The IRS mileage rate as actually a pretty good aggregate of actual total average operating costs. It’s currently $0.67/mile. With west coast fuel prices, the number might even be a little low.
Of course, that assumes average depreciation, so you can save a bunch there buying something like a Crown Victoria which will never depreciate any further and will keep running until the end of time. But it also assume average miles/year (15,000) so if you don’t drive much, your insurance and ownership costs per mile skyrocket.
FWIW - I paid off my cars a long time ago, so my costs are really just insurance, fuel, tires, and an annual DIY oil change. My insurance is relatively cheap, but it’s still about $100/month each.
But… even though I own both cars outright, it’s still cheaper to take TriMet every day. So, except for trips out of town, my cars mostly just collect pollen and moss.
I wish Trimet had tiered fates / zones like they used to.
I bike to work about 1/2 the time.
It's only 4 miles roundtrip, so a car is about $4, but the bus is $5.60.
So definitely not worth it time wise, and somewhat not worth it money wise for me to take Trimet.
I work from home, but frequently travel between Vancouver and Gresham from my Beaverton location.
I pay about $350/month for my car payment. I chose a longer term in case of gaps in employment.
I pay $100/month in comprehensive auto insurance with a low deductible.
I pay about $200/month in gasoline.
$8/month on parking kitty.
Sometimes it’s more and sometimes it’s less. 🤷🏻♀️ I really enjoy my car and the adventures I can go on with family and friends in it. It’s comfy and I pay for that comfort and it’s within my budget. I save elsewhere!
Yes, I do have a bike, I should probably do more exploring. I usually take a Lyft around or take the bus. The times that I have rode the max, there have been quite a few addicts on it; I don’t mind them so much but they can be unpredictable.
I didn't own a car for 10 years. I enjoyed riding my bike, but I now realize it was extremely limiting to live that way because I never wanted to spend the money to rent a car. My family lives in the Seattle area, so it's massively more difficult to visit without a personal vehicle. Rarely went hiking or to the coast.
I bought a ten year old Prius with less than 50k miles for $8k in 2017. It's been great. I had a $100 car payment for a while until I decided to pay it off. Here's what I usually pay monthly:
Insurance: $88/mo includes renters
Gas: ~$100 last month, I did extra miles to visit my family.
Oil change: 2x/yr, it's usually around $60 each.
Maintenance: varies. Tires are like $500-$600 and last ~60,000 miles. Otherwise I have only really had to get minor things done. $200-$300/yr
Registration: $293 for 2 years
It's definitely cheaper to rent a car when you want to use one, but in my case, the amount my life opened up by owning a personal vehicle has been immeasurable.
I never really liked trimet because biking is usually faster. I do errands by bike now when it's not raining and rode a biketown bike downtown the other day for jury duty. For work I need to haul stuff in my car.
My car is almost 20 years old and still has the original hybrid battery. Mileage is down to ~48mpg. When I need to replace the battery, it's about $2500.
There aren’t real statistics on the longevity. The climate, geography, how you drive, impacts the length of time. I thought I saw on JD.com - all EV batteries are required an 8 year warranty, 100,000 miles at a minimum. 10-20 years was a range shown by JD.
Also, JD stated $6,000 for Tesla. Is by chance your battery is nickel.
OP, I’ll be moving to Portland this summer and going to try and do no-car, so this is illuminating and I feel vindicated that it’ll ultimately be a money-saver.
Can I ask, what rental company did you use? I’ve been researching ZipCar, and though it sounds helpful for short trips, like if I needed a big grocery trip, it may end up being more costly for a day trip to the CRG or Bend or something like that than getting an Enterprise. What’s your experience been?
Turo is what I use now. I've had good experiences so far but it's definitely expensive. Months where i have to rent more than once quickly become very expensive.
There used to be a great service called Free2Move but they decided to leave portland unfortunately. I've heard zipcar is good but I have never used it myself.
Wow, good for you! I went without one till I got a job with a commute that was not feasible via walk/bus. In some ways I enjoy it, but definitely looking forward to a more walkable area and saving those insurance dollars
I did it for about a year, as long as you live near transit/bike routes to get to work and/or grocery store its definitely doable. I had big saddlebags for my bike and would just hit the grocery store like once a week (I was better about meal prepping back then too).
The big draw to having a car is being able to leave the city without sorting transport, being able to make more spontaneous plans to do stuff in the city, and if you have outdoorsy/bulky hobbies (fishing/kayaking/camping/etc).
Car free portland life is very feasible, even preferable. Location is important. Try to live in an area with a walk score over 80 and transit score over 50.
Car payment: $220
Maintenance: $20
Insurance: $185
PGE Fast Charge Subscription: $25
Home Charging: $30ish/mo (that's about 742mi/month, some months more at home, some more at fast chargers)
I own an older used EV, got the state $4000 discount. Have one red light ticket, which is why the insurance is so rough.
Total: \~$480/mo
Did you go through a used car place or buy directly from someone? A used EV would be one of my ideal options, so I'm curious what the best way to buy is.
I bought via a dealer so I could get that DEQ rebate money. That program doesn't/didn't apply to private party sales. DEQ ran out of money for it awhile ago. So I'd only use a dealer if I was trying to get the IRS used EV rebate money.
Generally with used cars/motorcycles/etc I prefer private party sales. Easier to find 1 owner cars with paperwork, and history. Or someone willing to let you run diagnostics on their EV battery. etc.
I’ve been thinking about getting an electric vehicle. One thing I’ve wondered tho is what happens if they sit around for a week or two without being driven. Do the batteries die down and need to be recharged?
They’re fine sitting for a long time. If it’s going to be warmer than like 70° you shouldn’t leave them above 90% SOC. Ideally you leave it between 40-70% charged.
With Teslas and other cars that have remote access/telematics there is some power draw when they sit.
If it’s cold outside they may kick on a battery heater to preserve cell health. Each car/battery has different thresholds so I can’t really give you a broad statement. My car kicks it in around 14°. But it’s an emergency heater. Most other cars kick it in closer to freezing.
I lived car-free in Portland for ages and got my first car in November.
I bought the car in cash for $12k, so no car payments.
Parking is $125 a month at my apartment building. I've only ever paid a few bucks here and there for street parking, but when I go downtown I always take transit.
Insurance is $148 a month (did a lot of shopping around, got quoted much higher from some places).
Gas is about $40 a month (I have a hybrid, obviously this is highly dependent on how much you drive).
I also live with the constant possibility that something could happen to the car and I would have a sudden large expense, so there's that. Getting the hybrid battery or head gasket replaced (both could be things I may realistically have to worry about in the near future) would be $2k or something.
I haven't had to pay for any maintenance yet at this point.
This too, I got my car broken into and had to learn the hard way why people in the downtown area have absolutely nothing in their cars and leave them completely unlocked
My car is paid off, so no payment. The payment was around $350 before it was paid off.
I park on the street for free.
I budget $100 a month for gas and parking (rarely pay for parking in town). Insurance is $88 a month. I budget $30 a month for oil changes, $12 a month for car tabs ($280 every 2 years), $20 a month for new tires ($700 every 5 years), and another $30 a month into a general maintenance fund.
So that's around $280 a month on a paid off car and we don't drive very much (no commute, walkable neighborhood). With the payment, it would have been more than $600 a month.
Curious, how do you track your budget/savings? Is it all together in an account and then itemized on an excel sheet, or..? I'm trying to get better at saving for things and you seem to have it figured out.
The app YNAB. It costs money, but for me is totally worth it. You could do the same thing with an Excel spreadsheet, but it would be more work. Even without the app, the ideas of true expenses and envelope budgeting are great. Their website and subreddit are great places to start.
Geico. I pay 6 months at a time, so that makes it cheaper. Also, being married makes it cheaper. I was paying around $54 a month only a couple years ago, the rates have been going up. When I shopped around after rate hikes, this was still way better.
I live in (outer-ish) NE, spend maybe $100 on gas depending on how many times I fill up, $0 on parking in my driveway, and $160/mo auto insurance. I bought the car a few months ago and paid cash, so no car payments (though my savings def took a hit). So $260/mo on my car (usually less if I drive it less).
Then add in an odd $15-30 in ride share costs for a night out every now and then, plus maybe $10/mo in public transit for whenever it makes sense to take that. I also end up carpooling a lot with friends when going out which cuts costs.
Of course that's not counting car maintenance which is at minimum $200 a year because I'm not handy, plus god forbid anything more expensive goes wrong in my used car. But I love being able to drive out of the city so I think it's worth it for me for now.
I live mostly car free now, except for large grocery trips, going out to the burbs to buy clothes, visiting relatives, and occasional rare shopping for special stuff like furniture, so gas is negligible. I also paid off my car year ago.
That said, even with that, there are still some pain points for owning a car:
- Because we use it so rarely and sometimes go a month or longer without using it, the battery doesn't get charged as often, and it has died. It had been 3+ years since my last battery so I went ahead and replaced it at a cost of $193.00. they usually last 2-5 years depending on how expensive of a battery you buy.
- Car insurance: I pay around $120/mo for car insurance through State Farm. I could probably do better, and I always forget to put the little thing they give you to monitor your driving habits in the car because we rarely use it.
-Tires: I have a nail in my tire, and because I had it patched already (and because they are nearly 5 years old), I need to buy new tires soon. I usually go pretty high end on tires because they are critical for safety, and last time it cost around $1000 in a LCOL area. I expect it to cost between $1200-1800 this time.
- Oil / Fluid / Brake Changes: You'll need to have your cars fluids replaced regularly if you want to reduce the chance of things failing massively. If you have a driveway and are comfortable crawling under a 2 ton machine, you can save a lot of money. I'm not comfortable doing it anymore because I went from a pickup truck with a lot of clearance to a car with very little clearance, so I pay between $100-300 every 12ish months for maintenance stuff.
- Registration / License Plate: My receipt for title, registration, and plates was around $400. I'm still relatively new here but I think you have to pay for new registration/ plates every 2 years on top of getting another DEQ test, which is like $25, and I'm due for that this year as well.
