Cost per KM or per Mile

[OnMyWay]

Yes, I am a data nerd.

I had been thinking about how much it costs to drive around in my Trailblazer.  Why?  We were considering hiring a tutor but we would have to fetch her and return her.  12 km each trip X 2 trips = 24 km for each 2 hour session.  Her rate was high too.

I use Microsoft Money for all my income and expenses, and have data from many years back.  It was easy to do some quick calcs.

I paid 1,425,000 for the TB in 2015, and estimate it's worth about 700,000 now, so my depreciation is about 725,000.

My total expenses for diesel, repairs, insurance  and maintenance are 431,072.  Total expenses with depreciation, about 1,131,072.

About 75,000 km driven.  That works out to be about 15 pesos per KM.  So acting as a taxi for the tutor would cost about 24 km  X 15 = p360 per day plus my time, about 30 minute each trip.  That is exactly that same driving that I used to do to take my daughter to her school, because the tutor would be picked up / dropped off at that school.  However, I usually would use the Honda Brio and that cost should be less.

In dollars and miles, that is about 50 cents per mile.

Seems high to me, but according this AAA data in the U.S., not bad. 

https://newsroom.aaa.com/tag/driving-cost-per-mile/

BTW, we found another tutor that we don't have to fetch.

[Joey G]

5 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I use Microsoft Money for all my income and expenses

Dude I wish they still had Microsoft Money, it was great!!!!  I have a cheap laptop PC but lost MM on the transfer... now I'm using Quicken 2007 on a Mac... mainly because MM got discontinued... and now if I update my OS I will lose that... everyone wants to do a monthly subscription :(  I'll be down to Excel and paper again soon enough 

On the tutor....  IDK... but compared to the cost of a private school in the US... you're still probably on the positive side of the equation.

 

[Mike J]

Sounds about right to me.  About 10 years ago my company would pay us 42 cents per mile if we used our personal vehicles for business travel.  Many people do not realize the full cost of owning a vehicle on a per mile basis.

[GeoffH]

Sounds about right to me also (and yes I miss Microsoft Money too, quick books and MYOB are over complicated for personal use).

3 years ago when I retired we were allowed to claim 65 cents per kilometer (AU).

 

Depreciation is a killer when it comes to cars, our Innova E auto cost 1,410,000 peso 2 years ago and I think it will follow a similar path to your trail blazer (I'm hoping to get 10 years out of it).  I haven't kept a file with on going expenses like you did (I should have!). 

 

It's one of the reasons I wouldn't buy a Chinese car in the Philippines, the depreciation would be a LOT higher than with a japanese brand (not to mention parts availability after a few years and just try selling a 5 year old chinese car if you needed to head back to your original country.  And yeah I'm aware that some of them drive pretty well now and are better equipped at the same price point but in my opinion they're not there yet (they're like Hyundai 20 years ago I think).

 

[Tommy T.]

19 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

It's one of the reasons I wouldn't buy a Chinese car in the Philippines, the depreciation would be a LOT higher than with a japanese brand (not to mention parts availability after a few years and just try selling a 5 year old chinese car if you needed to head back to your original country.  And yeah I'm aware that some of them drive pretty well now and are better equipped at the same price point but in my opinion they're not there yet (they're like Hyundai 20 years ago I think).

 

Are there Chinese cars here in the Philippines? All I see are Japanese and Korean cars with a sprinkling of American. Personally, I have owned Hondas and Mazdas in the past, and generally, they last almost forever. They seem to be so much better than American built cars. I have dumped a pile of money into the Mazda in the past two years, but now it is pushing 120k kms... The engine is still strong and I just like the design and feel of the car so will keep it a while longer. It was almost like buying another car with steering pump, transmission, alternator replacements. Even with a 4 cylinder engine, I buy a tank of gas every week at P2,500/per... But the mechanics did find and fix an oil leak that was costing me a lot for replacement oil...

I miss US$.25/gallon gas and $.50/quart oil...

[GeoffH]

3 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Are there Chinese cars here in the Philippines? All I see are Japanese and Korean cars with a sprinkling of American. Personally, I have owned Hondas and Mazdas in the past, and generally, they last almost forever. 

<SNIP>

I miss US$.25/gallon gas and $.50/quart oil...

 

The Chinese are pushing hard into the Philippine market but how many they are actually selling... probably not that many but the dealer networks are growing. 

Give it a few years and I suspect that will change.  I'm boring... Toyota are a bit overpriced and a bit under specced but resale is hard to beat and parts availability is easy.

As to the US gas and oil prices we Aussies have had to pay 'world parity' gas prices for a few decades now (it was claimed to be a measure to encourage more economical cars and preserve Australias limited gas and oil reserves) but most people think it was more about tax revenue.

Gas prices in the Philippines and in Australia track fairly closely (the world parity aussie pricing is based upon Singapore wholesale prices I think?).

 

 

[GeoffH]

*edit* double posted

Edited September 26, 2020 by GeoffH

[Dave Hounddriver]

5 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Are there Chinese cars here in the Philippines?

Yes.  They are in the Dumaguete market with a pickup truck called the Foton Thunder.  Nice looking truck and a bit cheaper than similar trucks.  Not sure if they also have "cars" but probably do.

Edit:  As to the cost per mile of driving, there are so many variables to consider.  If you buy a 3 year old car and run it until it is 10 years old (for example) then your depreciation over the time you own it will be less than if you buy a new car and run it for only 3 years.  Also, there is an optimum number of miles per year.  If you drive it less then your cost per mile will be more than someone who gets maximum use out of their vehicle.

Thus, considering the original post, one would have to figure out the cost per year when picking up the maid vs the cost per year if you do not.  This is a more valuable stat than pure cost per mile/km IMHO

Edited September 26, 2020 by Dave Hounddriver

[GeoffH]

2 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Yes.  They are in the Dumaguete market with a pickup truck called the Foton Thunder.

The Foton range are sold in Australia too, the Foton Tunland was recently replaced by a new pickup truck... maybe the Thunder?   

The Tunland 4x4 used a Cummins diesel engine, Getrag transmission, a Borg Warner transfer case and Dana axles and differentials plus Bosch electronics and ABS.

They seemed to be reliable and durable too (if a bit basic) but resale value is poor (and savings you make on the initial purchase are wasted when you try to sell them).

I don't think Foton do cars but they do do trucks.

 

Geeley sell cars and SUVs in the Philippines though (how many? no idea).

Edited September 26, 2020 by GeoffH

[jimeve]

18 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

I don't think Foton do cars but they do do trucks.

They make vans and sports utility vehicles too,  I would not buy one, for the reason Deprecation.