How Much Did You Spend On Your Car?

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

Car owners have a warped view when it comes to their automobile’s cost.

When you ask someone the, “How much did you spend..” question, their usual response is to take the price they paid and just let that be that.

“Oh, I got this Mercedes for $50k.” They then will usually go about telling you the options they chose, and other trivial realities related to the car.

But as we all know, that’s not the question.

I’ve been thinking about this because after several years toiling all over Atlanta with my 1st gen Insight, I am now spending a fair amount of time raiding the local press fleet cars. One car plus one review to write equals one less tank of gas… and a lot of other subtractions.

Less time obviously equals less wear on my primary driver. A 2001 Honda Insight which I bought three years ago for $4100. It had 145k back then.

Today? It has 187k. I do drive about 25k miles a week…. uh… make that a year. But much of that is shuttling other cars to various mechanic and paint shops. The Insight also seats only two people. So when I head off to pick up cars at the auctions, I usually take a car fron the lot.But yes, that’s an expense. At least the IRS sees it that way.

However for the sake of avoiding a calculation that resembles something from NASA, I will simply stick with the usual line items.

Purchase Price: $4100

Depreciation: 0

In Atlanta I could probably sell it for $5000. But I haven’t sold it yet, so I won’t make this a negative number.

Gas: $2300

42,000 / 55 mpg = 763. Gas has averaged about $3 a gallon in Atlanta. Keep up with the SWAG estimating, and you come to a nice round number.

Thank God I no longer drive old Lincolns.

Insurance: $3165

This is where things are simple for most of you, but not me. The Insight is my work vehicle so my dealer insurance covers it as my primary ride. Since I would still need this insurance if I wasn’t shucking cars on the side, I’ll just let my actual insurance expense represent the Insight.

Maintenance: $87

That’s not a misprint. I bought another Inisght for it’s tranny and other related parts a bit over a year ago. Other than five oil changes (mostly free thanks to Bob is The Oil Guy), a tranny fluid change, and two air filters, I haven’t needed to do much of anything else… with maintenance that is.

Repairs: $595

The parts vehicle that I got for it’s tranny cost me $1850. Proceeds from it were $1485. $985 for the shell. $500 for the battery pack. The guy who bought the battery pack also managed to re-balance the battery on a Civic Hybrid which I later sold at auction for a $2500 gain. I won’t include that in the total. Or the good tires and other wear parts that I have for my ride.

We’ll keep it kosher. $1850 – $1485 = $365. Plus $230 for a botched repair (which was all my fault) and the total comes to about $595.

Total: $10,247

So my ride so far cost me about $3400 a year. Sounds good, but then again I’m also in the business.

But what if I wasn’t? What if I spent my days in a classroom? Or a research lab? Or a doctor’s office? What if I could trade in my dealer’s license and aluminum ride for a nice corner office with a Crown Vic parked as close to the nearest exit as possible?

If I lived close to work and remained a gearhead, that Crown Vic may not cost that much more than the Inisght.

What about you? How much has your primary driver cost you? Has it been worth it?

Steven Lang
Steven Lang

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  • Kelly1mm Kelly1mm on Apr 04, 2012

    I have a good one: 1989 Mercedes 560 SEL. Purchased from ebay for $346. To get it running I did an oil change ($30), changed the fuel filter (included w/car), refurbished FPR ($27), and used passenger mirror ($35). Total = $92 To get it registered w/historic plates = $151 total. Insurance for 6 months = $72 (5th car, live in the sticks) Drove it from November 2010-April 2011, 2120 Miles total. Gas @ 12mgg / 2120 = 177 gallons @ $3 per gallon = $531 Total "out of pocket" = $1041 That works out to almost .50 per mile ...... BUT I then sold the car for $650, bringing that down to $391 OOP That works out to $.185 per mile ........ BUT I have a sch C business - all 2120 miles were business miles @ .50 per mile = $1060 in deductions. The cash that saved me was 13.3% SE taxes, + 25% fed income tax, + 5% state income tax = 43.3% = $459 SO, net cost = negative $68. That works out to being paid 3 cents per mile to drive the old w-126!

  • Nickeled&dimed Nickeled&dimed on Apr 04, 2012

    This was eye-opening! I hadn't really sat down and worked it all out before. I use my car for everything, and it's been pretty reliable and (relatively) inexpensive to keep on the road, but after going through all my receipts (4.5 years worth - mostly... I'm certain there's another set of tires that's missing) I figured I spent $21,400 on it, or just about $400 per month. Here's the breakdown: $4500 Purchase: 2000 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon, 104,696 miles $2000 Depreciation: (worth$2500 even with 172k!) $957 Taxes, Title, Registration: To date - $4500 Insurance $3367 "Maintenance" - description below $764 "Repairs" $10,150 "Gas" 67,000 miles, avg 22mpg, avg $3.25 gas (DC area, 8/07-today) "Maintenance" includes: Knock Sensor, Upper Radiator Hoses, Timing Belt (104k miles), Tires & Alignment, Front Rotors, 4 Brake Pads, 2 Rack & Pinion Boots, Rear Tires (before I knew that shouldn't be done on Subaru's AWD), Midas Spark & Tune Package (wires, throttle plate cleaning, timing adj.), Rear Converter Gasket, Replace ACC Drive Belts, Alignment. "Repair" includes: LR quarter glass + re-wire radio antenna to non-glass integrated unit, Exhaust Repair, AC Leak fix + recharge along with other things I did myself, but didn't keep records of - like oil changes! As I keep thinking of things I realize that what I thought of as an inexpensive blah daily driver is actually a pretty serious cash outlay! But! I'm at 11c per mile without "maintenance", 16c per mile with, and 31c per mile with maintenance and gas... Now, for the Prius! We've had it for a year, but I expect the residual value on it is going to be at about what we bought it for.

  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
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