This post was such a rousing success the last two years that I just had to do it again this year. And because I am a glutton for abuse from Usenetizens, I'm cross-posting this into my "home" newsgroup, alt.music.rush (geekiest post ever, my big ol' butt!).
The Most Boring On-Topic Post *Ever* (Part III)!
I purchased my 2001 GT Coupe for $24,861.38 on October 31, 2001. As of last Monday, I have had it four years. I have kept meticulous records on my costs for this vehicle. This is my report of those costs as of October 31, 2005, to RAMFM.
The car (El Imán de Chicas):
The car is 2001 Mustang GT coupe, green/tan, leather, automatic transmission, Mach 460 stereo with in-dash six CD changer. Other than replacing the original Goodyear tires with Bridgestone Potenzas at 45,000 miles, no modifications have been made to this car. The car currently has 83,685 miles; it had 259 when I bought it. The car is in good condition. There are no mechanical issues, and only minor cosmetic issues (some pitting on front bumper and the hood and worn spots on the driver's side floor mat). The car was rear-ended in a collision in October 2002, in which the front and rear bumpers and the left-rear quarter panel were damaged. The car was rear-ended again in November 2004. All damaged parts were replaced.
The driver:
I am a married male, 41, with a clean driving record, employed as a systems analyst, residing in Hoover, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham.
The costs:
The costs calculated using actual cash payments are in the left column. The costs using depreciation (from edmunds.com) instead of loan payments are in the right column. The report is designed to be read using a mono-spaced font. If you are having trouble reading it in your newsreader, you can see these figures, as well as a pic of the car, in html format here:
The "note" is $414.35 per month. Insurance coverage is provided by USAA, with $100K/300K/$100K limits. The service payments are for tires and scheduled maintenance only -- there are no out-of-pocket repairs as of this report. The "other costs" are car washes and supplies.
Cash Payment Basis Depreciation Basis
Costs Amount Costs Amount
----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Payments $ 19,474.45 Depreciation $ 15,361.38 Service 1,970.38 Service 1,970.38 Fuel 5,902.06 Fuel 5,902.06 Insurance 4,186.78 Insurance 4,186.78 Tax & License 888.86 Tax & License 888.86 Other Costs 485.62 Other Costs 485.62
----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Total Cash Costs $ 32,908.15 Total Accrued Costs $ 28,795.08 =================================== ===================================
The following section breaks the total costs down by mile and time period.
Cost per mile and time period Cost per mile and time period
----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Miles Driven 83,426 Miles Driven 83,426 Cash Cost per mile $ 0.3945 Accrued Cost per mile $ 0.3452 Daily Cost $ 22.52 Daily Cost $ 19.71 Weekly Cost $ 157.67 Weekly Cost $ 137.96 Monthly Cost $ 685.12 Monthly Cost $ 599.49 Annual Cost $ 8,221.41 Annual Cost $ 7,193.84 =================================== ===================================
Most of the miles driven were for business purposes, and I received compensation at $0.345 per mile through July 2005. In August, the reimbursement rate increased to $0.405 per mile (the current IRS rate is $0.485). For fuel purchases, I use a credit card that rebates a portion of each purchase (3% for fuel, 1% for all other) against future fuel purchases. The following section backs out business miles, mileage reimbursements, and fuel rebates to calculate how much it cost me to drive each personal-use mile.
Adjusted Personal Cost Adjusted Personal Cost
----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Business Miles 54,197 Business Miles 46,101 Personal Miles 29,229 Personal Miles 29,229 Mileage Reimbursements $ 18,946.93 Mileage Reimbursements $ 18,946.93 Fuel Rebates $ 1,248.08 Fuel Rebates $ 1,248.08 "Out of pocket" costs $ 12,713.14 "Out of pocket" costs $ 8,600.07 Personal use per mile $ 0.4349 Personal use per mile $ 0.2942 =================================== ===================================
Observations:
After two years, I was "upside down" on my car. That is, I owed more than it is worth. Last year, I achieved some positive equity in the car. This positive equity has made my adjusted personal cost per mile much higher than the accrual basis. These costs will be recovered if and when the car is sold. The financing contract remains 60 months same-as-cash with 13 remaining payments. Since there is no incentive pay the loan off early, I intent to make all the remaining payments.
The average driver will put between 12,000 and 15,000 miles on a vehicle in a year. I was much higher than average in my first two years, putting 55,370 miles on the car. I drove only 13,942 miles last year and 13,855 this year. Still, my total miles driven are much higher than the average driver's, so the average driver's per-mile cost likely will be higher than mine because of a lower mileage denominator.
Insurance costs steadily increased during the first two years, but finally went down last year and decreased some more this year. My current monthly premium is $67.05. It has been as high as $106.20. My wife got a speeding ticket this year (35 in a 25 -- it was dismissed after attending a one-day defensive driving class), so our rates may go up next year.
In the four-year period, I have 362 gas receipts. My fuel economy for all miles driven is 19.4 miles / gallon, a slight decrease from last year's 19.5. Like last year, this decrease is likely due my not driving as many highway miles as before. For a single tank, it has been as high as 26.9 or as low as
15.5 MPG -- both figures are outliers and are likely due to errors. Averaged over any ten consecutive fill ups, the high was 25.6 (an increase from last year's 23.5) and the low was 17.9 (a decrease from last year's 18.7) MPG. My average per-gallon gas cost was $2.287 this year, a considerable increase from last year's $1.633.