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This is supposed to be a forum where people think a little... You extrapolated depreciation due to age on a new car (which isn't anywhere near the same later),

This is supposed to be a forum where people think a little... You extrapolated depreciation due to age on a new car (which isn't anywhere near the same later), full coverage insurance that seems grossly over priced anyway (that people change to lower coverage as a car becomes worth less), taxes and fees that are not as high by the time a car is older, and you added $12000 of finance charges on a $20000 car. It does not cost $9k a year to drive a used Honda Civic. Also, I don't take my Silverado to LA unless I want to for fun. I usually take my Chevy Volt. I'm never taking a train unless maybe I'm going down there to buy a vehicle and drive or ride it back.

bombcar 3y ago
It’s the same bad math that says it costs $250k to raise a kid so the family down the street with five kids must have access to $1.25 million.
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  Exactly. I'm from the central valley, where the less money you have the more kids you have and the happier and more fulfilled you and your kids seem. My GF teaches in a popular silicon valley suburb where the average parent makes $300k+ and the kids are either insane, depressed, autistic, sociopaths, or 4 years behind on their reading and math levels.
- eesmith 3y ago
  Yes, that's why cherry-picking a Honda Civic reaching 200K miles is an outlier which does not provide insight on the average vehicle operating cost per mile. It's also bad math to say the only cost to driving 383 miles is the fuel. If you would believe talldatethrow's math, you should get a job driving your car for a CA state job. You would get reimbursed $0.625 /mile for something which costs you no more than $100/383 miles = $0.26/mile. The extra $0.37/mile at 30 mph is an extra $10/hour of income. I don't think the government is really that generous, do you?
  - talldatethrow 3y ago
    1, I used a Honda Civic because its a great car. If you choose to run this experiment with a NICER car, you've already proven that you are ok paying a premium for luxury or 'premium' experience. Thus, you're clearly ok spending extra for a nicer experience of being in your nice car and not having to park, wait, ride, rent car, return car, wait, etc. And I assure you, I know many people that get paid miles for using their personal car for work, and flat out consider it a source of income because of how favorably it is paid out.
eesmith 3y ago
> due to age on a new car As I wrote, I chose a used car. As I wrote, I have no idea what expenses are needed to get a car to 200K miles, and it hardly matters for this discussion, does it?, as very few people do that. The point of showing the breakdown was to highlight that maintenance for the car you showed was more than the fuel cost, which is why your original estimate, based only on fuel cost, did not reflect the true price of driving a car that distance. I do know that it's unwise to consider only gas money as the cost to get somewhere. There's a reason GSA mileage reimbursement is $0.67/mile and California's is $0.625 /mile. You show your math for why your numbers are correct. And remember, you can't look at the cost for a car which reached 200K miles and assume that's the normal cost, because it excludes all Hondas which were scrapped before then, eg, because any damage or repairs needed were not economically worthwhile. > I usually take my Chevy Volt. You have at least two cars, neither of which is a Honda Civic? Did you pick a Civic because you knew it was an outlier of some sort? You have plenty of money - enough to afford at least two cars. Of course a free high-speed rail trip would do little to change your mind; you aren't affected by costs in the several hundred dollar range.

bombcar 3y ago

It’s the same bad math that says it costs $250k to raise a kid so the family down the street with five kids must have access to $1.25 million.

talldatethrow 3y ago
Exactly. I'm from the central valley, where the less money you have the more kids you have and the happier and more fulfilled you and your kids seem. My GF teaches in a popular silicon valley suburb where the average parent makes $300k+ and the kids are either insane, depressed, autistic, sociopaths, or 4 years behind on their reading and math levels.
eesmith 3y ago
Yes, that's why cherry-picking a Honda Civic reaching 200K miles is an outlier which does not provide insight on the average vehicle operating cost per mile. It's also bad math to say the only cost to driving 383 miles is the fuel. If you would believe talldatethrow's math, you should get a job driving your car for a CA state job. You would get reimbursed $0.625 /mile for something which costs you no more than $100/383 miles = $0.26/mile. The extra $0.37/mile at 30 mph is an extra $10/hour of income. I don't think the government is really that generous, do you?
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  1, I used a Honda Civic because its a great car. If you choose to run this experiment with a NICER car, you've already proven that you are ok paying a premium for luxury or 'premium' experience. Thus, you're clearly ok spending extra for a nicer experience of being in your nice car and not having to park, wait, ride, rent car, return car, wait, etc. And I assure you, I know many people that get paid miles for using their personal car for work, and flat out consider it a source of income because of how favorably it is paid out.

eesmith 3y ago

> due to age on a new car As I wrote, I chose a used car. As I wrote, I have no idea what expenses are needed to get a car to 200K miles, and it hardly matters for this discussion, does it?, as very few people do that. The point of showing the breakdown was to highlight that maintenance for the car you showed was more than the fuel cost, which is why your original estimate, based only on fuel cost, did not reflect the true price of driving a car that distance. I do know that it's unwise to consider only gas money as the cost to get somewhere. There's a reason GSA mileage reimbursement is $0.67/mile and California's is $0.625 /mile. You show your math for why your numbers are correct. And remember, you can't look at the cost for a car which reached 200K miles and assume that's the normal cost, because it excludes all Hondas which were scrapped before then, eg, because any damage or repairs needed were not economically worthwhile. > I usually take my Chevy Volt. You have at least two cars, neither of which is a Honda Civic? Did you pick a Civic because you knew it was an outlier of some sort? You have plenty of money - enough to afford at least two cars. Of course a free high-speed rail trip would do little to change your mind; you aren't affected by costs in the several hundred dollar range.