GM with the 2.8 diesel

[roadhunter]

When I ran the numbers for gas/diesel in the same vehicle the break even point was 150,000 miles.Just on mileage alone.Factor in the DEF,costly oil changes ,winter fuel problems;diesels don't make sense for the average user.Different story if you are going to "work" a HD truck,it may be justified.
I have two friends that just purchased the Ram "Eco-Diesel",time will tell if it works out for them.
I had two other friends that went from a Ford SuperDuty and a Chevy HD back to Chevy
gas half tons. My 2014 Silverado(5.3 liter) gets over 22 mph on the highway.

You are being way too logical. People buy vehicles for a lot of reasons and I doubt that most people pencil out the cost of oil changes and sutch before making a purchase.

I wish little pickups were more popular. In reality a little s-10/ranger sized truck is adequate for what most people do running to lowes or buying gas for the mower or moving furniture.

My wife now drives my 3/4 ton for work/school errands. Now that I think about it I'm not sure when the last time I drove "my" truck. I like the looks and size of these little chevy diesels and may look into one at some point. Curious to see how the mileage goes as it gets broken in.

 

[roadhunter]

Long-term averages is what I look at. On Fuelly, the 5.3 group averages centre around 17mpg. The 2.8 in a Jeep Liberty centres around 21 mpg.

Some large gas vehicles do OK with highway mpg. Unfortunately, unless you spend most of your time driving the Great Plains most of us have to deal with more stopNgo than we'd like, so City mpg matters too.

Just counting beans, diesels have always made the most sense to high-mileage drivers. If you don't drive much, then most people don't want to wait that long for a payback.

An "advantage" I have here is that diesel fuel can and does price below gasoline at the pump. From all the posts I've read on here, that split appears to be rare in the USA, or effectively not allowed to happen.

Rgds, D.

There is also resale value. I'm amazed sometimes what a worn out diesel pickup can bring when sold versus a gasser of the same year. Some of those little VW diesel pickups sell for more now then they did when new for example.

 

[buickanddeere]

The 2.8 is a VM Motori from Italy.

Don't know what 2016 production is like however. Neighbour had the diesel 2.5L version in a Chevy Cruz. Endless problems and returns to the dealership. Our cab at the Rome airport was a VM diesel in a Chevy Equinox with the five speed. Driver said it was excellent when it wasn't in the shop being repaired. Said his next cab will be gas even though diesel fuel is cheaper.

VM Motori - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A 428 DOHC: innovative 4 cylinder engine - VM Motori

 

[Diamondpilot]

You are being way too logical. People buy vehicles for a lot of reasons and I doubt that most people pencil out the cost of oil changes and sutch before making a purchase. I wish little pickups were more popular. In reality a little s-10/ranger sized truck is adequate for what most people do running to lowes or buying gas for the mower or moving furniture. My wife now drives my 3/4 ton for work/school errands. Now that I think about it I'm not sure when the last time I drove "my" truck. I like the looks and size of these little chevy diesels and may look into one at some point. Curious to see how the mileage goes as it gets broken in.

You are right.

I have only seen one of the new Colorado trucks and it's by no means small. It was parked next to a friends sons 97 F150 and they were about the same size.

Chris

 

[JerryK]

I have a full size 2001.5 Dodge diesel that I drive in the summer. But I just bought a Colorado to replace a 2001 ZR2 Blazer winter vehicle that was way past it's prime. The Colorado is a little longer than the Blazer, but has a bed. The front bucket seat section is about the same size. My main reason for that size is that I wash it by had during the winter. The only way I can wash the top of the Dodge is to stand on the front of the bed. The Blazer and the Colorado, I can pretty much wash standing on the ground. I could have gotten a full size Chevy for about a grand more, it wasn't the money.

 

[buickanddeere]

We looked at the Blazer and Colorado but went with the Sierra as it had more interior room, box capacity, towing capacity and higher trade in value.

 

[3930dave]

There is also resale value. I'm amazed sometimes what a worn out diesel pickup can bring when sold versus a gasser of the same year. Some of those little VW diesel pickups sell for more now then they did when new for example.

A few factors at play with those VWs...... They were a little scarce to start with, many aren't around anymore, and aside from traditional old diesel fans as buyers, anything mechanically injected has good value to veggie oil fans.

Here, they'd have additional value as emissions exempt, as would a gasser of that era.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

The 2.8 is a VM Motori from Italy.

Don't know what 2016 production is like however. Neighbour had the diesel 2.5L version in a Chevy Cruz. Endless problems and returns to the dealership. Our cab at the Rome airport was a VM diesel in a Chevy Equinox with the five speed. Driver said it was excellent when it wasn't in the shop being repaired. Said his next cab will be gas even though diesel fuel is cheaper.

VM Motori - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A 428 DOHC: innovative 4 cylinder engine - VM Motori

Buying new, I'd want to know what the dealerships loaner vehicle policy is during extended repairs. Gas or diesel. That wouldn't help a cab owner much, but for personal transport, I wouldn't mind an extended repair so much if I could put miles on somebody else's wheels.

The old Equinox platform had an emission fault (V6 gas) that required the motor to be yanked out for repair. Techs got fast doing that procedure, but still wasn't a "Have a coffee sir, and we'll be done soon" re/re.

Service can be an issue, esp. in-warranty. Good diesel techs can make a lot of money, and even dealerships willing to throw big $ their way can have trouble hanging on to them. Not saying those diesels weren't faulty, but sometimes a vehicle that is at a dealer a week or more could have been correctly diagnosed by an experienced tech in no more than an hour.

If I owned a GM dealership today, I'd probably be trying hard to recruit some VW diesel techs about now....

Rgds, D.

 

[vsteel]

I wish little pickups were more popular. In reality a little s-10/ranger sized truck is adequate for what most people do running to lowes or buying gas for the mower or moving furniture.

That is why I am still driving my 1991 GMC Sonoma and you wouldn't believe the number of people who ask to buy it because you can't get a small regular cab short box 4X4 anymore.

 

[4570Man]

My 1500 Silverado with a 5.3 only gets about 12 mpg around town. Pulling a trailer that weighs about 2,500 pounds drops it to about 10. It gets about 16 mpg on the highway, The F-350 with a 5.4 does about the same and a little better when towing due to the lower gear ratio. A family member has a 3500 Dmax. He gets about 19 mpg on the highway and about 11 mpg pulling his 14,000 pound 5th wheel. He used to have a 7.3 F-250 that got about 25 mpg unloaded and 11 mpg towing the 5th wheel. My gasser f-350 gets about 7 mpg pulling that load and can't run with the D-max.