The Real Cost of Automobiles

(Potential Savings: several thousand
dollars per year)
Ahhh....the automobile. Certainly it’s
part of the North American dream. The
status, the freedom, the liberty; doesn’t
the automobile give us these? But what
is the cost? First there is the cost of
the automobile itself. This depends on
your taste. If you are just looking for
freedom and liberty then a $1500 junker
will do. If you want status too then you
might be willing to shell out $50,000 or
more. Then there are other costs: fuel,
insurance, registration, and repairs.
When all of this is added together you
probably spend several thousand dollars
a year on your automobile. Then there
is the cost to the environment. Nobody
has put together a convincing per capita
cost estimate on the environmental cost,
but it may be as much as the automobile
itself. It might even be more.
There are alternatives. If you live in an
area with a good public transportation
system, it may make more sense to
use it most the time and just rent a car
for long trips. Many frugal people use
public transportation or car pool to go
to work or school and then use an old
low-cost automobile for local trips like to
the grocery store. For long distance trips
they rent a car with unlimited milage.
But if you can get along with out the car
entirely, your costs radically drop and
your health radically increases (see the
cost comparison table). Using a bike or
your feet to get places is healthy, good
for the environment and the ultimate in
frugality.
Some other costs that could also be
associated with owning an automobile
are the cost of parking (might be as
much as $2000 per year) and the
foregone interest of the money used to
purchase a vehicle.

Scrooge