How much does a car really cost?

"Alex87f" (alex87f) 03/24/2014 at 08:54 • Filed to: None

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Here is an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! published over at Autoblog.com, which looks at how much cars really cost to own.

The kicker is that an average sedan driven 15 000 miles per year "will cost its owner over $9,000 per year , which is split between common costs like gas and maintenance and not so obvious things like depreciation and registration costs (among other things)"

It's interesting to have a comprehensive view of how much car ownership costs, and this proves that gas is only a very limited part of the global bill.

It also goes on to point out some other interesting things, like the additional cost of SUV's, which cost around 2 600$ more per year than your typical family sedan. In addition, "buying a size down could save you about $2K a year if driven for 15,000 miles each year".

I can't help but wonder how many SUV-owning households would be willing to re-consider a sedan, knowing that it could save them 2 600$ each year. Same goes for full-size buyers that would be willing to go mid-size instead.

What are your thoughts on this? Any SUV owner willing to share his opinion?

(Image credit: insurancequotesfast.com)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Alex87f 03/24/2014 at 09:00

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Most SUV owners I know swear by them and maintain it's the only vehicle that suits their needs so I doubt this would bother them. The girlfriends parents have a rav 4 and say they bought it over a golf gtd or Bmw 3 series diesel or any other smaller car because the rav 4 is much safer and the other two cars couldn't tow their trailer (the rav 4 has barely more torque and less power than either of those cars). The safety thing is what gets me the most because they bought the SUV then proceeded to buy their only daughter a decade old supermini that has the crash protection of a coke can.

N/A POWAAAHH > Alex87f 03/24/2014 at 09:20

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There's a retarded amount of people where I live (GTA) who have 2 SUVs as the family cars. Which makes no sense, the kids can't be two places at once. I think it may be a status thing, where now everyone drives one, so everyone else has to have one.

Alex87f > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/24/2014 at 10:26

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Haha that doesn't make much sense. A mini's supposedly quite safe for its age, but again an SUV like.. say.. a Rav4, it probably wouldn't come out on top.

I don't have much love for the GTD (because I'd take a GTI) but I'd choose it over the Rav4 a million times.

There are a few SUV owners out there that couldn't do without them, but the vast majority has absolutely no use for it. But since most car salesmen will swear that it doesn't cost more to own than a sedan, they will choose it for the style or because it's "safer" (though safety  passive security). And they'll end up spending a few extra hundred dollars every month, probably without even realizing it.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Alex87f 03/24/2014 at 11:18

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By supermini I meant a 2002 nissan micra which by modern standards is as safe as a wet cardboard box, but yeah the minis are fairly safe cars, I'd rather they'd bought her one of those than the micra...

Most people I know drive diesel and refuse to consider otherwise so the GTI wouldn't have appealed to them. They spend a fortune on running the RAV4, diesel is skirting £1.50 a litre over here and its a 2.2 litre so it ends up high. The thing I find funniest is they bought a third car to have something "sporty" and never drive it, its a 2004 and hasnt hit 20'000 miles yet, if they'd bought a hot hatch they'd have saved thousands of pounds on that extra car alone.

deekster_caddy > Alex87f 03/24/2014 at 11:51

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I have always had a large truck. older dodge ramcharger, 3/4 ton suburban, 1 ton chevy van and most recently an '05 Yukon XL 2500. I had a lot of fun offroading and being stupid in them, but 'back in the day' I drove my '73 Buick on just as many ski trips as my Ramcharger and 'burb and it worked just fine. Tires, gas, brakes all cost more on the big trucks, but also brakes and such lasted longer.

I had my 2500 yuk most recently as we were planning to become 'RV' family with a travel trailer. But after using one a few times, we decided that all the gas we spent could easily pay for a few nice motel rooms. Sold the Yukon last year for a much smaller DD.

As far as big trips, this car (my wife's DD) has gotten us to just as many places as a larger vehicle. 2 kids and an occasional in-law is what we are limited to and that's fine with us. Great on gas.

I still have my '73 Buick which does a fine job at towing my car trailer when I need to:

However I do have the luxury of having multiple cars, so I can leave the big stuff home and use the small stuff for commuting. Having an older big truck sitting around doesn't cost too much. They tend to last okay without turning into rustbuckets, even just sitting around. My Buick stays in the garage now as I'm refinishing it's body panels and it won't see many salted roads in it's future, so we have no use for an SUV. Living in a snowy area, we do put snow tires on all the DDs now that there's no truck option. No looking back though, trucks are gone. Minivans will never ride in our house. The wagon even has a 3500 lb tow rating, enough for a lightly loaded trailer!