Current Costs to own and drive a car
#1
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Current Costs to own and drive a car
This article wandered across my screen this morning via link from a cycling blog. A lot of interesting numbers in there.
The average US household spent $5,477 on car expenses last year in the US, naturally there are some areas that were a higher and some that were lower. That is a substantial bit of money when you consider the state of the economy and unemployment levels.
Aaron
The average US household spent $5,477 on car expenses last year in the US, naturally there are some areas that were a higher and some that were lower. That is a substantial bit of money when you consider the state of the economy and unemployment levels.
Aaron
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ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
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"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#3
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#4
In the right lane
This confusion below might paint a picture of the cost of ownership compared to the average income:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Househo..._United_States
And don't forget that you pay the 5,477 with after-tax dollars.
And for that little contribution, aaron, I'll help you with that six-pack.
In 2007, the "real" (adjusted for inflation) median annual household income rose 1.3% to $50,233.00 according to the Census Bureau.[4] The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round climbed between 2006 and 2007, from $43,460 to $45,113 (about 3.6 time minimum wage in 2006 to 3.7 time minimum wage in 2007). For women, the corresponding increase was from $33,437 to $35,102 (2.8 and 2.9 times minimum wage respectively). The median income per household member (including all working and non-working members above the age of 14) was $26,036 in 2006.[5] In 2006, there were approximately 116,011,000 households in the United States. 1.93% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $250,000.[6] 12.3% fell below the federal poverty threshold[7] and the bottom 20% earned less than $19,178.[8]
And don't forget that you pay the 5,477 with after-tax dollars.
And for that little contribution, aaron, I'll help you with that six-pack.
#5
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This confusion below might paint a picture of the cost of ownership compared to the average income:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Househo..._United_States
And don't forget that you pay the 5,477 with after-tax dollars.
And for that little contribution, aaron, I'll help you with that six-pack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Househo..._United_States
And don't forget that you pay the 5,477 with after-tax dollars.
And for that little contribution, aaron, I'll help you with that six-pack.
C'mon...it is Leinies Summer Shandy
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#6
Prefers Cicero
The full-cost accounting is pretty complex. If you simply look at what they actually spend - insurance, gas, parking, repairs and maintenence and monthly payments, you get one number. But if you compare life with or without a car, there are many other factors to consider:
- the lost opportunity costs of the money invested in car purchases,
- the potential extra earnings or lost earnings due to comparing time spent driving to the time you would spend on alternate modes of transportation
- the possibility that you would live in a different (more or less expensive) location if you didn't own a car
- health costs of owning a car
- gym costs if you need to compensate for all that time sitting behind the wheel
- the costs of alternate transportation
And then there are the social costs to consider in societies with and without cars: freeway construction costs, ambulance and policing costs, lost tax revenues from land dedicated to roads, public health costs...
This just scratches the surface. It goes on and on.
- the lost opportunity costs of the money invested in car purchases,
- the potential extra earnings or lost earnings due to comparing time spent driving to the time you would spend on alternate modes of transportation
- the possibility that you would live in a different (more or less expensive) location if you didn't own a car
- health costs of owning a car
- gym costs if you need to compensate for all that time sitting behind the wheel
- the costs of alternate transportation
And then there are the social costs to consider in societies with and without cars: freeway construction costs, ambulance and policing costs, lost tax revenues from land dedicated to roads, public health costs...
This just scratches the surface. It goes on and on.
Last edited by cooker; 06-26-10 at 04:17 PM.
#7
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New cars are factored in.
$3000 for used car $400 liability insurance $500 for gas Over 3 years that's $5,700 = $158.33 a month
$3000 for used car $400 liability insurance $500 for gas Over 3 years that's $5,700 = $158.33 a month
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Bianchi Volpe 2006; Fuji Tahoe 1990
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#8
Senior Member
I doubt most $3,000 used cars will run happily for 3 years by just putting gas into them. What do you fill your tank up with, wishful-thinking?
#9
The one member of my family, that I personally oversee their car finances, has a yearly expenditure of 3500 dollars a year. Their vehicle is a used one, and the annual total includes loan payment, insurance, fuel, and a predetermined dollar allotment for vehicle maintenance/repairs. This family member has the least annual amount, whereas other family members have 5000 to 8000 dollar annual expenditures.
