How
much does it really cost to own a car?
"It was certainly more convenient having a car in the driveway, but it was definitely more expensive! Even though we are frequent car co-op users (our bills are never more than $300/month), owning a used vehicle cost us easily over $500/month when we added it all up."
Marc, a member of Grand River CarShare
The
Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) estimates it costs around
$8,600 per year to keep an average car on the road. This
is based on figures using a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt LTZ 4-door
sedan - 2.2 litre four cylinder - driving 12,000km per
year. For more complete details, click
here for the CAA's report in PDF format.
To
determine the full cost of owning your car remember to include:
purchase cost, depreciation, financing charges, insurance, license
& registration, regular maintenance, tires & major repairs,
roadside assistance plans, fuel and parking.
The
following are some sample calculations of trips using CarShare vehicles, compared to rental cars and taxis.
Note that CarShare rates include gas. We assume
gas costs to be $.06/km on rentals.
As
you will notice below, car rentals can be less expensive for
longer distance trips. CarShare members have access to corporate
rates at rental agencies for such occasions.
The cost comparisons below are based on the Classic Plan rates.
Sample
Trip: 3 hour weekend trip to Canadian Tire, 15 km round trip
CarShare:
3 weekend hours @ $4.40/hr +
(15km @ $.28/km) = $17.40
Local
Taxi Company:
$3.20 initial meter fare (twice) +
15km @ $1.80/km = $33.40
Sample
Trip:
8 hour weekend visit to Cambridge, 40 km round trip
CarShare:
8 weekend hours @ $4.40/hr) +
(40km @ $.28/km) = $46.40
Local
Taxi Company:
$3.20 initial meter fare (twice) +
40km @ $1.80/km = $78.40
Sample
Trip:
Summer Time Weekday Trip to Ottawa
9am Tuesday-9am Friday(72 hours), 1100km round trip
(*Note* billing system automatically defaults to cheaper rate)
CarShare:
Hourly rate: $44 daily weekday rate X 3
=$132 +
(1100km @ $.18) = $ 330
Local
Car Rental Company:
3 days weekday rate: $ 158.97 +
3 days' insurance : $ 74.94 +
100L of gas @ 0.95/L : $95.00 +
13% tax: $42.75
= $371.67
How
our rates can save you time and money!
As
a member of Grand River CarShare and Hamilton CarShare it is important to remember that when
the billing is done the system always defaults
to the cheapest available rate for each reservation. This means
that planning ahead can save you time and money!
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