Guest Blogger, Tim Backs
Car Talk
Aside from housing the most expensive thing we have as Americans is our cars or our transportation. Most of us (including me) often forget how expensive our cars are. The going rate for mileage reimbursement from employers is back down to about $0.40 per mile. That $0.40 per mile is real! The $0.40 per mile takes into account the cost of buying a car, changing oil, getting new tires, maintenance, wiper fluid, all of it. It truly does cost that much to drive when you add it all up, and divide that cost across all the miles of the car for its life. I drive 10 miles to work each way, which is not bad compared to many. That means it costs me $8 a day or $40 a week, or about $2000 a year just to get to work. As a side note, we should consider transportation costs more when choosing a job. I know a lady who drives 50 miles each way to work, which is $40 a day and $800 a month in transportation costs. Their home in the country is costing more than they know.
The good news is there are very simple things we can do to cut back on our transportation costs. Here are some of the things that have worked well for me over the years.
1. Buy Used and Be Ugly – Unless you have more money than you know what to do with, you should buy a used car. Even the lightly used under 20,000 miles are a bargain compared to new. You may not look as cool, or have the latest bells and whistles in a used car, but your need is to get from point A to point B, nothing more. The cost of making the basic need of transportation into a luxury with a brand new sexy car or truck is extremely expensive. Our lowest mileage car is 180,000 miles and we haven’t been kicked out of our nice suburban neighborhood yet. I spend about $1200 a year for maintenance on 3 cars, which seems like a lot until you consider the option of just 1 car payment at a minimum of $4000 a year.
2. Resist the Desire to Replace Your Car/Truck – When a major repair comes your way like a transmission failure, evaluate if you can buy the same car with a new transmission for the cost of the repair. My son’s car had the shock absorber bust completely through body of the wheel well and the other side is about to do the same. The repair will be over $1000, and he needs new tires. We have determined he can get a better car for that cost than if this one was repaired.
3. DIY – Do It Yourself – The down side to used cars is the maintenance and it can be very expensive if you send to a repair shop every time. Here are some of the repairs and maintenance that are simple to do yourself.
1. Change Your Oil – Even when the oil change shops have specials at $20, you save money. An DIY oil change will cost you about
$10, and it is easy. It can be clean and easy with an oil change pan.
2. Change Your Brakes – New or used cars will need brakes changed. Paying a shop to do it will cost $400-$500. Brake pads for all 4 wheels cost under $100. A Chilton manual for your car will take you through step by step. Once you do it a couple of times, you can do it for any car.
3. Buy a Chilton Manual – Chilton is a repair manual available at any auto parts store specific to your car. Haynes is also a good manual. Many repairs that are inevitable like replacing an alternator, a radiator, spark plugs and wires, fuel filters, and even a starter are easily done by any financial auditor or school teacher. You would be surprised at how many parts replacements are just a matter of unbolting the old and bolting on the new. Just like the brakes, this can save $300 for one repair. Your Chilton manual will show the steps to fix your particular repair. I generally read the steps to see if I have the ability and the tools to fix it. It is normally easy to tell if it is above my head.
4. Ask a Friend – Larry the Cable Guy says everyone likes to poke fun at rednecks until they need their car fixed. There are people all around you who know enough about cars to give some free consulting advice, and they have probably had the same issues you have with your car.
4. Drive Less – The best way to reduce transportation costs is to not drive at all.
1. Carpool – I would place a bet that if you live in a populated area, and you work in Olathe, downtown KC, the airport area, KCK, or wherever, you can find a person who works very close by or even at your company to share a ride.
2. Combine trips – If you need something from the grocery store, wait until you take your child to basketball practice to get there. Your gas mileage and wear and tear on your car is the worst in city driving, so try to reduce your running around town into as few of trips as possible.
3. Walk – You don’t have to Amish to walk to your destination. My wife walks my daughter to school every day. She also walks the dog to the bank when she makes deposits. Not only do you save gas, you can pray and lose some weight to boot. Anything within 2 miles should be fair game for considering walking.
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