Aside from raising children, for most people, buying a car is the second largest consumption after buying a house. Buying a car is often in the wish list of young people, but it is not easy to buy a car and it is more difficult to own a car. The hidden cost of owning a car is often overlooked. How high is the cost of owning a car? Here are some personal experiences for those who want to buy or change cars.
Discussions on online forums about whether to buy a car suggest that buyers should focus on the matter of "memory is priceless," and emphasize that life is not only about saving money. However, the reality is cruel. For people who do not have enough assets, "saving money" is really important. All ideals and dreams need resources to support, and this resource is indispensable for money.
The cost of keeping a car is more than twice the price of a new car
It is really appropriate to describe the relationship between people and cars by "raising a car". A car is like an organism and needs to be continuously fed with money. How much does it cost to raise a car? Take 600,000 pesos of 1600CC new car, driving for 200,000 kilometers and dispose after 10 years as an example:
Car insurance and car inspection costs:
the first year of car insurance may be 30,000 pesos, and the second year of auto insurance may only cover 10,000. From the third year, only the most basic compulsory insurance and third-party liability insurance are purchased, at least 4,000 pesos or more. Exemption of exhaust gas inspection for the first 5 years of new cars, and once a year for 5 to 10 years. For "classic cars" over 10 years old, the exhaust is tested twice a year, the first time is 450 pesos, and the second time is 300 pesos after half a year. If you change the car for 10 years, the premium is 72,000 pesos, and the car inspection is 2,250 pesos. The insurance premium and car inspection total 74,250 pesos.
Government tax:
car registraation fee (license tax) is about 7,120 pesos and car fuel tax is 4,800 pesos. A total of 119,200 pesos was paid in 10 years, a dime could not escape, and it will only increase.
Regular maintenance:
Return to the "original maintenance center" for regular maintenance every year. Small maintenance is about 2,000 pesos per 5,000 kilometers, at least 5,000 pesos for every 30,000 kilometers, and at least 10,000 pesos for major maintenance for every 70,000 kilometers. Basic maintenance cost: 32 small maintenances totaling 64,000 pesos, 6 medium maintenances totaling 30,000, 2 major maintenances totaling 20,000. The tires must be changed at least once every 3 years, 2 times in 10 years, 8 tires, calculated at 3000 pesos, at least 24,000 pesos. The battery is replaced every 3 years, each is 2000 pesos, a total of 6000 pesos. After driving 200,000 kilometers in 10 years, the cost of replacing air-conditioning or other unexpected parts may exceed 30,000 pesos. The fixed cleaning and maintenance of cars cost 3,000 pesos a year and 30,000 pesos in 10 years. The total maintenance cost is at least 204,000 pesos, and the actual cost should be much greater than this amount.
Until calculating here, the most cost of several large projects has been 397,450 pesos, about 400,000 pesos. Buying a 600,000 ordinary RV, it will cost 1 million to dispose it in 10 years, which does not include parking and gas costs.
Parking fee:
If you count temporary parking fees and monthly rental parking spaces, 3500 pesos per month in the Metro Manila area should be very cheap, and 420,000 pesos in 10 years. If you want to buy parking spaces, the market price in Metro Manila is 0.5 million to 1 million.
Gas:
If you have to drive 80 kilometers to and from get off work every day, and you have to drive out to play on holidays, it is normal to drive 200,000 kilometers in 10 years. Calculated with the cheapest unleaded gasoline: When the price of oil is more expensive than 35 pesos per liter, the weekly refueling fee is 1,500 pesos. When the price of oil is cheaper than 20 pesos per liter, the fuel charge is 850 pesos per week. An average of 3,500 pesos per month is good, but also 420,000 pesos for 10 years.
The cost of expressway toll stations is not specifically included in the calculation. Except 600,000 pesos for "buying" a car, and more than 1.24 million pesos for "raising" a car. It will cost at least 1.84 million pesos to dispose cars in 10 years, an average of more than 184,000 pesos a year.
Buy or change a car
It is recommended that when buying a car, you should consider not only the price of the car, but also whether the total amount you need to pay for the next ten years is within your capacity.
Whether to buy a car or not involves personal values and life priorities. Some people think that the car is a symbol of personal social status, that is, a Benz sports car, and the price to be paid is even more expensive.
For young people or people with insufficient wealth, they should delay buying a car, take the public transportation system or ride a motorcycle first. For a single office worker with a monthly salary of 40,000 pesos, the annual salary is 600,000 pesos. The above example of car maintenance averages more than 184,000 pesos a year, accounting for a high proportion of expenditures, which will severely crowd out other important expenditures, such as mortgages, insurance premiums, learning, living, Travel, savings plans, etc. If you need to buy a car for a necessary reason, continue to drive if you can, and don't change cars often.
When the financial ability improves, the car purchase can be considered. For example, if you have an annual salary of 600,000 pesos, but you have already married, and two people in a small family have income and the annual salary is more than 1.2 million pesos, it is relatively easy to maintain a car.
How long does a car take
When should I change cars? Some people think that the car should be replaced in six years from the age of the car, and some people think that it should be replaced by the number of kilometers in 100,000 kilometers. It depends on the habits and maintenance of the car driver. If everything is good, the parts for regular maintenance should be replaced. If there is no safety concern, you can continue to use it.
If you buy a "lousy car" unluckily, the new car will not be repaired repeatedly, and the defects will continue during the warranty period. After the warranty period, you will continue to spend money on repairs, and you may have to deal with it painfully. If the car was flooded and there are constant problems, so it should be replaced. If you have money, you can change cars at any time anyway.
How to save money
How to save money by keeping a car?
My experience is that the safest way to save money by spending money is to maintain it regularly. The tires or parts should be replaced. It is better to replace them first than to take safety risks. Develop good driving habits, you can reduce the speed of car wear and tear, and can also save a lot of maintenance costs.
For the selection of repair shops, it should be no problem that original service center have brand value, but the price is relatively high. My experience is that a highly trusted and well-known garage is regularly maintained. Parts, consumables and repair costs only cost half to a quarter of the original factory price, and the Cost Performance value (CP value) is high.
After the car is disassembled, each part can be handled in different places, which can save more by comparing the price. For example, the sheet metal and paint of a professional car is only 15,000 pesos, but the original factory costs 38,000 pesos, which is not inferior. The new car computer is 25,000 pesos from the original factory, and the second hand one is only 12,000 pesos. The price of well-known brand tires in hypermarkets is much cheaper, and the annual promotion offers buy one get one free. The price advantage and the regular maintenance and material costs are also very cheap. Car air conditioners, as long as you buy a 2-hand finishing machine, the warranty is 2 years, less than 6,000 pesos, and you can buy it directly from a wholesale dealer, while the original seller offers a new price of 28,000, and only one year warranty. Consumable parts such as stereos, shock absorbers, etc., could be purchased in automobile department stores. The brand may be different from the original vendor, but the price is only less than one-third of the original vendor. These "cheap" products are cheap, easy to use, and safe.
Summary:
To keep a car cost efficiently, you may consider to maintain and repair your car at the original vendor’s service center for major problem, and do some research to the market to repair minor parts in 2nd hand market to "separately" deal with different situations, and saved a lot of money. If the car is in good condition, there will be no need to change the car for 20 years, and it will immediately save 600,000 to switch car. The amount of money saved for car maintenance is limited, all of which are necessary expenses, and will not vary depending on the age of the car.
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