If it's diesel then you need a RUC

You can find the rates online

Cost per 1000km:$62.00

Cost per km:$0.06

yes - $62 / 1000k + admin fees - see link

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/road-user-charges/ruc-rates-and-transaction-fees/#RUC-rates-for-distance-licences-powered

Thanks for that. So is diesel stil viable given the cost difference, my quick brain calculation says yes.

Thanks all.

http://goo.gl/dpDJJs

depends on the distance traveled and the economy rating of the car you are looking at vs the petrol car you are comparing it to

Usually not on small cars, which is why there are so few of them here.

More fuel efficiancy gets punnished more with RUC. Fine on a giant 4wd bur for little nanna wagons which barely have any weight to them, silly price.

TeaLeaf:

 

Thanks for that. So is diesel stil viable given the cost difference, my quick brain calculation says yes.

 

It depends on how you look at it. A diesel engine will give you much, much more torque than a petrol engine with equivalent operating costs. Whether it's worth getting a diesel depends on whether you need that torque, but I personally love having it on steep windy roads despite the fact that I never tow anything.

TeaLeaf:

Thanks for that. So is diesel stil viable given the cost difference, my quick brain calculation says yes.

Thanks all.

TeaLeaf:

 

Thanks for that. So is diesel stil viable given the cost difference, my quick brain calculation says yes.

 

Thanks all.

 

Don't forget to factor in registration fees as well.

Service history is a massive factor you should bear in mind with diesels. If it's second-hand make sure a full service history is available so you can see how well it's been looked after. When diesels go wrong, they're extremely expensive to fix.

nakedmolerat:

TeaLeaf:

 

Thanks for that. So is diesel stil viable given the cost difference, my quick brain calculation says yes.

 

@TeaLeaf I did extensive research for brand new diesel car of all sizes and also taken into account the cost of servicing etc. In order for you to benefit the diesel you have to drive a minimum of 15000km/year. Anything less, is not worth it.

The problem with this is how do you judge what particular petrol engine is equivalent to a particular diesel engine? Compare the two with the same power and petrol is probably slightly cheaper to run, but compare two engines with the same torque and you'll find that the operating costs of the diesel are considerably lower.

The best comparison I can think of is my Mazda3 SP22 Limited (diesel) versus the SP25 Limited (petrol). I do 8,000km per year and in theory both would work out to have the same operating costs, but the diesel has similar power and a significant advantage in torque. That makes the diesel a more efficient engine in my view.

This one comes up every so often, with the recent change to the cost of rego for diesels they are now much more attractive.

Here is a link to the NZTA site which has the most recent edition of the diesel vs petrol calculator. 

http://www.transport.govt.nz/land/roadusercharges/light-petrol-vs-diesel/

I've had my VW Golf 2.0T Diesel for close on 5 years now and I get ~15km/L and do around 15,000KM per year. I've also got an Audi A3 2.0T Petrol (basically a Golf GTI) and that does ~10km/L and similar distance per year. Last time I worked it out fuel & RUC was costing 0.14c vs 0.18c per KM. I service both every 10,000KM, so there's no benefit to the petrol there, however the resale on the petrols appears to be slightly better so I think it's pretty much even after a few years of ownership. 

Newer petrol engines are a lot more economical than they used to be, so I'd be swaying towards a petrol if I was buying a ~2013 or newer. 

yep thats the exact engine im looking at 2.0 tdi vs 2.0 fsi

going by that calculator it works out a lot better in a diesel if you do 15kkm a year, $1500 better, but if like me I put 5kkm it was only $200 odd better off.

of course this has to do with the extremely low fuel prices at the mo more than anything else.

TeaLeaf:

yep thats the exact engine im looking at 2.0 tdi vs 2.0 fsi

going by that calculator it works out a lot better in a diesel if you do 15kkm a year, $1500 better, but if like me I put 5kkm it was only $200 odd better off.

of course this has to do with the extremely low fuel prices at the mo more than anything else.

I looked at this and got the lower trim spec SP25 petrol.  $9k cheaper than the diesel limited, and limited doesn't get you that many extra features.

alasta:

 

 

 

The best comparison I can think of is my Mazda3 SP22 Limited (diesel) versus the SP25 Limited (petrol). I do 8,000km per year and in theory both would work out to have the same operating costs, but the diesel has similar power and a significant advantage in torque. That makes the diesel a more efficient engine in my view.