Have you calculated your cents/mile costs?

[GasSavers_Ryland]

Originally Posted by theclencher

In MN you need insurance even if you have collector plates.

Wisconsin only requires auto insurance if you are under 18, or have had your lisence suspended for DUI, last I checked I think there were 18 or 20 states that still didn't require insurance.
I do have car insurance, and I used to have motorcyle insurance, but I would be paying as much on my motorcycle as I do on my car, and have less coverage, and it would go way way up if I wanted bodly injury coverage, and even with that would only cover $1,000 of medical bills, so I droped it, it's a 125cc 200lb motorcycle that tops out at 60mph.

even with a moped getting 100 mpg, and costing $1,000 new, you will still spend over 12 and a half cents per mile if you own it for 10,000 miles, then add on tires, oil, light bulbs... sure it will be cheaper then alot of cars, and parking is cheaper (at least here state law asks that you park them on sidewalks when there is room) and alot more fun, so if the choice is a sports car, or a moped, get a moped, besides, girls love them.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by Ryland

even with a moped getting 100 mpg, and costing $1,000 new, you will still spend over 12 and a half cents per mile if you own it for 10,000 miles, then add on tires, oil, light bulbs... sure it will be cheaper then alot of cars, and parking is cheaper (at least here state law asks that you park them on sidewalks when there is room) and alot more fun, so if the choice is a sports car, or a moped, get a moped, besides, girls love them.

Only if you toss it off a cliff after 10,000 miles. Even those new $800 50cc mopeds will probably be worth $500 after a year/10k miles the way gas prices are. Three oil changes, along with an air filter, maybe fuel filter, and maybe... tires could be from a hundred to a few hundred, and insurance would be the most expensive part. But even w/ all that I think it'd only be ~7-10 cents per mile. When you get into the used market, the depreciation will be very small compared to the other costs, so the cost will probably drop by a few cents.

[GasSavers_DaX]

Wow, there are states that don't require insurance? That's nuts!

I thought the same thing when I learned that most states can sell alcohol on Sundays!

[kickflipjr]

Originally Posted by DaX

Wow, there are states that don't require insurance? That's nuts!

I thought the same thing when I learned that most states can sell alcohol on Sundays!

You can't buy alcohol at grocery or convenience stores in Pennsylvania. You have to go to specific beer/alcohol stores.

[Golf3r]

Originally Posted by theclencher

6-8 cents/mile total? How?

I figure, the only ways to beat 11.1 cents/mile are:
*have a vehicle that appreciates in value (can't think of any daily drivers that do that)
*pay less for maintenance (not likely)
*pay less for gas than I do (not likely)
*have cheaper insurance than I do (not likely)
*get better FE than I do (likely, but not that big a cost, really)

Ultimate cheap car (assume mom and dad aren't paying for it for you!)
*got for free somehow; or, it is one of those rare cars that appreciates even while you rack up the miles (can't think of what kind of car that would be)
*you do your own mechanic work, or it's such a great car it doesn't need any
*you do your own oil changes and none too often either
*you can get free or very cheap parts
*it can have a collector plate
*you qualify for cheap insurance and only put liability on if that's cheapest
*you have a diesel and scrounge your own free waste vegetable oil to fuel it

*what else can knock the bill down?

The chevrolet prizm actually appreciated 2,000 dollars over the past few years due to it being an exact clone of the toyota corolla (same engine, wheelbase, tranny, etc). I believe the only chevy thing on the car was the radio and the emblems. Just though i'd say that

[Lug_Nut]

My 1997 VW Passat wagon (with gasoline V6) was on a local Craig's for a month at $3300.
I removed the V6 (sold for $500) and installed a diesel (cost $800).
I realistically think I could sell the car within 24 hours for in excess of $5000, or within a week for over $7000.
And my 1969 is still worth over 3 times its initial sales price (not adjusted for inflation).

[GasSavers_Ryland]

Originally Posted by omgwtfbyobbq

Only if you toss it off a cliff after 10,000 miles. Even those new $800 50cc mopeds will probably be worth $500 after a year/10k miles the way gas prices are. Three oil changes, along with an air filter, maybe fuel filter, and maybe... tires could be from a hundred to a few hundred, and insurance would be the most expensive part. But even w/ all that I think it'd only be ~7-10 cents per mile. When you get into the used market, the depreciation will be very small compared to the other costs, so the cost will probably drop by a few cents.

problem is, alot of the mopeds, and scooters run very small high speed 2 stroke engines, and altho the good ones have parts to rebuild them avalible, the $800 scooters normaly don't have any parts avalible, at least not the brand new ones that I've worked on.
so a scooter or moped might still be good after 10,000 miles, but they are not built for the long haul, suspention pivits are normaly steel on steel without greese zerks, shocks get replaced as a unit not rebuilt, the frame is stamped sheet metal with spot welds... I haven't seen very many with 10,000 miles on them.


And on the topic of cars going up in value, it happens, I owned a 1982 vw pickup truck, the ones based off the rabbit, owned it for a number of years and sold it for more then I paid for it, and I haven't seen one sell for even close to as little as I sold mine for.
my civic VX, I figure I could sell it for $500 more then I paid for it on Ebay two years ago, same with my CRX HF, or '83 civic DX, really, the question should be, unless you plan to own a vehicle for the rest of it's usefull life, why wouldn't you choose one that is going to go up in value if you take care of it?

[jwxr7]

I just figured out that my geo has, or is close to paying for itself thru gas savings . This is compared to the buick it replaced that got 27 mpg regularly. My geo only cost $250 though .

[GasSavers_DaX]

Dollars per mile is really where it's at for me. Saving money is the main (only?) reason I'm a gas saver.

Just an update to my current $/mile. The attached chart is only $/mile due to gasoline purchases for the time that I have kept records. The red dashed line is a running average.

My $/mile has actually increased by $.02/mile since April (previously $.11 per mile). Here's the breakdown in $ per mile:

Gasoline: $.0599
Maintenance (estimated $160/yr): $.0129
Registration (estimated $48/yr): $.0039
Insurance (estimated $420/yr): $.0340
Depreciation ($1500 / 68,000 miles): $.0221

TOTAL: $.1328