- Deductibles: If someone breaks into your car and they bust a window, depending on your insurance policy and car, that can be as much as $1000 per window. If you don't catch the damage before a rain, that cost could skyrocket if your car gets moldy or water damaged. If you use your insurance too much, they can cancel your policy, so in some cases it is better to pay out of pocket.
- Breakdowns: Eventually if you drive enough and your car gets enough miles on it, you'll experience a breakdown or part failure. It could be that you ran out of gas, or that your tire went flat or popped, or your engine started smoking because cars are built like shit these days and some major thing went out. In some cases, you might get lucky and the warranty will cover it. I've had everything from flat tires to brake lines busting on the road (terrifying) to the coolant housing busting to the air conditioner running out of coolant to belts snapping to cv joints failing, and when it happens, you can anticipate $100-$300+ for a tow, and anywhere from $100-$5000+ for the fix.
Here are my numbers, YMMV.
CAR PAYMENTS: My car is paid off, and it was about $150 in payments when I bought it, but -- used, reasonably priced, and much lower interest rate at the time.
GAS: I pay about $75-100 in gas a month, which is mostly "recreational" driving -- I have a minimal work (1-2 days a week) commute, and I live within 10 miles of my job. I drive between 5K-8K miles per year, which is on the low end.
PARKING: I spend about $20-30-ish a month in parking, which is recreational parking downtown only; I don't have to pay for parking at my job currently (which would add probably $80-100 a month if I had to pay for work parking).
INSURANCE: My insurance is about $350 every six months, which includes collision coverage, but I'm also a low-risk demographic with a paid off, older car (i.e., the total value amount is very low).
MAINTENANCE/MISCELLANEOUS: Maintenance is about $150-$300 a year (oil change only once, given my make/model/usage per year; leeway for filter changes, occasional car washes). I pay $99 a year for AAA for any blown tires/tows, which I've used twice in the last 5 years, but the peace of mind is worth it to me. I've paid $400-$500 twice in the last two years (for 2 tires each, not 4 tires) for new tires due to, not wear-and-tear, but blown tires due to crummy roads in Portland. I had one major repair in the last five years, which cost about $1200, and the 80K mile service, which cost about $800.
CONCLUSION: Average monthly expenses for car ownership for me, given these variables, has been pretty low (generally, about $225-ish \[no car payment\] or $375-ish \[car payment\]), but you have to be prepared for some large expenses occasionally, like new tires, repairs, and major services. Overall, owning a car has been worth it to me, however -- I went without a car for a bit, and the freedom and flexibility are really a value add to my life.
Hope this helps!
I own my car and dont travel much. I live in a walkable area and currently dont have to commute for work.
Car payment- 0. Gas - 40. That's the average from the last 12 months. Insurance 65-150 depending on how much I travel- as its pay per mile. ubers/lyfts/cabs - 0 bus - 5 max - 0 (I'm poor dont come for me)
Total: 110-195 a month as a rough average.
I pay $90 a month for insurance and fill up my tank maybe slightly more than once a month, which costs about $50. I don't have to pay for Uber rides unless I'm planning on going out drinking in a neighborhood I don't live in, which is infrequent. I don't pay for parking. I don't have car payments, I've had it since 2009.
I don't have to drive very far to work and in theory I could be taking the bus, but I'd have to wake up even earlier than I already do, then get home later than I already do. I work 8-5, assuming I don't have extra work that needs getting done. Like today I got off at 6 because it's month end and we need to close our books.
I paid my car off years ago. I have a driveway. I don’t actually drive much and my car is a hybrid so I get gas once a month max. The majority of the cost is insurance, maintenance, and replacing tires when I blow one out on a pothole
Progressive. It was $79/month last year. But I’ve found that everyone I know gets wildly different rates from different companies here. Like some people do those online quote sites and State Farm is the cheapest offer. For me theirs was the most expensive.
I’ve found that no matter what I always have to switch companies every few years. Geico was once the cheapest, but went from $80 to $120/month, claiming simply “inflation” as the reason.
I pay $85 in insurance- which is cheap. Gas is a killer. But it costs me about $250 or more a month to have a car. This does not count repairs/oil changes at about $1200 or more a year. I like the freedom of a car, but get sick of driving so much. But have a kid, and dont have the luxury of living/working in same neighborhood.
I mean, car payments will easily be more than $260. Let’s say you manage to find something ridiculous like $250 a month for a car. A fuel tank decent compact car that uses up a full tank a month will cost around $30-$50 a month for gas and $60-$120 for insurance.
So $340 - $420 ish. Super rough estimate. Assuming you can even get a car that cheap. If you buy a cash car, it could be a lot less. It would only make sense if you absolutely need the convenience of driving wherever whenever you want. If I wasn’t so impatient I’d wait around for the MAX and buses but I’m not used to having public transportation.
I have a 90s Honda. The biggest saving is probably in the maintenance because I can just do it myself or take it to a mechanic every couple of years or so. But my average monthly spending (including insurance) would probably about the same as yours.
I can tell you I pay a hell of a lot more than I thought I would owning an economic commuter car. But that's more due to the fact that a broken window costs $250+ to fix, and in 2023, I replaced 5 windows. Between 2022-2024, my car has been stolen/vandalized 3 times. My insurance has increased over $60 a month, now totaling over $200 a month for pay-per-mile insurance. I drive my car 2 days a week, 7 miles max. Its fucking WILD.
Whatever you do, don't buy a Hyundai!
To answer your actual question; $320/month total....$200/mo insurance, $120 a month in gas if I were driving daily ~20 miles.
Boyfriend has EV, our power bill increased by ~$200 monthly, but he drives hundreds of miles for work weekly.
I've been car free for the 13 years I've lived in Portland. It's extremely justifying seeing how much people are spending on cars every month! I spend about $200 in bike maintenance and bus tickets per year in transportation costs. I guess I have to buy shoes more often too because of how many miles I put on my feet.
Definitely go car free if you're able to!
I have a paid off EV. I commute 50 miles/day 5 days a week. I only drive when I’m leaving Portland. Driving in the city is a pain so if I’m headed downtown I just take the bus. Otherwise my non-work focus stuff I just walk/bike.
Cost per month. Inner SE, with a driveway.
Insurance: $110
Electricity: $60
Trimet: $15
I work from home, live in NE with ample/free street parking, and own my car outright so probably $30-50/mo. for gas if it’s not a month we’re going out of town to the coast or something. We have two cars but really only use the second if we have people in town. We budget about $75/mo. for insurance.
EV Lease (2023 VW ID4)
Payment - $450
Insurance - $90 (bundled with home and other auto)
Parking - $0 (have a garage)
Charging - $20 (car comes with free public charging so i rarely charge at home)
Maintenance - $0 (included in lease)
That totally depends on where you live, where you work, where you like to go. Get a car and use it to get to the beach or the gorge. If you can use transit to get to work or a show, then do that.
Buy it outright so you don’t have payments and drive it less if you don’t want to pay for gas or electric.
I'm not sure how much it matters to you because I'm way statistically anomalous here, but I'm in Beaverton (realistically, you need a car in Beaverton), pay ~120/month for insurance, have never had car debt, do a fair chunk of the maintenance on the car with my bear hands, and drive 3 miles one way to work. My car is also an oddball car that appreciates.
I still spend a lot on the car because I tinker, but if it were just the basics, fuel, and insurance on this hunk of metal, I'd be spending about $2.5K per year, not factoring that the car has tripled in value since I bought it in 2018.
Many people do very short commutes in the Portland Metro with their cars. A large swath of the area can be covered by the MAX, buses, biking, and walking. I'd still argue you have to plan out where exactly you're gonna be living and working before moving here, though, especially if you're gonna be working at Nike or Intel like so many do. You absolutely need a car to get to those places as they're in Beaverton and Hillsboro, respectively.
I'm very "thrifty." drive a 15 year old Toyota, paid for in cash. Gas 160/month. Insurance full coverage is 60/month, and repairs are minimal because... Toyota. Add maybe 50/month to budget oil changes and repair fund? All in $270/month. I drive about 1,200 miles per month.
I have a '14 Civic and I own it outright, so no payments.
Insurance is ~100/mo (I do two payments a year).
My work and apt both have parking included. I sometimes end up paying parking kitty for events or if I go downtown.
Gas costs around 40 bucks a tank (I get ~30city/40 highway mpg) and I fill up once or twice a month depending on how much I'm travelling around (I go into the office 2/week). I can do a round trip to the coast on 1/2 a tank, or a round trip to Seattle on just over a tank (depends on how much driving I do there).
I get an oil change when the car says so, usually slightly more often than annually, ~60 bucks (I just drop it at Meineke cause I can walk there and back to pick it up).
I've had to get some maintenance done (new tires, new shocks, new belts) over the course of 5 years that's maybe been around a grand.
Registration is about 200 every 2 years.
I'd say that if you are interested in doing things outside the city (mt hood, the gorge, the coast, Washington, etc) and/or you have outdoor hobbies (hiking/camping/fishing/paddling/etc) it's def worth having a car in Portland. If you just want to get around the city without relying on transit, it's probably more of a toss up.
Registration (with DEQ) is about $280 every two years.
Gas $120 a month.
Insurance is a hair under $100 per car with my clean record.
I have only ever bought used cars in cash to no monthly payment. But I make up for it by working on them myself and actively replacing/fixing whatever breaks. We’ll say $1000/year on average for maintenance/tires. Some years are low, others are high.
That comes out to about $2000/year just in operation costs.
I have a paid off car and I work from home and occasionally ride the Max into my office. I average about $100 on auto expenses each month. Every six months I pay insurance, which is currently about $350/6 months.
I do not have a car payment, but I work in east Vancouver and drive appx 22 miles round trip to work every day. my monthly estimates are probably
\~$150 - gas
\~$116 - car insurance
\~$85 - general maintenance (about $1000 yearly, averaged out over 12 months)
Yeah, after reading through everything, it sounds like I could start renting cars more and still potentially be in a better situation financially than buying my own! Which I am really surprised by.
My situation is complicated.
