So lately I've been thinking about purchasing a diesel vehicle as I drive a ton of miles (35000 a year) I have a 2015 jeep that has about 90000 miles on it now and am thinking that once i cross that 100k line ill be out a lot in trade in value. I would love to be able to keep the jeep for the next 5-10 years but given the research I've done it seems as if 150-200k is about the death zone for them. I love the look of the 250s and 2500s but they come with a huge price tag however if it lasts 500k miles it could be worth it in the long run. I do not tow anything substantial (small trailer and riding lawn mower). I know there are cars that possess Diesel engines but I really do not want a car. The dealers are showing me some 1500s that are called eco diesels but the engines in them has yet to be proven in the long run. Anyone have any insight? (thanks)
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Diesel Vehicles
- Thread starter Fthree
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Seveal years ago I was looking into buying a Diesel SUV and had it narrowed down to a Touareg TDI and Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel (I think they stopped offering that engine now). From my research the Ecodiesel (same engine as the RAM 1500) has a lot of reliability issues in general. Basically I was told to avoid it. Right now as it stands all the FCA brands including Dodge are at the bottom of the reliability scores.
Generally speaking and historically speaking, Dodge has subpar reliability and longevity compared to Ford and GM. Fiat taking control of Chrysler has not really done them a lot of favors. I don’t know how your Jeep has served you but most Jeep owners I know have a love-hate relationship (they’re happy with the car, the reliability is mediocre, not bad enough for them to sell the car). Personally I would suggest spending the extra money and going with GM or Ford.
I suppose there’s also the Nissan Titan that offers a diesel (I don’t think I’d reccomend that thing). GM/Chevy was offering a diesel Canyon/Colorado small pickup.
I guess my question would be why do you want diesel over gas?
Thank you for your response, I think the biggest reason is I’d like to get a vehicle that I could potentially keep 5-10 years. At the rate I put mileage on them >35000 a year I feel as if I’d run through 2/3 gas cars/trucks in that time period. The reliability that I hear about and read about of the F250 is actually really good and sounds about what I’m looking for in a vehicle. I know the f150s are coming out diesel in a month and I’m interested in them as well however I cannot help but think with it being the 1st gen itll have problems like the 1500 eco.
I'm surprised the "good earth" people here haven't climbed all over this theard for even mentioning the word diesel. The main reason I would think a diesel would work for you is the gas mileage factor with the miles you're driving . Better get one before they're outlawed! We had a '12 VW diesel Passat that I thought was a great road car. On highway trips, I was getting around 50 MPG at 65 MPG. I went 750 miles more than once without refueling. It was my wife's car or I would still have it. Because of the SNAFU with pollution testing by VW, she insisted in trading it in for Camry Hibrid.
My feelings about the VW diesel was that it existed and got great mileage. If it was a polluter, and my wife got rid of it for that reason, someone else is now driving it and perhaps putting a lot more annual miles on it. So, in that vain, for dear mother earth, it would have been better for her to keep it and continue to roll about 6,000 miles annually with it instead of someone else buying it and rolling 20,000 miles annually with it.
My feelings about the VW diesel was that it existed and got great mileage. If it was a polluter, and my wife got rid of it for that reason, someone else is now driving it and perhaps putting a lot more annual miles on it. So, in that vain, for dear mother earth, it would have been better for her to keep it and continue to roll about 6,000 miles annually with it instead of someone else buying it and rolling 20,000 miles annually with it.
Last edited:
I am driving a 2010 BMW X5 Diesel SUV and have really liked it. This is my second X5, the first being a gas powered engine. I am currently about to get another new X5 Diesel to replace this one. Out on the highway I get 25-30 mpg ... and this is a pretty large SUV which I usually drive at the higher end of the speed limit "guidelines". 
I also like the great torque when accelerating off the line, or on the ramp merging into highway traffic.
I don't know why the "good earth" people would object to the current bio-diesel vehicles which are pretty good when you consider end-to-end fuel production/consumption.
I also like the great torque when accelerating off the line, or on the ramp merging into highway traffic. I don't know why the "good earth" people would object to the current bio-diesel vehicles which are pretty good when you consider end-to-end fuel production/consumption.
Why do you think your 3 year old vehicle won't last again?
FWIW, my dd is a 2002 tundra with 470k miles and no sign of slowing down
FWIW, my dd is a 2002 tundra with 470k miles and no sign of slowing down
Diesels are quickly becoming maintenance queens ignoring huge initial investment( $7,000+). Not that they are unreliable , but all the steps that is being taken to clean them up with their emissions systems require a lot more care than older diesels.