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My car was paid for in 1992. I have 42,000 origional miles on it and I pay more for gas and oil now than I have for almost all of the 18 years I have owned it. I have had only 4 sets of tires on the car in all of that time and the first set had to be replaced because of dry rot more than wear. I pay about $450.00 a year in insurance and maybe $50 or $60.00 a month for gas and oil. Spread out over the time I have owned it the car cost me about $233.00 a year to buy. $75.00 a year for tires and $720.00 a year for gas and oil. I serviced it myself but lets say servicing was $35 a month that would be $420.00. All in all that is less than $2000.00 a year. That is abetween $4.72 and $5.32 a day for my car 24/7/365. If I were to take the bus in Orange county the daily pass is now $4.00 a day and they are cutting services and terminals. But that is just me.
#11
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A year ago, I would have argued that I could drive on $200 a month, but, as cooker said, the formula is not so straightforward. I found that I was able to bank the $500 a month when I got rid of my car. But, it comes from all costs. Having the car made it too easy to spend on items I did not really need, like fast food, along with the costs of running the car.
For those who can make the choice to go without a car, the difference in expenses can be life-altering over the years. Imagine what $500 a month could do for your IRA.
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#12
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If you READ the article you will notice they also include things like parking, tolls and other auto related expenditures. Some parts of the country you have to pay for parking spots at your own residence if you rent, like Boston or NYC. That will run the average up. FWIW I fall below the average but I only drive my personal vehicle ~4000 miles a year, it is 14 years old, paid for and in excellent condition. But when something breaks it costs and will run my average up.
Aaron
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#13
Prefers Cicero
My car was paid for in 1992. I have 42,000 origional miles on it and I pay more for gas and oil now than I have for almost all of the 18 years I have owned it. I have had only 4 sets of tires on the car in all of that time and the first set had to be replaced because of dry rot more than wear. I pay about $450.00 a year in insurance and maybe $50 or $60.00 a month for gas and oil. Spread out over the time I have owned it the car cost me about $233.00 a year to buy. $75.00 a year for tires and $720.00 a year for gas and oil. I serviced it myself but lets say servicing was $35 a month that would be $420.00. All in all that is less than $2000.00 a year. That is abetween $4.72 and $5.32 a day for my car 24/7/365. If I were to take the bus in Orange county the daily pass is now $4.00 a day and they are cutting services and terminals. But that is just me.
Do you drive to work daily or work from home?
Since you are averaging around 2000 miles a year, how do you end up spending $720 on gas and oil?
Last edited by cooker; 06-27-10 at 06:47 AM.
#14
In the right lane
My son drives a 1995 Toyota that I bought for a lot more money. He drives about 4,000 miles a year (and borrows our family car for longer trips...) and spends a lot of money in gas. I think there's a cylinder missing or something.
#15
Sophomoric Member
My car was paid for in 1992. I have 42,000 origional miles on it and I pay more for gas and oil now than I have for almost all of the 18 years I have owned it. I have had only 4 sets of tires on the car in all of that time and the first set had to be replaced because of dry rot more than wear. I pay about $450.00 a year in insurance and maybe $50 or $60.00 a month for gas and oil. Spread out over the time I have owned it the car cost me about $233.00 a year to buy. $75.00 a year for tires and $720.00 a year for gas and oil. I serviced it myself but lets say servicing was $35 a month that would be $420.00. All in all that is less than $2000.00 a year. That is abetween $4.72 and $5.32 a day for my car 24/7/365. If I were to take the bus in Orange county the daily pass is now $4.00 a day and they are cutting services and terminals. But that is just me.
Just kidding, of course. My point is that the experiences of the clever carlight members of this forum are not typical of the average person. But the car cost calculators are trying to be useful for average people, and therein lies the apparent contradiction.
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Last edited by Roody; 06-27-10 at 04:28 PM.
#16
Sophomoric Member
If you READ the article you will notice they also include things like parking, tolls and other auto related expenditures. Some parts of the country you have to pay for parking spots at your own residence if you rent, like Boston or NYC. That will run the average up. FWIW I fall below the average but I only drive my personal vehicle ~4000 miles a year, it is 14 years old, paid for and in excellent condition. But when something breaks it costs and will run my average up.
Aaron
Aaron
(BTW, whenever I play Monopoly my friends get a kick out of making me use the little car token.)
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#17
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I agree i have presented the best case scenario. But $5,477 a year? Anyone could beat that if they wanted to. People want nice things, and are willing to pay for it.
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Enjoy the ride.
Bianchi Volpe 2006; Fuji Tahoe 1990
Enjoy the ride.
