How do you calculate the cost of driving?

[GoodSense]

I am wondering how others calculate the real cost of driving. I haven't seen this on other threads but please point me to the link.

I have always figured that it costs $0.30/mile in my 1999 Lexus, which gets about 20 miles/gallon. My math is as follows:

1. Gas: 20 miles/gallon at $2.60/gallon => $0.13 /mile
2. Maintenance: $600/year for 12,000 miles => $0.05 /mile
3. Cost of buying a car: $18,000 for roughly 150,000 miles => $0.12/mile

Total = $0.30/mile

I know the IRS deductible rate is higher, but I figured that’s more for tax reasons.

I was going to drive 500 miles roundtrip to see family over Christmas, which realistically would cost $150. I found that the bus fare is less than $100. Given the prediction for bad weather, I think it’s a better choice.

So how do you calculate the cost? Did I miss anything?


(Sorry, I don't know what happened to the font! )

 

[REWahoo]

Did I miss anything?

I don't see anything about the "cost" of who you could be sitting next to on that bus vs. in your car...

 

[MasterBlaster]

I would include the following just for fun:

1) registration fees
2) The carrying costs (opportunity costs) of having capital tied up in your (used) car.
3) Insurance costs
4) parking and tolls (if any)

 

[scrabbler1]

You left out the cost of auto insurance, a big cost. If you drive 10,000 miles a year and pay $1,000 a year for your insurance (yes, both can vary a lot depending on what you use your car and where you live, etc.), then that will add $0.10 a mile.

In some areas, you will pay a car tax every year. You may pay costs for registration and inspection and drivers license. You might pay to park your car, at your residence, at a parking lot (i.e. train station), or at your workplace.

You might pay highway and/or bridge and tunnel tolls to get to or from where you are going.

And if you are unlucky, you might get traffic or parking tickets

 

[GoodSense]

Ahhh, insurance! How could I possibly forget that! It's a big chunk of $$$.

OK, now with all the other costs others have suggested, it's more like $0.40/mile.

I just hope I don't have to sit near someone who smells bad, or a crying baby.

 

[FUEGO]

For go/no-go decision-making purposes on a particular trip or whether to substitute another mode of transport, I look at it from an economist's standpoint:

Marginal cost of car usage.

so:
1. Gas: 30 miles/gallon at $2.50/gallon => $0.083 /mile
2. Maintenance: $600/year for 12,000 miles => $0.05 /mile

Or $0.133/mile for each additional mile I drive. For a 300 mile round trip, that is roughly $40.

The auto insurance, tax, registration, tag, inspection and depreciation* are all "sunk costs" that will occur regardless of whether I drive a million miles this year or 1 mile. Since I don't drive a lot, some of my maintenance is a fixed cost, since I do some maintenance items based on time between services instead of mileage. Add tolls in the calcs if applicable to your area.

* Technically the more you drive a car the more you depreciate it since it wears out more. But my car is at the age where the cost of depreciation per mile driven is very low. If you have very new cars and trade frequently, or have a leased car with a mileage cap, your economics will be different.

I have to make business trips for work occasionally, and I get reimbursed $0.55 a mile (in 2009), so with a marginal cost around $0.13 a mile, I know I am making a killing (tax free) on the mileage I get. Hence I don't mind driving my personal car for work.

 

[kaneohe]

It's a bit tricky too how you think about a cost of an additional trip because you have both variable and fixed costs.......once you buy the car and insurance/registration, the cost to drive an additional mile is probably a lot less since it only involves the variable costs like gas and maintenance. The cost of the car could be considered a fixed cost if you trade in every few yrs since depreciation will occur even if you don't drive it. It might be considered a variable cost tho if you own it forever and every mile you drive it reduces its life.

 

[scrabbler1]

Some insurance companies charge you more if you drive more, not necesarily on an incremental basis. But if you drive 15,000 miles a year, you may pay more for your insurance than if you drive 5,000 miles a year. Furthermore, using your car to drive to/from work will raise your insurance coasts than if you drive it for "pleasure use."

[Before I retired last year, I worked for 23 years in the actuarial department of a trade group representing insurance companies, specializing in personal auto insurance.]

