I am considering buying a diesel truck and would appreciate some input from the more experienced members.
A lot of people say that a diesel should only be considered for towing or heavy duty work. I do not fall into this catagory as the truck will be used as a daily driver (15 miles per day max)and for the occasional trip to Home Depot and camping trips. I like the fact that diesels are a more efficient engine and they last a lot longer than gas engines. My two cars have 180 K and 172 K so I will drive the wheels off the truck if I decide to buy a diesel. Do you think that a quad cab would be a good choice for my situation? Also is the rear seat comfortable? I have looked at the Titan and it seems to have a very comfortable cab space wise.
A few weeks ago I drove a 4x2 quad cab HO diesel and was really impressed with the power and the ride. The Ford F250 crew cab is quite large, but what is the engine like ( I know this is a loaded question)?
Thanks in advance for any replies and input.

 

Nothing wrong with a diesel daily driver. Just cost lots more and take over 100,000 to break even. How do you figure more economical? VW TDI gets over 50 mpg. A 2500 Quad Cab gets maybe best of 20 mpg. What do you need a truck for if no heavy hauling or towing?

 

if you were too buy a diesel I'm sure you would be compelled to find enough reasons to drive more than 15 miles per day...

one thing is that with your short trips, you probably won't recover the initial cost of the diesel by the differential in the lower price of fuel and perceived difference in fuel economy... what is the economy on the Titan?? or other 1/2 ton trucks... I know the Hemi gets crap for mileage.

Quad Cab, how many people are you planning to "haul"?? I think the QC's look better than the reg cabs... I know people complain the the QC is too small but I saw one of those new full-four door Silverado 1500's this morning and the bed was like 4 feet long... what you get in people space you can easily loose in bed space...

If you're willing to spend the extra chunk for the diesel it would probably be a good investment. If properly maintained, your new baby could easily last 300,000 miles with little other than filter changes, fuel fill-ups, new tires and a bath every now and again... but I'm not biased in the least...

 

IMHO 15 mi;les a day will kill your diesel. It won't get close to operating temperature and will die long before its time. To be honest, I don't even fire mine up unless it will be running at least an hour. I agree with the post that said to consider something like a VW TDI, which will tolerate the short commute better than the Cummins. The Cummins is an awesome piece of engineering, but runs better when working a little. I love mine, but if I was living in the city and driving 10 or 15 minute to and from work, I wouldn't be driving it. Then again, if you like it, and want it, Just Do It.

 

It seems that in your situation, you would be better off with a Titian, Tundra, F150, or Silverado 1500. I'm in a simular situation with 90% of my driving could be in a Honda Civic. But for the 10% I need a real truck or 4WD I have a CTD. It's more about enjoyment than practicability.

 

I drive my ctd 5 miles to work and back i see no problem with that it warms up about half way there and some times i even go the long way to work just for the fun of it . I change my oil every 5k. I also do some lite towing and love it .Went to phoenix the other day with my car hauler trailer. 20 miles to the gallon from flag to phoenix on the way back with a toyota celica on the trailer up hill 70mph
15 miles per gallon never even hesitated going over the hills the only thing i had do was step on the brake when we got off the freeway. what a great truck