How much do you spend each year on gas?

[tradephoric]

One thing I've discovered with my data is that most of my costs are overhead costs...that the cost of owning the car is significantly more than the cost of using the car.

True, especially if you have a car you don't drive much.  I only drove 2904 miles last year on my non-daily driver and total expenses were $1,478.  The insurance and registration becomes a big percentage of total expenses when you don't drive it very much.  The car had been sitting for 8 years and took a lot of work to get it back on the road.  That's why the Service & Maintenance numbers were so high for so few miles driven.  Here was the breakdown:

Total Cost - $1,478
Gas - $361
Service - $200
Maintenance - $364
Wash - $26.48
Registration - $105
Insurance - $420

Total Fuel:  170.44 gallons
Distance 2904 miles
Fuel consumption 19.17 mpg
Average Cost per Mile $0.51

[jeffandnicole]

Wow...$420 for insurance.

You definitely don't live in New Jersey!!

[sparker]

Since I live so close to work (<3 miles), my normal weekly gas bill has been about $18 (accounting for recreational and shopping trips); of course, if I'm going up to Berkeley or SF on a weekend (about once every 6 weeks or so) it goes up to about $30.  So figure 43 weeks at $18 and 9 weeks at $30, plus one trip up to Sacramento every 3 months to consult with a business partner (extra $35) and my yearly trip back down to Hesperia/L.A. (figure $225-250 on top of everything) -- it comes to between $1400-1500 annually for gas (at least that's what I put on my tax return).  Sportage with a pretty big 4-banger; gets about 26-27 on the road and 19-20 in town (realistically).

Wow...$420 for insurance.

You definitely don't live in New Jersey!!

When I hit 65 a couple of years back, my insurance dropped from its previous $1100+ down to a more reasonable (for an urban CA location) $670.  Guess they figure us old farts drive more conservatively/safer.  Luckily, I haven't had a citation since the late '80's, so that probably was part of the equation. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Wow...$420 for insurance.

You definitely don't live in New Jersey!!

I was down that low when I was living in Florida at one point when I had just one car.  Really more than anything else it just depends on your zip code and the statistics associate with it in addition to your own driving record.  I pay about $1,200 right now for both cars in California. Probably helps I'm in the Central Valley or that might be closer to $1,500. 

[Otto Yamamoto]

I've often wondered how those who don't own cars manage to drag home a crapload of groceries or other personal necessities via public transportation. It's bad enough cramming them into your own vehicle.

As for me, I have a 60-mile daily commute (30 miles one-way). My primary vehicle gets around 24 mpg. So that means I'm burning around 12.5 gallons of gas a week. So, at the current price of gas (around $2.40 here now) that means I can expect to spend $1,560 just to get to work in a year.

Given the recent OPEC production cutback, I fully expect gas prices to continue to rise until such time that the incoming administration can reverse some of the outgoing administration's policies to increase domestic production.

I tend not to go anywhere on weekends if I can keep from it. Unless I'm going roadgeeking somewhere, or have to run an errand on Saturday (veterinarian visits, usually), I'm often not back in my car from the time I get home on Friday until I head back to work on Monday.

In NYC it's shoe leather express and a large shopping cart. Aldi and Target are in reasonable walking distance from my apartment.

STV100-2

[roadman]

Don't have detailed records, but I've been doing some quick math:

For the driving I do, my 2012 Focus averages 34 mpg combined city/highway.  In the three years I've owned the car, I've put just over 15,500 miles on her.  That's approximately 456 gallons of gas.  At a conservative price of $2.70 a gallon, that works out to $1,232.  Divide by three, and it's about $411 a year in gas.

[corco]

I don't have my 2016 year end details available yet, but in 2015 I spent $2,323 on fuel.

That was broken between a 2015 VW Golf, a 2002 Jeep Liberty, a 2001 Honda Accord, and several rental cars.

I now  have my 2016 year end details,and I spent $2,243.29, minus I think two fillups I paid cash for in Eastern Europe. Split between a 2015 VW Golf, a 2002 Jeep Liberty, and several rental cars. So...very consistent!

