A change of topic was in order. Since October 2006 heres an approximate list of expenditure costs of my RX8...so far.

1 x set of Maxx 235/40/R18 tyres + alignment = $840 (still going great)
Mazda Services = (30K, 40K) = $700
Suncorp Insurance = $1,500 (includes 1 x $500 excess claim)
Qld Registration (2 years) = $1,100
Bling (strakes, crests etc) = $550
Cleaning products = $100

Fuel/Oil over 22,000kms...I wouldn't have a clue.

Over 20 months (exc. fuel) thats a total of $4,790 = $240.00 per month = $60 per week = $9 per day....

 

Fuel costs me up to $100 a week ... where I do 25-30k a year, I go through a bottle of oil, say 2 bottles a year @ ~$50

I've adjusted some of your figures based on being conservative.

$5200 (Petrol) +$100 (Oil) + $700 (Servicing) + $1500 (your insurance premium is high Trev) + $550 (mod allowance) + $1000 (set of tyres) + $100 (Cleaning products????)

== $9150 in a year, 762.50 per month, 175.00 per week, $25.00 per day

Not a cheap car to run.

 

Thanks for the analysis Nate you've done a lot of work there, you should be an accountant! The Insurance costs are over 2 years and a unexpected $500 excess claim. Cleaning costs included the odd car wash, leather treatment, Meguiers paste wax etc...and should be higher.

BUT **** I didn't think it was that high....$25 a day which dosen't count depreciation or the latest fuel hike costs...time to pray nothing goes wrong!!!

 

Yeah, petrol was kind of conservative as to how much ... I reckon it'll end up 100-150 by the end of this year if the saudis get their way.

 

A few points imho:

1. I think it a ridiculous concept to factor mods in the running costs of a car.

2. If you want to get picky, I bet you buy 98RON fuel! You know the 8 only needs 95 and it performs no better or worse on it as a daily driver.

3. You paid $700 for 2 oil changes!

4. Tyres and cleaning are not RX-8 specific and would be the same on any car.

This is just a bizzare way of working out the cost of running a car!

You need to base it on a distance and let people work it out for their average distance traveled, eg I only do 10-15,000k's per year where as Cromax does 25-30,000.

So a better way would be to use the following parameters:

Set of tyres lasts say 25,000 @ $1000/set
Fuel economy of say 400km/55litres @ $1.50/litre
1 Litre of oil every 12,500km @ $20/litre
Service cost of $440 per service every 10,000km (based on 8 x $350 + 2 x $800 over 100,000km)

This way over 25,000k's you get a cost of :

1 set of tyres @ $1000
62.5 tanks of fuel @ $82.50/tank = $5156.25
2 litres of oil @ $40
2.5 services = $1100

For a grand total of $7296.25. Now if that takes you 12 months then its $20/day. BUt if you are like me, it takes 18months to 2 years so more like $10-15/day.

But if we change the car from the 8 to say a commobore then all we do is change the servicing costs (about the same anyway) and the fuel economy, which is about the only thing that changes. So in the end its about the same anyway.

phew...im out of breath now!

 

I will not tell you the cost when my wife is sitting next to me

 

Well done Andrew...

1. True...I incorporated mods etc as they were costs attirbuted directly to the car
2. Debatable...I alternate between the two, but for the extra few cents isn't it better to go the 98?
3. Yep...the 30K service included a hard start upgrade and 40K was...an oil change
4. True...same as 1.

Your analysis on fuel is commendable...and the numbers look accurate.

Tyres lasting 25,000kms?...I got nearly 40K out of my OEMs and others are reporting 50K.

Bottom line...the numbers are closely aligned to the costs associated with running a 6 cyclinder car...I once owned a Commodore and it fell apart.

 

Fark! Talk about going from depressing to suicidal in the thread dept!

Have never and will never work out running costs for my car. I'd be battling to tell you what fuel costs per litre (I know it's over $1 and under $2 if that helps ).

My car is not an appliance - it's for fun! Save this stuff for the accountants and spreadsheet merchants...

