Quite the eye opener appeared the in The Journal today:
Fair Use:
quote:You love them, you want them, you can’t live without them…and they’re costing you a fortune in repairs, insurance and shockingly expensive replacement parts. Dan Neil on why our national obsession with the automobile has turned dangerously codependent
You would wonder how many, if any, absent a medical or licensure issue, would voluntarily give up their auto or other vehicle, simply on the strength of "it costs too much". It also raises the corollary question; "how many really know; and how many really care"?
Being a CPA makes me want to "keep track" and now, for the twelve.momths ending today, that cost for me is $15,840.33. I drove 5998 miles ("par for the course" for an 83yo) or a cost per mile of $2.64.
I guess all this harks back to the days when the teenager would ask "Dad, may I borrow the car, I'll put gas in it" thinking that he has paid up the full cost of his "sojourn". Also, how many know the cost of Depreciation, let alone what it is, which is just as much a cost as "filling 'er up".
But I think this drives home, for a solo traveler, what a comparative bargain commercial transportation is. You have to wonder how many more, likely residing in urban areas, make the decision: "Do I really need a car?".
Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
Same age and roughly the same mileage - did an accounting for my 2006 Mazda 3 which happens to be super reliable with well over 200,000 miles on it. Works out to roughly $.50 per mile.
Best purchase my late wife ever made!
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Mike, while your auto, which lest we forget I've seen, is by now fully depreciated, you have it maintained and repaired at independent garages and only what is needed to keep it roadworthy and/or lawful for local trips. The $.50mi you note could be believable, even though I'll bet it's higher than that.
Here are the items included in my compilation:
Maintenance and repairs. Auto wash, tips, and detailing. Fuel (mine only drinks "champagne") Depreciation Insurance License Subscription (Sirius and Enform) Interest (imputed in my case)
There's how we come up with $2.64mi for my '18 "Lady Lex" with 58K on the clock.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
By the way, go to The Journal's site (or to Mr. Google), search Dan Neil, and see what kind of autos he reviews.
Three guesses and the first two don't count.
Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
Correct in that I don't have depreciation, interest, and subscription expenses. You are aware, though, that I'm much closer to the government mileage rate for business expenses of $.70 per mile than you are.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Mike, you DO have interest; even if imputed just like mine.
Go to Mr. Kelly, look up the wholesale value of your "ride", apply an interest rate to that (say; Prime) and there's your interest cost - even if you own the auto outright.
Subscriptions? "Can't live with 'em, nor without 'em".
What about insurance?
With all the "crazy even if they are ever sober" drivers you have down there, I'll bet that is no bargain. My current 6mo policy is $732.03, which in my case, works out to $.21mi.
Posted by Ocala Mike (Member # 4657) on :
Insurance is actually the biggest single expense item for me (might have to switch from State Farm), and is included in my accounting.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Insurance, Mike, down your way; I'll bet it would behoove some the "rethink" the position "it's a free Lunch" and recognize it is a pooling of all the costs of everybody's losses.
My one time client who resided in Boca (later The Villages; guess to be closer to his "political ilk" and "his game") was driving North in his Bennie S-Class on the 95 somewhere in Martin County when, for whatever reason, the traffic was stopped.
Well, he got "rear ended" by some 19yo in his "rolling total". The kid was so "high on something" , according to the cops, he had no idea what happened.
Phil was "treated and released" at the scene (who knows, or cares, what happened to that kid), but his Bennie was totaled. I'll bet, as Mr. Neil notes in his column, Phil's Bennie would have been repairable. But with all the electronics "hidden here and there", the insurer just "totaled" it. Somehow, after sending it to a legal "chop shop", they weren't "out all that much". Of course, don't tell that to their rating department.
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
Depends on what you want and intend to do. Just made a trip from hone, some 30 minutes drive southeast o the Memphis airport to son's house about 1 plus hours northeast of DFW. Sixty years ago, when it was still mostly two lane highways through every town, it would be a no-brainer. Overnight in coach (Pullman not in my budget) on the Memphis section of the Texas Eagle. Bus of some form probably on both ends or someone taking me to/from Memphis Union Station and Dallas Union Station. Probably 12 to 13 hours door to door. Driving time about the same if not a little more. No hassles, no security, get there anytime more than zero before departure and walk off within a couple minutes of arrival. 2025: Drive 30 minutes to airport, arriving at least an hour before departure to allow for all the usual hassles before getting on the plane. About one hour plus a few gate to gate. Get off, i son picks me up, still about 2 hours of plane to house. Five hours minimum, more likely nearer six. Costs: plane fare plus Uber or if drive to airport, parking. My phone said just under 7 hours driving, all but about 20 miles in limited access highways. With stops, actual was slightly under 8 hours, but no airport hassles, have my own wheels when I get there, decided to take dog. That choice would have really added to the flying hassles and costs. As to costs, when choosing, do not count fixed costs, such things as insurance, "opportunity" costs. These happen even if the car is not moving. Do count milage related items, such as tire wear and maintenance. Heavy but moving traffic, miss Little Rock rush hour. Right choice. Will do it again as long as physically able. On the whole, driving was less tiring than lying. When going to see part of family in California usual is fly.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
quote:Originally posted by George Harris:
As to costs, when choosing, do not count fixed costs, such things as insurance, "opportunity" costs. These happen even if the car is not moving. Do count milage related items, such as tire wear and maintenance. .
Mr. Harris, you DO have a point insofar as deciding whether to leave the buggy in the garage and head by whatever means to MEM. The "overhead costs", insurance, interest, license, and those "invisible" (guess some would say) costs of Depreciation (what's that?) and Interest ("I don't have any interest, I paid it off"), be it real or imputed, will be unaffected. These overhead costs are there so long as one chooses to own a vehicle. If someone chooses to LEASE a vehicle, absent getting into esoteric stuff like Capitalized Leases, Depreciation is replaced by a lease payment (it's not your car to depreciate, lest we forget).
Finally on leasing. If one has a business in which the capital a lease avoids "tying up" ("Nothing Down"), and you anticipate a return on such exceeding that from alternate investments, go for it "with my blessing". Otherwise, just buy the car; you are in control of how long you keep it, and not some lessor. Yes, during COVID, there were instances where one could buy out a leased auto for a fixed price often less than the car would fetch on the market. But that was "short term" and car dealers don't seem to be "pushing" leases on their non-business customers that much at present.
Posted by irishchieftain (Member # 1473) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ocala Mike: Same age and roughly the same mileage — did an accounting for my 2006 Mazda 3, which happens to be super reliable with well over 200,000 miles on it. Works out to roughly 50¢ per mile.
Best purchase my late wife ever made!
So far, on my third Toyota (a 2015 Camry XLE). My first was a 2001 Echo, which I got up to 261K; the person I sold it to did a few repairs and kept driving it, but unfortunately I lost touch with him so I don’t know how long it lasted after that. Second was a 2007 Corolla CE; got that one up to 235K and a relative got it. Never had any problems with the Corolla, whether it was with power windows or AC; can’t say the same when it came to some domestic builds. The Toyotas are some of the best vehicles that run on regular gas, and it sounds like the Mazdas are up there too.
Posted by irishchieftain (Member # 1473) on :
PS. The WSJ is getting less and less factual by the minute. One thing about owning Toyotas that I have discovered is that they do not nickel and dime you in terms of necessary repairs; they actually last, so long as they are regularly maintained.