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#18
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I read an article a few months ago that broke down an average family's expenses. The point of the article was that the average family (across the US), if they NEVER eat out, and NEVER go to a movie, and NEVER engage in any other decadent behavior, they can maybe save about $150-200/month, providing no emergencies EVER come up. I think the model was base on an average house purchased with 20% down (LOL!). What stood out for me from the ariticle was the average car expense. Taking in average registry/DMV fees, gasoline, repairs, average car loan data, I think the average monthly expense (for I think maybe 1.3 or 1.4 cars per family) was between $700 and $800/month per family. That really lit a light bulb above my head. If the average family has about ZERO chance to save ANY money per month, even if they're economically responsible, it seems like they have the best chance to get ahead if they find a way to ditch the gargantuan albotross around their neck that is their car(s). Imagine you live in a city where you could get by without a car and you are the average family saving, at best, $100- $200 per month. If you could give up your car and up that to $1000/month, how much better off are you, and on so many different levels!
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I haven't always followed the concept of drive it till the wheels fall off but for the last ten years that has pretty much been my goal. My fuel usage has improved alot over the last three years and I am now using about 1/3 of the fuel I did in 2006. But I was under the impression that the question was current cost of opperating a car and someone mentioned factoring in a used car. While I bought mine new it was used after it was paid for. Like my bicycles proper care will keep one on the road a very long time.
I realize I am not typical and I know what it was like when I was driving on the company's dime. Yes the company paid for my fuel for many years and I never got a fuel bill when they did so. They also paid for my health insurance, put in for my retirement and I never had to pay for parking.
I was simply answering the OPs origional question. I wasn't putting myself up to compare.
#20
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I am convinced that a large segment of the US population is financially ignorant or they just stick their heads in the sand and hope the problem goes away. My immediate manager at work is always complaining about being under paid and he just can't make ends meet. It is his lifestyle and nothing more. I make just a bit less than he does, but I don't have a house on the golf course, I don't drive a brand new car every 3 years, I don't go out every weekend to the club, I don't take week long vacations to resorts in the Caribbean in January, etc, etc.
You make your choices and your live with them. I decided a long time ago to be financially conservative and live beneath my means, it has paid off in spades! I am debt free and plan to stay that way. If I could figure out a way to eliminate property taxes I would.
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#21
Senior Member
I think one major point that a lot of people under represent in the cost of their car is maintenance. Playing with the edmunds website shows that any car over 7-8 years old start inuring major expenses for repairs and maintenance, almost as high as some car payments.
2002 Ford Focus 5 speed manual with 4cyl:
$1,400 repairs
$761 maintenance
2002 Toyota Echo 5 speed manual with 4cyl:
$1,600 repairs
$ 652 maintenance
2007 Honda civic 5 speed manual with 4cyl:
$ 1223 repairs
$ 492 maintenance
These are all pretty much as cheap and reliable of cars as you can get but even well after the payments are done your repair bills start to sky rocket. I think that a lot of people calculate their repair bills based on what they have done recently but often forget about those one time expensive repairs like timing belts/chains, oil flushes, transmission services, ect that add a lot to the average over several years. You can also bet that after that car becomes really old, say like a 92-95 the repair bill is even larger. Maybe people are skipping out on due maintenance at the cost of safety or reliability down the road to save money in the short term?
2002 Ford Focus 5 speed manual with 4cyl:
$1,400 repairs
$761 maintenance
2002 Toyota Echo 5 speed manual with 4cyl:
$1,600 repairs
$ 652 maintenance
2007 Honda civic 5 speed manual with 4cyl:
$ 1223 repairs
$ 492 maintenance
These are all pretty much as cheap and reliable of cars as you can get but even well after the payments are done your repair bills start to sky rocket. I think that a lot of people calculate their repair bills based on what they have done recently but often forget about those one time expensive repairs like timing belts/chains, oil flushes, transmission services, ect that add a lot to the average over several years. You can also bet that after that car becomes really old, say like a 92-95 the repair bill is even larger. Maybe people are skipping out on due maintenance at the cost of safety or reliability down the road to save money in the short term?
Last edited by zeppinger; 06-27-10 at 08:46 PM.
#22
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The full-cost accounting is pretty complex. If you simply look at what they actually spend - insurance, gas, parking, repairs and maintenence and monthly payments, you get one number. But if you compare life with or without a car, there are many other factors to consider: [SNIP]
This just scratches the surface. It goes on and on.
This just scratches the surface. It goes on and on.
#23
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Back in 2000 I purchased a 1993 Toyota Corolla Wagon for $3000 (cash). It had 138K miles on it. I finally gave it to the great mechanic in the sky last year with 243K miles. I am sure the cost /year was much lower than $5700.
#24
Senior Member
I had a corolla as well and the damn thing would go through at least one CV boot every two years. Common problem on small front wheel drive compacts.
Last edited by zeppinger; 06-28-10 at 07:44 AM.
#25
Prefers Cicero
That's great, but it's pretty clear you and a few others in this thread are outliers - and probably fairly extreme ones.