Diesel vs Petrol Cars in 2013 Scenario!

[IndicaDLS2002]

Hi Friends,

I saw a lot of threads on this board discussing fuel price hikes & car prices increase etc.

However something different is happening now in 2013 with fuel prices which I believe requires a new thread for discussion. Admins feel free to delete the thread if they feel otherwise as you see my status is still rookie

In 2013 with Govt declaring Diesel fuel prices going up by Rs 10 by the end of the year and Petrol prices possibly staying where they are now something significant is happening Diesel fuel will be at 87% the price of Petrol.All these years in the past Diesel fuel has mostly stayed at 2/3rd or around 65% of petrol prices.

Now this will possibly affect the market dynamics for cars, meaning given the higher price ratio of Diesel fuel relative to Petrol compared to past, more & more people will opt for Petrol cars. As its no longer worth paying the extra cost for Diesel car price & extra cost of diesel car maintenance as well.

However some Diesel cars/SUVs/vehicle do not have a petrol version & if you were planning to buy such a diesel car, has anybody tried to get a discount on the price of the diesel car itself from dealers?

Although its too soon to tell, any opinions on what kind of new car price cuts if any we can see say six months down the line when Diesel car makers & dealers see that there is drop of sales due to the diesel fuel prices going up. (there was news of Rs 4 increase in Jan 2013 in one hike!)

I am very much of the opinion Diesel car makers & dealers can & will cut the diesel car prices if the sales drop significantly!

BloreIndicaOwner.

 

[alexddas]

The diesel engines especially the one from fiat delivers a good mileage above 20kms with less maintenance and the engine life is above 200000 kms and so even if the petrol and diesel prices get leveled the market on these engines wont get down.none of the petrol engines right now in indian market posses the above skills.And so i dont think these companies will be forced to get down thier prices.

 

[IndicaDLS2002]

Well Petrol cars do possess other skills like better pickup & power etc, which Diesel cars lack.

Also the good mileage of diesel cars recovering the extra initial cost is based on the assumption of the minimum usage of 50kms or more per day!

Here below is another very recent article which discusses how long it will take now to recover the extra cost paid for Diesel cars from here onwards.


Why petrol cars may win race against diesel vehicles - Economic Times

Diesel cars having lesser maintenance is a first I have heard. So Petrol car will be more often than not be much simpler/cheaper to maintain.

 

[alexddas]

Well Petrol cars do possess other skills like better pickup & power etc, which Diesel cars lack.

Also the good mileage of diesel cars recovering the extra initial cost is based on the assumption of the minimum usage of 50kms or more per day!

Here below is another very recent article which discusses how long it will take now to recover the extra cost paid for Diesel cars from here onwards.


Why petrol cars may win race against diesel vehicles - Economic Times

Diesel cars having lesser maintenance is a first I have heard. So Petrol car will be more often than not be much simpler/cheaper to maintain.

All diesel engines are not cheaper/less in maintenance the fiat one in maruti is cheaper as their spares are easily available in the market.The technology used in recent diesel engines gives long life,good mileage,and less maintenance.The concept you believe is a bit old sorry.
The price of a top end petrol car to a base diesel engine of the same company is almost same. if the diesel and petrol price get leveled which one will you opt?

 

[dharmesh]

All diesel engines are not cheaper/less in maintenance the fiat one in maruti is cheaper as their spares are easily available in the market.The technology used in recent diesel engines gives long life,good mileage,and less maintenance.The concept you believe is a bit old sorry.
The price of a top end petrol car to a base diesel engine of the same company is almost same. if the diesel and petrol price get leveled which one will you opt?

But then you have to sacrifice the gizmos and safety features that you only get in Top end model.

 

[IndicaDLS2002]

But then you have to sacrifice the gizmos and safety features that you only get in Top end model.

Totally agree with dharmesh & will probably go for top end petrol rather than base diesel version if both fuel prices level. It is also about the comfort & advanced features & not just about the economy always. Unfortunately in India everybody believes its just about making your ride cheaper. I mean whats the use of saving a few pennies if you don't really enjoy the car as much during its lifetime.

 

[dharmesh]

Totally agree with dharmesh & will probably go for top end petrol rather than base diesel version if both fuel prices level. It is also about the comfort & advanced features & not just about the economy always. Unfortunately in India everybody believes its just about making your ride cheaper. I mean whats the use of saving a few pennies if you don't really enjoy the car as much during its lifetime.

And what wil be the use of saved pennies, if you are not alive after accident.

 

[navnit013]

@IndicaDLS

If you've been looking at the technological developments happening over the years in engine department, you wouldnt have had any doubts.

