THE COST OF MOTORING
THE cost of motoring is very largely in the hands of the car-owner. There are serviceable 15 to 20 horse-power cars on the road to-day which can easily be run for 2d. a mile or less ; on the other hand, there are many cars which are costing at a low estimate a shilling or more per mile.. The two factors upon which the cost per mile depends are the initial cost and the distance covered in the year.
The following figures, based upon three years' running costs, refer to an 8 horse-power car which averaged 5,000 miles per annum, and from them a very good idea may be gathered of how small the essential expenses are. The tax amounted to 118 a year ; driving licence, 5s. ; Insurance, 18 ; repairs, Ibut not counting tyres, as they should run for 10,000 miles and still be in serviceable condition, £3 ; petrol, £9 12s. 8141. ; oil, £2 10s. ; grease, 5s. 3d. ; total, £31 12s. 11Id.
To this sum it is necessary to add depreciation. On a car valued at, say, £100, quite 25 per cent. should be deducted at the end of the first twelve months ; in later years 15 per cent. of the initial price is enough. This represents a charge the first year of £25, which added to the above costs makes a total of £56 12s. 11Id. This gives a running cost of less than 3d. per mile. No charge is included for garage accommodation, as there was one attached to the house. If there be no garage a further 10s. a week should be added.
To run the same car for 10,000 miles would cost less per mile; as the only increase would be for petrol, oil and grease, and possibly repairs. For this distance the total would work out at less than 2d. a mile.
,It is quite a different matter to run a 20 horse-power car, because obviously the larger the car the greater are the upkeep and running expenses. A new 20 horse-power car cannot very well be run at less than 6d. a mile when 10,000 miles are run, or 10d. a mile when only half this distance is covered. One of the chief items that have to be considered is deprecia- tion. It is necessary to allow a considerable percentage for this, even in the case of a car of first-class manufacture. On la £500 car about 30 per cent. should be deducted the first year ; in succeeding years 15 per cent. is enough. In the case of a £500 car depreciation would amount the first year to about £150.
The other costs which have to be reckoned are :—Tax, 120 ; driving licence, 5s. ; insurance, £20 ; repairs, 110 ; petrol, icalculated at twenty miles to the gallon, £38 10s. ; oil, £6 8s. ; grease, 10s. 6d. These costs, together with depreciation, total £245 13s. 6d., or just under 6d. a mile for 10,000 miles. If the car be only used for 5,000 miles during the year, the over-
'.ead charges remain the same, only the repairs, petrol, oil and grease being reduced. The total cost for this distance )would be £215 or approximately 10d. a mile. E. T. BROWN.
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