Petrol mercedes; cheaper to run than Diesel VW

[mattsurf]

Over the past 5 years, I have been tracking the running cost of my cars, a 3 year old VW Passat 2.5TDI a 10 year old Mercedes E280 (W124) and a 7 year old E320 CDI (W210). My driving has been pretty consistent, averaging 20,000 miles per year.

Giving that the price of petrol and diesel have increased significantly over the past 5 years, the running costs never represented a true like for like comparison. In a moment of boredom, I decided to see how the running costs of the cars compare if Petrol and Diesel was at today’s pump price.

None of the cars had any work other than typical wear and tear – the W124 was certainly the most reliable, other than regular servicing, tyres, exhast etc, the only work done was the water pump. The W210 has had the springs and glow plugs replaced and the fan belt broke and cut through a hydraulic hose. The Passat had the cam belt and tensioner replaced.

For the purpose of the analysis I looked at the costs over 27,500 miles for each car. I included the cost of fuel (at 106ppl for Diesel and 90ppl for Petrol), Insurance, Tax, servicing, breakdown cover, and all other costs (including things like headlight bulbs and wiper blades) – I have an extensive record of every single cost, every fill up, the mileage and date at each fill up etc

The results were somewhat surprising: The VW was the most expensive £7280, the E320 CDI was next £6961 and the cheapest was the E280 petrol £6729

This runs somewhat against my expectation – the most expensive car was the newest one (only 3 years old when I bought it), and also the most economical – it averaged over 42mpg, the cheapest car was the oldest 10 years old when I bought it, it was also considerably the least economical, having a 2.8l petrol engine, it managed just over 25mpg. My current E320CDI is somewhere in the middle, currently running at 35mpg

Another consideration is how close the running costs are – the spread is just £550, which equates to 2.0 pence per mile difference.

When depreciation is factored in the difference in running cost is even greater, the VW lost £2000 over 27,649 miles, the E280 lost £2010 over 38,634 miles (I still have the E320 CDI, but I do not think that it will be as good as the E280).

In conclusion a 10 year old petrol Mercedes costs 4ppm less to run than a 3 year old VW diesel….. I am now off to look for a good E500 estate, with the low, low prices for big petrol engine cars it may work out cheaper to run than my current diesel, Jeremy Clarkson may be right after all.

Anyone who wants a copy of my analysis, send me a PM

 

[stumpy]

That is very interesting reading and one reason why I have steered away from diesel cars for the fleet. Even big diesels fall into the 'planet killer' bracket now so residuals are not what they once were. If I get a 221 S it will be a 500.

 

[television]

Thanks Matt for that interesting post,, I think that if we discussing this in 2012 the petrol will win hands down every time

 

[Rory]

When depreciation is factored in the difference in running cost is even greater, the VW lost £2000 over 27,649 miles, the E280 lost £2010 over 38,634 miles (I still have the E320 CDI, but I do not think that it will be as good as the E280).

Very interesting.

I'm surprised at how low your depreciation figures are - over what time period are they, and how are you buying and selling the cars?

 

[pma]

Interesting but diesel has not been £1.06 over the whole 27500 miles

 

[Myros]

I think Matt may have

just chosen today's or yesterday's figures to make the comparison.
An analysis of the differential between diesel and petrol over the period may inform us that diesel is approx x% more expensive than petrol, therefore y% better consumption from a diesel vehicle is required to make the leap from on to the other.

 

[taffyboyo]

Hi Guy's
Just a question as i have not yet bought my MB . Was allways looking to get a C220 Or C270 CDI. But after looking at this i am thinking AGAIN .But are petrol engines as good as diesel for the high milage ? what is thier range and at what milage do you need to worry about.?
sorry if these are silly questions but i am new to MB and i want to get a good one !! will be purchasing mine withing the next 2 weeks.
Thanks
Terry

 

[mattsurf]

Interesting but diesel has not been £1.06 over the whole 27500 miles

Since buying my E320 CDI in May 2007 I have paid £1.11 per liter for Diesel. Even if you consider fuel price at its peak of £1.32 for Diesel and £1.19 for petrol, My current E320CDI becomes the most cost effective from a running cost perspective – saving £273 over 27500 miles against the E280, in this scenario the E280 and VW Passat have almost identical running costs. Given the lower depreciation of the E280, I think that it is still the more cost effective choice in terms of total cost of ownership.

I believe that petrol will remain at sensible prices for the next 2 years or so – it is bound to increase in the future, however, with lots of research on green alternatives long term demand may even start to fall, which will drive down the cost, unless Gordon Brown decides to tax us even more

Why did I get such low depreciation costs – The VW was bought at auction from Lease Plan – it was an ex company car which was replaced at the end of a 3 year contract – I paid £6900 for it and sold it for £4900 18 months later

The Mercedes E280 was bought from WDM in Birmingham, it was a one owner local car in immaculate condition, with just 62k miles, I paid £5710 and sold it for £3700 2 years later. It was a really nice car, in very good condition – I actually regret selling it as it was nicer to own than my current E320CDI. It is currently owned by Lakeside, who is a member of this forum

If you know your cars reasonably well, a well maintained older car may be no more to run than a new car. But you have the advantage of avoiding massive depreciation.

By looking at this forum, you get a good idea what to look out for, and excellent advice from some of the more knowledgeable members (you know who you are, although I do not wish to single anyone out).

