Mojotronica
Expect Irony.
Do you own a car? How much does it cost you a year to own and operate it?
I bought my car used for $9000, and am closing to paying it off. I opted for the shortest possible payment schedule (36mos,) so it works out to about $300/mo -- $3600/yr.
The other costs associated w/ my car are as follows:
FIXED:
$900/year insurance.
$300/year parking.
$85/year registration fee.
$25 (I think)/every four years license renewal fee.
Total = $1291.25/yr.
VARIABLE:
Fuel is my major controllable expense. I'm paying an average of $700/year in gas, at $1.70/gallon, driving 9000 miles a year. Gas prices fluctuate, and my usage is more likely to increase than decrease.
For me, maintenance is the most stressful expense because it is one I have to set aside money to deal with. I have learned, through bitter, painful experience, that part of the responsibility of owning a car is setting aside $1000 to take care of unexpected expenses.
My last round of auto repairs cost me about that. I expect to pay no less than $300/year for oil changes and one tune-up. But maintenance is a cost that can take one by surprise.
Total = $1000 to $2000/yr, depending on how much I drive and what goes wrong.
So for the past two-and-a-half years that I have purchasing it, I have paid an average of $6400/yr or about $530/mo.
Once I have paid it off, that will decrease to $2800/yr, or about $230/mo. I'll be MUCH better off keeping my old car running than buying a new one -- $3600/yr buys A LOT of maintenance, and it's not like I need the flashy bling-bling of a sexy new car...
Sometimes I wish that Seattle had a decent mass transit system. As much as I suck at driving, I really enjoy it most of the time -- but the money I spend keeping my car running would be better spent on beer, if you get right down to it.
Does your city have a decent mass transit system? If you don't have the option of mass transit would you prefer to have it?
Back when I was poorer I used to get very frustrated with the huge cost of car ownership, and even went a couple years without one. I found it had many drawbacks. Not owning a car is sort of similar to being illiterate in a literate society. Everyone kind of expects you to be able to get around. I was stuck living along a bus corridor, and I found that my days were usually consumed with one major activity. With a car I can zip over to one place to do one thing, then zip over to another place to do another.
But I would welcome a decent mass transit system here. I think it's in the spirit of consumer empowerment to be able to choose an alternative mode of transportation. If that's not free enterprise, what is?
I bought my car used for $9000, and am closing to paying it off. I opted for the shortest possible payment schedule (36mos,) so it works out to about $300/mo -- $3600/yr.
The other costs associated w/ my car are as follows:
FIXED:
$900/year insurance.
$300/year parking.
$85/year registration fee.
$25 (I think)/every four years license renewal fee.
Total = $1291.25/yr.
VARIABLE:
Fuel is my major controllable expense. I'm paying an average of $700/year in gas, at $1.70/gallon, driving 9000 miles a year. Gas prices fluctuate, and my usage is more likely to increase than decrease.
For me, maintenance is the most stressful expense because it is one I have to set aside money to deal with. I have learned, through bitter, painful experience, that part of the responsibility of owning a car is setting aside $1000 to take care of unexpected expenses.
My last round of auto repairs cost me about that. I expect to pay no less than $300/year for oil changes and one tune-up. But maintenance is a cost that can take one by surprise.
Total = $1000 to $2000/yr, depending on how much I drive and what goes wrong.
So for the past two-and-a-half years that I have purchasing it, I have paid an average of $6400/yr or about $530/mo.
Once I have paid it off, that will decrease to $2800/yr, or about $230/mo. I'll be MUCH better off keeping my old car running than buying a new one -- $3600/yr buys A LOT of maintenance, and it's not like I need the flashy bling-bling of a sexy new car...
Sometimes I wish that Seattle had a decent mass transit system. As much as I suck at driving, I really enjoy it most of the time -- but the money I spend keeping my car running would be better spent on beer, if you get right down to it.
Does your city have a decent mass transit system? If you don't have the option of mass transit would you prefer to have it?
Back when I was poorer I used to get very frustrated with the huge cost of car ownership, and even went a couple years without one. I found it had many drawbacks. Not owning a car is sort of similar to being illiterate in a literate society. Everyone kind of expects you to be able to get around. I was stuck living along a bus corridor, and I found that my days were usually consumed with one major activity. With a car I can zip over to one place to do one thing, then zip over to another place to do another.
But I would welcome a decent mass transit system here. I think it's in the spirit of consumer empowerment to be able to choose an alternative mode of transportation. If that's not free enterprise, what is?
