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And don't forget to take account of the most expensive cost element of the lot ? your time. Whether you would rather use it for leisure or work purposes, time spent commuting by car or bike is time trapped, time lost.
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And don't forget to take account of the most expensive cost element of the lot ? your time. Whether you would rather use it for leisure or work purposes, time spent commuting by car or bike is time trapped, time lost.
Factored in to my daily rate. On some contracts (like the last one) I've been able to commute by train and have got some work done on the commute and billed accordingly.
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Just sat here and did a few sums. I've included actual depreciation (purchase price less current average condition private Parkers price), actual servicing costs, actual tyre costs, estimated fuel costs (assumed average 38mpg @ average £0.79/l over the last 18 months), RFL and insurance. My car has cost me £0.285per mile since I purchased it.
On that basis my weekly commuting costs £213.75 per week. Fortunately I run my own business and draw £0.40pm for the first 10,000 miles of each tax year and £0.25 thereafter, without having to pay any corporation or personal tax on it, so I don't need to gross the figure up to show a cost on salary.
The good news is that the depreciation curve tends to slacken off whilst servicing and tyre costs should remain fairly static as I tend to get everything fixed on the car at the first hint of wear or trouble, so it can only get cheaper!
Another argument for regular servicing and keeping your car for as long as possible.
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According to What Car? magazine, 42.7p per mile. Anyone that thinks the true cost of running their car is significantly less than What Car? figures are seriously deluding themselves.
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L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I KNOW my car is running at 16-17p / mile 'cos I keep records (even if I assume it has nil residual value - which is not far off for a 105k 95N Xantia TD!).
I live about 30 miles from work, which takes about 45 mins to cover (Scotland, so nice open country roads, nice views, minimal traffic jams - although I did have to overtake a line of 4 HGVs this morning! - no speed cameras :-))) ) which means it's costing £10.20 / day or £2346 / year (based on 46 working weeks). Fortunately I car share and cut this cost nearly in half. The actual 'cost' of commuting is less, as I would have the car anyway and pay the insurance and tax costs.
I NEED to win the lottery....
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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According to What Car? magazine, 42.7p per mile. Anyone that thinks the true cost of running their car is significantly less than What Car? figures are seriously deluding themselves. -- L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
What Car figures only apply if you buy new as they include depreciation. Buy at 1-2 years old and tear the What Car figures up. Mine are based on actual costs incurred and actual depreciation. A bit more accurate than a Journo sat there with his finger in the air guessing at costs.
But what do I know, I've only run the car for 18 months and got all the receipts.
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May I refer the learned gentleman to the following: www.aanewsroom.com/aamotoringtrust/pdf/Motoring_Co...f
This .pdf demonstrates that higher mileage cars show a better pence per mile running cost, primarily due to fixed costs (tax, insurance, cost of capital) and the slackening of the depreciation curve on higher mileage cars.
Now I didn't include cost of capital in my calculation, so lets add £0.01 per mile to my costs.
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Just done the sums for my last 2 cars :-
Cavalier 1.8 : 11 pence per mile
Omega 2.0 : 13 pence per mile.
Well I suppose one of the few advantages of long distance commuting is that it brings the cost per mile down :-/
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It's very expensive if you include the depreciation on a new car, main dealer servicing etc.
However if you use a car which is already a few years old, and have it serviced by an independent (or do it yourself as I do), it's not too bad.
Including everything - tax, insurance, depreciation, servicing, repairs, MOT tests & repairs, flat tyres, consumables, petrol, air fresheners, my 13,000 business miles a year has cost me about 16p/mile over the last three years. (And that's assuming the car is worth nothing now.)
Having a new car just parked in the driveway is going to cost you quite a lot, don't forget. Really a fair price to quote would be the cost of having the car on the driveway, and also the extra cost of every extra mile you drive.
Cheers,
Mark
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>>\'A fair price to quote would be...\'
Depends on whether you are looking at the marginal cost of running a car. i.e. ignoring work which of the following scenarios fits your case?
1. You need a car for shopping, impressing the gf, visiting mistress etc. Therefore you drive an Alfa Tractorwagon.
2. You only need a car for shopping, therefore you drive an elderly Polo which is happy to go to Tescos, but is uncomfortable to go any further.
3. You live above Tescos, so why would you need a car, silly?
Suddenly, you get a job you have to drive to and so need to buy a Tractorwagon. How much extra does your commuting cost in each case?
1. Petrol only. (plus a bit for extra depreciation as your car will have more miles on the clock as a result of commuting.)
2. Petrol the difference in cost between running the Polo 1000 miles per annum and a Tractorwagon for 15000 miles p.a.
3. The full cost of running your Tractorwagon.
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Don't forget to take into account the potential income that you're not getting on the amount of capital you've got tied up in a car as well as the potential income you're not getting from the money you spend on the car.
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L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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As I said, about £0.01 per mile.
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>>Don't forget to take into account the potential income that you're not getting on the amount of capital you've got tied up in a car as well as the potential income you're not getting from the money you spend on the car.
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Included within 'difference in cost between running the Polo 1000 miles per annum and a Tractorwagon for 15000 miles p.a.'
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You can play with the numbers for as long as you want.
I had fun justifying the 911 by working out comparative running costs per mile of our cars. SWMBO (then) only did very low mileages so her cost per mile was horrific, inflated by the fixed costs of servicing, tax, insurance etc. I did relatively high mileages so could run the 5 and the proposed 911 for a total cost per mile much less than her (then) car.
Nevertheless, she had to have a car as she needed to get about and I took my car to work so she couldn't use that. So the cpm figure meant nothing. Nor was it comparable to anyone else because their figures would be wildly different.
Cost per mile figures are only useful in comparing two proposed purchases - i.e. if I buy a Ferrari 360 it is likely to cost me more to run than a Ford Ka. The actual number that YOU get subject to all the factors in YOUR life will bear only a tangential relationship to the number published in the magazine, based on all the assumptions that THEY made.
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Mine was brought 2.5 years old so the WC figures areway out. I keep mega accurate spreadsheet for mine and current running 30P a mile approx. Over 70K miles my last Alfa a 75 cost 22p per mile. Worst was Mondeo Ghia x 2L Auto on an S plate which was 106!
Jim
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