Cheap, innit?

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theclaud

Openly Marxist
Location
Swansea
Petrol, I mean. Well, diesel in this case, but the point stands. Those of us who don't own a car often forget just how ABSURDLY cheap it is, what with all the unaccountable bleating that goes on about the price of it, so I just thought a little reminder wouldn't hurt, and that casual/habitual motorists might like the opportunity to reflect on the fact and thank us all for the subsidy.

I borrowed a van from work for ten days' holiday. Two instances of picking people up from the station (six miles away); a bit of ferrying round town; six people, six bikes and all their gear transported to the holiday destination eighty miles away in the sticks via winding, hilly Welsh roads; an evening trip for three to the Titley Jazz Festival; about four group trips to nearby towns; a sag/relay wagon for three family bike rides; an early lift for someone to a railway station 20 miles away; a trip to the recycling site; transport for all back to Swansea; everyone dropped off at the station this morning.

£65! Ridiculous!
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Petrol, I mean. Well, diesel in this case, but the point stands. Those of us who don't own a car often forget just how ABSURDLY cheap it is, what with all the unaccountable bleating that goes on about the price of it, so I just thought a little reminder wouldn't hurt, and that casual/habitual motorists might like the opportunity to reflect on the fact and thank us all for the subsidy.

I borrowed a van from work for ten days' holiday. Two instances of picking people up from the station (six miles away); a bit of ferrying round town; six people, six bikes and all their gear transported to the holiday destination eighty miles away in the sticks via winding, hilly Welsh roads; an evening trip for three to the Titley Jazz Festival; about four group trips to nearby towns; a sag/relay wagon for three family bike rides; an early lift for someone to a railway station 20 miles away; a trip to the recycling site; transport for all back to Swansea; everyone dropped off at the station this morning.

£65! Ridiculous!

+ cost of purchase
+ Interest on the loan
+ depreciation
+ insurance
+ tax
+ Parking fees
+ Penalties for missing your parking by 2 minutes
+ Tolls
+ Damage repair
+ Maintenance

Burrowing a car is chaep. Owning and running one isnt quite so cheap
 
U

User482

Guest
+ cost of purchase
+ Interest on the loan
+ depreciation
+ insurance
+ tax
+ Parking fees
+ Penalties for missing your parking by 2 minutes
+ Tolls
+ Damage repair
+ Maintenance

Burrowing a car is chaep. Owning and running one isnt quite so cheap
Depreciation is largely voluntary. Penalties are entirely voluntary. Loan/ interest is voluntary. "Tax" is mostly voluntary.

You are confusing the cost of a car with the cost of an expensive car.

All in all, motoring is extremely cheap when compared to getting around by public transport.
 
OP
OP
theclaud

theclaud

Openly Marxist
Location
Swansea
+ cost of purchase
+ Interest on the loan
+ depreciation
+ insurance
+ tax
+ Parking fees
+ Penalties for missing your parking by 2 minutes
+ Tolls
+ Damage repair
+ Maintenance

Burrowing a car is chaep. Owning and running one isnt quite so cheap

Oh - I forgot to add how absurdly cheap the parking is as well. 50p for an hour in the nearest town, and 30p in another (slightly bigger) town nearby. You're not serious, are you, about the parking penalties? That's not a cost of motoring, any more than a speeding fine is.
 
OP
OP
theclaud

theclaud

Openly Marxist
Location
Swansea
I dont understand, are you suggesting we all just "burrow" cars...I think we'd need to live in tottenham or Brixton to do that right now

That was your typo, not mine. I'm not suggesting anything - I'm just offering motorists a space to sit back and think about how good they have it. With a cup of tea and a bacon butty, perhaps.
 

Norm

Guest
I made a similar point to someone I worked with at my last job, after something I read on here.

He was bleating on about the price of fuel as he drove about 85 miles each way. As an aside, his mileage was all paid by the company.

Anyway, I asked whether he fancied coming out on the bike, as he kept on about me commuting 20 miles a day. He fell perfectly into my trap when he said he couldn't make it up the first hill. "Doesn't that make fuel seem cheap, then. It transports you, your lazy ass and 2.5 tonnes of safety cell up several hills without any extra effort from you, and it carries you 170 miles a day for under £20?"
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Penalties are entirely voluntary. You are confusing the cost of a car with the cost of an expensive car.

All in all, motoring is extremely cheap when compared to getting around by public transport.

Penalties are Mostly voluntary...I've had 3 that were dismissed by a judge at adjudication. each were given totally without grounding or justification.

