greydawg00 wrote:
I think you have all convinced me. The 250 seems safer all around. Now gas vs diesel I think the diesel is not worth the extra cost for the weight I am towing. I don't expect to go bigger anytime soon. Also based on fuel cost, maint cost and mpg, the diesel only saves me about $300 per year so i would have to use it for 26 years to recoup the $8000 premium. And that is with todays prices in Austin.
Gas Diesel
Cost/gal $2.50 $2.75
MPG City 13 16
Towing 9 12
Hwy 16 20
Maintenace $0.00955 $0.0276
Any thoughts?
My biggest piece of advice is don't make a decision based on which one you think might be cheaper. The diesel will run you more up front, may be a little cheaper to operate (but not much) and you'll get more on the back end when you sell it. When you look at the total cost of ownership for either truck, the difference isn't worth worrying about.
Drive both and see which you like better, and then buy the one you prefer driving. As I mentioned before, they're quite different from the driver's seat. The towing experience will be different too and it might not be a bad idea to poke through some old threads where people have posted their experiences since you can't really test drive with a trailer. The exhaust brake on the diesels is a pretty cool feature if you'll be towing in mountains much. But for the size trailer you're looking at, a big gas truck would perform pretty adequately too (just different).
Go drive them, and don't settle cause you'll never be happy if you do!
