[Nick the Greek]

Break even, spreadsheets, diesel and petrol, depreciation curve, mpg, euro 6, cruising at 58.4 mph gives me 69 miles to the gallon............noose.......tree.....

[ZeroFx]

Originally Posted by Nick the Greek

Break even, spreadsheets, diesel and petrol, depreciation curve, mpg, euro 6, cruising at 58.4 mph gives me 69 miles to the gallon............noose.......tree.....

The money saved pays for 3 holidays a year for me and the gf.

I like my cars but i dont see the point in wasting money. I think the 258hp 3.0d is fast enough for me... The 435d would be nice but its not cheap and i hate being forced in to X drive.

Im sure the 435i sounds nice but at what cost?

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

The money saved pays for 3 holidays a year for me and the gf.

I like my cars but i dont see the point in wasting money. I think the 258hp 3.0d is fast enough for me... The 435d would be nice but its not cheap and i hate being forced in to X drive.

Im sure the 435i sounds nice but at what cost?

Sorry but Haven / Butlers bs don't count as holidays

[chetalien]

My point is- i love petrol and have bought diesel for the first time although i love it, still thinking about petrol. i've had the car for only 9 months and already looking at changing.
diesel/petrol is the choice. i avg about 38mpg on my 330d- do drive it like it stole it.
unsure whether petrol is the way forward for me.

[Ross_T_Boss]

I think anyone has to hand on heart admit they'd prefer the petrol engine! But cost wise there are clear benefits to the diesel. I went 'd' for the Xdrive.

I had a frustrating drive today - 1h15m stop/start on the M25 to cover 20 miles then really thrashed it for another 70 miles home, mostly motorway but very good progress and nailing it when I got chance! Expected MPGs down in the 30s but still returned 41.5... in a 3l petrol I can't believe that would have been much over 30.

To me that makes it the right choice, because I'm now covering alot of miles and that's a regular occurrence, but if it had stayed an 8kpa car as intended I'd have taken the petrol if it was in Xdrive.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Ross_T_Boss

I think anyone has to hand on heart admit they'd prefer the petrol engine! But cost wise there are clear benefits to the diesel. I went 'd' for the Xdrive.

I had a frustrating drive today - 1h15m stop/start on the M25 to cover 20 miles then really thrashed it for another 70 miles home, mostly motorway but very good progress and nailing it when I got chance! Expected MPGs down in the 30s but still returned 41.5... in a 3l petrol I can't believe that would have been much over 30.

To me that makes it the right choice, because I'm now covering alot of miles and that's a regular occurrence, but if it had stayed an 8kpa car as intended I'd have taken the petrol if it was in Xdrive.

Completely agree. I am doing 30k+ miles per year, and also mainly drive like I stole it, and these are just not mutually compatible with powerful petrol engines and any kind of financial sense unfortunately. And realistically I spend 50% of time cruising on the motorway and 45% in stop start traffic, and 5% on twisties, so most of the time I can't even say it makes a difference.

Now if I moved back to Scotland then it would be a whole different story, as I wouldn't do so many long motorway journeys, and I'd spend a lot more time on roads worth driving just for the sake of it. And driving for no other reason than for the sake of it can only really be done in a petrol!

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by Ross_T_Boss

I think anyone has to hand on heart admit they'd prefer the petrol engine! But cost wise there are clear benefits to the diesel. I went 'd' for the Xdrive.

I had a frustrating drive today - 1h15m stop/start on the M25 to cover 20 miles then really thrashed it for another 70 miles home, mostly motorway but very good progress and nailing it when I got chance! Expected MPGs down in the 30s but still returned 41.5... in a 3l petrol I can't believe that would have been much over 30.

To me that makes it the right choice, because I'm now covering alot of miles and that's a regular occurrence, but if it had stayed an 8kpa car as intended I'd have taken the petrol if it was in Xdrive.

Same here, if the LCI brings out a 3l petrol in Xdrive I will get one.

Unfortunately my nearest motorways are M54 and M6 toll road both of which = thrashing it lol.

[dopper99]

If you go to contracthireandleasing.com, choose a car then scroll down to the bottom of a page you can do a fuel comparison test.

Seems the heavier 335d with more expensive fuel is still cheaper to run than a 335i.

[jusdorange]

Yes but what about total costs? list price for a 335d is higher

Ok you can get discounts etc but I think the lower miler would be better off with Petrol

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

Yes but what about total costs? list price for a 335d is higher

Ok you can get discounts etc but I think the lower miler would be better off with Petrol

Comparing a 335d with a 335i auto on Broadspeed:

https://broadspeed.com/CarView/BMW/3...omatic_4_doors
https://broadspeed.com/CarView/BMW/3...omatic_4_doors

335i - £31,553
335d - £32,738

So with the 335d, for your extra £1,185 you are getting a car with xdrive (like it or loath it, it is still an additional component over the 335i) and a faster and more economical car.

