How much does it cost to drive a car for 5 miles?

A mini debate going on here. We have a 10 yr old BMW 530D, big heavy beast. Gets 40mpg on a run, and typically averages just under 30mpg with mixed driving. But seems less when engine’s cold.

So if you drive 5 miles, what’s the diesel cost (excl. wear and tear etc)? Anyone know … and presumably wear and tear’s tough on the first few miles?

Just out of interest/fuel the argument!

PDF from AA giving full details;

http://www.theaa.com/resources/Documents/pdf/motoring-advice/running-costs/diesel2012.pdf

but in summary, as much as £2.52/mile for a flash car with a big engine.

Well… if you take your average as 30mpg, then 5 miles = 1/6th of a gallon.

But confusing fuel is sold in litres, so 1/6th (UK Imperial) gallon = 0.7577 litres

According to http://www.petrolprices.com/ the current average price for diesel is 144.01p per litre

So that makes it about £1.09 by my calculations, for fuel alone.

Eh?

Well, diesel costs about £1.44 a litre or £6.54 a gallon.

So 40mpg means 5 miles will cost you (£6.54/40mpg*5miles) = £0.82
30mpg costs £1.08
20mpg costs £1.64

in terms of diesel cost alone. The more miles you do, the less significant all the other costs become to the overall cost/mile.

Our Focus does 40.25mpg (Petrol, average consumption worked out over 32,746 miles)
That’s 15p/mile in fuel according to my Road Trip app, over all that time, with varying fuel prices
5 miles is 75p in fuel alone

Tax is £165-ish a tear
Insurance £320
Servicing/repairs/MOT about £500
Tyres £300 a set for 26,000 miles

We do about 13,000 a year so we use half that set of tyres

150+500+320+165=£1135
1135/13000=8.7p/mile

5×8.7=43.5

43.5p+75p= 118.5p for 5 miles.

EDIT
5 miles costs 5.7p in tyres alone.

My Smart CDi has averaged 71mpg over it’s lifetime and at current pump prices is costing 9p per mile for fuel, (yes it’s very sad but I have a spreadsheet to keep track of it ) 😳

yes it’s very sad but I have a spreadsheet to keep track of it

😳 😳 😳 😳

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Untitled[/url] by PeterPoddy[/url], on Flickr

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Untitled[/url] by PeterPoddy[/url], on Flickr

Our Focus does 40.25mpg

What size/model Focus Peter? Mine only gets about 34mpg (according to trip computer) and I don’t exactly rag it!

jebus!

blimey! I guess then our debate’s moving to: when the engine’s cold, short journey = less efficient than hot engine, long journey therefore disproportionate amount of fuel used early on???

Apropos of nothing,

I once worked out that, given mileage covered and the amount of times I’ve bought new tyres, driving costs me around 10p a mile in rubber.

If I were to claim business travel expenses in a private car, I’d be looking at around 40p / mile. This ‘feels’ about right to me. So for the OP, I’d guess around two quid to drive five miles.

I just about get a thousand miles out of the rear tyre on my KTM Duke 690, that works out at 12p per mile (for one tyre).

Dibbs, are you using wets or something?

I just about get a thousand miles out of the rear tyre on my KTM Duke 690…

I once worked out that, given mileage covered and the amount of times I’ve bought new tyres, driving costs me around 10p a mile in rubber.

😯

Total cost for my 55 diesel astra is 34p per mile. I can get a more accurate figure when I eventually sell it and most of its mileage is moderate speed motorway driving.