[speeder]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Yours is a 6.0L.... too bad

If it were a 7.3L, people seem to be willing to pay the moon (hence my whole point)

There are some that reach $30K, but most are nearer $20K

Here's a 2001 Excursion 7.3 Diesel that actually sold after 7 bids for $23,100:
Ford : Excursion EXCURSION 7.3 Limited Ford : Excursion EXCURSION 7.3 Limited | eBay

Wait a minute...

So possibly the nicest low-miles 7.3 Excursion for sale in the world, (nice colors, close to showroom condition), sells for $23k with a sales audience of everyone in the world looking for one and you are saying that others sell for $30k??

Please show me the $30k one. I'm dying to see that. The one in the link is worth $23k all day long and twice on Sunday. It's a chance to buy basically a brand-new vehicle that is no longer made and is extremely desirable. It would cost $75,000 new today if Ford made it. It will hold its value extremely well if it's kept in nice condition. It will always be the lowest mileage one around, unless they start putting 25k miles a year on it, in which case the fuel savings and retained resale value will definitely pay for itself over a large gas SUV.

If future trends in fuel prices continue to go in the upward direction, (a certainty), diesel over gas large SUVs will become more desirable, not less in the marketplace. You are already seeing this.

It is true that people use emotion in choosing vehicles, I prefer to just think of it as preference. You get annoyed when you think that the market is "wrong" for something, but in reality it's not. I would not want to own a V-10 Excursion. If someone gave me one for free, I'd be trying to dump it the next day. I simply do not want to own it. The fuel cost is a huge factor, it would cost me hundreds of dollars a week to drive it and I would not enjoy driving it like I would a diesel. 8k lb. trucks with massive gas engines and 4wd do not get 10 mpg in the real world. They get closer to 6-7mpg in my real world experience, and that is owning and renting HD PUs and vans with large gas engines.

Everyone is not wrong about diesels. They are the better choice and the market reflects it. Resale and how everyone else regards something greatly affects the value of said item. Kind of like a house in Minnesota vs. a house in coastal California. You can argue all day about whether it's "really worth it". It's worth it if everyone else agrees that it's worth it. And the resale value matters on houses and vehicles, and affects the *real price*.