I'm not having a go at petrol here, just joining in with the spirit of the thread title.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Also remember lower mileage is not always just due to low daily mileage.

A lot have long infrequent trips and real world costs come in to it.

I have a 400 mile round trip and an 800 mile round trip coming up.

So actual trip costs will be lower for my 330, than if had a 335i

Admittedly banging up to Scotland (Lossiemouth) in a petrol car is excellent, brilliant roads.

[dopper99]

As the the Golf R seems flavour of the month, lets do another comparison.

Its similar to the 335i. About £26 a month more to run on 10000 miles.

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

If you did 100 miles at 70mph on cruise in the auto what would your mpg be?

I get 46-50 mph out my 330d atm

I have almost done exactly that and posted a pic of the Eco screen on here a while back..it was around 44ish mpg if I remember.

I also (sadly) did and posted a spreadsheet a few weeks ago that showed that the break even mileage for a 335d over a 335i was approx 43000, whether that was in 1 year or 4

[dopper99]

And dont forget road tax is cheaper for the 335d.

335d - £145

335i Manual - £265
335i Auto - £205

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by dopper99

And dont forget road tax is cheaper for the 335d.

335d - £145

335i Manual - £265
335i Auto - £205

I *Could* drive a 335d rather than a 335i...I *could*, however, also stay in travel lodges, live in a 2 up 2 down and take holidays to blackpool. All of this things I don't do even though the options I do choose are far more expensive because I prefer not to slum it and life is far too short to be one of the sheeple

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

I *Could* drive a 335d rather than a 335i...I *could*, however, also stay in travel lodges, live in a 2 up 2 down and take holidays to blackpool. All of this things I don't do even though the options I do choose are far more expensive because I prefer not to slum it and life is far too short to be one of the sheeple

Absolutely!! I'm not knocking any car here, merely pointing out a few facts.

The 335d isnt perfect, could do with shedding a few pounds to improve agility.

[jusdorange]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Comparing a 335d with a 335i auto on Broadspeed:

https://broadspeed.com/CarView/BMW/3...omatic_4_doors
https://broadspeed.com/CarView/BMW/3...omatic_4_doors

335i - £31,553
335d - £32,738

So with the 335d, for your extra £1,185 you are getting a car with xdrive (like it or loath it, it is still an additional component over the 335i) and a faster and more economical car.

I'm not having a go at petrol here, just joining in with the spirit of the thread title.

No...

It's 300 a year cheaper to run, but costs almost 4 years worth of fuel more

And if you spank it, fuel economy won't exactly improve

I'm not taking a side, but just saying the low miler, regardless of how they do it, would benefit from a petrol

[dopper99]

Anyway, we are arguing over "pennies" here, relatively speaking.
What about the M3/M4? Is that REALLY worth nearly £20K more than an 335i or an 335d!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

Yes but what about total costs? list price for a 335d is higher

Ok you can get discounts etc but I think the lower miler would be better off with Petrol

Remember total costs don't come in to it so much as majority of people use PCP, so effectively a monthly lease payment.

Majority with use residual value for the next car, so residual value must figure in costs.

Also with a diesel, I break even with my fuel claims on the odd business trip, petrol I would lose money.

As I don't use mine as a daily driver, day to day costs don't really come in to it, however when I do, with the short trip diesel gives better economy.

Also not sure about petrol v diesel but my 330xdrive was cheaper to insure than a 330 S drive circa £100.

As a side note, I will likely be getting petrol next, if BMW bring out a 6 pot petrol Xdrive it will be top of list.
Also BMW only have one option for a 6 pot petrol but have 2 excellent 6 pot diesels.
Also I don't do economy, current average is sitting around 33mpg after 2200 miles or so, probably due to M6 toll use lol.

[jusdorange]

The reason most often given for diesel is economy

I'm just making the case, as OP initially stated that that if you're doing say 10-12k a year

The decision should be based on other factors than cost since both will cost about the same at that mileage

Not everyone likes xdrive, not everyone wants to rev the F out of an engine

[ZeroFx]

Im more concerned with how much the 435i depreciates vs the 435d. Running costs can be calculated but putting 40k on in one year could depreciate the petrol double the diesel.

I have been running my E92's for 8 years because i have them pretty well figured out.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

The reason most often given for diesel is economy

I'm just making the case, as OP initially stated that that if you're doing say 10-12k a year

The decision should be based on other factors than cost since both will cost about the same at that mileage

Not everyone likes xdrive, not everyone wants to rev the F out of an engine

Very true.

I think you need to factor in the resale value of the cars as well. Currently this favours diesel models, although it is certainly possible that the political shift away from diesel could change this, particularly if they start to tax diesel cars more heavily.

My guess is that any tax change would only affect new registrations, given the bloody nose the government got in the 2006 Budget when they tried to impose penal rates of VED on all cars emitting over 225g/km CO2. That ended in a climbdown to exempt cars registered before the Budget announcement.