Now Joe needs to drive to work to make a living. Similarly, he needs to be able to drive to the grocery store, doctor, etc. According to AAA, the average cost per mile of driving a minivan (Joe’s a family man) in 2008 was 57 cents per mile. This cost is based on average fuel consumption, tires, maintenance, insurance, license and registration, and average loan finance charges.
Multiply this cost by 15,000 miles per year and you’ve got an annual driving bill of $8,550. Divide this into months (by 12) and you’ve got a monthly driving bill of $712.
More sloppy math. That cost per mile is lower when you drive 15,000 miles (more than typical) because the fixed costs like insurance are spread out more.
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My family has a 300 car payment, 120 in insurance, and about $50 a week for gas. So we are at $620 right there without repair bills and tires and so forth, plus the cost that will accrue when we have to replace the second car which is paid for. Easily reaches the $700 that he is using in his article for his monthly.
I bought a brand new 1977 subaru and sold it after driving 138,000 miles. After adding in the price of gas, tires, spark plug replacement, oil, and all other repairs, insurance licenses and deducting the amount I sold it for, it cost me $.06 a mile. I kid you not. It impressed me because I read a few years later in one of my bicycling magazines that that is the exact same amount per mile it costs to ride a bike. :)
‘Course, that was then.