Quote:
Originally Posted by nsra33
Svache I think that in many EU countries the diesel and gasoline road tax aren't that different. In Portugal (my country) the road tax is basically the same in both types of fuel. On the other hand, the price of the litre of gasoline / diesel is very high (as in all EU countries), so more fuel efficiency can allow for significant money savings if you drive a lot in traffic (the consumption of a 335d can easily be 3/4 liters per 100 kms less than a 335i, if you are driving in the city). That's why diesels account for more than 90% of the sales in BMW Portugal. I have however to agree that the sound of a 6 cylinder (or more) gasoline engine is great (much better than the diesel). The discussion about gasoline or diesel is a thing of the past, because the price of the fuel (and pollution) will continue to rise and the electric cars are definitely the future (I'm not enthusiast about electric cars, but I think they are definitely the future).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clarence
In a lot of countries within EU, diesel is actually more expensive per litre than petrol, but the difference is more than offset by the lower fuel consumption.
The road tax structure in a lot of EU countries is now CO2 based, so diesel cars have inherent advantage in this case due to its lower CO2 emissions.
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Well, true as it may be CO2 based, this is not the situation in the Netherlands. The road taxes are based on weight and what fuel a car uses. What, however, is CO2 based, is a part of the so called 'BPM' (in Dutch: "belasting van personenauto's en motorrijwielen", this translates to "taxation of passenger cars and motorcycles"). This 'BPM' is calculated through many factors and one of them is indeed CO2.
Please also don't mix this BPM with VAT or anything, the BPM is calculated AFTER VAT and all the other taxes already have been added to the car. The base car of €31K is actually €44K including all taxes. It's basically a tax over all other taxes (they do the same with the gas lol, that's also tax over tax).
As to the road taxes, these are paid together with the yearly registration of the car in the Netherlands (seriously, they tax you till death there) and are, like I already mentioned, weight and fuel based. It also depends where exactly the car is registered in the Netherlands as several different provinces have their own tax height (they don't differ too much though).
The current yearly cost in road taxes for regular gas car in the Netherlands is €1236,00, for a diesel this is €2212,00. With both I used 2000 kg as weight (about the same what the 3 series weighs). I calculated this calculator
http://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenh...igenbelasting/ (from the Dutch tax institution). The difference is almost 1000 euro, which is a lot if you do not drive a lot. From what I've read in some Dutch articles online, it only pays to drive a diesel in my old country if you drive at least 25.000 to 30.000 kilometers a year. If you want to be cheap in road taxes, you better get an electric car, you don't have to pay any taxes with those. Also, what does make a difference is if you are a business driver and if you lease the car. Then CO2 becomes a lot more important but this is for other taxes mostly.
Also, in regards to the gas cost in the Netherlands. Like I said, the cost in the Netherlands is actually cheaper for diesel than it is for regular fuel. You can see the current prices here:
http://www.unitedconsumers.com/tanke...f-prijzen.html ..it's in Dutch but that shouldn't matter I think
I know there quite a few diesel riders in the Netherlands as well but they all drive a certain amount of kilometers a year in order to be that much cheaper. If you do not make that amount of kilometers, it's better to get a car that goes on regular fuels.. at least over there it is from what I know