Originally Posted by
rickyhmltn
Eh, I don't see how it could more expensive really. At least in my case.
14.5 miles one way. 29 miles round trip. Car gets around 26-27 mpg. So I save a gallon a day. Which as of today in my area is $3.49. So I don't have to pay for parking or anything but $3.49 * 5 days = $17.45
Lets say I just do it twice a week still = $6.98 which is about the cost of one inner tube. $6.98 * 4 weeks = $27.92 not including oil changes, anti-freeze, and other fluid replacements.
So in summary. I bust a tube once every couple of months and it's about $6.50 on Amazon. But just by travelling by bike twice a week throughout the years I've saved 27.92 * 12 months in gas = $335.0 + an oil change
There's more to vehicle maintenance than fuel fill-ups and oil changes. To do an honest comparison, you have to include all expenses - purchase price, insurance, registration, ALL maintenance costs including tires, tune-ups, repairs, etc.
I drive a vehicle that is extremely cheap to maintain (including fuel @ 30+mpg).
See my earlier post for the analysis - I've tracked every single dollar spent on the car since I purchased it a little over 3 years ago. I could buy a brand new bike every year, and still have money left over for the amount that the car costs me...no matter how frugal I am with the car.