[busman_49]

I put a spreadsheet together, mainly to track my MPG on my 2002 Cavalier...  from May 11, 2015, through May 5, 2016, I spent $1404 on gas (I drive about 85 miles a day to and from work).  Average cost I paid per gallon was $2.06.  Average MPG for the year was 30.75

[Bruce]

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Though my transit pass gets pretty expensive ($8 daily or $100 monthly).

[SignGeek101]

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Though my transit pass gets pretty expensive ($8 daily or $100 monthly).

Same, but my university has a universal transit pass that all students who live in the city (including those on residence) must pay for, regardless if you take the bus or not. Those who drive have to pay for a parking pass as well as this U pass. For me though, it means equivalently spending about $30 a month for bus passes, eight months of the year. Pretty good.

Makes me wonder how many other schools have a similar system going.

[briantroutman]

Same, but my university has a universal transit pass that all students who live in the city (including those on residence) must pay for, regardless if you take the bus or not. Those who drive have to pay for a parking pass as well as this U pass. For me though, it means equivalently spending about $30 a month for bus passes, eight months of the year. Pretty good.

Makes me wonder how many other schools have a similar system going.

From my wife (a Pitt alumnus) and my brother (a current Pitt student), I know that students at the University of Pittsburgh need only flash their student ID cards to ride any form of Port Authority Transit absolutely free.

Of course considering PAT's financial situation, it's safe to say that truckers hauling freight from Carlisle and commuters driving home to Lansdale are actually picking up the tab.

[slorydn1]

How are you guys tracking your car expenses?  Excel spreadsheet, smartphone app?

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/mustang/2014/slorydn1/265225

[Mr_Northside]

From my wife (a Pitt alumnus) and my brother (a current Pitt student), I know that students at the University of Pittsburgh need only flash their student ID cards to ride any form of Port Authority Transit absolutely free.

Of course considering PAT's financial situation, it's safe to say that truckers hauling freight from Carlisle and commuters driving home to Lansdale are actually picking up the tab.

I'm pretty sure that the University pays PAT for those, as opposed to PAT just giving them away.

[briantroutman]

From my wife (a Pitt alumnus) and my brother (a current Pitt student), I know that students at the University of Pittsburgh need only flash their student ID cards to ride any form of Port Authority Transit absolutely free.

Of course considering PAT's financial situation, it's safe to say that truckers hauling freight from Carlisle and commuters driving home to Lansdale are actually picking up the tab.

I'm pretty sure that the University pays PAT for those, as opposed to PAT just giving them away.

I'm sure that's true on paper, but considering that 50-60% of PAT's funding each year comes from the Act 44 payments made by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the notion that the university or its students are actually "paying their way"  is basically a fiction. In other words, if not for PA Turnpike travelers being gouged on tolls, Pitt wouldn't be able to afford the actual cost of the transit services its students and employees use.

I'm not making a value judgement–you could easily argue that this diversion of funds is a good thing–although other people would be lined up to argue the opposite.

[jakeroot]

Makes me wonder how many other schools have a similar system going.

I think most urban universities have deals with public transit. It's a common incentive to discourage students from bringing their cars with them to uni.

Just off-hand, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver metro systems all offer student passes, either free, or at a deep discount.

[Mr_Northside]

if not for PA Turnpike travelers being gouged on tolls, Pitt wouldn't be able to afford the actual cost of the transit services its students and employees use.

I'm also positive that they [Pitt & PAT] have had this setup long before either Act 44 or Act 89 were ever passed.

If the overall point is that transit in general needs to be subsidized (the notion that it can't pay for itself based on fares alone), then fine - but that applies to all riders in general, Pitt students aren't any more special.

[kkt]

Hm.  About 8,000 miles a year, at 22 mpg = 364 gallons a year.  At $2.40 per gallon, that's about $870 per year.  Figures from memory, I have a notebook in the glove box where I write down gas/maintenance but it's not with me now.

I've often wondered how those who don't own cars manage to drag home a crapload of groceries or other personal necessities via public transportation. It's bad enough cramming them into your own vehicle.

I've had a car available for a long time now, but there was a long time when I didn't.  Obviously, you don't buy a crapload.  A bag every couple of days, instead of six bags in one trip once a week.  Take a handbasket through the grocery store; if I get tired of carrying it in the store, I know it's time to stop shopping and check out.     A grocery store was about three blocks from where I lived at the time.

