I've always scoffed (with insufferable smugness!) at numbers like these, especially now that I live close enough to my workplace to commute on foot. My car is, as of this year, old enough to take into bars with me, so it's all paid for, and insurance is cheap. I tend to stick to my own corner of town, and my occasional road trips rarely take me more than 3 hours away. But recently, as I contemplated cleaning out my filebox to make room for 2011's paperwork, I started wondering exactly how much my car does cost me.
So I added it all up. Here's what I spent on my car in 2010:
| 689.36 | repairs/maintenance |
| 512.00 | fuel (approximately) |
| 383.40 | insurance |
| 72.00 | half of biennial tags/DEQ fees |
| 57.00 | AAA membership |
| 1713.83 | total auto expenses in 2010* |
*Note belated correction at end of article.
That's nowhere near the national average... but it's definitely more than I was expecting, given how rarely I've been driving of late. I mean, what's up with that repair bill? Well, Baby needed transmission work (always pricey), as well as a new wiper motor. But surely that's not typical? I mean, my car's a nice sturdy Volvo, and it's in remarkably good repair for its age!
I dug back through the archives to figure out what "typical" looks like. Not counting the year I got the car (2004), my average annual output for parts and repair is... $510.68.
Huh. Would not have guessed that. It hasn't been very painful, partly because the money has been there when I needed it, partly because I usually fix my car before it breaks down, and partly because my mechanics are such a pleasure to do business with (seriously, I love those guys). But apparently, if I ever do that "budgeting" thing people talk about, I should be planning to spend over $500/year for auto repair. Good to know.
At my current income-to-expense ratio, $1700 per year ($142 per month) is really not a big deal. But if this is an indicator of the least-expensive end of car ownership,* well, that's still a chunk of cash, isn't it?
* Barring doing your own repairs, of course, which I'm just not about to tackle anytime soon.
Correction, 8/20/12: The insurance rate I listed above was actually for 6 months' coverage, not for the whole year. So the total insurance was actually $766.80, and total costs $2097.16. Apologies for making you all jealous of my fictional insurance rate.
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9 comments:
what about oil changes?
Good question. I actually batched those with repairs (in my experience, only a Volvo mechanic will replace the filter correctly, so I tend to do them at the same time anyway). I've corrected the category name to the more accurate "repairs/maintenance."
Honestly, though, I don't think I paid for a single oil change in 2010. I got a free one with that transmission repair job, and then there were some other transactions involving gifts of beer and cupcakes. Did I mention I love my mechanics?
i figured it was probably included in repairs, but wanted to make sure your numbers were accurate. you pay less overall than we pay for insurance for our two cars, by the way. we're working towards getting rid of one of them though.
Don't worry, I'm not scoffing! It's gotta be tricky to raise a kid without a couple vehicles in the driveway.
yeah, the problem is one is always just in the driveway, and not actually driveable. haha.
Doing your own repairs can be kind to cash-flow, but it's still a huge timesuck. There are MANY DIYs that you could use to help with cash-flow, but it's difficult to find the time and energy to get all that far with that strategy.
Yes. I really like the idea of being The Kind of Person Who Fixes Things, but I have to be realistic about the level of complexity I can reasonably expect myself to tackle, given limited time and energy.
Damn your insurance is cheap! When I had a car I paid twice that. For me getting rid of my car, besides the fact that there was no way I was going to take it across the Atlantic Ocean with me, was awesomest because it reduced my stress factor. I am all about having less things to maintain and think about, which is one of the things that draws me to that whole "simple living" thing. Of course, now I have the luck to live in a place where the public transportation system is a dream. I can't really imagine living in America again without a vehicle that is not a bike.
I am lucky! My parents got me in on a deal where my insurance rate is based on their excellent driving record. Of course, driving an old car also helps keep it low.
A lot of people go car-free here in Portland, Oregon, though the public transit isn't nearly as good as Europe's. I'm not ready to take that step yet myself. But I'm eyeing it thoughtfully.
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