John de Rosa asked me via email to add this comment:
"""
I wanted to comment on this, but I can¹t, because commenting is disabled on
plope.
Your car math is way wrong. A car¹s cost per mile is far more than the cost
of gas. You have to consider depreciation, service, insurance, parking, etc.
If you own a relatively new car, the cost/mile to drive is easily
$2.00/mile. If your car is around 10 years old, it might be $1.00/mile if
you¹re lucky.
So, Amtrak is a clear winner.
I keep meticulous records of my vehicle, which is 12 years old. I¹d be happy
to share numbers from the past couple of years, if it would help to convince
you. And I encourage you to review your past year¹s auto expenses (It¹s easy
if you use Quicken or some such...) and reconsider your Amtrak comparison.
Could you put this up as a comment on your post?
Regards,
John DeRosa
"""
costs per mile
Posted byjensat
2008-12-25 04:07 AM
I recently read a German comparison test that broke down costs to Euro-cents per Kilometer for a selection of new cars, including all possible expenses (gas, insurance, tax, depreciation, etc) and based on an average annual mileage. The cheapest car was the base-model Smart with the smallest engine, and it came to EUR 0.27/km, which would be about 55 cents/mile. This amount would be a little less in the US as there are lower taxes and insurance costs.
Incremental costs
Posted byianbat
2008-12-25 09:11 PM
While the total cost for a car might be higher, for an individual trip the choice is rationally made only on the incremental cost -- that is, the extra cost of making that trip vs. not making that trip by car. Gas isn't the only cost, but depreciation wouldn't be included, nor would all the service costs, nor insurance (unless perhaps these trips bump you into a higher mileage and rate for insurance, but that's unlikely).
Unless this trip is somewhere close to the tipping point for whether Chris will own a car or not, factoring in the complete cost of the car isn't a proper analysis.
"""
I wanted to comment on this, but I can¹t, because commenting is disabled on
plope.
Your car math is way wrong. A car¹s cost per mile is far more than the cost
of gas. You have to consider depreciation, service, insurance, parking, etc.
If you own a relatively new car, the cost/mile to drive is easily
$2.00/mile. If your car is around 10 years old, it might be $1.00/mile if
you¹re lucky.
So, Amtrak is a clear winner.
I keep meticulous records of my vehicle, which is 12 years old. I¹d be happy
to share numbers from the past couple of years, if it would help to convince
you. And I encourage you to review your past year¹s auto expenses (It¹s easy
if you use Quicken or some such...) and reconsider your Amtrak comparison.
Could you put this up as a comment on your post?
Regards,
John DeRosa
"""
I recently read a German comparison test that broke down costs to Euro-cents per Kilometer for a selection of new cars, including all possible expenses (gas, insurance, tax, depreciation, etc) and based on an average annual mileage. The cheapest car was the base-model Smart with the smallest engine, and it came to EUR 0.27/km, which would be about 55 cents/mile. This amount would be a little less in the US as there are lower taxes and insurance costs.
Unless this trip is somewhere close to the tipping point for whether Chris will own a car or not, factoring in the complete cost of the car isn't a proper analysis.
Replies to this comment