The Team of Appraisers has a lot of questions about this, how to buy a car, what parameters determine its value, what equipment to choose, not to commit or technical, nor economic error. Buying a car is also a big decision then, when it is not our first transaction of this type. One of the common problems, what car buyers have is the choice of the engine version. The point is, whether a more serious expenditure is justified on a model equipped with an engine with a larger capacity and higher parameters. I will try to explain this problem in part. First, some general remarks.
When presenting a new car model, one of the basic parameters, which is to emphasize the advantages of the vehicle, is his engine. It has the same meaning as active and passive safety solutions. The displayed engine parameters are: maximum torque, maximum power, fuel consumption. The parameters of the car are also given – maximum speed, acceleration times.
Due to the fierce competition between individual manufacturers, each new car is offered with a whole range of spark ignition engines and at least one compression ignition engine..
Most often it is the engine family, which differ in capacity from 200 do 400 cm3. Drive units of one family are made on the same production line. Differentiation of the capacity is obtained by changing the diameter of the cylinder, relative stroke or both. These differences have a slight influence on the change of the engine production costs. The same machines are used, technological processes, and engines are assembled from unified parts (equipment, head, fastening elements, fasteners, etc.). Engines of one family with a different displacement also have different parameters. They differ in the size of the maximum torque, its mileage as a function of RPM and maximum power. This causes different dynamics of cars, in which they are mounted.
After these preliminary comments, I propose to analyze the prices of vehicles of the same model, equipped with engines of various capacities. I chose an Alfa Romeo upper class car for my consideration 156 and the popular Opel Corsa class.
Alfa Romeo 156 is offered with engines with a capacity of: 1600 cm3, 1800 cm3, 2000 cm3
and 2500 cm3. Opel Corsa with engines: 973 cm3, 1198 cm3, 1398 cm3.
I will start with the Alfa Romeo car and discuss its engines and the difference in performance and equipment of the various versions. I exclude the model from the analysis 2.5 due to a different engine design – 6 V arrangement of cylinders. Design of engines 1.6,1.8 and 2.0 she is like, have the same hardware, electric and electronic systems.
The difference between the models 1.6 and 2.0, whose structure and equipment are similar is considerable and amounts 13 963 zloty.
What is a cause of it, whether it is technically justified?
To answer this question, let's analyze the design of the engines in more detail 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0. They are 4 cylinder engines, with two overhead camshafts, with 4 valves per cylinder, with two spark plugs per cylinder, with five crankshaft supports, with light alloy head, powered by multi-point injection. They have a similar design and belong to the same family. From a technical point of view, they differ only in displacement, as a result they achieve different values ​​of maximum torque and maximum power.
It is also difficult to justify the significant differences in prices of individual models due to the equipment. All Alfa Romeo models under consideration have: ABS system installed as standard, airbags for the driver and passenger, power steering, central lock, electric adjustment of the exterior mirrors and electric front door windows.
However, they differ in driving dynamics. Model acceleration time 1.6 from 0 do 100 km is 10,5 s, model 1.8 – 9, 3 s, and model 2.0 – 8,5 s.
Alfa Romeo top speed 1.6 totals 200 km/h, while the model 2,0 – 216 km/h.
I think, that speed 0-100 km / h within 10,5 s, which is guaranteed by the model 1.6, is a very good result and is completely sufficient in normal use. However, the maximum speed 200 km / h or 216 km / h is a completely irrelevant parameter in our road conditions.
As you can see from this comparison, the prices of individual models basically depend only on the traction parameters offered.
Let us now analyze the situation in the group of popular cars. An example would be an Opel Corsa with engines 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4.
The price difference of individual models is significant. Between the model 1.0 a 1.4 totals 9400 zloty, while between the model 1.2 a 1.4 – 5950 zloty.
In the case of the Corsa, the engines are also of the same design and belong to the same family. This is especially true of units with a capacity 1,2 and 1,4 dm3. Engine 1.0 it has three cylinders and the cost of its production may differ from the others (other block castings, different head, crankshaft, intake system, etc.).
Car accessories 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 it is no different. Also in this case, from a technical point of view, such a differentiation of car prices is questionable.
In considering the impact of the engine capacity in a given model on the price of the vehicle, I used two car brands, one upper class and the other popular class. The analyzes carried out by our team show, that such an influence of the engine capacity on the price of the vehicle also occurs in other brands.
So the question arises, or buying a car of the selected model with an engine of greater capacity, and what about it – with better dynamics is economically justified? It is difficult to find an unambiguous answer.
We presented this issue mainly for the sake of potential buyers, that they read our thoughts and note the following before making their decision. If the purchase of the chosen vehicle is a strain on your financial resources, it is more preferable to choose a car
with a smaller capacity engine, but much cheaper. These vehicles, as the analysis showed, in terms of the technical use of their advantages on our roads, they are not much different from each other.
A reasonable compromise is needed. The lower price of the car means worse technical parameters or the abandonment of additional equipment. In my opinion, the pursuit of high performance does not make sense. There are specific legal restrictions on our roads, determining in some way the dynamics of the purchased car. Traffic in cities increases from year to year and having an exhausted engine will in no way improve the efficiency of movement in a "congested" agglomeration. In addition, insurance fees are a considerable expense, the higher the greater the engine capacity. I would like, that this material contributes to making a favorable choice of the dream car, and the issues raised were taken into account before the final decision was made.