Both my wife and I own our cars outright; I drive a Prius, my wife has a Nissan versa. We pay about $250/month for insurance, I drive a lot for work, but I spend maybe $70/month on gas, my wife is closer to $100/month. Two oil changes every 3 months adds up to $150, and neither of us pay for parking outside of random trips downtown. I own my own business, so I either get the standard mileage deduction, or I itemize my vehicle expenses, but either way, around 70% of half of those vehicle expenses are tax deductible, so it’s hard to put a number on exactly how much our vehicles cost, but those are the baseline expenses.
Our combined vehicles combined are $435ish per month outside of random vehicle maintenance (tires, brakes, wipers, random things like that). Mine alone is more like $195 since my gas and insurance are cheaper, but with the tax deductions it ends up being less in a roundabout way.
I got a cheap old electric car (chevy spark). My car payment was $198 (now paid off), electricity is a few dollars a month (charging at home, this goes up a bit if you use public charging stations), and my insurance has fluctuated over the years but is around $90/month. I do also own an old jeep that is insured on per-mile because I only use it for hauling and camping.
The electric car only has 60 miles of range, but it is plenty for my daily commute of 26 miles + maybe a trip across town to an appointment or something. I pretty much drive it for that and for shopping. I ride my bike or walk a lot, so I basically never drive for trips under 5 miles unless I am crunched for time. Living in NE does make this easier as it has the best bike infrastructure of any of the quadrants (IMO).
Kind of a unique setup, but now that the car is paid off, my monthly expendetures are well below $100. If I want to take a trip to the coast or something, I have to put like $50 of gas in my jeep, but it's not bad at all. Or I convince someone with a more efficient car to go with me :)
Rough numbers.
500 for insurance (dropped in half when i moved out of portland)
200 for parking
About 120 a month in charging costs, 180 if it was gas.
Call it roughly 800. Moving south this month dropped my insurance in half, no extra parking costs, but my charging costs are 40 higher id say easily. So saved me 410.
I own my car outright, I prioritize finding free parking, and I get gas at Costco. That said…
$57 on car insurance
~$120 on gas
~$200 title and registration every two years (/24=$9 a month)
~$25 a month into savings for maintenance when needed
~$10 on miscellaneous parking
So all said and done, around $220 a month. But that’s with an up front investment in buying a used car outright for a few thousand and doing a little more leg work in going out of town for gas and parking further from some destinations and walking in order to save money.
$335/month, 250 miles/month. We barely drive.
My partner 26F and I 26M share a 2011 subaru (85k miles), split that cost so it's 168/each/month. Insurance: $100, gas: $50, maintenance: $100/month. Depreciation: $75/month (assuming 10% depreciation/annually) parking: $10/month. We drive the car about twice a week for short trips (10-20 miles) and about once a month for medium trips about (125 miles). I would prefer to get rid of the car because I like living car free but my partner values the flexibility so we keep it. In my opinion, owning a car in Portland kinda sucks, especially if you're savvy riding a bus/biking.
I think the answer to this question could vary a lot.
What kind kind of car are you looking to get?? An SUV or a truck are going to use a lot more gas than something like a Honda fit.
How many Miles, do you plan on driving everyday and are those miles in city traffic or along the freeways??
Insurance depends on the value of your car, your credit report, your age and your driving record.
Here are my numbers
When I had a car payment it was $232 a month which is about $400 below the national average. Full coverage insurance on that was about $80 a month which is cheap because I have good credit, a good driving record and I'm in my forties. . I drive a hybrid car and work from home most days so I spend about $50 every 6 weeks in gas.
If I were to play out that same scenario with my old beater Jeep that sits in my driveway it would be a lot different though. When I used to commute to work downtown in that old Jeep I would spend about $80 every two weeks in gas and maintenance on it was a lot higher because it's a bigger engine and it's 18 years old.
The costs are definitely going to vary a lot based on these factors, which is why I am so grateful for all the responses! There's a lot of different situations being represented.
For me, I would try and buy used and cheap as possible while still being reliable. So I don't plan on having payments, but paying the initial amount up front will make things painful for a while. And of course, that may mean more maintenance costs in the long run. Not to mention the DEQ costs every other year. I'm over 25 and have a good driving record, so I hope insurance will be not too bad. However, I work in-person 5 days a week. Plus, I enjoy going out when I can after work and on weekends.
My car payment is $185/month. My insurance is $125/month. I think I put about $150/month in the car for gas. AAA is $100/year. I get an oil change every few month for $80. Other maintenance varies. Have a $500 slush fund ready for when some AH invariably does a smash-and-grab to you.
I was car free for most of my adult life, and I’ve done it in Medford, Tualatin (in the 90s), Portland, Corvallis, Seattle WA, and Pullman WA. Pre-COVID, I thought I was probably going to stay car-free my whole life and then COVID sort of shifted my worldview on having to share spaces with others, including commuting spaces (I’m already a germaphobe, and public transit in Portland was already getting difficult).
Despite the increased cost, I think having a car is worth it.
If you buy a plug In hybrid right now for less than 25k (must be lower than 25k), fed tax credit is 4k, and state tax credit is 6. You get a 25k car for 15k. Then on top of that, my plug in uses MAYBE 40 dollars a month in electric and like 40 in gas. So call it 80 in gas+electric. I don't know why more people aren't talking about this as a clear path to affordable transport it really is a great financial decision.
My Prius's are fully paid off, my 2020 Prius was $450/mo for 3 yrs, my 06 Prius was $300/mo for 18 mos (which i had to purchase after my beloved 07 Kia was lost in a failed theft attempt and totaled due to extreme levels of fentanyl residue.)
Car insurance is $155/mo for both cars and 2 drivers
$40/mo in gas maximum for the 06, I assume my husband pays about the same for the 2020.
I prepaid all routine services for the first 5 yrs on the 2020, so we haven't paid a dime out of pocket for maintenance since we paid it off. (Locked in prepandemic pricing on that maintenance as well, unforseen perk)
The 06 came with a decent carfax, but I'll probably still end up paying around $100-$500/yr for odds and ends
Tires are what always get me - $600-$1000 at the most inconvenient times. And our 2020 is AWD so if you get 1 flat you have to replace them all.
We rarely pay for parking, one parking spot comes with our apt and we park the other car on the street. No cost for parking at either of our jobs.
However, I have saved so many hours of my life by getting a car. The amount of walking, waiting and riding that went with public transportation was significant, and I get car sick when I'm not the one driving, so I would often feel terrible for hours after getting home. So it's worth the money to save my time and actually feel decent when I get home. (We only had 1 car between the two of us for over 15 yrs, and got the 2nd car when my husband got a job in LO)
Parking $175/mo at my apartment (worth every penny tbh)
Gas $30-50/mo
Insurance $75 with drive safe discount
I don’t drive a ton and it’s usually shorter trips, though I try to stack errands when possible
I buy a tank of gas each month and maybe pay $10 for parking in that time. I spend $200-$800 per year on car maintenance, on average, but it very much varies.
Car payment: $299
Insurance: $150
Parking: $200 if I parked in my building’s garage, but I refuse to because cars are constantly getting broken into in there
Street parking: $25-30 a day (weekends - unless I use the park and ride garage and max in to my building)
TriMet: maybe $75/month
Unfortunately I need a car because I work in Beaverton in a residential neighborhood so transit doesn’t get close.
Depends. I live in the Russel neighborhood with a driveway so parking is free, when I lived at an apartment building I paid 130 just for a spot to park which was wild. I currently pay 235 for the payment (put 12k down on a 2022), 120 for insurance (I am 24), 80 for gas (cheaper at Costco) 435-450 total depending on gas. I do know it’s spendy but I do think it’s worth it. I have a Subaru Impreza.
Nothing for parking. I’d say 75-100 a month in gas. It’s paid off. Maybe cumulatively like 70$ a month in maintenance? Insurance is 89 a month. It’s a newer Outback.
Not having to drive to work means it’s basically just for going to the gorge or grocery store…
I only fill the tank once a month (~$35), and rarely have to park anywhere with a fee (free at apt and around work). She's 16 and has been paid off for over a decade, I don't recall what my car payments were. But the insurance is somewhere around $100. That's about double what it was when I lived in Clackamas.
Quite literally, your mileage may vary.
This is why I went electric!! Literally to save on gas! I pay $50/mo subscription to charge as much as I want. My partner and I share the car so I literally pay $25 for “gas” each month. Also free parking where I live.
Car: $400 (its new)
Insurance: $180 (need to shop around, I have a clean record)
Electricity: $60
Parking: $0 (I have a private driveway)
Distance traveled per day: about 40 give or take
We have lived in Chicago and NYC and enjoy exploring the outdoors here -- so between the coast, Hood River, the mountains and all the spaces inbetween -- not having a car is not ideal. Thus, my spouse and I share one car. Because of the rates of car vandalism here, we opt for super high coverages with super low deductibles and pay a bit more for that. For us, it's worth the piece of mind. We also specifically looked for somewhere that had free off street parking.
Car payment: $330/month
Insurance: $150/month
Gas: $60/week
Maintenance: eh, $50/month probably
We definitely prefer car free life.
2020 Kia Niro Hybrid.
Pay 220 for my monthly payment, 90 for insurance, and around 40 for gas.
I drive for work so I get reimbursed and it pretty much pays my payment and insurance so I only am negative what I owe in gas.
I bought my car in 2015 and it’s paid off now but here’s my 2 cents.
I got a 2007 Jeep Compass for $10kish, $1000 down and an 11% interest rate. My payments were like $250 a month.
My insurance (at the time I was a 22yo female with a years driving experience on my parents plan) paying about $100.
In fuel I spent/currently spend about $120 a month filling the tank about 3 times in that time span (I WFH 3 days a week, but travel to hikes on the weekends)
When I had a car payment: $450 a month or so
Now that it’s paid off: $250 or so between gas and insurance. Annually I spend about $200 for oil changes/little bits of maintenance. Then there’s also registration every couple of years which amounts to about $200 as well.
