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What does it cost you to run your car where you are?


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That's crazy!  Don't need higher unless you pull the timing forward I can understand, but you will be running them retarded to hell so your fuel doesn't ping and knock!  We don't have blended fuel here, and 91 is our crap fuel then 95 premium and 98 ultimate.  Most stations run 91/95 and BP stations run 98 also.  It sounds mad to me that you guys have 87 octane.  I struggle with 91 here, but at the end of the day it's what you know to be normal really.  I run all my cars on 95, and always have done.  My old work car ('06 Corolla 1.8 1ZZ-FE) was terrible on 91, the ECU used to actually pull the timing back every time you put your foot down because it would ping like crazy... 

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Octane is calculated differently in the US than it is in Australia, NZ, Japan, etc. I'm not sure what Europe uses for their octane rating. But it ends up being about the same as what we have here. Your 91 comes out to about 87 US octane ratings, 98 is around 93/94 which is what most states in the US have for premium.

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Slightly off topic but... us in the states run what is known as the AKI (anti-knock index) for our octane numbers which is sm+rm/2 (research method + scientific method ÷ ) everywhere else runs the RM, I can't remember all the numbers but basically 98 octane elsewhere is the same as our 92 in the states

 

Sorry didn't notice someone posted along the same lines as what I did already lol

 

Oh as far as what is "required" fuel for older model subi's 95 octane RM according to the owners manual.

 

Octane and timing do not go hand in hand... octane denotes how much compression it can withstand before self detonation.

 

I personally have to run premium otherwise I diesel upon shut down, 240k miles on the beast too XD

Edited by TallonX
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Hmm..

 

as of 6/7/13

 

Gas $3.89/ US Gal (87 R+M/2 rating) on an SPFI and changing timing doesn't really help..., but I run Shell 99% of the time since it's the only Top Tier fuel around..

Insurance $500/year (also have an 81 Firebird on collector's insurance, so a bit of a discount)

Monthly maintanance- $0

No safety inspection

Free emmissions testing every 2 years.

Registration $45/year

 

Not too bad compared to some states with safety inspection.. sheesh...

Edited by 86 Wonder Wedge
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I thought mine was expensive. Some of the post on here make me happy about the price i pay a year for my 81 dl.

I pay $3.59 (currently) 87 octane for fuel. Im not sure on the mpg's because i only drive it once or twice a week for a total of 5 miles for the day.

insurance cost my $24 bucks a month $288/year

no inspection or epa stuff

tags cost me $21 a year.

The total i pay a year is $309 not counting fuel cost.

im pretty suprised how expensive other states are.

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Do you have to pay tax, though? Here tax and tags are lumped into one bill at the same time, but if I look at the break down about $50 is tax, and the other $30 is tags. On the outback it's a bit more ridiculous like $120 in tax... I should just stop owning newer cars.

 

The vast majority of my expense is in fuel... I drive about 35k/year, so that adds up really fast. Hopefully next year at school I'll be in biking distance from everything.... if I can get it under 10k a year that would rule.

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I don't quite understand about your tax.  We have GST here which is Goods and Service Tax and we pay 15% on EVERYTHING WE PURCHASE, so yes we pay tax.  But it obviously operates a bit different over there.  Thanks for explaining the octane thing too, makes perfect sense.  We are pretty much equal in that respect I think.

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Oh see in Maine they like to get as much money as possible out of you.

So you pay property tax on anything you own... Boats, cars, houses, property, anything you declare to the state you get taxed on. If it has to be registered, you bet they'll tax your rump roast to the bone.

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So is your 'property tax' a one off thing or does it keep adding up?  I take it that you have to declare everything?  Thanks very much for explaining things to me, I find it very interesting to see how you guys get on over there...

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there was a cool study done on how "free" the different states in the US were.  they factored pot laws but mainly focused on financial freedom.  My state of Washington was in the top half dozen or so.  they studied average income compared to housing costs, sin tax (liquor, tobacco, gambling), sales and income tax, and fuel costs.  very interesting read, helps give a perspective on how restrictive life can be when you don't have the money to simply go see a movie, or take a weekend off of work.  statistics are basically bull anyway, but the idea to look at what the rat race is costing you is a good experiment.

 

couple of things that I learned

 

Washington is one of the only few states to not have an income tax.  most states charge 10%-15% simply for living and/or working there.  basic sales tax here is 8%.  my state has a very heavy sin tax, approaching 50%.  fuel tax is pretty average from what I am seeing, its 38 cents per gallon here.  property taxes when I had my house were based on home value, just over $100 per month on 100k value.

 

when I worked in oregon, making 50% more than minimum wage, I lost 43% of my pay just going to work (state and federal income tax and commute fuel).  I had a decently long commute at 30 miles 1 way, but thats not insane or anything.  another 25% went to rent and 6% for other needed bills like insurance and phone (this was very cheap).  so 26% of everything I made was mine for food, fun, and entertainment.  it was much less than this when I owned my home.

 

My new goal is 51% of my time doing what I want, and 51% of my money getting spent on what I want.  I figure if your not spending over 50% of your time and money on what you want then your going the wrong direction.

