From time to time, I like to calculate the cost of ownership of my vehicles.
For my purposes, I'm using purchase cost plus all maintenace and repairs (thus I'm excluding fuel, insurance, inspections, etc....). Somewhat arbitrary, but those are the big variables.

We bought our 2002 Honda Odyssey new and have driven it 134,000 miles. Over this time, we have spent $30,710 including the purchase price of $26,000 or so. We had an extended warranty through 100,000 miles, so overall maintenance and repairs have been really low. Anyway, that comes to 22.9 cents per mile.

I bought my 1992 300D at 137,500 and have driven it 87,000 miles. On it, my total cost of ownership is 25.9 cents per mile.

I've only had the 1991 300D for 14,000 miles, so figures wouldn't be meaningful yet.

What do you think? Can the MB catch the Honda (I have my doubts)? And can I get either one under 20 cents per mile? Only time will tell.

Another happy variable is that my ability to do my own work is only improving. So that will offset, to some degree, more frequent repairs, higher labor rates, and higher parts prices.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I dont even want to think of all the money I've put into this Wagon. It's a labor of love to me.

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Here in the UK, the AA did some tests many years ago, and they found that on average the cost of car ownership was 25pence (100 pence to the pound now) per mile.

This was instantly derided by everyone from motor manufacturers to the motoring public (who mainly buy vehicles on hire purchase of some sort) at large.

I have always found the AA figure to be surprisingly accurate, across a great range of vehicle types and ages and classes.

I have found similar correlations in the cost of buying "energy", when I look at mains electric, mains gas (as in gas, not gasoline), pump diesel and petrol, and converting it all to usable kWh units, it all comes in at the same number, to within a few %.

Intellectually, this stands to reason, if someone came along and set up a utility that could supply unlimited kWh in the form of lego bricks of unobtanium, whereby the cost per supplied kWh plus the cost of the "transformer" (eg propane powered electricity generator to convert propane to electricity) plus conversion efficiency was basically half of what is available today, world + dog would beat a path to their door and sign multi-year contracts.

Over the long term, mine cost about $0.30 per mile. Fuel is somewhere around $0.15 per mile. I drive my car about 50k miles per year, so that gives me another $7500 per year to work with. That is enough to maintain the car in good running condition indefinitely (including the occasional major repair). The current GAO/IRS mileage allowance is $0.50 per mile, so I'm doing OK.

The GAO doesn't publish the basis of their rate, but it appears to represent the cost of buying a mid-priced car new (maybe $30-40k) and replacing it after about 100k miles, or the cost of leasing a similar car. I don't believe you could stay within their rate buying/leasing a new Benz every few years.

The OP actually raises some interesting questions...

Energy comes, basically, in two forms, high density and low density, low density is solar, high density is diesel, getting "useful work in meaningful quantities" out of low density energy is hard work, and costs a lot of money. Getting useful work out of high density energy is cheap and easy and convenient.

I find money also comes in two forms.

Smart money and dumb money.

"Depreciation" is dumb money.

Admittedly fuel here in the UK is incredibly expensive compared to almost anywhere else (though in real terms, the adjusted cost per kWh has been remarkably constant for decades) but even so, the capital cost of my current vehicle represents approximately ten full tankfuls of diesel.

That diesel energy / money, once consumed, is of course gone forever.

The capital cost I might get back.

I am a tightwad, I buy and run cheap vehicles, my criterion for a vehicle are simple.

1/ I must be able to turn they key, day or night, and go any distance I choose, subject to having the cost of the fuel required. (Before you americans start talking about itty bitty little islands, I have driven to Greece and back, Russia and back, Portugal and back (all more than once) and a little realised fact is that the mediterrenean is closer / less miles away than the north of scotland)

2/ I do not mind routine planned maintenance, but apart from a puncture I will not tolerate breakdowns of any kind.

3/ I do not like annual (MoT test) running repairs, 2 days garage labour is more than I paid for my current car, 1 days garage labour is more than I normally pay for a car, so all potential work is viewed from a throwing good money after bad perspective.

