Car Total Cost of Ownership Comparison?

Hive mind. Do any of you have or know of a vehicle total cost of ownership comparison spreadsheet that I could use?

I got a new job and my commute is going from ~18,000 to ~30,000 miles per year. The WRX is paid for and I like it an all that but it gets 23mpg Average. This will be a large amount of gas and maintenance. I would like to compare my monthly/annual costs moving forward of it and some possible alternates. I know I could create my own spreadsheet to calculate up things like maintenance, fuel use, insurance, depreciation etc. but that's harder than asking if anyone has such a thing.

If you find one, don't try the numbers on an Audi. May break the spreadsheet.

What is the commute?

Doesn't Edmunds.com have such a thing?

I'm working on getting one, hold on

55 miles roundtrip most days but some days may be as much as 120miles plus night/weekend stuff which was about 12000 mikes last year (yikes I drive a lot). Yes I am entertaining a volt as a replacement.

Dan, what is your email address? Either write it in your next post or send it in a PM on cicenet, otherwise I won't get it.

55 miles roundtrip most days? Might want to consider an iMiev if you can live with the go-cartness (it is not a "nice" car). Obrien Mitsubishi in Normal was offering insane lease deals, as in $69 a month. Might be worth a phone call.

nocones underscore 625 at yahoo

No spaces, underscore is _

A pure electric won't work I want to only have 1 car and use it for all driving including trips of longer than 55miles. I would be surprised if a iMEV+backup car would compare favorably to something like a Fiesta ecoboost or such. I want some amount of fun with my penalty box but I am willing to tolerate more penalty box than fun for a serious reduction in operating costs.

You have mail.

Well, you might not have mail. I cc'd my home address, and it isn't there. So if you don't, sorry, and I'll send it again on Monday.

I have one, but it's integrated into my regular budgeting and MPG tracking multipage spreadsheet, so it's not something that easily breaks out into individual parts.

For whatever it's worth, my '03 TDI (purchased new) currently costs me between 12-15 cents per mile, including fuel, maintenance, registration and insurance, averaging a bit over 30K miles per year. When I was still making payments on it, the number jumped up to between 24 and 36 cents (the 36 cents was a bit artificially high as it coincided with the first timing belt change, for which I bought a lot of expensive tools). Oh, this also includes whatever monies I get reimbursed for work related travel, which generally averages a couple of hundred a year.

There is an android app called aCar that does alot of the TCO calculations I was looking for. Being on my phone, its alot easier for me to keep track of.

I have one, but not with me, I'm currently traveling. I'll see if I can pull something up when I get back if this thread is still active.

I will say, (for me anyway), it almost always works out that the lowest cost of ownership is a 30mpg beater purchased for like $1000-2000, or the cheapest hybrid you can get. TDIs like above are a good option as well, if you have a highway commute, and diesel isn't expensive where you live.

A lot of people forget to include depreciation, insurance, property tax, registration, etc.

Edit Also, best possible TCO (I did this and was well under 10 cents per mile)

• purchase reasonable mpg beater
• drive 20k miles
• get rear ended
• accept insurance monies
• do not fix
• drive another 20k miles
• sell for more than you paid

start stockpiling late 90's Cavaliers with the bulletproof 2.2 and a 5 speed and as few options as possible- keep at least 2 of them on hand so you have a backup- just insure the one you are driving at any given time as needed...

i paid $400 for my first one and it was getting just under 40mpg by the time i sold it.. it got me back and forth to a job that was 65 miles each way 6 days a week for 6 months with only one dead fuel pump as the only real expense other than oil changes and gas.. and it wasn't a rattlecan deathtrap- they are pretty solidly built, if maybe a bit cramped for my 5'11", 245 pound frame... i've heard rumors that the Pontiac Sunfire version gets slightly better mileage due to better aero, but i've never had one of those since they tend to cost more and be beaten harder because they are more sporty..

I have a 2012 WRX I bought in Jan 1st 2012 and it had almost 50,000 miles now.

Maintanence has been almost nothing in cost. The gas is a different story, I drive 80mph on this 75mph highway and get the same MPG as you, worse on this uphill section where I can get as lot as 18, but I can afford it.

WRX depreciation is very low so long as it's under 60,000 miles. I was considering trading my car in for something else since have changed my mind. Instead i'm selling my motorcycle and am buying a 2nd car to share commute with. Probably a W30 MR2 but i'm still waiting to get another copy of my title for the bike from our state since I lost it in my move.