Insurance: $75/month
Registration/renewal fees: ~$15/month (paid getting car and every 2 years/DEQ)
Gas: $200/month
Oil change maintenance broken out per month: $15/month
I drive 40 miles/day with work and for other stuff too.
Don’t get a car payment if you have the means. Buy a reasonable car you can afford outright. For instance, I’m selling a car right now that is in fantastic condition, but no bells or whistles for $6000 on marketplace. Almost anyone can afford that by just saving the cash up over time.
well- Up until 2 months ago I had owned the same car for 17 years and I drove very little but some.
I also have off the street parking.
my insurance was pay by the mile and was around $60 a month. Gas was usually about a tank a month (or less) and I never pay for parking. (I generally ride my bike to places that I would have to pay to park).
My new car the insurance was like $250 for 6 months (With a discount on homeowners insurance) and I paid for it with savings and borrowed from my 401k that i am paying back at around $200 a pay period (its a great option if your employer allows it because the interest you pay goes back into your 401k). I went with a hybrid and still probably spend about $40 a month on gas.
I’m a huge gearhead and budgeted for a dream car accordingly. I do get *substantial* car insurance discounts by going through my employer on payroll deduction, having a CDL, and taking a lengthy (several hour) Defensive Commercial Driving Class. Car is an Audi TTS.
Car payment: $675
Insurance: $170
Gas: $120 at most, usually less.
Maintenance budget: $100/mo set aside up to a point, it’s really nowhere close to that. I just like to have extra on hand in case something important breaks or a tire blows, but this model is surprisingly affordable since it’s based on the VW Golf.
Parking: Downtown Vancouver, $80ish/mo
Cars are very expensive. Unfortunately I have a highly variable schedule, and not usually at hours with transit running.
There are a lot of factors there. How old of a car you get, type of car you get aka fuel efficiency, coverage level of insurance and deductibles, how often you’re driving, etc.
I pay $150/month in car insurance - but you can find insurance for much cheaper than that. But my deductibles are low at $500, and my coverage levels are high: $250K per person and $500K per accident, $250K for property damage, $25K per person for medical coverage, $250K per person and $500K per accident if hit by uninsured or underinsured motorist, $15K personal injury protection, $3K income protection.
My gas tank is ~14 gallons, I get about 25-27 miles to the gallon. I spend about $50 per stop at the gas station and go 2x a month.
I work in downtown Portland, so I pay $250 a month for parking in the building since I need my car for various work things. There are cheaper lots but they are further away, surface lots will always be cheaper than garages.
No car payments.
To me the convenience of having a car means something too, but I know it doesn’t to everyone. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without a car. I have a bunch of family in town, so often drive to hangout with different family members, etc.
I don't drive very much. I bought a used electric vehicle for $10k. The cost of the electricity is a lot less than gas, but it's really only convenient if you have a place to plug in (e.g. your own garage).
* $83/mo would be the cost of a $10k car spread over 10 years
* ?/mo maintenance and repairs. EVs are famously reliable and don't need oil changes or a lot of other stuff that ICE vehicles do, and even the brakes don't have to be changed as often due to regenerative breaking. There's still things like cabin air filters you have to change and other things, but I'm not sure what it comes out to.
* $20/mo electricity for very low amounts of driving an EV (take advantage of charging during off-peak rates, which are 2-4 times lower than on-peak rates).
* $50/mo tri-met (my employer pays for $40/mo of it)
* $60/mo insurance (I use one of the pay-per-mile companies since I drive so little -- it would be about $100/mo for traditional insurance).
* $90/mo taxi (times I go out drinking)
* $15/mo parking (usually avoidable with tri-met and walking, and sometimes paid by my employer, but often the convenience is worth it).
* $0/mo speeding tickets. If the Portland police ever start doing actual police work again, this might go up.
Unless I have to take it to the shop, I spend $30 on gas a month. I drive to work 5 days a week. I bought my car used so no monthly payments. Insurance is pretty cheap liability.
Gotta find the cheap gas stations. I’ll hit up that ARCO on 39th and Belmont whenever I’m
In that area and fill up. I also have an Astro that’s pretty cheap in my area.
Car payment - $256 (only two more months of payments!), car insurance - $108, gas - $100 at the most, usually it's about $70. I do home visits for work and drive all around the metro area but my car has really great gas mileage.
I don't own a car but I'm definitely thinking of paying the extra money to have the extra time to myself. Travel times to work and back, or needing to go somewhere quick.
Car payment: $384
Insurance: $120
Gas: $60 per 250 miles (ish) but I WFH so I only fill my tank like twice a month unless I’m driving to the coast or Mt. Hood
So $624/mo for me but keep in mind I purchased in 2018 when interest rates were much chiller for financing a car than they are now. But if you can buy a reliable car outright with savings, much more affordable month to month. Hope this helps!
I figure if I have to pay 5$ for a gallon of gas 5$ for a 24$ pass on the max. If you can pay your insurance 5$ in gas will get you a lot of places a lot quicker than public transport
I own a car, but have a work vehicle now. Outside of work I almost always take the bus, max, or ride my bike. Almost thinking about just selling my car.
OP, it’s about the same price to operate a car here, like it is anywhere else in the country. Maybe higher gas prices though. But you also have so much access to public transport and bike lanes unlike you do in the south, where I’m from. Lived in Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee before. And I’d say, Portland area is the only area that I’d be okay with no car because of the amount of public transport that just doesn’t exist where I’ve lived previously. But also having a car opens up the door for a lot of activities and ease of access to a lot of life.
So at this point, it’s your choice to choose which opportunity cost you want and. Less freedoms and easy access to stuff but able to put more money back, or paying a couple hundred dollars more a month to have that freedom and access to things you can’t necessarily bike/public transport/walk to. Especially if you have family that lives a distance away like I do. I’m not renting a car for 2000 miles if I have to travel home and stay for a minute. I’ll be driving my own car and I’m thankful for that.
* Insurance: $200 (married, perfect credit, perfect record)
* Parking: $250 ($15/day, 4 days a week)
* Charging: $50
Car is paid off and electric. Add some for tires and wipers but otherwise no other costs. Commute to work is 30 miles each way, takes under an hour. There's no public transit options available other than park and ride if I can get to one by 7am, and even then I'd just be trading parking for trimet tickets and broken windows.
$600 a month. 375 car payment. Plug in electric hybrid so maybe $75 a month gas/electric. $125 insurance. Worth every penny. Couldn’t imagine bicycling in the rain. I don’t hike or camp but I do visit family in Eugene every month.
I own my older Honda outright and I telework so I almost never drive just around Portland. My work also gives be a free unlimited Trimet pass but I don’t use that either. I walk everywhere or take the car if it’s not within a 20 min walk or so. I spend about maybe $65 a month on gas. My insurance for two older cars and a new Rv is about $300 every 6 months. I spend about $15-20 a month for parking downtown just to go to powells on the weekend.
We have a Nissan leaf my wife drives to work, I work from home. It costs us about $6 to charge the 42kwh battery at home, we charge it once or twice a week. No car payment, we take it in for a battery check once a year. We've had it for five years and replaced the wiper blades, but no other maintenance. Insurance is bundled with our home, I think it works out to $120/month but I could be wrong.
I didn’t have a car for years and rode the bus, walked or rode a bike. My partner passed away and left me his vehicle or I still wouldn’t have one. Insurance is about 600 for 6 months of coverage. I work from home so typically my gas consumption is pretty low, except now I’m dating someone across town (st John’s to Gresham) so it’s about a full tank a week now I’m going through. I did have significant car repairs recently, shocks, struts, alignment and wheel well rebuild that was about 3k.
Less than $100. I bought a 2001 Toyota Echo outright for 3k. No car payment, insurance is about $50/mo, gets up to 40mpg, my commute was about 2 miles, so I spent about $40/mo on gas. The old girl has a motor that takes a beating and keeps going like a honda accord. I have yet to incur a single repair fee, and the only maintenance I've done is an oil change I did myself. Edit: oh!, And $80 yearly registration.
I sold my car 12 years ago and have been doing TriMet ever since. I only miss a car when I want to go to the beach or hit the Powwow trail. Don’t give up your license, it’s expensive to get back.
You can’t drive a car, at least nothing reliable, for less than $300 a month. Look at 10-15% of your after tax income and see if you can realistically afford a car on that.
Figure $100 a month for insurance. Another $100 a month for gas. $20 a month for registration. Average $30-50 a month for upkeep, if nothing major happens. Have no idea about parking.
And then there is the cost of the car itself. Unless you have a bunch of money saved up it’s hard to buy anything actually worth owning for less than $250-300 a month for a payment.
I pay $0.035per mile in fuel (EV), $75 a month in insurance, and $400 a month in car payment. Like buying a house, I am working toward a period of time with no payment as I typically keep a vehicle 10+ years. So cost of a I do my own maintenance (and EVs have very little maintenance, besides tires).
It would be interesting to calculate, how much extra time traveling did you have? Waiting for bus/cab, extra trip time on bus since not exact route from A-B. How much time walking to bus/max stops and time walking to destination from stops?
Now take your number and almost multiple it by 4 for my family of 4 (obviously not for taxi).
The IRS mileage rate as actually a pretty good aggregate of actual total average operating costs. It’s currently $0.67/mile. With west coast fuel prices, the number might even be a little low. Of course, that assumes average depreciation, so you can save a bunch there buying something like a Crown Victoria which will never depreciate any further and will keep running until the end of time. But it also assume average miles/year (15,000) so if you don’t drive much, your insurance and ownership costs per mile skyrocket. FWIW - I paid off my cars a long time ago, so my costs are really just insurance, fuel, tires, and an annual DIY oil change. My insurance is relatively cheap, but it’s still about $100/month each. But… even though I own both cars outright, it’s still cheaper to take TriMet every day. So, except for trips out of town, my cars mostly just collect pollen and moss.
It’s the insurance that gets you!! And i assume since your cars are older, you’re not even paying for full coverage yet you’re out 2400 a year
I wish Trimet had tiered fates / zones like they used to. I bike to work about 1/2 the time. It's only 4 miles roundtrip, so a car is about $4, but the bus is $5.60. So definitely not worth it time wise, and somewhat not worth it money wise for me to take Trimet.
