Vehicle EconomicsDiesel vs Gas Truck Ownership Economics Calculator
Is a diesel or gas truck cheaper to own once price, fuel, and maintenance are all counted for your mileage?
Why this comes up
Diesel trucks cost more upfront and burn pricier fuel per gallon, but often better MPG, lower depreciation, and different maintenance costs than a comparable gas truck. This engine runs the full ownership comparison for your own mileage instead of leaving you to guess whether diesel's advantages offset its higher purchase price.
How we calculated this
Each truck's total cost is financing net cost (down payment plus loan payments minus ending equity) plus fuel, insurance, maintenance, and repairs over your horizon, using your own annual mileage for both trucks.
Worked example, using this page's own defaults (6-year horizon, 15,000 miles/year): run the calculator above to see the exact total cost for each truck and which one wins at your mileage.
What this means
- Diesel's fuel-cost advantage grows with annual mileage, a low-mileage driver may never recoup the higher purchase price.
- Diesel trucks often hold value better, check your own value-at-horizon estimate against real listings for both trucks.
- See Car A vs Car B Total Cost for a fully custom comparison without truck-specific defaults.
Limitations
Diesel-specific costs like DEF fluid or emissions-system repairs are not broken out separately; fold them into your maintenance or repairs estimate. SeeMethodology.
Methodology
This engine reuses Vehicle Economics' fixed-rate amortization and fuel cost models exactly as Car A vs Car B Total Cost does. See Methodology for the full detail.