How much do you spend on your car each month?

[Lunican]

How much does everyone spend on their cars each month? Car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance, parking, etc.

I've heard people casually throwing around some pretty crazy numbers lately.

[fsquid]

My car - roughly $378 a month
Wife's Car - $198 (it's paid off)

[thelakelander]

Both of my vehicles are paid for. Probably around $400-500. That typically covers gas and maintenance for both.

[CityLife]

Both of my vehicles are paid for. Probably around $400-500. That typically covers gas and maintenance for both.

Samesies. I'm focused on wiping out my student loans and building up savings and am perfectly content to drive a mediocre car until I do. Though with interest rates what they are, I've been planning on selling my car, putting the proceeds towards student loan principal, and then getting a new car at a significantly lower rate than my loans.

[fsujax]

one is paid for the other isn't. I spend around $600 a month. Maintenance spread out over 12 month average.

[carpnter]

Both of my vehicles are paid for. Probably around $400-500. That typically covers gas and maintenance for both.

Samesies. I'm focused on wiping out my student loans and building up savings and am perfectly content to drive a mediocre car until I do. Though with interest rates what they are, I've been planning on selling my car, putting the proceeds towards student loan principal, and then getting a new car at a significantly lower rate than my loans.

Pretty ridiculous that you can finance a car at a lower rate than you can get a student loan.  A 10 year T-bill is at 2.58% today, yet the government see fit to charge higher rates than that to students, the rate for students earning their first degree is now at 3.9% but if you are a post-bac student or graduate student you pay 6.8%. 

[CityLife]

Its even more ridiculous that you can't refinance a student loan anywhere. I have a nice chunk of grad school loans at 6.8% and some undergrad at about 4.75. I've paid well over half of my grad school principal down in 4 years and have good credit, yet I can't refinance them down to something that is fair for my credit score and income. I'm paying the same rate as some clown that went to a bogus for-profit school, is unemployed, and will never pay their loans off. Despite the fact that I'm not a credit risk at all.

I know a lot of people are refinancing their loans off the books with friends and family, which is a win-win given the low yields of money markets, CD's, and bonds.

[Lunican]

Does anyone else think this is an excessive amount of money to spend just to get around?

$600 per month is $72,000 every ten years!! You'd have to earn over $100,000 before taxes to pay for this!

[tufsu1]

for me, its more than $600...car loan is a tad under $500, insurance is a bit over $100, and gas is easily $200 a month (I drive a lot for work)....reality is it is probably close to $1000 a month including deferred maintenance expenses.

[Lunican]

Samesies. I'm focused on wiping out my student loans and building up savings and am perfectly content to drive a mediocre car until I do. Though with interest rates what they are, I've been planning on selling my car, putting the proceeds towards student loan principal, and then getting a new car at a significantly lower rate than my loans.

I guess if staying in debt is the goal this makes sense??

[Lunican]

for me, its more than $600...car loan is a tad under $500, insurance is a bit over $100, and gas is easily $200 a month (I drive a lot for work)....reality is it is probably close to $1000 a month including deferred maintenance expenses.

Crazy!

[JFman00]

Paid off my 3 year loan a year early. $200/mo.

[ronchamblin]

The cost of operating an automobile has increased greatly since the sixties.  My 2003 automobile costs me at least $600 every time I take it to the dealership, no matter what the problem.  And the last two visits resulted in no solutions.  I researched the first problem, and fixed it myself. So much for expertise at that dealership.  I now try to avoid taking it to the dealership.  I purchased a hydraulic lift to allow me to work under my autos.  The lift allowed easy replacement of the starter on my 2003 auto.

My 1934 Ford is another story.  The Ford is very simple - no computers, emissions, fuel injections, burglar alarms, or the usual safety and instrument circuits.  It is about the most reliable auto one can have, and the least expensive to maintain.  For example, my Ford generator stopped working.  I removed it and installed new brushes for $2.50.  Its similarly cheap to repair the starter motor.

The only semi-complex items on the Ford are the "Coil", the "Points", and the "
Condenser".  If you carry an extra coil and condenser in the Ford, its almost impossible to break down on the road.  And you can reach "everything" on the old Ford.

The automobiles today are not made for ease of repair.  Try reaching for the starter or the air-conditioner compressor or the plugs on most modern autos.  I've always said that every auto engineer should be required to work as a mechanic for a minimum of two years "before" he is allowed to design anything in the "under-hood" environment.

If enough wisdom was used while designing the under-hood environment, auto repairs would not only be 50% less, but more individuals would be shade tree mechanics.  I do not want to work on my 2003 auto simply because I do not want to remove six items to get to the part I want to fix.  I give our under-hood auto designers an "F"..... and actually find myself wanting to call them idiots, because their designs assume that mechanics will work on the engine only when the engine is on the bench. 

The industry designs costly repair scenarios into the automobiles.  Its the American way.  Someone could make lots of money by designing and selling an automobile that approaches the simplicity of the old Ford.         

     

[Tacachale]

My wife and I share a car. $350-400 usually covers us for the car payment, insurance, gas and maintenance, split between us. However, this is only possible because we work in the same place. If/when that changes we'll have to get another one and it could near to double our costs. Not fun, but basically necessary in Florida.

[CityLife]

Samesies. I'm focused on wiping out my student loans and building up savings and am perfectly content to drive a mediocre car until I do. Though with interest rates what they are, I've been planning on selling my car, putting the proceeds towards student loan principal, and then getting a new car at a significantly lower rate than my loans.

I guess if staying in debt is the goal this makes sense??

I have student loans at 6.8%. Instead of continuing to pay the high interest on those loans, I can sell my car (which I have no debt on) use the proceeds to pay down principal. Essentially its using my car to refinance my student loans from 6.8% to around 2%.