Jun 29, 2011 05:14 PM
133056 Views
PETROL OR DIESEL CAR
It’s been a long debate over which car to buy a diesel or petrol. Almost all of us go through this when buying a new car. With lot of cars coming in both hatchback and sedan segment the question is becoming tough to answer. Diesel being cheap in costing is the very first reason to buy a diesel car but does it really suits you because the initial cost of a diesel car is way high then of its petrol version .let’s take a look on a few issues while choosing a petrol version or a diesel version. To simplify the difference lets study with some examples……
petrol v/s diesel - On road price(ex-showroom+reg+insurance)
1. Ford fiesta lxi v/s ldi – on road price
Lxi – Rs 6, 30, 642
Ldi – Rs 7, 63, 059
Difference in initial costing – Rs 1, 32, 417
2. Maruti swift dzire vxi v/s vdi – on road price
Vxi – Rs 6, 15, 425
Vdi – Rs 7, 35, 503
Difference in initial costing – Rs 1, 20, 078
3.Hyundai i20 magna petrol v/s magna diesel – on road price
Magna petrol – Rs 5, 57, 723
Magna diesel – Rs 7, 12, 759
Difference in initial costing – Rs 1, 55, 036
So we can easily deduce that on an average the difference between a petrol version and its diesel version ranges to 1, 20, 000to 1, 50, 000 and let’s take the average i.e. Rs 1, 35, 000 for further calculations.
Petrol cost – Rs 63.37/ltr
Diesel cost – Rs 41.12/ltr
Petrol car mileage – city – 14/ltr, highway – 18/ltr, average - 15/ltr
Diesel car mileage – city – 16/ltr, highway – 20/ltr, average - 17/ltr
price in Delhi as on June 29, 2011
Case I – monthly run of 1000 kms or less(yearly – 12000)
· Consumption of petrol car in ltr – 12000/15=800 ltr(total kms/km per ltr).
Total amount spent on petrol= 800 ltr * 63.37 Rs/ltr= Rs 50, 696.
· Consumption of diesel car in ltr – 12000/17=706 ltr(total kms/km per ltr).
Total amount spent on diesel= 706 ltr * 41.12 Rs/ltr= Rs 29, 030.
So the difference in amount spent on diesel and petrol is Rs 21, 666 per year.
In comparison to the amount you paid earlier for a diesel car is Rs 1, 35, 000 more.
Further if u took loan then you paid an extra interest on Rs 1, 35, 000 to bank for say a fiveyear loan i.e. @ 11.5%per annum so the extra interest u paid is 1, 36, 533. So a total of Rs 2, 71, 533.
Taking the saving per year and the extra cost I paid it will take 2, 71, 533/21, 666= approx 12.5 yrs.
Case II – monthly run of 1500 kms or less(yearly – 18000)
· Consumption of petrol car in ltr – 18000/15=1200 ltr(total kms/km per ltr).
Total amount spent on petrol= 1200 ltr * 63.37 Rs/ltr= Rs 76, 044.
· Consumption of diesel car in ltr – 18000/17=1059 ltr(total kms/km per ltr).
Total amount spent on diesel= 1059 ltr * 41.12 Rs/ltr= Rs 43, 539.
So the difference in amount spent on diesel and petrol is Rs 32, 500 per year.
In comparison to the amount you paid earlier for a diesel car is Rs 1, 35, 000 more.
Further if u took loan then you paid an extra interest on Rs 1, 35, 000 to bank for say a fiveyear loan i.e. @ 11.5%per annum so the extra interest u paid is 1, 36, 533. So a total of Rs 2, 71, 533.
Taking the saving per year and the extra cost I paid it will take 2, 71, 533/32, 500= approx 8.5 yrs.
Case III – monthly run of 2000 kms(yearly -24000kms)
· Consumption of petrol car in ltr – 24000/15=1600 ltr(total kms/km per ltr).
Total amount spent on petrol= 1600 ltr * 63.37 Rs/ltr= Rs 1, 01, 392.
· Consumption of diesel car in ltr – 24000/17=1412 ltr(total kms/km per ltr).
Total amount spent on diesel= 1412 ltr* 41.12 Rs/ltr= Rs 58, 060.
So the difference in amount spent on diesel and petrol is Rs 43, 332 per year.
In comparison to the amount you paid earlier for a diesel car is Rs 1, 35, 000 more.
Further if u took loan then you paid an extra interest on Rs 1, 35, 000 to bank for say a fiveyear loan i.e. @ 11.5%per annum so the extra interest u paid is 1, 36, 533. So a total of Rs 2, 71, 533.
Taking the saving per year and the extra cost I paid it will take 2, 71, 533/43, 332= approx 6.25 yrs.
Case IV – In case your car has a run of more than 3000 kms per month(yearly 36000 kms or a daily of 100 kms)
Diesel car is the one you should pick.
v Few other points also to be taken into consideration:-
1. The diesel car has a very high maintenance in comparison to a petrol car almost 1.5 times of that a petrol car and that keep on increasing after first three- four years.
2. The engine parts of diesel car is almost twice d cost of a petrol one e.g. a petrol car’s piston will long for bout say 15-16 yrs or say 2, 00, 000 kms or even more practically never and a diesel car’s piston has to be changed say every 6-7 years or every 80, 000-1, 00, 000 kms.
3. The diesel engine no matter how high tech it may be is always noisy u can hear its irritating sound.
4. The subsidiary cost on petrol is at present Rs 4.00 and that on diesel is Rs 16.00 so in future chances of diesel price rise increases as now the companies are independent without the govt control.
5. The amount of pollution diesel car generates is also a lot higher in comparison to petrol car.
6. The second hand sale value of a diesel car is a lot less in comparison to petrol car even a diesel car almost zero’s its value after 90, 000 kms or 7 yrs.
7. The lpg or cng gas kit are not compatible with diesel engines however they run very well on a petrol engine.
8. above all u can never get the petrol engine power in a diesel engine*
So wisely evaluate your needs before buying a new car a petrol or a diesel don’t go on what others are buying it’s your hard earned money invest smartly.
The writer is an expert on car and automobiles .
Note:- the on road price of cars may vary from state to state however the difference will almost remain the same.
