40”JLURD
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Ross
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2020
- Threads
- 26
- Messages
- 694
- Reaction score
- 624
- Location
- Southern California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 JL Unlimited Rubicon Diesel
- Occupation
- Bad Mother Fucker
That’s why I said.What you're not accounting for in your equation is the initial cost of the Diesel engine over the base engine. I just built two identical JLUR's on the Jeep site, selecting no options for one with base engine and only the diesel option (which included some mandatory options) for the other. The diesel equipped JLUR cost $49,885 and gas equipped was $43,885. That's a $6,000 difference for a diesel Wrangler. A third optional build is with the 2.0T engine and automatic transmission at $45385. That's still $4,600 cheaper than the diesel.
Based upon your math (which I did not check as I assume it's correct), I can drive the base gas engine 100k miles before I would break even on the cost of the diesel equipped Wrangler. Or I can drive roughly 75k miles on the 2.0T with auto before reaching the cost of the diesel option.
This doesn't take into account the higher maintenance costs of the Diesel engine either......more frequent fuel filter changes, oil changes cost more due to larger oil capacity, DEF, etc.
I'm not degrading the Diesel engine. For those who don't necessarily need a diesel, it can be hard to justify the higher initial cost when it takes a long time (and at least 100k miles) to recoup the initial premium cost vs. a gasoline engine.
“So depending on how long you want to keep your Jeep you may want to consider trading in for the diesel motor if MPG with 37’s is a concern.”
DEF usage is typically about 3% of your diesel usage. So 2,083.33 x 0.03 = 62.49 gallons of DEF - let’s call it 62.5
Home depot and Target sell the 2.5 gallon jugs for $12.50 of Blue Def. That’s a good name brand. It can be had way cheaper if you buy a cheaper brand. Or even cheaper than that if you fill it up at a truck stop from the pump. It’s less than $3 a gal there. But let’s say you buy the Blue Def for $12.50 even though there are cheaper options.
62.5 / 2.5 = 25 (jugs of blue def to go 50k) 25 x $12.5 is only $312.50 DEF cost for 50,000 miles. If you divide the $312.50 by the 2083.33 gallons it adds about 0.15 per gal to your operating costs, or $2.70 per fill up. Not the end of the world especially when your getting almost double the MPG.
No this still doesn’t make it a cheaper power plant. But IMHO it greatly offsets the initial investment if you are going to keep your Jeep to 100k or beyond.
Not to mention the gobs of extra torque you will enjoy the entire time you own it, and the ease at which it keeps even 8th gear going uphill on the highways. There are several advantages to the diesel which I feel like justified the extra price for me at least.
To each their own though. Enjoy your Jeep’s friends
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