[jeffandnicole]

Hm.  About 8,000 miles a year, at 22 mpg = 364 gallons a year.  At $2.40 per gallon, that's about $870 per year.  Figures from memory, I have a notebook in the glove box where I write down gas/maintenance but it's not with me now.

I've often wondered how those who don't own cars manage to drag home a crapload of groceries or other personal necessities via public transportation. It's bad enough cramming them into your own vehicle.

I've had a car available for a long time now, but there was a long time when I didn't.  Obviously, you don't buy a crapload.  A bag every couple of days, instead of six bags in one trip once a week.  Take a handbasket through the grocery store; if I get tired of carrying it in the store, I know it's time to stop shopping and check out.     A grocery store was about three blocks from where I lived at the time.

Can't you just stick the shopping cart on the bike rack in front of the bus?

[kkt]

Hm.  About 8,000 miles a year, at 22 mpg = 364 gallons a year.  At $2.40 per gallon, that's about $870 per year.  Figures from memory, I have a notebook in the glove box where I write down gas/maintenance but it's not with me now.

I've often wondered how those who don't own cars manage to drag home a crapload of groceries or other personal necessities via public transportation. It's bad enough cramming them into your own vehicle.

I've had a car available for a long time now, but there was a long time when I didn't.  Obviously, you don't buy a crapload.  A bag every couple of days, instead of six bags in one trip once a week.  Take a handbasket through the grocery store; if I get tired of carrying it in the store, I know it's time to stop shopping and check out.     A grocery store was about three blocks from where I lived at the time.

Can't you just stick the shopping cart on the bike rack in front of the bus?

The bike racks are made to hold bikes, not carts.  I think they're the wrong shape.  Also, you have to lift the bike about a foot off the ground to get it onto the rack.  No problem for a bike, but a full cart that would be a challenge.

Some people get large baskets for their bikes.  One on each side of the rear wheel and another in front, carry three big bags.

[Duke87]

I've often wondered how those who don't own cars manage to drag home a crapload of groceries or other personal necessities via public transportation. It's bad enough cramming them into your own vehicle.

In my years of accessing the grocery store on foot I would simply never buy more in one visit to the store than I could carry at once, and then lug them home from the store on foot. Said store was within walking distance so no public transit was required. Of course, it helped my case that I was only shopping for myself. If I were buying groceries for multiple people this way I would need to invest in a shopping cart.

Personally, I rather dislike that I now live in a place where there is no large supermarket within walking distance. If I'm driving a car I want to be in it for a while, parking it and getting back out again 5-10 minutes after I started it is mentally jarring - like going to take a relaxing shower and then shutting the water off just as it's getting nice and hot.



As for the original question, I have ceased keeping detailed records of my miles and fuel purchases for my new car but I can firmly say that the cost of fueling my vehicle in 2015 (last year for which I have complete data) was $1,998.11 for 24,601 miles. This was for a 2011 Nissan Sentra and while I live in a major city the bulk of those miles were from road trips (I never used that car to commute).

This figure includes money contributed by others to put gas in my vehicle, as well as miles I drove the car for work that I got reimbursed (in the form of X cents per mile, not directly for gas) for. It does not include money I contributed to put gas in the vehicles of others.

[hbelkins]

Shopping carts are not supposed to be taken from the store's property. Or at least that is the case around here.

[SignGeek101]

Shopping carts are not supposed to be taken from the store's property. Or at least that is the case around here.

You could just buy one...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/4-Wheel-Jumbo-Folding-Shopping-Cart-Black/10929356

[briantroutman]

Shopping carts are not supposed to be taken from the store's property. Or at least that is the case around here.

There's a bit of a divide between what suburban and rural people think of as a "shopping cart"  and what urbanites envision. I'm assuming they weren't talking about this:



Some people who live in the city will buy folding shopping carts like the one below to wheel their purchases home from the neighborhood market. From my experience, though, it carries the stigma of being an "old lady"  thing.

[SignGeek101]

Some people who live in the city will buy folding shopping carts like the one below to wheel their purchases home from the neighborhood market. From my experience, though, it carries the stigma of being an "old lady"  thing.

I would agree with that. Still wouldn't stop me from buying one though if I didn't have a car and the store was within busing or walking distance.

[Roadgeekteen]

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