 

[mattsurf]

Hi Guy's
Just a question as i have not yet bought my MB . Was allways looking to get a C220 Or C270 CDI. But after looking at this i am thinking AGAIN .But are petrol engines as good as diesel for the high milage ? what is thier range and at what milage do you need to worry about.?
sorry if these are silly questions but i am new to MB and i want to get a good one !! will be purchasing mine withing the next 2 weeks.
Thanks
Terry

This is a good question – I went from a petrol E320 to a diesel VW, I preferred petrol, so went back to petrol with the E280, decided that petrol was too expensive for my mileage, and went back to Diesel. Now having done the analysis, the results are inconclusive – The petrol car cost no more than the diesel, but was nicer to drive. Although the E320 CDI has a much better engine than the 2.5V6 TDI Passat, I am now thinking about that fantastic Mercedes V8 Petrol – they are just so cheap at the moment

In my experience a petrol car is much cheaper to maintain than a diesel (glow plugs, injectors….) and servicing is cheaper with a petrol car. Petrol also currently has a cost advantage (will this differential remain?). Yes a diesel engine will ultimately last longer (the 320CDI’s regularly go over 400k miles) however, a petrol engined car should be good for over 200k miles. By the time a car has done more than 200k miles it normally has so little value that replacing the car is not an issue

I am really considering an W211 E500. I think that I may spend a lifetime switching between Petrol and Diesel, never convinced which is the right way to go

 

[pma]

I think there is a certain amount of luck in your analysis running a 10 year old Mercedes with no major probs is great as you know everything that goes wrong with these cars seens to cost £2000.
I bought a new E 220CDI 6 months ago I get 47MPG so fuel costs are fine but I pity the poor sod who owns it in 10 years time ( not that I think it will last that long ) so if you want a car thats cheap to run I dont think Mercedes Benz are the ones to own

 

[mattsurf]

My current Mercedes will be 10 years old next year, My E280 was 11 when I sold it, I also had a 1993 E320 which was 11 years old when I sold it. I can't say that I have had any major problems, even if I did get a duff car, I have saved so much that it is not really material

 

[lakeside]

Interesting reading Matt. I think you had the best years of the E280, running cost wise. It's now at the age and mileage (120,000) where it needs a range of replacements: I've had the loom done and new coils, and it needs subframe bushes, flex-discs, and rust on the o/s front wing sorting. All stuff I was fully expecting, and had factored in to my annual budget. The point being that with these cars, history is so important at much over 100,000 miles, so as to be able to estimate the long-term costs. The great thing about these 124s is that they can be kept really tight and together if you are prepared to spend the money to keep them that way. There's nothing out there really I'd change mine for.
When I bought my first W124 in 2003, my sister bought a new Mondeo 2L CDI, which she still has. Over this period of time, we've spent about the same on our cars. The difference is I've had 3 Mercs, she's got a Ford.

 

[television]

Will there ever be another car as good and loved as much as the 124

 

[jberks]

Will there ever be another car as good and loved as much as the 124

sadly not. If MB produced a car that cost nearly £50k for a very basic 2 litre 4 pot, I doubt anyone would buy it. The world has moved on, people want a lot more for less these days and new 124s are no longer viable as a new product. I do wonder whether someone will start doing 124 rebuilds in the same way that they have done with some classic jags. If someone were to sell a zero miled fully restored 124 for, say £18-20k I suspect there would be a fair size market. Might even be tempted myself.

 

[lakeside]

Will there ever be another car as good and loved as much as the 124

Probably not Malcolm. Not mass-produced anyway

 

[pma]

I bought a new 124 in 1986 & because of this I bought a new 211 in 2008 of this & because I will not buy another Mercedes Benz

 

[mattsurf]

How many other 12+ year old cars will still fetch £5k+, a good W124 depreciates at less than £2k per per year nothing else comes close

 

[kev7607]

Matt,

What is the actual price per mile in your calculations?

I used to have a VW Passat 1.9TDI which I got about 45mpg. Now Ive got a Merc C270 CDI and over the last 6 months I've got an average of 40mpg.

The VW cost nothing in repairs (apart from service and tyres) over the 2 years that I had it.
The Merc - well I havent had a major bill yet - touch wood.

 

[mattsurf]

Matt,

What is the actual price per mile in your calculations?

I used to have a VW Passat 1.9TDI which I got about 45mpg. Now Ive got a Merc C270 CDI and over the last 6 months I've got an average of 40mpg.

The VW cost nothing in repairs (apart from service and tyres) over the 2 years that I had it.
The Merc - well I havent had a major bill yet - touch wood.

The actual running cost is as follows, currently I have not these figures normalised to the same fuel cost, I need to change my spreadsheet to show this.

VW fuel fuel 8.9ppm (40.8mpg) fuel + maintenance 23.4ppm (31.6ppm inc depreciation)
Mercedes E280 fuel 16.2ppm (25.1mpg) fuel + maintenance 26.0ppm (31.4ppm inc depreciation) - fuel was more expensive
Mercedes E320 CDI fuel 14.5ppm (34.7mpg) fuel + maintenance 26.4 (no depreciation figures yet)

 

[Jack the Lad]

If you are buying secondhand there is very little in it as the cost differences are factored in to market prices. Diesels cars cost more like for like and even though you get some of that extra back when you sell on again it is still more overall in cash terms. Looking at current prices on Autotrader I reckon depreciation on a 8 - 10 year old W210 300 or 320 diesel would be about £3000 over 3 years and 60,000 miles or about £2500 for a 6 cylinder petrol version. I do 20,000 miles a year averaging 29mpg in my petrol E320 V6. Diesels seem to do around 37 mpg average and at current prices this would save just £260 a year over petrol. So just on that basis the difference averages only around £80 per year over 3 years. I don't know how routine service bills compare, but this amount could easily be swallowed up in just one minor repair and at this age/mileage that is just the luck of the draw, irrespective of fuel type. I would just buy the best one of either type that you can get for your budget.