Ford: Focus, car resale value, tallahassee florida usa

Question
Hi John,
I dont know where you are from, but I currently live in England in the UK. I just have a quick question for you if you dont mind.  

I am currently in the process of buying a new car, and the car will be used to travel to work in. The car I am interested in is the Ford Focus, but I am unsure of which model.  The car will be doing regular motorway/freeway miles (upwards of 30 miles a day)

Would you recommend a diesel engine? If so, i think they only come in a 1.8 litre engine model, which may present a prob as i have only been driving for about a year, so insurance costs will be high.  Another alternative would be to get a 1.4 litre petrol engine.  This would be cheaper on insurance, but may cost more over long-term with regards to fuel costs, plus, it is quite a large car so it may be too sluggish.

Any help you can give me is much appreciated, and any other options you may think of or advice will be gratefully recieved.

Thanks for your time,
Dan.

Answer
Danny,
I am in Tallahassee Florida, USA. There are many diffrences in the Fords sold here in America and the ones sold in Europe. For example, here the Focus is not offered with a diesel engine.
To determine the the true cost of ownership between these two engines you will need to determine the number of miles per year you will be driving and average miles per gallon for each engine (or kilometers per liter) and also the difference in fuel cost per liter for gas and diesel fuel. You may need to check with your local Ford dealer for this information. In the US this is posted on the window sticker on every car. You also need to determine the difference in price for an identical car with each engine. You should check with the dealer to see if the maintainence cost are different between the two engines, example, are there differences in the oil and filter change or tune up intervals? What is the cost for the oil changes for each engine?
You should also get a quote from your insurance company for each car.
Resale value is also a factor in the cost of ownership as one day you will be replacing this car with a newer model and you will be trading this car in or selling it. Again, check with you local dealer to see if there is a difference in the used vehicle values between two identical cars except the gas or diesel engine.
Putting all this information together will give you the true difference in the overall cost between the two.
Don't forget, a car is more than just something to take you from point A to point B. If the driving experience is more enjoyable for you in one over the other and the cost difference is affordable, make yourself happy. You are the one paying.
Happy Motoring,
John