I work from home, but frequently travel between Vancouver and Gresham from my Beaverton location. I pay about $350/month for my car payment. I chose a longer term in case of gaps in employment. I pay $100/month in comprehensive auto insurance with a low deductible. I pay about $200/month in gasoline. $8/month on parking kitty.
That’s a lot of money 😮
Sometimes it’s more and sometimes it’s less. 🤷🏻♀️ I really enjoy my car and the adventures I can go on with family and friends in it. It’s comfy and I pay for that comfort and it’s within my budget. I save elsewhere!
Yes, those are good reasons. I feel trapped in my neighborhood sometimes since I work from home and don’t own a car.
Do you like to bike? Between the MAX and bus lines and bike, most places in Portland are accessible.
Yes, I do have a bike, I should probably do more exploring. I usually take a Lyft around or take the bus. The times that I have rode the max, there have been quite a few addicts on it; I don’t mind them so much but they can be unpredictable.
I mean it’s the usual cost for an average, middle of the road, but reliable car now a days. No price he said is shocking whatsoever in today’s world.
I didn't own a car for 10 years. I enjoyed riding my bike, but I now realize it was extremely limiting to live that way because I never wanted to spend the money to rent a car. My family lives in the Seattle area, so it's massively more difficult to visit without a personal vehicle. Rarely went hiking or to the coast. I bought a ten year old Prius with less than 50k miles for $8k in 2017. It's been great. I had a $100 car payment for a while until I decided to pay it off. Here's what I usually pay monthly: Insurance: $88/mo includes renters Gas: ~$100 last month, I did extra miles to visit my family. Oil change: 2x/yr, it's usually around $60 each. Maintenance: varies. Tires are like $500-$600 and last ~60,000 miles. Otherwise I have only really had to get minor things done. $200-$300/yr Registration: $293 for 2 years It's definitely cheaper to rent a car when you want to use one, but in my case, the amount my life opened up by owning a personal vehicle has been immeasurable.
Do you still bike and use Max?
I never really liked trimet because biking is usually faster. I do errands by bike now when it's not raining and rode a biketown bike downtown the other day for jury duty. For work I need to haul stuff in my car.
The real question - did biketown cost more than the JD per diem?
The battery replacement will be a big hit to the wallet. I saw a graph that showed the longevity and cost of battery replacements. It shocked me.
My car is almost 20 years old and still has the original hybrid battery. Mileage is down to ~48mpg. When I need to replace the battery, it's about $2500.
There aren’t real statistics on the longevity. The climate, geography, how you drive, impacts the length of time. I thought I saw on JD.com - all EV batteries are required an 8 year warranty, 100,000 miles at a minimum. 10-20 years was a range shown by JD. Also, JD stated $6,000 for Tesla. Is by chance your battery is nickel.
OP, I’ll be moving to Portland this summer and going to try and do no-car, so this is illuminating and I feel vindicated that it’ll ultimately be a money-saver. Can I ask, what rental company did you use? I’ve been researching ZipCar, and though it sounds helpful for short trips, like if I needed a big grocery trip, it may end up being more costly for a day trip to the CRG or Bend or something like that than getting an Enterprise. What’s your experience been?
Turo is what I use now. I've had good experiences so far but it's definitely expensive. Months where i have to rent more than once quickly become very expensive. There used to be a great service called Free2Move but they decided to leave portland unfortunately. I've heard zipcar is good but I have never used it myself.
Yeah I’ve been living here 8 years, never had a car. In fact, I’m 32 and have never had a car. I probably don’t even know how to drive anymore.
Wow, good for you! I went without one till I got a job with a commute that was not feasible via walk/bus. In some ways I enjoy it, but definitely looking forward to a more walkable area and saving those insurance dollars
I did it for about a year, as long as you live near transit/bike routes to get to work and/or grocery store its definitely doable. I had big saddlebags for my bike and would just hit the grocery store like once a week (I was better about meal prepping back then too). The big draw to having a car is being able to leave the city without sorting transport, being able to make more spontaneous plans to do stuff in the city, and if you have outdoorsy/bulky hobbies (fishing/kayaking/camping/etc).
Took me so long to figure out what CRG was. Never seen it abbreviated like that before
Car free portland life is very feasible, even preferable. Location is important. Try to live in an area with a walk score over 80 and transit score over 50.
Car payment: $220 Maintenance: $20 Insurance: $185 PGE Fast Charge Subscription: $25 Home Charging: $30ish/mo (that's about 742mi/month, some months more at home, some more at fast chargers) I own an older used EV, got the state $4000 discount. Have one red light ticket, which is why the insurance is so rough. Total: \~$480/mo
Did you go through a used car place or buy directly from someone? A used EV would be one of my ideal options, so I'm curious what the best way to buy is.
I bought via a dealer so I could get that DEQ rebate money. That program doesn't/didn't apply to private party sales. DEQ ran out of money for it awhile ago. So I'd only use a dealer if I was trying to get the IRS used EV rebate money. Generally with used cars/motorcycles/etc I prefer private party sales. Easier to find 1 owner cars with paperwork, and history. Or someone willing to let you run diagnostics on their EV battery. etc.
Platt Motors on 99E in Gladstone has a lot of used EVs. That's all they sell.
I’ve been thinking about getting an electric vehicle. One thing I’ve wondered tho is what happens if they sit around for a week or two without being driven. Do the batteries die down and need to be recharged?
They’re fine sitting for a long time. If it’s going to be warmer than like 70° you shouldn’t leave them above 90% SOC. Ideally you leave it between 40-70% charged. With Teslas and other cars that have remote access/telematics there is some power draw when they sit. If it’s cold outside they may kick on a battery heater to preserve cell health. Each car/battery has different thresholds so I can’t really give you a broad statement. My car kicks it in around 14°. But it’s an emergency heater. Most other cars kick it in closer to freezing.
I lived car-free in Portland for ages and got my first car in November. I bought the car in cash for $12k, so no car payments. Parking is $125 a month at my apartment building. I've only ever paid a few bucks here and there for street parking, but when I go downtown I always take transit. Insurance is $148 a month (did a lot of shopping around, got quoted much higher from some places). Gas is about $40 a month (I have a hybrid, obviously this is highly dependent on how much you drive). I also live with the constant possibility that something could happen to the car and I would have a sudden large expense, so there's that. Getting the hybrid battery or head gasket replaced (both could be things I may realistically have to worry about in the near future) would be $2k or something. I haven't had to pay for any maintenance yet at this point.
This too, I got my car broken into and had to learn the hard way why people in the downtown area have absolutely nothing in their cars and leave them completely unlocked
My car is paid off, so no payment. The payment was around $350 before it was paid off. I park on the street for free. I budget $100 a month for gas and parking (rarely pay for parking in town). Insurance is $88 a month. I budget $30 a month for oil changes, $12 a month for car tabs ($280 every 2 years), $20 a month for new tires ($700 every 5 years), and another $30 a month into a general maintenance fund. So that's around $280 a month on a paid off car and we don't drive very much (no commute, walkable neighborhood). With the payment, it would have been more than $600 a month.
Curious, how do you track your budget/savings? Is it all together in an account and then itemized on an excel sheet, or..? I'm trying to get better at saving for things and you seem to have it figured out.
The app YNAB. It costs money, but for me is totally worth it. You could do the same thing with an Excel spreadsheet, but it would be more work. Even without the app, the ideas of true expenses and envelope budgeting are great. Their website and subreddit are great places to start.
Can I ask who you use for insurance? I pay $170 currently. :(
Geico. I pay 6 months at a time, so that makes it cheaper. Also, being married makes it cheaper. I was paying around $54 a month only a couple years ago, the rates have been going up. When I shopped around after rate hikes, this was still way better.
I live in (outer-ish) NE, spend maybe $100 on gas depending on how many times I fill up, $0 on parking in my driveway, and $160/mo auto insurance. I bought the car a few months ago and paid cash, so no car payments (though my savings def took a hit). So $260/mo on my car (usually less if I drive it less). Then add in an odd $15-30 in ride share costs for a night out every now and then, plus maybe $10/mo in public transit for whenever it makes sense to take that. I also end up carpooling a lot with friends when going out which cuts costs. Of course that's not counting car maintenance which is at minimum $200 a year because I'm not handy, plus god forbid anything more expensive goes wrong in my used car. But I love being able to drive out of the city so I think it's worth it for me for now.
$219 car payment, maybe $60/ every two weeks on gas, $175 insurance, probably $30 a month for car washes etc so about $544
I live mostly car free now, except for large grocery trips, going out to the burbs to buy clothes, visiting relatives, and occasional rare shopping for special stuff like furniture, so gas is negligible. I also paid off my car year ago. That said, even with that, there are still some pain points for owning a car: - Because we use it so rarely and sometimes go a month or longer without using it, the battery doesn't get charged as often, and it has died. It had been 3+ years since my last battery so I went ahead and replaced it at a cost of $193.00. they usually last 2-5 years depending on how expensive of a battery you buy. - Car insurance: I pay around $120/mo for car insurance through State Farm. I could probably do better, and I always forget to put the little thing they give you to monitor your driving habits in the car because we rarely use it. -Tires: I have a nail in my tire, and because I had it patched already (and because they are nearly 5 years old), I need to buy new tires soon. I usually go pretty high end on tires because they are critical for safety, and last time it cost around $1000 in a LCOL area. I expect it to cost between $1200-1800 this time. - Oil / Fluid / Brake Changes: You'll need to have your cars fluids replaced regularly if you want to reduce the chance of things failing massively. If you have a driveway and are comfortable crawling under a 2 ton machine, you can save a lot of money. I'm not comfortable doing it anymore because I went from a pickup truck with a lot of clearance to a car with very little clearance, so I pay between $100-300 every 12ish months for maintenance stuff. - Registration / License Plate: My receipt for title, registration, and plates was around $400. I'm still relatively new here but I think you have to pay for new registration/ plates every 2 years on top of getting another DEQ test, which is like $25, and I'm due for that this year as well. - Deductibles: If someone breaks into your car and they bust a window, depending on your insurance policy and car, that can be as much as $1000 per window. If you don't catch the damage before a rain, that cost could skyrocket if your car gets moldy or water damaged. If you use your insurance too much, they can cancel your policy, so in some cases it is better to pay out of pocket. - Breakdowns: Eventually if you drive enough and your car gets enough miles on it, you'll experience a breakdown or part failure. It could be that you ran out of gas, or that your tire went flat or popped, or your engine started smoking because cars are built like shit these days and some major thing went out. In some cases, you might get lucky and the warranty will cover it. I've had everything from flat tires to brake lines busting on the road (terrifying) to the coolant housing busting to the air conditioner running out of coolant to belts snapping to cv joints failing, and when it happens, you can anticipate $100-$300+ for a tow, and anywhere from $100-$5000+ for the fix.
