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I don't believe that it is clearly cheaper to own a car like many people are now saying. I believe that personal preferences of the owner will actually make the biggest difference. Most people that I have spoken to feel that they do not need a particularly nice car when they have a sweet motorcycle to ride. In this scenario I think the value in performance that a motorcycle provides would make it clearly superior. For arguments sake I went with a very cheap car as an example, a new Nissan Altima, which is a nice car but would never give the rush of a motorcycle. More realistically we would be comparing with something more expensive like a WRX since that at least as some semblance of performance.
Compare new average quality vs new average quality over 6 years
---------------------------------[Car W/O Bike]-----------[Car w/ bike]------------[Bike]-----------------[Motorcycling total]-----------------[Variance (Car W/o bike less motorcycle total)]
Approximate Model:```````2018 Nissan Altima`````2002 Toyota Corolla`````2018 GSXR-750
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Initial Cost-------------------$23,260 (no options)-------$3,000-------------------$12,764----------------$15,764-----------------------------$7,496 - Moto Savings
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6 Yr Interest / 20% Down-----$2,969--------------------$383----------------------$1,629-----------------$2,012------------------------------967 Moto Savings
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Unexpected Craigslist fuckery---------------------------$750 at shop---------------------------------------$750---------------------------------($750) Moto Expense
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Gear:
Helmet--------------------------------------------------------------------------------$150 HJC - Track/Race ready
Gloves---------------------------------------------------------------------------------$100 - Track/Race ready
Full Leathers/Mesh Suit (cheapest)--------------------------------------------------$300 - Blowout sale/odd size/found for sale at loudon - Track/Race ready (in leather)
Boots----------------------------------------------------------------------------------$300 - Don't skimp. last forever w/ replaceables - Track/Race ready
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Gear 6 year total: 2 Helmets, 2 set gloves, 1 set leathers/mesh suit, 1 set boots--------------------------------------------------------------($1,100) Moto Expense
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Total Maintenance Cost - (6 Yr Mileage /Interval) * Cost
Oil----------------------------$700-------------------------$384--------------------$600------------------$984-------------------------------------($284) Moto Expense
Tires------------------------$1,680------------------------$768------------------$3,000 ----------------$3,768-------------------------------------($2,088) Moto Expense
General--------------------$4,200------------------------$2,400----------------$6,600-----------------$9,000-------------------------------------($4,800) Moto Expense
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Annual Mileage--------------14,000---------------------8,000---------------------10,000 (tear it up)
6 yr mileage ----------------84,000--------------------48,000---------------------60,000
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Maintenance Interval:
Oil ----------------------------6,000----------------------5,000---------------------3,000
Tires-------------------------10,000 (40k/4 tires)------12,500---------------------6,000 (Front + Rear average) - Surprising, but since motorcycles have 1/2 as many tires, they actually hold up better than expected compared to a car consuming 4
Other general----------------$0.05/Mi -----------------$0.05/Mi-----------------$0.11
Maintenance cost
Oil-----------------------------$50 DIY---------------------$40 - DIY --------------$30 DIY
Ties, Mount, + Ba------------$200 ea --------------------$200 Ea-----------------$300/Ea
Insurance differences are actually minimal and not worth calculating since they do favor the bike once you are 25+, especially with a car since the bike is only for "pleasure" and the primary vehicle wouldn't really need financing or comprehensive coverage, just cheap ass liability.
Grand Total: ($569) Motorcycle Expense; $95 average expense per year over a car
Conclusion:
If you are willing to forgo the fun of a motorcycle for a totally tame and cheap to maintain car, and then drive it as such, then it may in fact be marginally cheaper over a 6 year period. Gas mileage is no longer outright better on motorcycles, and really depends on how you ride/drive, therefore I don't think gas was worth including. In this scenario the only thing that makes the car pull ahead is the fact that motorcycle maintenance is more costly than maintenance on a car, and my rider in this scenario was well into the top 1% of riders in terms of annual mileage, with the New England average being between 500-2,00 miles a year. Even when riding quite a lot the maintenance costs were barely able to catch up, and being able to do just a little bit your own maintenance quickly makes it worth it. Add in the fact that my motorcycle maintenance figure double counted oil and tires as cushion (included in general calculation if you follow the link), and its pretty easy to say that it is equally expensive to own either a motorcycle and a cheap car, or a nice car. If you bought a used bike or a more expensive car it is pretty clearly way cheaper to ride a bike, but maybe I missed something. What do you guys think?
One caveat- At the milage in this example you would be left with a 6 year old GSXR 750 with 60,000 miles on it. This vehicle would be essentially worthless, as would be the Corolla by this point. Both vehicles may get you $3,000 if anything at all. The Altima is tough to pin down but would be worth no more than $7,000 and no less than $4,000 I would think.