|
Take a look at BMW price differentials between diesel and petrol. My own interest area the 320d and 320i coupe shows a £2,000 differential. The petrol engine has a 1% lower BIK rating than the diesel though the actual CO2 is higher. The official fuel consumption figures belong in cloud cuckoo land so let's assume the diesel is typically 12 miles per gallon better (and I think that's generous). 12,000 miles at today's prices will cost:
Petrol: £1,822
Diesel: £1,526
This represents a saving of £889 over three years at 12k per year but you paid over £2,000 more in the first place. Assume on selling the car, you get £1,000 more for the diesel than for the petrol and you are still out of pocket.
Repeat this for the 325i and 325d and you get a similar story but this time you have missed out on a genuine performance gain - and the silky smooth 6 cylinder petrol engine.
To me the most interesting one is between the 320d and 325i. It works out ixy pixy between these two cost wise but not only do you get the performance and refinement but you get additional equipment in the 6 cylinder that is missing on the four.
But.. - there's always a but, I suspect that the 320d would actually have a better residual value at three years old than the 325i. Since the prices would be starting off level, the 320d would have the undoubted edge due to vastly superior fuel economy and the target market for these cars in three years time may very well be people with great concern about fuel costs.
<Maybe I didn't make the wrong choice after all>
|