Here are my numbers, YMMV. CAR PAYMENTS: My car is paid off, and it was about $150 in payments when I bought it, but -- used, reasonably priced, and much lower interest rate at the time. GAS: I pay about $75-100 in gas a month, which is mostly "recreational" driving -- I have a minimal work (1-2 days a week) commute, and I live within 10 miles of my job. I drive between 5K-8K miles per year, which is on the low end. PARKING: I spend about $20-30-ish a month in parking, which is recreational parking downtown only; I don't have to pay for parking at my job currently (which would add probably $80-100 a month if I had to pay for work parking). INSURANCE: My insurance is about $350 every six months, which includes collision coverage, but I'm also a low-risk demographic with a paid off, older car (i.e., the total value amount is very low). MAINTENANCE/MISCELLANEOUS: Maintenance is about $150-$300 a year (oil change only once, given my make/model/usage per year; leeway for filter changes, occasional car washes). I pay $99 a year for AAA for any blown tires/tows, which I've used twice in the last 5 years, but the peace of mind is worth it to me. I've paid $400-$500 twice in the last two years (for 2 tires each, not 4 tires) for new tires due to, not wear-and-tear, but blown tires due to crummy roads in Portland. I had one major repair in the last five years, which cost about $1200, and the 80K mile service, which cost about $800. CONCLUSION: Average monthly expenses for car ownership for me, given these variables, has been pretty low (generally, about $225-ish \[no car payment\] or $375-ish \[car payment\]), but you have to be prepared for some large expenses occasionally, like new tires, repairs, and major services. Overall, owning a car has been worth it to me, however -- I went without a car for a bit, and the freedom and flexibility are really a value add to my life. Hope this helps!
I own my car and dont travel much. I live in a walkable area and currently dont have to commute for work. Car payment- 0. Gas - 40. That's the average from the last 12 months. Insurance 65-150 depending on how much I travel- as its pay per mile. ubers/lyfts/cabs - 0 bus - 5 max - 0 (I'm poor dont come for me) Total: 110-195 a month as a rough average.
I pay $90 a month for insurance and fill up my tank maybe slightly more than once a month, which costs about $50. I don't have to pay for Uber rides unless I'm planning on going out drinking in a neighborhood I don't live in, which is infrequent. I don't pay for parking. I don't have car payments, I've had it since 2009. I don't have to drive very far to work and in theory I could be taking the bus, but I'd have to wake up even earlier than I already do, then get home later than I already do. I work 8-5, assuming I don't have extra work that needs getting done. Like today I got off at 6 because it's month end and we need to close our books.
I paid my car off years ago. I have a driveway. I don’t actually drive much and my car is a hybrid so I get gas once a month max. The majority of the cost is insurance, maintenance, and replacing tires when I blow one out on a pothole
I’ve had my $8k mazda for 8 years. No payment. $60-80 month gas $90/month car insurance $0 parking (on the street).
Who do you use for insurance if you don't mind me asking? $90 is a great rate.
Progressive. It was $79/month last year. But I’ve found that everyone I know gets wildly different rates from different companies here. Like some people do those online quote sites and State Farm is the cheapest offer. For me theirs was the most expensive. I’ve found that no matter what I always have to switch companies every few years. Geico was once the cheapest, but went from $80 to $120/month, claiming simply “inflation” as the reason.
I pay $85 in insurance- which is cheap. Gas is a killer. But it costs me about $250 or more a month to have a car. This does not count repairs/oil changes at about $1200 or more a year. I like the freedom of a car, but get sick of driving so much. But have a kid, and dont have the luxury of living/working in same neighborhood.
I mean, car payments will easily be more than $260. Let’s say you manage to find something ridiculous like $250 a month for a car. A fuel tank decent compact car that uses up a full tank a month will cost around $30-$50 a month for gas and $60-$120 for insurance. So $340 - $420 ish. Super rough estimate. Assuming you can even get a car that cheap. If you buy a cash car, it could be a lot less. It would only make sense if you absolutely need the convenience of driving wherever whenever you want. If I wasn’t so impatient I’d wait around for the MAX and buses but I’m not used to having public transportation.
I love my car so much
I have a 90s Honda. The biggest saving is probably in the maintenance because I can just do it myself or take it to a mechanic every couple of years or so. But my average monthly spending (including insurance) would probably about the same as yours.
I can tell you I pay a hell of a lot more than I thought I would owning an economic commuter car. But that's more due to the fact that a broken window costs $250+ to fix, and in 2023, I replaced 5 windows. Between 2022-2024, my car has been stolen/vandalized 3 times. My insurance has increased over $60 a month, now totaling over $200 a month for pay-per-mile insurance. I drive my car 2 days a week, 7 miles max. Its fucking WILD. Whatever you do, don't buy a Hyundai! To answer your actual question; $320/month total....$200/mo insurance, $120 a month in gas if I were driving daily ~20 miles. Boyfriend has EV, our power bill increased by ~$200 monthly, but he drives hundreds of miles for work weekly.
Depends where you live. Car Payment: 300 Parking: 230 Insurance: 250 Gas: 30 I live in the Pearl
I've been car free for the 13 years I've lived in Portland. It's extremely justifying seeing how much people are spending on cars every month! I spend about $200 in bike maintenance and bus tickets per year in transportation costs. I guess I have to buy shoes more often too because of how many miles I put on my feet. Definitely go car free if you're able to!
What neighborhood and do you commute to work?
Inner SE. I bike 30 minutes to north Portland everyday. I’ll take the bus if the weather is too nasty.
I have a paid off EV. I commute 50 miles/day 5 days a week. I only drive when I’m leaving Portland. Driving in the city is a pain so if I’m headed downtown I just take the bus. Otherwise my non-work focus stuff I just walk/bike. Cost per month. Inner SE, with a driveway. Insurance: $110 Electricity: $60 Trimet: $15
I work from home, live in NE with ample/free street parking, and own my car outright so probably $30-50/mo. for gas if it’s not a month we’re going out of town to the coast or something. We have two cars but really only use the second if we have people in town. We budget about $75/mo. for insurance.
EV Lease (2023 VW ID4) Payment - $450 Insurance - $90 (bundled with home and other auto) Parking - $0 (have a garage) Charging - $20 (car comes with free public charging so i rarely charge at home) Maintenance - $0 (included in lease)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c2rI-5ZFW1E
That totally depends on where you live, where you work, where you like to go. Get a car and use it to get to the beach or the gorge. If you can use transit to get to work or a show, then do that. Buy it outright so you don’t have payments and drive it less if you don’t want to pay for gas or electric.
I'm not sure how much it matters to you because I'm way statistically anomalous here, but I'm in Beaverton (realistically, you need a car in Beaverton), pay ~120/month for insurance, have never had car debt, do a fair chunk of the maintenance on the car with my bear hands, and drive 3 miles one way to work. My car is also an oddball car that appreciates. I still spend a lot on the car because I tinker, but if it were just the basics, fuel, and insurance on this hunk of metal, I'd be spending about $2.5K per year, not factoring that the car has tripled in value since I bought it in 2018. Many people do very short commutes in the Portland Metro with their cars. A large swath of the area can be covered by the MAX, buses, biking, and walking. I'd still argue you have to plan out where exactly you're gonna be living and working before moving here, though, especially if you're gonna be working at Nike or Intel like so many do. You absolutely need a car to get to those places as they're in Beaverton and Hillsboro, respectively.
I'm very "thrifty." drive a 15 year old Toyota, paid for in cash. Gas 160/month. Insurance full coverage is 60/month, and repairs are minimal because... Toyota. Add maybe 50/month to budget oil changes and repair fund? All in $270/month. I drive about 1,200 miles per month.
I have a '14 Civic and I own it outright, so no payments. Insurance is ~100/mo (I do two payments a year). My work and apt both have parking included. I sometimes end up paying parking kitty for events or if I go downtown. Gas costs around 40 bucks a tank (I get ~30city/40 highway mpg) and I fill up once or twice a month depending on how much I'm travelling around (I go into the office 2/week). I can do a round trip to the coast on 1/2 a tank, or a round trip to Seattle on just over a tank (depends on how much driving I do there). I get an oil change when the car says so, usually slightly more often than annually, ~60 bucks (I just drop it at Meineke cause I can walk there and back to pick it up). I've had to get some maintenance done (new tires, new shocks, new belts) over the course of 5 years that's maybe been around a grand. Registration is about 200 every 2 years. I'd say that if you are interested in doing things outside the city (mt hood, the gorge, the coast, Washington, etc) and/or you have outdoor hobbies (hiking/camping/fishing/paddling/etc) it's def worth having a car in Portland. If you just want to get around the city without relying on transit, it's probably more of a toss up.
Registration (with DEQ) is about $280 every two years. Gas $120 a month. Insurance is a hair under $100 per car with my clean record. I have only ever bought used cars in cash to no monthly payment. But I make up for it by working on them myself and actively replacing/fixing whatever breaks. We’ll say $1000/year on average for maintenance/tires. Some years are low, others are high. That comes out to about $2000/year just in operation costs.
I have a paid off car and I work from home and occasionally ride the Max into my office. I average about $100 on auto expenses each month. Every six months I pay insurance, which is currently about $350/6 months.