If you like bikes buy one of those and do a dual commute. I bought one and found that I hated it but most people seem to not. You can get a motorcycle for cheap and they get ridiculous mpg.

Can you not carpool at all? Where I work nobody wants to despite we all live near eachother and that annoys me. I think more companies should have carpooling programs like the last place I worked. Where I am it's in the middle of a desert and like 45 miles from civilization

In reply to novaderrik:

You must drive slow and have very low standards. I got more like 28 average in a 96 Sunfire coupe with the 2.2/5 speed. It would pull 40 at 65 with the cruise on, so not typical first shift work commute driving. You could hit the nasty rumble strips they put in at country intersections that kill more than 3 people a year and watch the whole friggin dash jump up and down an inch. Definitely a rattlecan. The seats sucked too.

I can't think of anything a Corolla can't do better for the same money.

Hey Dan, I found a sheet I made from several years ago(I had gas listed at $2/gal ). I'll email it to you now.

ProDarwin wrote: I have one, but not with me, I'm currently traveling. I'll see if I can pull something up when I get back if this thread is still active. I will say, (for me anyway), it almost always works out that the lowest cost of ownership is a 30mpg beater purchased for like $1000-2000, or the cheapest hybrid you can get. TDIs like above are a good option as well, *if you have a highway commute, and diesel isn't expensive where you live*. A lot of people forget to include depreciation, insurance, property tax, registration, etc. *Edit* Also, best possible TCO (I did this and was well under 10 cents per mile) * purchase reasonable mpg beater * drive 20k miles * get rear ended * accept insurance monies * do not fix * drive another 20k miles * sell for more than you paid

+1. beater car challenge. highest mpg possible, worst looking, and make it run for ever. 300,000 miles is just entering the commuting beater community.

True, though the beater is only the cheapest possible ownership cost if you can mostly fix it yourself. For non-DIY types these cars don't end up making sense after you factor in tow trucks, getting screwed by unscrupulous mechanics, etc.

IMO, if you have SOME mechanical skills and a place to work, the cheapest possible car to own is probably any Tercel, Corolla, or Civic 5 spd from the '90's. High mpg on regular unleaded, reasonable parts cost (lots available used too), simple mechanics, legendary reliability (these are the cars that built the reputation that these companies maybe no longer deserve!), cheap insurance, and they are done depreciating so if you buy well in the Fall you will be able to drive it for years and sell in the Spring (tax refund time) for more than you paid.

EDIT: Forgot maybe the biggest financial bonus to beaterdom, liability insurance on a beater is usually hundreds, if not thousands less a year than full coverage on a regular newer car. Random unscientific example: my 2007 Fit is $400/yr. more expensive to ensure than my 1988 C1500.

I'm wanting new or nearly new. I have the ability but lack the desire and time to do a beater. Also want the comfort/safety of a more modern economy car vs those of 10-15 years ago.

I'm hoping for something in the 12-17k range. The wrx is paid off and I would be wanting to put a few grand back in my pocket with the change.

Honda Civic, 06+. My dad dd'd one for about 4 years and it paid itself off just in gas savings against his f150 within two years. Zero big maintenance, if he didn't average 38mpg a tank, my mom drove it. 99% highway, Toledo to downtown Detroit nearly every day. Sold it for $5k last March with over 150k on it. His was an LX coupe, the Si's are a big jump in refinement, power, and fun, with a negligible gas mileage difference.

In reply to gofastbobby: ???

Kenny_McCormic wrote: In reply to novaderrik: You must drive slow and have very low standards. I got more like 28 average in a 96 Sunfire coupe with the 2.2/5 speed. It would pull 40 at 65 with the cruise on, so not typical first shift work commute driving. You could hit the nasty rumble strips they put in at country intersections that kill more than 3 people a year and watch the whole friggin dash jump up and down an inch. Definitely a rattlecan. The seats sucked too. I can't think of anything a Corolla can't do better for the same money.

i do have low standards as far as appliance beater cars go, but of the 3 Cavaliers i've had (97,98, 04), the only one that was an unreliable rattletrap POS was the '04- and that had the lowest miles of the bunch... maybe a Corolla could do better, but there are none of them around here more than a few years old and Cavaliers are everywhere...