03 January 2014

The True Costs of Having an Automobile


Again with a low Sunday (a work day for me) of -24 it looks like I picked the wrong week to sell my car and use my bicycle as the main mode of transportation.  But luckily, I live close to the bus line and the church is too; I can ride in comfort!  

Nevertheless, I am anticipating an increase in the daily availability of cold hard cash.  How so?  True, my wallet will not look like a George Kantanza wallet filled with money (rather than sugar packets, napkins, & etc.) but I do expect a savings each month.  I will no longer have to pay for auto insurance, gas, and maintenance costs.   I will have to pay for some bus tickets, bike maintenance, & tools.  But what was the true cost of having a car?

This week I calculated how much having an automobile cost me.  I bought the car I sold used for roughly $6,500.  Shortly afterwards and throughout the last few years I put roughly $5,500 in repairs for the car: new brakes, tires, battery, oil pan (nola roads), alternator, axle kits (nola roads again), and such.  Plus the maintenance, gas, and insurance costs made for an additional $5,000.  Which means the monthly average cost for having the car I sold on Saturday was $358.  The cost for my bike, commuting gear, and tools >$1,000.  Bus cards?  Possible rental car costs for special trips?

C02 savings - weekly totals forthcoming.

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