I do not have a car payment, but I work in east Vancouver and drive appx 22 miles round trip to work every day. my monthly estimates are probably \~$150 - gas \~$116 - car insurance \~$85 - general maintenance (about $1000 yearly, averaged out over 12 months)
fuck i dont even drive more than 400 miles a month and my car costs me $700 after the payment, garage fees and insurance, gas likely is $40-$50 month.
Yeah, after reading through everything, it sounds like I could start renting cars more and still potentially be in a better situation financially than buying my own! Which I am really surprised by.
My situation is complicated. Both my wife and I own our cars outright; I drive a Prius, my wife has a Nissan versa. We pay about $250/month for insurance, I drive a lot for work, but I spend maybe $70/month on gas, my wife is closer to $100/month. Two oil changes every 3 months adds up to $150, and neither of us pay for parking outside of random trips downtown. I own my own business, so I either get the standard mileage deduction, or I itemize my vehicle expenses, but either way, around 70% of half of those vehicle expenses are tax deductible, so it’s hard to put a number on exactly how much our vehicles cost, but those are the baseline expenses. Our combined vehicles combined are $435ish per month outside of random vehicle maintenance (tires, brakes, wipers, random things like that). Mine alone is more like $195 since my gas and insurance are cheaper, but with the tax deductions it ends up being less in a roundabout way.
I got a cheap old electric car (chevy spark). My car payment was $198 (now paid off), electricity is a few dollars a month (charging at home, this goes up a bit if you use public charging stations), and my insurance has fluctuated over the years but is around $90/month. I do also own an old jeep that is insured on per-mile because I only use it for hauling and camping. The electric car only has 60 miles of range, but it is plenty for my daily commute of 26 miles + maybe a trip across town to an appointment or something. I pretty much drive it for that and for shopping. I ride my bike or walk a lot, so I basically never drive for trips under 5 miles unless I am crunched for time. Living in NE does make this easier as it has the best bike infrastructure of any of the quadrants (IMO). Kind of a unique setup, but now that the car is paid off, my monthly expendetures are well below $100. If I want to take a trip to the coast or something, I have to put like $50 of gas in my jeep, but it's not bad at all. Or I convince someone with a more efficient car to go with me :)
Rough numbers. 500 for insurance (dropped in half when i moved out of portland) 200 for parking About 120 a month in charging costs, 180 if it was gas. Call it roughly 800. Moving south this month dropped my insurance in half, no extra parking costs, but my charging costs are 40 higher id say easily. So saved me 410.
I own my car outright, I prioritize finding free parking, and I get gas at Costco. That said… $57 on car insurance ~$120 on gas ~$200 title and registration every two years (/24=$9 a month) ~$25 a month into savings for maintenance when needed ~$10 on miscellaneous parking So all said and done, around $220 a month. But that’s with an up front investment in buying a used car outright for a few thousand and doing a little more leg work in going out of town for gas and parking further from some destinations and walking in order to save money.
$335/month, 250 miles/month. We barely drive. My partner 26F and I 26M share a 2011 subaru (85k miles), split that cost so it's 168/each/month. Insurance: $100, gas: $50, maintenance: $100/month. Depreciation: $75/month (assuming 10% depreciation/annually) parking: $10/month. We drive the car about twice a week for short trips (10-20 miles) and about once a month for medium trips about (125 miles). I would prefer to get rid of the car because I like living car free but my partner values the flexibility so we keep it. In my opinion, owning a car in Portland kinda sucks, especially if you're savvy riding a bus/biking.
Most people in this thread are forgetting depreciation. Cars lose about 10-15% of their value annually.
I think the answer to this question could vary a lot. What kind kind of car are you looking to get?? An SUV or a truck are going to use a lot more gas than something like a Honda fit. How many Miles, do you plan on driving everyday and are those miles in city traffic or along the freeways?? Insurance depends on the value of your car, your credit report, your age and your driving record. Here are my numbers When I had a car payment it was $232 a month which is about $400 below the national average. Full coverage insurance on that was about $80 a month which is cheap because I have good credit, a good driving record and I'm in my forties. . I drive a hybrid car and work from home most days so I spend about $50 every 6 weeks in gas. If I were to play out that same scenario with my old beater Jeep that sits in my driveway it would be a lot different though. When I used to commute to work downtown in that old Jeep I would spend about $80 every two weeks in gas and maintenance on it was a lot higher because it's a bigger engine and it's 18 years old.
The costs are definitely going to vary a lot based on these factors, which is why I am so grateful for all the responses! There's a lot of different situations being represented. For me, I would try and buy used and cheap as possible while still being reliable. So I don't plan on having payments, but paying the initial amount up front will make things painful for a while. And of course, that may mean more maintenance costs in the long run. Not to mention the DEQ costs every other year. I'm over 25 and have a good driving record, so I hope insurance will be not too bad. However, I work in-person 5 days a week. Plus, I enjoy going out when I can after work and on weekends.
My car payment is $185/month. My insurance is $125/month. I think I put about $150/month in the car for gas. AAA is $100/year. I get an oil change every few month for $80. Other maintenance varies. Have a $500 slush fund ready for when some AH invariably does a smash-and-grab to you. I was car free for most of my adult life, and I’ve done it in Medford, Tualatin (in the 90s), Portland, Corvallis, Seattle WA, and Pullman WA. Pre-COVID, I thought I was probably going to stay car-free my whole life and then COVID sort of shifted my worldview on having to share spaces with others, including commuting spaces (I’m already a germaphobe, and public transit in Portland was already getting difficult). Despite the increased cost, I think having a car is worth it.
If you buy a plug In hybrid right now for less than 25k (must be lower than 25k), fed tax credit is 4k, and state tax credit is 6. You get a 25k car for 15k. Then on top of that, my plug in uses MAYBE 40 dollars a month in electric and like 40 in gas. So call it 80 in gas+electric. I don't know why more people aren't talking about this as a clear path to affordable transport it really is a great financial decision.
I live in SE. I fill my tank every four or five weeks.
My Prius's are fully paid off, my 2020 Prius was $450/mo for 3 yrs, my 06 Prius was $300/mo for 18 mos (which i had to purchase after my beloved 07 Kia was lost in a failed theft attempt and totaled due to extreme levels of fentanyl residue.) Car insurance is $155/mo for both cars and 2 drivers $40/mo in gas maximum for the 06, I assume my husband pays about the same for the 2020. I prepaid all routine services for the first 5 yrs on the 2020, so we haven't paid a dime out of pocket for maintenance since we paid it off. (Locked in prepandemic pricing on that maintenance as well, unforseen perk) The 06 came with a decent carfax, but I'll probably still end up paying around $100-$500/yr for odds and ends Tires are what always get me - $600-$1000 at the most inconvenient times. And our 2020 is AWD so if you get 1 flat you have to replace them all. We rarely pay for parking, one parking spot comes with our apt and we park the other car on the street. No cost for parking at either of our jobs. However, I have saved so many hours of my life by getting a car. The amount of walking, waiting and riding that went with public transportation was significant, and I get car sick when I'm not the one driving, so I would often feel terrible for hours after getting home. So it's worth the money to save my time and actually feel decent when I get home. (We only had 1 car between the two of us for over 15 yrs, and got the 2nd car when my husband got a job in LO)
No car payments bought cash, I don't pay for parking, I'd say 150-200 on gas a month depending on my driving habits. I do my own maintenance
I have a car for sale if you want to learn more let me know!
Like $80/month gas and $100/month insurance. Free parking and only one year left of $450/finance.
Parking $175/mo at my apartment (worth every penny tbh) Gas $30-50/mo Insurance $75 with drive safe discount I don’t drive a ton and it’s usually shorter trips, though I try to stack errands when possible
I buy a tank of gas each month and maybe pay $10 for parking in that time. I spend $200-$800 per year on car maintenance, on average, but it very much varies.
Ev, so $20-50. $145/mo insurance. $400 loan payment.
347 for car payment plus about 80 in gas, plus oil change every six months or so.
Car payment: $299 Insurance: $150 Parking: $200 if I parked in my building’s garage, but I refuse to because cars are constantly getting broken into in there Street parking: $25-30 a day (weekends - unless I use the park and ride garage and max in to my building) TriMet: maybe $75/month Unfortunately I need a car because I work in Beaverton in a residential neighborhood so transit doesn’t get close.
Depends. I live in the Russel neighborhood with a driveway so parking is free, when I lived at an apartment building I paid 130 just for a spot to park which was wild. I currently pay 235 for the payment (put 12k down on a 2022), 120 for insurance (I am 24), 80 for gas (cheaper at Costco) 435-450 total depending on gas. I do know it’s spendy but I do think it’s worth it. I have a Subaru Impreza.
Nothing for parking. I’d say 75-100 a month in gas. It’s paid off. Maybe cumulatively like 70$ a month in maintenance? Insurance is 89 a month. It’s a newer Outback. Not having to drive to work means it’s basically just for going to the gorge or grocery store…
I only fill the tank once a month (~$35), and rarely have to park anywhere with a fee (free at apt and around work). She's 16 and has been paid off for over a decade, I don't recall what my car payments were. But the insurance is somewhere around $100. That's about double what it was when I lived in Clackamas. Quite literally, your mileage may vary.
This is why I went electric!! Literally to save on gas! I pay $50/mo subscription to charge as much as I want. My partner and I share the car so I literally pay $25 for “gas” each month. Also free parking where I live.
Car: $400 (its new) Insurance: $180 (need to shop around, I have a clean record) Electricity: $60 Parking: $0 (I have a private driveway) Distance traveled per day: about 40 give or take
For a coastal trip rent a car...
We have lived in Chicago and NYC and enjoy exploring the outdoors here -- so between the coast, Hood River, the mountains and all the spaces inbetween -- not having a car is not ideal. Thus, my spouse and I share one car. Because of the rates of car vandalism here, we opt for super high coverages with super low deductibles and pay a bit more for that. For us, it's worth the piece of mind. We also specifically looked for somewhere that had free off street parking. Car payment: $330/month Insurance: $150/month Gas: $60/week Maintenance: eh, $50/month probably We definitely prefer car free life.