 

[haha]

I see it like Wahoo. Have you been in any bus terminals lately? Lots of drug dealing and other nasty items to be wary of. Your actual variable costs of this trip are minor, to me it would be drive unless the weather angle is pretty bad.

And imagine getting marooned with a bus full of typical Hound-Riders. Yikes!

Ha

 

[kumquat]

I see it like Wahoo. Have you been in any bus terminals lately? Lots of drug dealing and other nasty items to be wary of. Your actual variable costs of this trip are minor, to me it would be drive unless the weather angle is pretty bad.

And imagine getting marooned with a bus full of typical Hound-Riders. Yikes!

Ha

Or maybe this guy?

 

[GoodSense]

Yeah I read the scary story. I figured that chances are pretty small I will be decapitated, and it could happen at a gas station or a shopping mall, too.

The weather was the main driver. There is predicted to be 20 inches of snow, mixed with rain, which will then turn into sheer ice. I don't have an SUV. I think I'll be safer on the bus even with less desirable travel companions.

 

[brewer12345]

I don't.

 

[kumquat]

If your weather prediction comes true, you'll be spending Christmas on the bus. Take lots of food and drink.

 

[Bimmerbill]

I don't either. Gotta drive to work, no way around it. I keep pushing for the telework option, but nothing is set up yet.

 

[Walt34]

There is also the added value, for whatever price you choose to put on it, of being able to follow your own schedule and have a vehicle at the destination.

And if I had to sit next to a stinky street person or crying baby for 500 miles on a bus they'd better pay ME! I can't imagine what situation would make me so desperate to get somewhere that I'd put myself in that position.

Given the choice of 500 miles of snowy driving or staying home I'd take the latter.

 

[brewer12345]

If your weather prediction comes true, you'll be spending Christmas on the bus. Take lots of food and drink.

Make sure you have enough to share.

 

[FUEGO]

I took the greyhound from the east coast to the mexican border waaay back during college. It was an experience. I spent roughly half a day sitting next to an ex-con that literally just got released from prison that morning (10 year stint for attempted murder - stabbed somebody half to death but "she needed stabbing" ). Other than the hour or so he spent continuously informing me of the location of the best donkey shows and "boys towns" in all the mexican cities along the border, it was a pleasurable encounter. Interesting fellow that I would never have encountered otherwise. He had some interesting stories and added a lot of flavor to an otherwise at times bland trip.

Then there were the multiple times heavily armed police, DEA and/or immigration police boarded our bus to check for illegals, drugs, etc. At one point in Fayetteville, NC the bus station manager even had the courtesy to belligerently berate us that if we had drugs, they were bringing the dogs on the bus and you are going to prison. No one admitted to it and no dogs came on the bus, so it was clearly an idle threat THAT time. Thank goodness for my blanco skin, since that was a get out of jail free card in a later encounter with drug sniffing dogs (no crime was committed FYI)!!

It was an experience. Kinda reminded me of riding the school bus during high school, except Greyhound didn't have as many shady characters on it. My wife still swears the seats caused her to have achy knees.

 

[RonBoyd]

A [-]clumsy [/-] awkward Google Search on "cost of vehicle" +calculation produced this:

What that car really costs to own

 

[smjsl]

Couple comments in addition to what was said before (sorry if I missed them). Don't know how you'd value these but...

Pros of driving:
- It's faster. In my experience bus trips take ~ twice as long on the road (depending on extra stops), not to mention extra variable time waiting at the platform.
- It gets you where you want to go, instead of having to transfer to local transport, or having someone wait for you on the other end.

Pros of going by bus:
- Safer (driving wise) - I trust bus drivers skills more than I trust myself (plus in case of accident it may help being in the larger vehicle and not in the one getting squished)
- You can read something or listen to something and just relax instead of worrying about slippery road ahead

 

[ls99]

I don't.

+1.

I keep track of mileage, out of habit and curiosity and a the fun of of seeing how many miles per $. Which varies with gas price mostly.

Our supermarket owns a few gas stations and we get some cents off on gas depending on what we spent in the market. Have gotten gas for as low as 20 cents/gal recently, typically in the $1/gal savings range if save the credits long enough. Mostly the savings go to DW's car since she does most of the shopping.