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So is your 'property tax' a one off thing or does it keep adding up?  I take it that you have to declare everything?  Thanks very much for explaining things to me, I find it very interesting to see how you guys get on over there...

 

In maine, everything the state knows about you get taxed on. If you sell a car and declare it, you pay tax on that income, like any other income. Not only that, when you buy a car you have to pay a first time excise tax on it. So that sale is getting taxed twice.... It's really ridiculous.

Income tax is around 7%, keeps moving around. But you pay 7, and your employer pays about 7. And on top of that you pay like $400, just because. Since I'm self employed, I get nailed with about 14% income tax, get no benefits, nothing. Heh.

If you're a student going to school? They don't really care about you... Pay the same as everyone else and have fun being poor.

Of course you still have to pay federal taxes on top of all this, no getting out of that.

Edited by 987687
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Vermont, USA

 

we have 2 GLs, one hatchback and one wagon.

 

$35 each annually for state inspection, (this isn't just emisions, they check lights, signals, wipers, glass mirrors etc.)

$550 annually for full coverage insurance

$130 annually to register both cars.

taxes are one time at time of purchase, $30 each car.

gas is $3.50-$3.80 a gallon, getting 27 MPG on the wagon and 30 on the hatchback MPG, we drive 10-20 miles a day if just going to and from work.

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I live in Mount Vernon, WA state an hour north of Canada. I drive a 1991 loyale 4wd 5sp wagon.

 

I get 20.44 mpg

I think that's 8.69 liters per km

 

325 miles on a 15.9 gal tank

523.4 km on a 80.18 L tank...... Yeah

 

I almost fill it weekly. (At least we didn't mess with the day measurements )

 

Yearly insurance - $632 USD

 

Yearly Registration - $52

 

Every other month oil change - $18

 

One quart of oil in between - $2.80 (buddy @ Shell refinery)

 

Every other year brakes - $38

 

About every other year tires - $160

 

@ $4 a gallon, I spend $11.54 every day to drive

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Here in NZ fuels costing me $2.11/l - which works out to be $6.27USD/gal. Costs me about $50NZD a week - I do about 200km/week.

 

I hope you guys over in the states don't think your $3.99/gal fuel is expensive!!!

 

 

I pay about $12/mo for 3rd party insurance on my 89 Legacy 2.2.

Rego $78 every three months.

WOF (Warrant of Fitness, safety testing basically, no emissions) $40 every 6 months

 

Comes out to $3136NZD or $2466USD a year, give or take a few hundred for maintenance and extra gas for trips. Not bad really.

Edited by rxleone
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Here in NZ fuels costing me $2.11/l - which works out to be $6.27USD/gal. Costs me about $50NZD a week - I do about 200km/week.

 

I hope you guys over in the states don't think your $3.99/gal fuel is expensive!!!

 

 

I pay about $12/mo for 3rd party insurance on my 89 Legacy 2.2.

Rego $78 every three months.

WOF (Warrant of Fitness, safety testing basically, no emissions) $40 every 6 months

 

Comes out to $3136NZD or $2466USD a year, give or take a few hundred for maintenance and extra gas for trips. Not bad really.

At $6.27 I wouldn't be using gas. I'd do a a LPG conversion or get a horse and bicycle :lol:
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yah, gas prices in the US are still good, even if it hurts to pay $4 a gallon.  its made up for somewhere though, money makes the world turn so if we arent paying it in fuel costs they are getting it from other sectors for sure.  it looks like you guys pay much less for insurance than we do for one point, and im guessing that our government gives a large chunk of our taxes to the oil companies to offset the gas cost, that way we will reelect them so they can take more next term.

 

one problem is that we dont have the options that you all do.  we dont have near as much access to the high mileage diesels, LPG, and other alternatives.  they exist, but arent very convenient and support for that market sucks.

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At $6.27 I wouldn't be using gas. I'd do a a LPG conversion or get a horse and bicycle :lol:

 

It's gone up again as well, to $2.15/l. Fluctuates pretty badly over here in NZ. I hear fuel is even more expensive in the UK then ours.

 

yah, gas prices in the US are still good, even if it hurts to pay $4 a gallon.  its made up for somewhere though, money makes the world turn so if we arent paying it in fuel costs they are getting it from other sectors for sure.  it looks like you guys pay much less for insurance than we do for one point, and im guessing that our government gives a large chunk of our taxes to the oil companies to offset the gas cost, that way we will reelect them so they can take more next term.

 

one problem is that we dont have the options that you all do.  we dont have near as much access to the high mileage diesels, LPG, and other alternatives.  they exist, but arent very convenient and support for that market sucks.

 

Yeah, I noticed that our insurance seems a lot cheaper. That said, my $12 a month is 3rd party, so it only covers repairs to cars I hit, and not to my own. But that's irrelevant, considering my Legacy is only worth about $1250 NZD - any damage to it would probably write it off.

 

What are high mileage diesels? We pretty much only have one grade of diesel, and it's not really taxed - however, any diesel vehicle pays road user charges, or RUCs, which are about $35 or so per 1000km travelled for a standard SUV/car.

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