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Hi, our current vehicle is very ill :-( We are looking to replace it and need to have 8 or more seats. We have been driving a diesel which was cheaper when we started but the cost of registration is noticeably more than with a petrol and then later in the year lots of other diesel costs are going up... So what we are wondering is what is the difference in running costs with bigger vehicles such as a vans/people movers?

The AA carries out running cost calculations on an annual basis. These calculations take into account the total cost of running a vehicle, including the purchase price, depreciation, WOF, registration, RUC, servicing & repairs, insurance etc.
With larger vehicles there is very little difference between the cost of running petrol or diesel. One reason is that depreciation on larger petrol cars and SUV's etc is high. They are heavy on petrol consumption, hence they are not popular on the used vehicle market. On the positive side, used petrol examples can be bought cheaply, so if you are doing a low mileage and don't mind the fuel cost, you can get a good example for your money.
If you are a high mileage user, the balance starts to swing in favour of diesel.

Thanks!
Is it possible to see your data? My husband is a member, I know I've looked at the info in older directions magazines but no idea which one it would be in or if we still have it...
Depreciation doesn't really come into our situation as it will already be an older vehicle and we seem to always have them when they die! At what point do you switch from being low to high mileage?

Found it! Will get my husband to log in later and check it out :-)

The average NZ motorist travels around 14,000km per year - anything over 20,000 - 25,000 would be considered high.
The running costs can be found on "My AA" and click "Download Fuel and Running Costs" or by calling 0800 500 333 (option 2) for AA members.
A charge applies to non-members, but they can get the info by calling 0900 58 324.