

Whilst I'm not going to dispute the rest of your findings if you can show me where I can get a 51 plate 530d SE with 69k on the clock for £9350, you will make me VERY happy indeed.

Nah, all of that Glass's trade values. But, better than using parker's "blind folded price shootout" guide.

Why do you want old one, aren't they mostly poverty spec and overpriced for what they are?

 

[oweneades]

The only problem there is with diesel is the sound the engine makes.

Inside the car you don't really hear it but when you are outside its horrible!

I wouldn't say my vRS sounded horrible when I am stood by it. It sounds very rumbly (if thats a word lol).

Sounds good when its going some as well.

Much better than the old sport I had which ticked and tocked its was along sounding like a asthmatic flea.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Why do you want old one, aren't they mostly poverty spec and overpriced for what they are?

Becuase they are great, although admittedly I want a Sport.

Standard specification isnt THAT bad, you get dual zone climate, cruise, CD, as well as the usual all 4 electric windows with remote total closure, parking sensors front and rear, etc etc.

The only real omission from the list of standard equipment is leather. Although the Sport model does have Alcantara Sport seats as standard.

Although I'm the first to admit it goes against all my sensible, value for money car recommendations becuase lets face it, £8k+ for a 5-6 year 100k mile petrol car really is quite a ripoff.

 

[v0n]

Oh, so 530i and 530d start from SE trim up or something?

 

[[TW]Fox]

Oh, so 530i and 530d start from SE trim up or something?

Yup, you can only get the 520i, 525d and 525i in base trim.

 

[NickXX]

Standard specification isnt THAT bad.

Lies. Standard 530 specification is simply pretty damn good. There is no poorly specified e39 unless it's a crappy grey import. In which case you have only A/C instead of digital climate control.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Lies. Standard 530 specification is simply pretty damn good. There is no poorly specified e39 unless it's a crappy grey import. In which case you have only A/C instead of digital climate control.

Base 520i, 525i and 525d also have bad spec - no multifunction wheel, 15" wheels, no cruise, no climate.