Would you buy diesel again?

We got our Nissan Leaf over 2 years ago $16k out the door after the dealer and manufacturer incentives as well as the fed and state tax credits. I never want to own an internal combustion engine again. Electric is so much more fun to drive, especially in the mountains. I can't wait for that tech to advance into trucks.

Or a Chevy Bolt. They start around 35k and have over 200 mile range. If I was still working and my employer had charging stations I would be all over that for commuting.

Kaytag1,

Cost of a new Kona bev is $40,000.00 with a range of 475 k (295 miles)

burningman wrote:
Maybe sometime soon this debate will be “should I get a gas, diesel, or electric?”!!!
And the electric will be the torque king, with various other drawbacks or considerations.

I was thinking about electric car as most of our driving is 10 miles there and 10 miles back, but technology is still too expensive.
3 years old Tesla cost about 2 times more than 3 years old Mercedes, who delivers 60 mpg highway or 40 mpg city.
Dare to grab a pen and calculate cost of ownership like fellow member did for gasoline truck?
Than would you like daily driver electric, or couple electric vehicles, you not only have to upgrade your home electrical service, but whole city and country.

covered wagon wrote:
Mountaincowboy and Jefe others with the older diesel mindset, like me also understand the 500 k to million mile concept. Even as late as the 24 valve Cummins is still a good option with guys in our truck forum getting up close to the 500 k mark with one reaching the million mile mark and beyond. It turns out the injection pumps on these are one of the easiest to change and with e few minor upgrades are running a reasonable distance. The injectors are 400 bucks new and are easy to change as well.



I find it so very amazing the extent of knowledge coming from guys that know how to keep an older diesel running for a very long time. Some of these guys are very smart and so very unbelievably helpful.

I myself enjoy the ease of an easy to work on older diesel, no smog, enough power. Let the power hungry guys fly on by. I go for safety, miles and mileage. Love the sound of a well running smooth diesel I have a hand in keeping it run so well.

JMHO

I sold my 86 Ford Centurion S/C F350 DRW, 6.9 turbo IDI with 634,000 mile on it and it was still within factory oil usage specs. Had my stock 95 CC 4x4 F350, 7.3 PS till 275K and sold it to get a bigger truck. Sold the wicked (375hp/600+tq) 97 12v mechanical CTD dually, with 328K on it when we got the motorhome. I noticed before I sold the Dodge that the new low sulfur fuel robbed a fair amount of power from my "older" diesel though.

If I had my way I would find a 2002 F450 S/C 4x4 with a 7.3/ZF6 and "refresh" what's needed and it would probably be my last truck.

Maybe sometime soon this debate will be “should I get a gas, diesel, or electric?”!!!
And the electric will be the torque king, with various other drawbacks or considerations.

covered wagon wrote:
Mountaincowboy and Jefe others with the older diesel mindset, like me also understand the 500 k to million mile concept. Even as late as the 24 valve Cummins is still a good option with guys in our truck forum getting up close to the 500 k mark with one reaching the million mile mark and beyond. It turns out the injection pumps on these are one of the easiest to change and with e few minor upgrades are running a reasonable distance. The injectors are 400 bucks new and are easy to change as well.

You also have the mindset revealed on this thread of a lots of folks that like to trade every so often and don't want to deal with problems. Dealers really appreciate this sort of mindset and as such great for the economy. Who can blame them for wanting the latest luxury in a truck?

I find it so very amazing the extent of knowledge coming from guys that know how to keep an older diesel running for a very long time. Some of these guys are very smart and so very unbelievably helpful.

I myself enjoy the ease of an easy to work on older diesel, no smog, enough power. Let the power hungry guys fly on by. I go for safety, miles and mileage. Love the sound of a well running smooth diesel I have a hand in keeping it run so well.

JMHO

Covered wagon I think we basically have the same mindset however I do believe there is a point to upgrade.
I just traded my 07 Duramax in for a 2019 Duramax. The 07 had 300K miles on it. It was a good truck that required few repairs. The worst repair was a water pump ($1,500.00 bucks) and a starter. No nightmare repairs or horror stories concerning maintenance and repairs.
My experience over 3 diesels has been they are no more costly to operate over the long haul then their gasser counterpart.
At 300K my drivetrain was still functioning well but the rest of the truck was showing signs of wear. In short it was time to move on.
My new truck will be a long term keeper as well. My plan is to keep this truck for 10 years and 300K as well.
While I agree all of the big 3 make decent truck I went with a proven drivetrain, because ultimately longevity is what I am after.
I tow a heavy RV and a heavy work trailer. The truck is my daily driver for work in the construction biz and my weekend camping tow vehicle.
I do believe there are very good gas engine as well however they just are not as capable as a diesel.
If you need/want diesel performance there is really no substitute and no choice but to buy a diesel.

covered wagon wrote:
.. Love the sound of a well running smooth diesel I have a hand in keeping it run so well.

JMHO

When I was driving 7.3 Powerstroke to a customer, he was already waiting for me in front of the house. Could hear me 3 blocks away in quiet neighborhood.
With 6.7 Powerstroke I can listen to Opera music at low volume while climbing steep grades.
Have to prize kohldad here for doing his homework. I've been voting for doing it in all diesel topics for decades, yet members keep coming with the stupid "gaser does the job for me".
I still think his calculated difference in mpg is underrated and then in last month diesel prices in Vegas dropped about 20%, when gasoline prices stay high, so it is all variable.

We will probably be looking at a 5th gen Ram 5500 Diesel when they come out in 2020? For now our 3500 is doing much better after adding a sway bar and thicker bump stops.

The camper along with towing the Jeep amounts to over 21k gross. While a gas motor would work the diesels low rpm torque is better suited, especially in the mountains.

Mountaincowboy and Jefe others with the older diesel mindset, like me also understand the 500 k to million mile concept. Even as late as the 24 valve Cummins is still a good option with guys in our truck forum getting up close to the 500 k mark with one reaching the million mile mark and beyond. It turns out the injection pumps on these are one of the easiest to change and with e few minor upgrades are running a reasonable distance. The injectors are 400 bucks new and are easy to change as well.

You also have the mindset revealed on this thread of a lots of folks that like to trade every so often and don't want to deal with problems. Dealers really appreciate this sort of mindset and as such great for the economy. Who can blame them for wanting the latest luxury in a truck?

I find it so very amazing the extent of knowledge coming from guys that know how to keep an older diesel running for a very long time. Some of these guys are very smart and so very unbelievably helpful.

I myself enjoy the ease of an easy to work on older diesel, no smog, enough power. Let the power hungry guys fly on by. I go for safety, miles and mileage. Love the sound of a well running smooth diesel I have a hand in keeping it run so well.

JMHO