So pardon my ignorance, but let’s say I got a Toyota Camry or similar car, paid for and all that, how much should I expect to pay to keep it running, assuming I drive it about 10 miles daily?
Would the cost be less if I were to drive a Tesla assuming I can have level 2 charging at home?
At what point do maintenance cost starts getting high?
Mods feel free to merge this with those few other posts I made.
You gonna buy a Tesla now ?
No, but I want to know what the operating cost is. Maybe Tesla has lower operating cost in exchange to a high purchase price…
Toyotas are generally cheap to maintain, and require infrequent maintenance. They usually last 200k-250k miles but can last even longer with proper care.
It would be hard to give you actual numbers, but the costs are mostly negligible. Let’s just say an oil change every 10k miles or one year (which usually costs $50US or less) and a tire rotation, filter change, fluid replacements, etc. every 2-3 oil changes or 2-3 years (which costs maybe $200-$300). The most expensive thing will be new tires every 50-70k miles or so (or 5-7 years). That will cost you around $500-$1000, but still it’s only every 5-7 years.
In any case, Teslas also need the above services except oil change which is the cheapest service item. I’m guessing they don’t cost much less to maintain than a Toyota.
What about parking cost?
My petrol ancient jalopy costs about $110 yankee doodles a month including tax, insurance, fuel, and repairs.
This is very low compared to the average, I’d say. I pay for it in other costs, Sienna Miller is not my girlfriend, for one.
EV’s are heavier on the tires so they need changing more often.
Oil, filters, coolant, service and test normally cost us on average 4000 a year, may be less, I’m just remembering from last time and may have had other things looked at also.
Free at home for me (or you would have organised a space and know the cost if your getting a car), supermarket and shopping mall, normally free if you buy something, work parking pass 1000nt a year.
Seems about right. My figures were listed in USD.
I’m pretty sure parking costs are going to be the same whether you have a Toyota or Tesla.
If I bought a car I would just park it on the street against the side of my house, but there is also a parking lot near my home which charges $1,200/month which is a negligible amount. Just walk around your neighborhood and look at the monthly rates. Should be listed on the signs.
Dom’t forget there’s also annual vehicle taxes. I have no idea what those are.
At any rate, you probably shouldn’t be buying a car if you’re worried about annual maintenance costs and monthly parking fees. These costs are negligible compared to the cost of actually BUYING the car. 
I know but i couldn’t be bothered converting from NT to some obscure currency, who used USD anyway? 
Sure you could buy an old beater to drive in, and I’m sure operating cost isn’t so high, but the lower price you pay for a beater must surely be offset by all the repairs they will need to keep it running. I’ve had so many people tell me that cars is the biggest source of unexpected expense out there.
maintenance would be less. fuel/electricity, do the calcs based on electricity rates and gas cost (waaaay cheaper for me with an EV). insurance might be a big delta.
Me (in the US), I’ve paid a bit over $30 for electricity and like $5 for maintenance (windshield cleaner fluid) in 10k miles on an EV. Insurance is more though. Get a slight break on fast pass tolls. Tag is a little more expensive every year to offset lost gas taxes.Get a break on some fast pass tolls. Overall, it’ll probably be about $1k/year cheaper in operating costs.
the only filters are for in cabin filtration; the car doesn’t need any that I know of, and don’t care if it don’t get changed.
If using the exact same tire, sure. But heavier cars don’t necessarily replace tires more often (anyone that’s had a big truck and a lighter vehicle knows this) due to being designed for different load and tread wear). One issue that causes lousy wear is many cars don’t come with great alignments - my golf R killed a set of tires before 10k miles. We get our new cars aligned now - our last 2 were both out of spec, brand new. one’s a EV at almost 10k miles now, and tires look likely to have another 30-40k on them (xl load rating, 400 tread wear).
These things can be huge, and it’s super smart to consider when buying.
Not generally.
It’s called bangernomics in the UK. If you know a bit about cars and are handy with a spanner, you can drive quite cheaply.
That’s great if you got a garage and a means to get under the car for various work… and knowing what to do with your specific cars.
I don’t know why timing belts are so expensive to replace though, I heard because you basically have to take the entire engine apart to do it. You need a lot of tools to do some of the work such as jacks and stuff, or that machine they use to pull a tire and put a new tire on the rim.
Yes you need some space and knowledge so it’s not for everyone.
Timing belt replacement costs vary, but it’s usually a lengthy job, so labour adds up. It’s not something that has to be done very often though.
Don’t take my word for it but it is a factor, normal tiers wear quicker, specialist tires cost more, either way its an added cost. I was reading an article about it the other week thats why it comes to mind.
I can’t find the article but it was saying it was something that can catch owners off guard. The industry people where saying one of the problems that where trying to overcome, increasing longevity due to longer wearing compounds was resulting in other problems due to torque and the breaking from each wheel. I was looking into motorcycle tires when I got sidetracked, I’m not really pro or anti EV they are just another tool for the job as far as I’m concerned.
EV tires wear down fast, and that’s a pollution problem | Canary Media.
How do you know a timing belt need replacement? Is it by miles driven? What if it breaks during driving? I read somewhere some engines will self destruct when it happens so the belt must be replaced long before it’s in danger of breaking.
As to why I want to research the operating cost of cars, it’s because in the future I may end up somewhere cars become mandatory, and not just a luxury. So I need to have an idea if I were to ever end up somewhere like this (and there are parts of Taiwan where you must have a car).
I used to do that quite a lot, buy a MOT failure for £100, spent the same getting it past the test, running for a year and scrap start again. I once got a 2CV for £25 spent about the same again on it, ran it for 6 months (a fun summer) then sold it for 10x what in paid. I don’t think you could do the same here.
Yes, don’t get a beater. The price of maintenance is one thing. The price of REPAIRS is totally different.