Diesel engines at present are almost at par with petrols. And Diesels are more clean at this stage and more efficient. In a few years we will see diesels outperforming the petrols in all departments.

 

[IndicaDLS2002]

@IndicaDLS

If you've been looking at the technological developments happening over the years in engine department, you wouldnt have had any doubts.

Diesel engines at present are almost at par with petrols. And Diesels are more clean at this stage and more efficient. In a few years we will see diesels outperforming the petrols in all departments.

>>Diesel engines at present are almost at par with petrols. << exactly my point & even the diesel fuel cost will be almost same as petrol & so the diesel cars should cost the same as petrol cars & not more! right? so time for diesel car makers/dealers to look at reducing diesel car prices?

 

[alexddas]

But then you have to sacrifice the gizmos and safety features that you only get in Top end model.

If you are that concerned of the safety features raise some more money and go for the topper version and enjoy an economical, safe drive.why should you loose money on every kms you drive?

 

[navnit013]

>>Diesel engines at present are almost at par with petrols. << exactly my point & even the diesel fuel cost will be almost same as petrol & so the diesel cars should cost the same as petrol cars & not more! right? so time for diesel car makers/dealers to look at reducing diesel car prices?

well.. The technology that makes diesel at par with petrol does not come for free. We have to pay the price. Even though the price of the fuel is same, the more efficient diesel engines will be light on your pocket (strictly talking of high mileage cars) , on a long run.

If you run less than 5 kms a day, then therz no point in buying a diesel car. Well, therz no point in buying a car rather.

 

[alexddas]

>>Diesel engines at present are almost at par with petrols. << exactly my point & even the diesel fuel cost will be almost same as petrol & so the diesel cars should cost the same as petrol cars & not more! right? so time for diesel car makers/dealers to look at reducing diesel car prices?

Only If the petrol engine starts to sell more than diesel engines and only if petrol engines deliver more mileage than diesel,then only the car companies will even think of reducing prices. That we have to wait and see.

 

[IndicaDLS2002]

navnit013, I agree with your latest post so basically the only advantage now remaining with diesel cars is the higher mileage which is sortoff a tradeoff for the speed/power in petrol cars which is debatable if diesel cars will ever be able to match(nothing comes free there is always a tradeoff somewhere), so the decision making boils down to how much you plan to drive. if more than 75kms per day averaged then diesel car probably?

alexddas, >>why should you loose money on every kms you drive?<< The same thing could be debated about initial cost meaning why should I pay 1.5L more as initial cost for diesel version ?- see below.

Renault Duster
Petrol version on road around 8.5L
Diesel version on road around 10L


By the way The Govt yesterday decided to increase Diesel fuel prices even more slowly by 50ps per month for maybe next 24 months. The topic is too hotly debated/speculated to comment anything!

 

[alexddas]

navnit013, I agree with your latest post so basically the only advantage now remaining with diesel cars is the higher mileage which is sortoff a tradeoff for the speed/power in petrol cars which is debatable if diesel cars will ever be able to match(nothing comes free there is always a tradeoff somewhere), so the decision making boils down to how much you plan to drive. if more than 75kms per day averaged then diesel car probably?

alexddas, >>why should you loose money on every kms you drive?<< The same thing could be debated about initial cost meaning why should I pay 1.5L more as initial cost for diesel version ?- see below.

Renault Duster
Petrol version on road around 8.5L
Diesel version on road around 10L


By the way The Govt yesterday decided to increase Diesel fuel prices even more slowly by 50ps per month for maybe next 24 months. The topic is too hotly debated/speculated to comment anything!

Test drive a puntoD or a swiftD with AC on and wait for the Rpm to reach 1.8 to 2.0 and you will feel the power and not get shocked if you get a good mileage too.
I feel that you are really fed up with the diesel engine you own, i was too.
Spending a 50000k more to swiftP you can own this super machine.

 

[IndicaDLS2002]

Test drive a puntoD or a swiftD with AC on and wait for the Rpm to reach 1.8 to 2.0 and you will feel the power and not get shocked if you get a good mileage too.
I feel that you are really fed up with the diesel engine you own, i was too.
Spending a 50000k more to swiftP you can own this super machine.

No Man I love my current diesel car, barely able to let go off it, but I need to get a bigger car with more space! However lot of things are changing now with fuel prices etc so need to make a calculated decision! I really feel bad for those who probably bought diesel cars paying more money in the recent past say past year or two & now Govt is almost leveling the fuel prices!

Will wait & watch, if Diesel car prices go down which I firmly believe they will in about six months or so then I will think of going for Diesel engine itself!
(or another possibility is maybe diesel car prices may stagnate for next 2-3 years or so & stay where they are if they don't really go down)