DaveRS23, all good points and certainly I would not recommend buying one as a means to save money. As you can see I tend to hold a vehicle for a long time, last one over 20 years, and my Cummins required no major repairs like a gas motor may see with increased mileage. I paid 32k for that truck and sold it 22 years later for 15k. Diesels tend to hold a greater resale than gas, particularly with increased miles, but again, not a good basis to purchase one, just a potential cost offset at the back end, a percentage of money recouped.
While I have enjoyed the benefit of increased mpg, I got the diesel because of towing and it’s superior performance to gas in these applications. I chose the baby diesel because it’s towing capacity exceeds my needs and is capable for most folks towing applications. Only the most serious of towing really need the crazy capacity a full size Cummins offers. Many that purchase these suffer average mpg and may never tow beyond the baby diesel weight
You bring an apples to oranges comparison to this when you compare the Cummins straight six diesel to the Italian V-6 Ecodiesel which has already had a less than stellar entrance to the American market. Good diesels have normally done well at resale time. That has not been true for the earlier Ecodiesels. Time will tell on this latest incarnation.
And you bring up that the Ecodiesel exceeds your needs. Then the 5.7 should too. After all, there is only 900 pounds difference in their tow ratings; 11,610lbs vs 12,560bls.
www.ramtrucks.com/ram-1500/capability.htmlYou may like and want a diesel just because you like them. But this one only rarely makes real world economic sense. And as they age, we will see whether they ever make any sense economically or were just another Italian turd like the earlier ones.