ADD: having worked in the transit business, I know what critters/bugs are in the seats. Especially the last row.

 

[GoodSense]

Fuego, thanks for the story! The longest bus I've taken was 13 hours in Central America. In the US the longest was 8 hours overnight.

The most awkward bus ride I've ever been on was in Guatemala, going from Guatemala City to Rio Dulce, about 5.5 hours long. The Guatemala guy sitting next to me was very interested in me, even though I told him I was married (but I was travelling solo). I pointed to my ring and said "no" numerous times. He was incredibly patient in his attempt to converse with me, even though I didn't understand 75% of what he was saying. Then he began to tell me a story, and all I could get out of it was that there was a tiger and a crocodile in it. Finally before he got off the bus, he told me that if my marriage didn't work, I should call him. Haha. It was flattering and awkward at the same time. Would have been better if it was only half an hour, though. I had to feign sleep most of the time to avoid a conversation with him.

 

[GoodSense]

Trip Report

I arrived in my destination with my head intact!

The greyhound station was a zoo, overcrowded with luggage and holiday travelers. They had Tyra Bank's show on -- I can't stand the people she has on that show. It turned out most of the people were going to Chicago. My bus, headed in a different direction, was only about 25% occupied. It was a slow ride. We left the station 1.5 hours behind schedule, and took a 20-minute dinner break that was not on schedule. I ended up in my destination 3.5 hours after the predicted time.

Thanks for all your concerns.

 

[Koolau]

Ahem! As I recall the original question regarded cost of driving. I've seen several articles over the last couple of years indicating (with average driving - probably 12K/year or so) costs are in the $.50/mile range. That seems to be about right for me. Of course, you could buy a cheap POS and fix it yourself and get your transportation for less. But, assuming a late model car with average bells/whistles, $.50/mi is a good guestimate. Of course, and as always, your mileage may vary, heh, heh, heh.

 

[scrabbler1]

Back to the insurance costs for a moment. The age of the driver, especially if male, will have a big effect because male drivers under 25 pay a lot more for insurance than those over 25. I recall my premium droping by about 50% when I turned 25 (ages ago). Young female drivers don't pay as much as young male drivers but the gender gap had closed a little bit over the years.

 

[FUEGO]

Fuego, thanks for the story! The longest bus I've taken was 13 hours in Central America. In the US the longest was 8 hours overnight.

The most awkward bus ride I've ever been on was in Guatemala, going from Guatemala City to Rio Dulce, about 5.5 hours long. The Guatemala guy sitting next to me was very interested in me, even though I told him I was married (but I was travelling solo). I pointed to my ring and said "no" numerous times. He was incredibly patient in his attempt to converse with me, even though I didn't understand 75% of what he was saying. Then he began to tell me a story, and all I could get out of it was that there was a tiger and a crocodile in it. Finally before he got off the bus, he told me that if my marriage didn't work, I should call him. Haha. It was flattering and awkward at the same time. Would have been better if it was only half an hour, though. I had to feign sleep most of the time to avoid a conversation with him.

I guess I'm an eternal optimist. I look back fondly on that 3 day, 2 night bus trip back from the Mexican border. Great scenery, interesting people. I remember the leg from Atlanta back to my home town. There was an immigrant from Mexico that had given up looking for work in ATL and was headed to my city. He had heard there was plenty of jobs and lots of opportunities there. We conversed for hours and I gave him some tips on where to live and work, and got to practice my spanish in the meantime. Leaving behind friends, family, language and culture and striking out on your own to find wealth for you and your family was a pretty powerful notion at the time.

The one crappy thing about the bus ride was the gastrointestinal issues I had acquired during my journeys in Mexico. Extremely clean the Greyhound bus restrooms were not. At least frequent trips to the mobile bathroom interrupted the occasional monotony of the voyage.

And my wife (at the time girlfriend) was with me, so I luckily didn't have to fight off any aggressive latina ladies! This bus ride was a weed out test to see if the DW would stick with me through thick and thin.

(sorry to threadjack, but it is your own thread so no harm I guess! Glad you got to your destination safely and more or less on time)