 

Dave,

I'm with you, think of the money it's saving you in having "therapy" instead!!

After driving a couple of yank tanks on the wrong side of the road it was nice to get back in the 8!

M

 

Ahem.

You have all missed the proverbial elephant in the room.
Including HP repayments I estimate my spend at $15700 p.a. or $43 a day.
And that was because I gambled on a $25000 residual after 5 years.

Luckily I get a fairly substantial deductibility on that.




Enforcer, how do you get insurance from Suncorp for $500pa?
I am insured with them and I thought $880 was good.
I live in an area with the lowest insurance rating and I am 48 years old with no claims in the last 10 years.

 

Its a good thing I put the 'approximate' clause in my initial post, I'm flat out remembering bills from the previous week let alone last year.

Anyhow my Suncorp policy is full comprehensive....$702.62 for the yearly premium. I'm sure Shannons quoted me a bit better than that, but I could only bring it out on weekends.

Lowest insurance rating? Cripes I live in a **** area and unless you live in a ghetto, it sounds like someone's had a lend of you. A phone call to Suncorp is in order (ph:131155)....good luck.

 

Next time you want someone to get you a litre of milk or a loaf of bread just slip me a $10 note and I'll get it for you...it would be like giving a drunk a credit card

 

It is probably the difference between NSW and Queensland.

The average online quote was $1500.

 

Thats a hell of a difference. I remember being quoted around $1,200...shopped around and got it down to $702.00. I've heard NSW and Vic are more expensive than us, and for what reason is anybodys guess.

 

buggered if I know what they cost either...life's too short!

 

My guess is higher population density = more accos and thefts = higher premiums.

 

yeap, it seems nsw is the most expensive followed by vic. my friend moved from vic to nsw and his premium doubled!
my premium is 1200, rating 1 for life, 30+, with suncorp. shannons quoted me higher than that.

 

Anyone add in depreciation?

 

I bet you a tank of fuel you get no better economy between 95 and 98 ron fuel.

Neither should have cost that much!

 

...a tank of fuel? I'm tempted...let me think about that one

 

Have a read of this first https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/results-statistical-analysis-mpg-long-13404/

 

I thought oil companies offered a higher octane fuel (98/Premium/V) for vehicles like ours which were designed to take advantage of the higher octane.

Even if the economy rate is too close to call, there should be an increase in power...yes?

 

My car isnt around atm so do me a favour and open your fuel flap. Does it read 95 or 98 RON fuel?

The following is my uneducated understanding...

The RON is a measurement of a fuels ability to resist detonation. The higher the number the more predictible it is. The more predictible it is, the more precise the tuning can be with (primarily) ignition timing. The more precise the timing, the leaner you can run safely. Also, as you are being more accurate with timing you are getting a better burn of the fuel and as such getting more power.

So, from this you can hopefully see that as the car is tuned to 95 (I think) there is technically no benefit from running the higher run fuel.

Having said that, the additives, etc added to the "premium" (98 ROM) fuels are probably enough to get some extra mileage.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Andrew

 

My two cents worth.

Having made the decision to buy the 8 I have focussed on enjoying it to the max.

Worrying about what the cost of ownership is, is the domain of those who really shouldn't have bought it in the first place

or

For masochists that like to make themselves miserable.

The facts of motoring life are:
- Dealer charges are outrageous
- The price of petrol will go up
- The cost of insurance rarely goes down (even as the car depreciates)
another way of saying insurance will go up
- The cost of rego will go up
- The car will depreciate
- You will get stone chips and scratches
- When you take depreciation into consideration there is a bigger impact on the cost of ownership (i.e: no return on the investment other than a driveway show piece).
- in the words of Yul Brenner in Anna And The King "etcetera", "etcetera", "etcetera!"

God, I've almost depressed myself. Thankfully, every time I get behind the wheel and put the foot down I put an enjoyment $value on every kilometer that I drive.

So far, I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaay in front.

Cheers.... Otto

 

Well said Otto.

I prefer to think of it like buying a puppy - the cost and sacrifices are worth it for the stress benefits on offer.

Good dog!