The Cost of Ownership

Are we addicted to oil? Are you? Am I?

First there was a post on the excellent Bike Hugger blog, featuring a picture of a Local Bike Shop’s novel advertising banner (reproduced, left - click through to read their original post), and then quickrelease.tv just posted this analysis from Canada of the true $cost of car ownership. All of which got me thinking . . .

. . . so I fired up Numbers to see what my figures would come out like.

Quite shocking really. Here are my costs:

• 12,000 miles / year: £4,834, or £3,374 excluding fuel costs
• 14,000 miles / year: £5,156, or £3,453 excluding fuel costs
• 16,000 miles / year: £5,478, or £3,531 excluding fuel costs
• 18,000 miles / year: £5,801 , or £3,610 excluding fuel costs

So if for last weekend’s trip to Wales I’d not owned a car, but hired one instead, my costs would have been:

• £101 for 4-day hire + £98.56 for fuel = £199.56

It actually cost me £277 once the costs of owning a car rather than hiring one when I needed it were taken into account.

If I didn’t own a car, I’d have to change a few things in my life. But would it really be that inconvenient? When I need one for longer trips, I can easily hire one (it’s just a matter of getting organised - what I supposedly teach others to do for a living!), and most local trips can either by done by bike, on the metro, in a taxi, or just aren’t actually necessary. And with between £3,374 and £5,801 in my pocket to cover those costs, how could I not end up better off financially?

Oh, yeah, I’ve just remembered. All that money would probably end up getting spent at the bike shop before I’d traveled anywhere at all

Filed under: Climate Change, Environment, Global Warming, Ranting