Well I have been looking at getting a new 2104 GC to replace my 2008 GC with my 4.7L V8 which is going to my daughter. I decided to do a cost analysis after reading so many posts about how expensive the diesel is vs. the Hemi and V6. It peaked my interest so I took a shot at it. Now just to give you all some background. I need a vehicle capable of towing. I have a 19ft boat that I regularly tow around on short and long (1500mi) trips. If you don't need to tow, buy the V6. It will be slightly cheaper, but not by much. What I was most interested in is the Hemi vs. diesel. Now I love the 4.7L motor and if I had to choose, i'd choose it any day over the 50 year old Hemi. It's smooth and quiet. But it's no more, so I now have to decide.
My analysis consist of a comparison of costs on the engines alone. I am assuming the vehicle costs and maintenance are the same. Diesel repair costs are probably higher, but I was not willing to dig into each major repair and compare them. I used 3 main cost drivers for comparison:
1) Oil Change costs
2) DEF costs
3) Fuel mileage costs
I made the following assumptions:
15,000 miles per year
10,000 mile oil changes for diesel
3,000 mile oil changes for V6/V8
Def costs $3.00 gal (Wallmart)
Avg MPG used off CAFE sticker
I also used similar priced vehicles with as equivalent options as i could. Obviously if you stripped the V6 and Hemi way down, you can do better, but in almost no scenario is the old Hemi close to cost effective. The V6 is close as long as gas is cheaper than Diesel. if if swaps, the diesel is more cost effective due to its advantage in mileage.
Mileage is the major driver for sure. I can tell you that my 4.7L never gets above 16 in the city and will not hit 19 on the Highway. 16 for the Hemi is probably decent given it's cylinder cutoff tricks. Just note that none of those cylinder will be cutoff when towing.
Have a look at the screen shot of the Spreadsheet i made. I am glad to email it out if you want to tweak the numbers. As you can see the Diesel has a huge advantage over the Hemi in almost every scenario. The V6 is better, but if diesel drops in price or actual mileage is better, the diesel will come close to edging it out.
Have a look and hope this helps make up your mind....Nick
![Text Blue Line Font Parallel]()
My analysis consist of a comparison of costs on the engines alone. I am assuming the vehicle costs and maintenance are the same. Diesel repair costs are probably higher, but I was not willing to dig into each major repair and compare them. I used 3 main cost drivers for comparison:
1) Oil Change costs
2) DEF costs
3) Fuel mileage costs
I made the following assumptions:
15,000 miles per year
10,000 mile oil changes for diesel
3,000 mile oil changes for V6/V8
Def costs $3.00 gal (Wallmart)
Avg MPG used off CAFE sticker
I also used similar priced vehicles with as equivalent options as i could. Obviously if you stripped the V6 and Hemi way down, you can do better, but in almost no scenario is the old Hemi close to cost effective. The V6 is close as long as gas is cheaper than Diesel. if if swaps, the diesel is more cost effective due to its advantage in mileage.
Mileage is the major driver for sure. I can tell you that my 4.7L never gets above 16 in the city and will not hit 19 on the Highway. 16 for the Hemi is probably decent given it's cylinder cutoff tricks. Just note that none of those cylinder will be cutoff when towing.
Have a look at the screen shot of the Spreadsheet i made. I am glad to email it out if you want to tweak the numbers. As you can see the Diesel has a huge advantage over the Hemi in almost every scenario. The V6 is better, but if diesel drops in price or actual mileage is better, the diesel will come close to edging it out.
Have a look and hope this helps make up your mind....Nick
DEF is cheap and the oil life is at 80% after 2k.