An HD is way overkill for your needs. Go with an F-150 or the new Silverado if you’re dead set on a diesel. Cheaper initial investment. But I think a F-150 with the 5.0 or the Silverado with the 5.3 liter will suit your needs much better and a lot simpler construction so maintenance will be cheaper.
An HD is way overkill for your needs. Go with an F-150 or the new Silverado if you’re dead set on a diesel. Cheaper initial investment. But I think a F-150 with the 5.0 or the Silverado with the 5.3 liter will suit your needs much better and a lot simpler construction so maintenance will be cheaper.
thank you, ill look more into the f150s, I am just going off of the past experience people have had with the HDs i guess (and def want a truck over a car or another SUV- although my jeep is awesome)
[doublepost=1524445260][/doublepost]
I may be more worried than i should be i guess but 3 years and 90k I'm thinking that i get a decent trade/sale value now than later after being in the 110k+ marks. who knows maybe my jeep can last another 350000 miles but with the research I've done most have said theirs were having big problems (tranny/engine) at the 120-150k mark. Toyotas are amazing.
The only issue being is if he goes for the F-250 or Silverado 2500HD with their diesels, he will still be slightly behind in fuel economy of the 1500’s with the gas engines.
Good evening Fthree, I think the best place to get your answers is in an automotive forum. I have been following VWVORTEX..com for years. That forum isn’t just vw’s though but it’s fulll of members that drive anything and everything.
And many of these members own trucks from all the big three. I highly recommend you stop in and become a member.
If you’re looking for a car to last 350,000 miles I’d buy a Toyota/Lexus product. Any car can run forever, but it’s just a matter of how much maintaince/repair work you want to spend. At some point it’s probably not worth investing more and more. I’m not sure it’s really reasonable to buy any car expecting it will last 350k without significant repairs. I’d say your “average” car these days has 200k of life before the repairs get out of hand.
If you don’t think your Jeep is going to be a reliable mode of transportation, I don’t know why you’d figure a Dodge would be better.
My parents drive a lot, they live in CT and work in NY. My dad also has an office in Boston. He has a 2012 Range Rover Sport HSE but currently also has a 2016 Lexus IS350 AWD to do the bulk of his commuting. He got a 6 year unlimited mileage b2b warranty (buying CPO w/13k miles- i must say he’s in his 60’s and that car is awfully young for him). My mom in the past had a 2009 ES350 and put about 180k on it over 6 years with _zero_ issues besides routine maintaince. Not so much as a light bulb burnt out.
I haven’t heard great things about the Tundra, but everybody seems to love their Tacoma. It’s a pretty solid, well vetted platform. And if you buy one for $35k and sell it in 10 years it’ll probably be still worth $25k (somewhat hyperbolic, but the resale is crazy on them).
Most of the “good earth people” don’t realize it’s better to buy a ICE car and drive it into the ground than it is to buy a new Prius every 3 years.
The whole diesel cost effectiveness is highly variable. It all depends on the price of diesel in relationship to gas (which flip flops) and the cost of the engine. I think the Grand Cherokee diesel was an extra $4500+ option- so it would take a very long time for that to pay off. The mpg wasn’t that much better- maybe 3-4mpg if I remember. You also have to figure in the extra costs of the crazy emissions systems they have now that require routine maintenance and can be a source of problems.
Gas engines have come a long ways in terms of efficiency and longevity. If this guy doesn’t really want something bigger than an F150 but gets pushed into a F250 for the diesel, that’s another extra cost to consider. I’m not sure it’s necessarily worth it.
I have a BMW 328 D and this is the first Diesel car I have ever owned. Prior to this I drove a Porsche Macan GTS. This gets double the fuel economy at the same speed. At 80 MPH on the freeway my 328D gets over 40 MPG where as my Macan GTS would get around 18 MPG. Driving at the same speed in basically two different cars. The Macan gets there fast but not by much really. These days traffic In California is really bad especially on the highways. Highways quite often these days are actually city and not high fuel economy as you stop and go bumber to bumber for 1-2 hours until you get to your destination. Stop and go for a heavy car with a 3 liter V6 twin turbo engine will use more fuel when compared to a light car that uses a 2 liter inline 4 single turbo engine. The fuel economy differences is literally over double.