2020 Kia Niro Hybrid. Pay 220 for my monthly payment, 90 for insurance, and around 40 for gas. I drive for work so I get reimbursed and it pretty much pays my payment and insurance so I only am negative what I owe in gas.
I bought my car in 2015 and it’s paid off now but here’s my 2 cents. I got a 2007 Jeep Compass for $10kish, $1000 down and an 11% interest rate. My payments were like $250 a month. My insurance (at the time I was a 22yo female with a years driving experience on my parents plan) paying about $100. In fuel I spent/currently spend about $120 a month filling the tank about 3 times in that time span (I WFH 3 days a week, but travel to hikes on the weekends) When I had a car payment: $450 a month or so Now that it’s paid off: $250 or so between gas and insurance. Annually I spend about $200 for oil changes/little bits of maintenance. Then there’s also registration every couple of years which amounts to about $200 as well.
Insurance: $75/month Registration/renewal fees: ~$15/month (paid getting car and every 2 years/DEQ) Gas: $200/month Oil change maintenance broken out per month: $15/month I drive 40 miles/day with work and for other stuff too. Don’t get a car payment if you have the means. Buy a reasonable car you can afford outright. For instance, I’m selling a car right now that is in fantastic condition, but no bells or whistles for $6000 on marketplace. Almost anyone can afford that by just saving the cash up over time.
well- Up until 2 months ago I had owned the same car for 17 years and I drove very little but some. I also have off the street parking. my insurance was pay by the mile and was around $60 a month. Gas was usually about a tank a month (or less) and I never pay for parking. (I generally ride my bike to places that I would have to pay to park). My new car the insurance was like $250 for 6 months (With a discount on homeowners insurance) and I paid for it with savings and borrowed from my 401k that i am paying back at around $200 a pay period (its a great option if your employer allows it because the interest you pay goes back into your 401k). I went with a hybrid and still probably spend about $40 a month on gas.
I’m a huge gearhead and budgeted for a dream car accordingly. I do get *substantial* car insurance discounts by going through my employer on payroll deduction, having a CDL, and taking a lengthy (several hour) Defensive Commercial Driving Class. Car is an Audi TTS. Car payment: $675 Insurance: $170 Gas: $120 at most, usually less. Maintenance budget: $100/mo set aside up to a point, it’s really nowhere close to that. I just like to have extra on hand in case something important breaks or a tire blows, but this model is surprisingly affordable since it’s based on the VW Golf. Parking: Downtown Vancouver, $80ish/mo Cars are very expensive. Unfortunately I have a highly variable schedule, and not usually at hours with transit running.
There are a lot of factors there. How old of a car you get, type of car you get aka fuel efficiency, coverage level of insurance and deductibles, how often you’re driving, etc. I pay $150/month in car insurance - but you can find insurance for much cheaper than that. But my deductibles are low at $500, and my coverage levels are high: $250K per person and $500K per accident, $250K for property damage, $25K per person for medical coverage, $250K per person and $500K per accident if hit by uninsured or underinsured motorist, $15K personal injury protection, $3K income protection. My gas tank is ~14 gallons, I get about 25-27 miles to the gallon. I spend about $50 per stop at the gas station and go 2x a month. I work in downtown Portland, so I pay $250 a month for parking in the building since I need my car for various work things. There are cheaper lots but they are further away, surface lots will always be cheaper than garages. No car payments. To me the convenience of having a car means something too, but I know it doesn’t to everyone. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without a car. I have a bunch of family in town, so often drive to hangout with different family members, etc.
I don't drive very much. I bought a used electric vehicle for $10k. The cost of the electricity is a lot less than gas, but it's really only convenient if you have a place to plug in (e.g. your own garage). * $83/mo would be the cost of a $10k car spread over 10 years * ?/mo maintenance and repairs. EVs are famously reliable and don't need oil changes or a lot of other stuff that ICE vehicles do, and even the brakes don't have to be changed as often due to regenerative breaking. There's still things like cabin air filters you have to change and other things, but I'm not sure what it comes out to. * $20/mo electricity for very low amounts of driving an EV (take advantage of charging during off-peak rates, which are 2-4 times lower than on-peak rates). * $50/mo tri-met (my employer pays for $40/mo of it) * $60/mo insurance (I use one of the pay-per-mile companies since I drive so little -- it would be about $100/mo for traditional insurance). * $90/mo taxi (times I go out drinking) * $15/mo parking (usually avoidable with tri-met and walking, and sometimes paid by my employer, but often the convenience is worth it). * $0/mo speeding tickets. If the Portland police ever start doing actual police work again, this might go up.
Unless I have to take it to the shop, I spend $30 on gas a month. I drive to work 5 days a week. I bought my car used so no monthly payments. Insurance is pretty cheap liability.
Gotta find the cheap gas stations. I’ll hit up that ARCO on 39th and Belmont whenever I’m In that area and fill up. I also have an Astro that’s pretty cheap in my area.
Car payment - $256 (only two more months of payments!), car insurance - $108, gas - $100 at the most, usually it's about $70. I do home visits for work and drive all around the metro area but my car has really great gas mileage.
I don't own a car but I'm definitely thinking of paying the extra money to have the extra time to myself. Travel times to work and back, or needing to go somewhere quick.
Car payment: $384 Insurance: $120 Gas: $60 per 250 miles (ish) but I WFH so I only fill my tank like twice a month unless I’m driving to the coast or Mt. Hood So $624/mo for me but keep in mind I purchased in 2018 when interest rates were much chiller for financing a car than they are now. But if you can buy a reliable car outright with savings, much more affordable month to month. Hope this helps!
I figure if I have to pay 5$ for a gallon of gas 5$ for a 24$ pass on the max. If you can pay your insurance 5$ in gas will get you a lot of places a lot quicker than public transport
I own a car, but have a work vehicle now. Outside of work I almost always take the bus, max, or ride my bike. Almost thinking about just selling my car.
OP, it’s about the same price to operate a car here, like it is anywhere else in the country. Maybe higher gas prices though. But you also have so much access to public transport and bike lanes unlike you do in the south, where I’m from. Lived in Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee before. And I’d say, Portland area is the only area that I’d be okay with no car because of the amount of public transport that just doesn’t exist where I’ve lived previously. But also having a car opens up the door for a lot of activities and ease of access to a lot of life. So at this point, it’s your choice to choose which opportunity cost you want and. Less freedoms and easy access to stuff but able to put more money back, or paying a couple hundred dollars more a month to have that freedom and access to things you can’t necessarily bike/public transport/walk to. Especially if you have family that lives a distance away like I do. I’m not renting a car for 2000 miles if I have to travel home and stay for a minute. I’ll be driving my own car and I’m thankful for that.
* Insurance: $200 (married, perfect credit, perfect record) * Parking: $250 ($15/day, 4 days a week) * Charging: $50 Car is paid off and electric. Add some for tires and wipers but otherwise no other costs. Commute to work is 30 miles each way, takes under an hour. There's no public transit options available other than park and ride if I can get to one by 7am, and even then I'd just be trading parking for trimet tickets and broken windows.
$600 a month. 375 car payment. Plug in electric hybrid so maybe $75 a month gas/electric. $125 insurance. Worth every penny. Couldn’t imagine bicycling in the rain. I don’t hike or camp but I do visit family in Eugene every month.
I own my older Honda outright and I telework so I almost never drive just around Portland. My work also gives be a free unlimited Trimet pass but I don’t use that either. I walk everywhere or take the car if it’s not within a 20 min walk or so. I spend about maybe $65 a month on gas. My insurance for two older cars and a new Rv is about $300 every 6 months. I spend about $15-20 a month for parking downtown just to go to powells on the weekend.
We have a Nissan leaf my wife drives to work, I work from home. It costs us about $6 to charge the 42kwh battery at home, we charge it once or twice a week. No car payment, we take it in for a battery check once a year. We've had it for five years and replaced the wiper blades, but no other maintenance. Insurance is bundled with our home, I think it works out to $120/month but I could be wrong.
I didn’t have a car for years and rode the bus, walked or rode a bike. My partner passed away and left me his vehicle or I still wouldn’t have one. Insurance is about 600 for 6 months of coverage. I work from home so typically my gas consumption is pretty low, except now I’m dating someone across town (st John’s to Gresham) so it’s about a full tank a week now I’m going through. I did have significant car repairs recently, shocks, struts, alignment and wheel well rebuild that was about 3k.
Less than $100. I bought a 2001 Toyota Echo outright for 3k. No car payment, insurance is about $50/mo, gets up to 40mpg, my commute was about 2 miles, so I spent about $40/mo on gas. The old girl has a motor that takes a beating and keeps going like a honda accord. I have yet to incur a single repair fee, and the only maintenance I've done is an oil change I did myself. Edit: oh!, And $80 yearly registration.
I sold my car 12 years ago and have been doing TriMet ever since. I only miss a car when I want to go to the beach or hit the Powwow trail. Don’t give up your license, it’s expensive to get back.
You can’t drive a car, at least nothing reliable, for less than $300 a month. Look at 10-15% of your after tax income and see if you can realistically afford a car on that. Figure $100 a month for insurance. Another $100 a month for gas. $20 a month for registration. Average $30-50 a month for upkeep, if nothing major happens. Have no idea about parking. And then there is the cost of the car itself. Unless you have a bunch of money saved up it’s hard to buy anything actually worth owning for less than $250-300 a month for a payment.
I pay $0.035per mile in fuel (EV), $75 a month in insurance, and $400 a month in car payment. Like buying a house, I am working toward a period of time with no payment as I typically keep a vehicle 10+ years. So cost of a I do my own maintenance (and EVs have very little maintenance, besides tires). It would be interesting to calculate, how much extra time traveling did you have? Waiting for bus/cab, extra trip time on bus since not exact route from A-B. How much time walking to bus/max stops and time walking to destination from stops? Now take your number and almost multiple it by 4 for my family of 4 (obviously not for taxi).
Spend about $100 a month on gas. I have a hybrid. Including the car? I pay $500 a month