3 ms·

Even $0.50 per km is pretty bad. With no safety shell. I drive a used Lexus which costs me less that 30 cents per mile all up.

Zigurd 4y ago
It's a faulty comparison: If you drove only in city traffic, your costs per mile would be at double or more. A few hours at highway speed is low-cost. Cost per city journey, including parking, would be a more enlightening comparison. And if you substituted an e-bike for those journeys your car costs per mile would drop.
- kashkhan 4y ago
  Lexus RX 30 MPG on highway 18 MPG on city streets with medium traffic (Denver Metro) So yes city uses twice the gas. But average is 24MPG. I bike (no battery) and it is super efficient for 5-10 miles. My point was ebikes make no sense economically.
  - hnov 4y ago
    Yet. I think part of that is that cars are ubiquitous enough for you to able to buy a fully depreciated, reliable Japanese car for the cost of a decent ebike, we have some of the cheapest fuel in the world and everything is built around cars. I expect economies of scale to kick in with eBikes while cars continue to become more and more expensive to run in dense urban centers.
Zobat 4y ago
Honest question; What's included in those 30 cents? I'm just guessing that that's gas alone, and not including parking, insurance, repairs and depreciation.
- kashkhan 4y ago
  includes all of that (2004 RX330). Gas: 15 cents depreciation and repairs: 5 cents (bought for $4k(180k miles), no repairs (3 years), lasts 300k-400k if driven with care maintenance: 1 cent. $50 oil change every 6 months Insurance: $50/month. 5 cents parking: 0 cents free on the street (live and work in suburbia) even in city find street parking and walk half mile (Denver/Boulder) you could go even cheaper buying a camry.
  - sethrin 4y ago
    > maintenance: 1 cent. $50 oil change every 6 months Sure, that's all the maintenance the average car needs over its lifetime. Totally reasonable comparison.
    - kashkhan 4y ago
      Depends on the car. Don't buy the average car. Buy a car for which it is true. For a Japan made Lexus RX, that's true 90% of the time. In my case it's 100% true. There really is no other maintenance.
      - sethrin 4y ago
        Anything with moving parts requires maintenance, and trying to claim otherwise is absurd — particularly so when statistics to the contrary are readily available. https://repairpal.com/reliability/lexus/rx330 https://repairpal.com/reliability/lexus/rx330
        kashkhan 4y ago
        Your link says: > There is no Reliability Rating for the Lexus RX330 due to insufficient data. and instead quotes average for midsize SUVs. Sure everything breaks down eventually. I presently have 2 RX330s. The way it works is buy for less than 5k (~150k miles). Drive for 100k miles and sell for $2k. which turns out to about 3cents per mile. these cars have great reliability. 300k is safe mileage before repairs become uneconomic. Previously I had a Scion xb which i drove to 375k miles and only disposed because it needed a new catalytic converter. The only repair i did on it was replacing alternator ($100 plus one hour). that car was even cheaper per mile and used less gas. If a car wears out eventually so does a bike.

Zigurd 4y ago

It's a faulty comparison: If you drove only in city traffic, your costs per mile would be at double or more. A few hours at highway speed is low-cost. Cost per city journey, including parking, would be a more enlightening comparison. And if you substituted an e-bike for those journeys your car costs per mile would drop.

kashkhan 4y ago
Lexus RX 30 MPG on highway 18 MPG on city streets with medium traffic (Denver Metro) So yes city uses twice the gas. But average is 24MPG. I bike (no battery) and it is super efficient for 5-10 miles. My point was ebikes make no sense economically.
- hnov 4y ago
  Yet. I think part of that is that cars are ubiquitous enough for you to able to buy a fully depreciated, reliable Japanese car for the cost of a decent ebike, we have some of the cheapest fuel in the world and everything is built around cars. I expect economies of scale to kick in with eBikes while cars continue to become more and more expensive to run in dense urban centers.

Zobat 4y ago

Honest question; What's included in those 30 cents? I'm just guessing that that's gas alone, and not including parking, insurance, repairs and depreciation.

kashkhan 4y ago
includes all of that (2004 RX330). Gas: 15 cents depreciation and repairs: 5 cents (bought for $4k(180k miles), no repairs (3 years), lasts 300k-400k if driven with care maintenance: 1 cent. $50 oil change every 6 months Insurance: $50/month. 5 cents parking: 0 cents free on the street (live and work in suburbia) even in city find street parking and walk half mile (Denver/Boulder) you could go even cheaper buying a camry.
- sethrin 4y ago
  > maintenance: 1 cent. $50 oil change every 6 months Sure, that's all the maintenance the average car needs over its lifetime. Totally reasonable comparison.
  - kashkhan 4y ago
    Depends on the car. Don't buy the average car. Buy a car for which it is true. For a Japan made Lexus RX, that's true 90% of the time. In my case it's 100% true. There really is no other maintenance.
    - sethrin 4y ago
      Anything with moving parts requires maintenance, and trying to claim otherwise is absurd — particularly so when statistics to the contrary are readily available. https://repairpal.com/reliability/lexus/rx330 https://repairpal.com/reliability/lexus/rx330
      - kashkhan 4y ago
        Your link says: > There is no Reliability Rating for the Lexus RX330 due to insufficient data. and instead quotes average for midsize SUVs. Sure everything breaks down eventually. I presently have 2 RX330s. The way it works is buy for less than 5k (~150k miles). Drive for 100k miles and sell for $2k. which turns out to about 3cents per mile. these cars have great reliability. 300k is safe mileage before repairs become uneconomic. Previously I had a Scion xb which i drove to 375k miles and only disposed because it needed a new catalytic converter. The only repair i did on it was replacing alternator ($100 plus one hour). that car was even cheaper per mile and used less gas. If a car wears out eventually so does a bike.