They still cost me a day off work each and a bag of time to prepare, chase and collate sufficient evidence. Even though I had committed no offence.

but I take your point about expensive cars, although i find very cheap cars to be a false economy (for me...in my role) as the repair costs and inconvenience of not having the car (whilst being fixed) would cost me too much
 
U

User482

Guest
Penalties are Mostly voluntary...I've had 3 that were dismissed by a judge at adjudication. each were given totally without grounding or justification.

They still cost me a day off work each and a bag of time to prepare, chase and collate sufficient evidence. Even though I had committed no offence.

but I take your point about expensive cars, although i find very cheap cars to be a false economy (for me...in my role) as the repair costs and inconvenience of not having the car (whilst being fixed) would cost me too much

If the penalty was dismissed then you didn't pay it. Hence it was voluntary! And I suspect your example is unusual - I've received only one parking ticket in my entire life (which was a fair cop).
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Oh - I forgot to add how absurdly cheap the parking is as well. 50p for an hour in the nearest town, and 30p in another (slightly bigger) town nearby. You're not serious, are you, about the parking penalties? That's not a cost of motoring, any more than a speeding fine is.

£4 an hour in London. £6.00 in some parts. Plus £8 congestion charge. see my earlier regards penalties
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
If the penalty was dismissed then you didn't pay it. Hence it was voluntary! And I suspect your example is unusual - I've received only one parking ticket in my entire life (which was a fair cop).



I did pay for it, I paid in lost time, earnings and holiday entitlement...through no fault of my own. I suspect you and I use our cars (or rather used to use our cars) in an entirely different way.

I used to drive over 40,000 miles a year, parking on average 3 times a day at different locations In different towns for long periods (whilst running project meetings that ran on and on).

Until the advent of pay by phone I was always having to go out and top up the meter. But you are correct this was a choice…I could have chosen to pay for an extra hour that I may not have needed.

Any how, going back to the OP, I agree Petrol is cheap by comparison to public transport and cabs etc…My point is that there is more to it than that for most people considering owning a car
 

siadwell

Guru
Location
Surrey
"Doesn't that make fuel seem cheap, then. It transports you, your lazy ass and 2.5 tonnes of safety cell up several hills without any extra effort from you, and it carries you 170 miles a day for under £20?"

That's not fair. He probably had to move his right foot a bit.
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
+ cost of purchase
+ Interest on the loan
+ depreciation
+ insurance
+ tax
+ Parking fees
+ Penalties for missing your parking by 2 minutes
+ Tolls
+ Damage repair
+ Maintenance

I don't consider any of these a real problem.

I buy a car once every 15 years and do about 250,000 miles in it. Got £50 for the last one so just assume no value left at the end. At present prices for one that will do that that's about £1200 a year depreciation.

Buy what you can afford after saving up for it (including any mileage allowances received from HMRC/ Work etc). Interest is then paid to you while the money's accumulating. You don't pay any.

Drive to avoid collisions, lock it, etc. and with a bit of luck insurance costs stay below £300 a year while young enough for fully comp, then less. Same goes for damage repair unless it's vandalism or caused by uninsured or hit and run drivers. If you have guaranteed NCB then claim for it.

Tax (VED) is lower with more economical cars, at the moment I pay a hundred and something a year.

Penalties for parking, lousy driving, vehicle faults such as tyres are all optional. You choose whether or not to incur them. Don't you own a wristwatch? I did get a parking ticket once, in Eastbourne in about 1986.

Tolls are generally good value for use of an expensive capital asset. Usually cheaper than driving round them.

Maintenance - can't help new tyres, servicing, and other consumables like brake parts and shock absorbers any more than you can with a bike or even a hand cart. Some other bits come down to driving style.

I think TC is right. When looked at sensibly driving and running a vehicle is cheap. That's why there are far too many of them on the roads.
 
U

User482

Guest
I did pay for it, I paid in lost time, earnings and holiday entitlement...through no fault of my own. I suspect you and I use our cars (or rather used to use our cars) in an entirely different way.

I used to drive over 40,000 miles a year, parking on average 3 times a day at different locations In different towns for long periods (whilst running project meetings that ran on and on).

Until the advent of pay by phone I was always having to go out and top up the meter. But you are correct this was a choice…I could have chosen to pay for an extra hour that I may not have needed.

Any how, going back to the OP, I agree Petrol is cheap by comparison to public transport and cabs etc…My point is that there is more to it than that for most people considering owning a car

Aye, but the OP was a response to the sort of complaint one hears quite often - that fuel's too expensive. It isn't!
 
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