Last edited:
The Chevy Colorado comes as a diesel and the JL will have a diesel next year.
I like oil burners but I also understand they need more maintenance than a gas engine does and that maintenance isn't as cheap especially for modern oil burners. My wife drives a BMW diesel and the instant torque and fuel economy are unparalleled to the point I wouldn't own a gas car.
On a personal note if I were in your shoes I'd just drive the Jeep until it's no longer dependable Jeeps will always be in demand and you'll always be able to get rid of them.
I like oil burners but I also understand they need more maintenance than a gas engine does and that maintenance isn't as cheap especially for modern oil burners. My wife drives a BMW diesel and the instant torque and fuel economy are unparalleled to the point I wouldn't own a gas car.
On a personal note if I were in your shoes I'd just drive the Jeep until it's no longer dependable Jeeps will always be in demand and you'll always be able to get rid of them.
I do not quite agree that the diesel engine requires more maintenance. Gas engines are reportedly consuming more quickly
I have always owned a diesel car or truck. They are more reliable, but the maintenance costs are higher than a gas engine. Usually a diesel won't leave you stranded on the highway..300K miles is nothing on a diesel..
"I love the smell of burnt diesel in the morning, it smells like victory"
"I love the smell of burnt diesel in the morning, it smells like victory"
Every car I’ve owned for the past 15 years has been a diesel. There seems to still be quite a way to go before Petrols are efficient and cheap on tax. I just bought a Honda CRV and the 2.0L petrol version would have been horrendous for fuel consumption and hideously underpowered. The 1.6 diesel is punchy and only £30 tax a year.
Cos they would be barking up the wrong tree....
When it comes to environment/global warming a Diesel is still better (less CO2). The issue is with health risks in inner cities (NOx, particels) and thats what the scandal was all about.
No idea wether BMW offers Diesel on the smaller SUVs in the US, but they would be my primary option (if I had to drive long distances and wanted an SUV, luckily neither is the case) failing that something VW(Audi).
Let's be frank.... No car propulsion solution right now is environmentally friendly. The closest thing we would have to a green solution is hydrogen fuel cells, but the energy to produce the hydrogen fuel is immense compared to the energy you get out of hydrogen to propel the car. For example GM converted their 6.0 liter V8 to run on hydrogen and when running on gasoline it produced ~300 HP. Burning hydrogen it produced only like 160 HP.
I love my GL350 Bluetec. I had the gas version too but prefer the diesel. I am so bummed Mercedes isn’t bringing Diesels to the US now. I’m due for something new in a year. My grandparents had Mercedes diesels and they went forever and didn’t cost much to maintain. That was about 25-30 years ago though. Today’s diesels need ad blue but how you get it really determines the price.
Maybe there's some more to your story here that might sway people, but historically, 500k out of any vehicle, chances are that it will be a diesel.
I own a diesel powered Dodge P/U and a VW Jetta. Both get incredible fuel mileage for their respective class of vehicle. Aside from basic maintenance, both have been generally trouble free and I expect will cross the 500K thresh hold in the next 2 to 3 years.
There are always exceptions to the rule one can find and quote, but as a "rule of thumb", if someone isn't getting close to your mileage figure long term, I strongly suspect that said person didn't perform standard maintenance, wrecked the vehicle, or owned it in the rust/salt belt, and the vehicle rusted out from underneath them, before the engine could reach it potential.
I still have my 2011 F350, the first year Ford introduced the 6.7 liter and so far my maintenance is fairly low.
I change out with Mobil 1 full synthetic Oil, filter, change fuel filters slightly ahead of schedule, change air filter slightly ahead of schedule. Had a hood strut go bad ($16) and an EGT sensor ($70). A/C Seat filters ($26)
The highest maintenance cost is dropping a hundred dollar bill at each fill up.
Just know on a 6.7 Ford diesel, you're looking at 13 quarts of oil at each change. $$$
The DEF cost is almost nonexistent if you don't tow.
I change out with Mobil 1 full synthetic Oil, filter, change fuel filters slightly ahead of schedule, change air filter slightly ahead of schedule. Had a hood strut go bad ($16) and an EGT sensor ($70). A/C Seat filters ($26)
The highest maintenance cost is dropping a hundred dollar bill at each fill up.
Just know on a 6.7 Ford diesel, you're looking at 13 quarts of oil at each change. $$$
The DEF cost is almost nonexistent if you don't tow.