4/ There is an unavoidable "base load" cost before I ever turn the key, MoT (an annual vehicle safety test), Road Tax (an annual road use taxation) and insurance (compulsory) and even for me, thanks to my age and clean history and low value cars minimising it, this base load cost is around about 5 bucks a day, or 2.5 litres of pump diesel.

5/ the intangible.

#5 is the one that really makes the choices, even though #5 is the "dumb money" one and all the others are arguably the "smart money" ones.

#5 understands that most of my fuel is consumed in local urban traffic, and I could make significant savings by driving a lightweight 1.2 litre diesel econobox.

but.

I actually like wafting around in silence and comfort, rarely hitting the high side of 1,500 RPM, sure, I might be burning fuel at double the rate of the econobox, but I don't drive that much, I'm not in a taxi.

unusually for a european, I think anyone who drives a manual in city traffic needs their bumps felt, auto boxes add to the wafting around feeling of peace and calm.

once you're on the "open" road or motorways, you don't change gear much anyway (not if you want to keep your licence, there is no need to change gear all the time if not driving aggressively... japanese motorcycle owners and always changing gear, when in fact any big jap bike will pull quite happily in top gear at any speed from 20 mph to eeek) so more waftiness.

My car immediately prior to this merc was a 1.9 litre 4 pot citroen diesel, ultra basic, didn't even have power steering. It felt every bump and contour in the road, city driving was constant accelerator / brake / clutch / gearbox, and you knew you were in an diesel econobox.

"base load" costs were identical to the merc.

Fuel costs were half.

But again, I just don't burn that much fuel that doubling my fuel cost hurts me that much.

And the fact is, I find the extra fuel burned, and the extra money spent, worth it, for the time I am in the vehicle, because I waft around in comfort and silence except for a faint 6 cylinder burble from the exhaust.

On paper, as transport, the citroen did everything the current merc does, gets me from A to B at will, but then ALL my vehicles have done that.

In reality, I am prepared to pay a premium on dumb money, ain't never getting it back, dissipated out the exhaust pipe, energy, in order to get the relaxed waftiness and silence and comfort. It has to be said, my merc is cheaper than getting the bus.

If all I cared about was cost of ownership, I have two motorcycles under tarps, a 1,000 cc vee twin that will return 60 mpg, and a 125 cc honda that will top 100 mpg with ease, both also have dramatically reduced "base load" costs compared to a car... and the odd times I need to move something too bulky for a bike, or more than 1 passenger, I can simply borrow or hire a car.

Or, I could walk, this city is about 45 minutes walking time from one side to the other, green fields to green fields.

So getting back to the OP and cost of ownership per mile.

Within certain limits of affordability (not having a 100k sticker price car, plus hire purchase costs, not having a 100 miles each way daily commute) cost per mile or cost of ownership isn't usually the deciding factor.

Cost per mile per unit of personal comfort and relaxation is the deciding factor... provided that that cost is still within my personal budget.

I think that if shertex takes into account the cost of his capital investment in the Honda ($26k), the old 300D will be well in front. To date the final value of the car has not been considered either. What is an 8 yo Honda worth? What is the 300D worth? If you have the 300D in 8 years & you have driven it 134k miles, you can then compare. You didnt pay $26k for the 300D.

The local motoring organization (RACV) down here publishes comparative figures each year for a range of different cars, from micros to large SUV's & gives the proper running costs. They range from 30c/km ~50c/mile to about $1 /mile for large expensive ones.

Its interesting that a figure of 50c per mile has been quoted. The tax office in Australia lets us claim 50c per km ~ 80c /mile. Craig's fuel cost per mile is closer to our per kilometer cost for fuel.
I have just been working on some numbers for a workers compensation claim & the insurance company allows 30c/kilometer ~ 50c /mile, they claim that they only pay the incremental cost, not fixed costs. The joke is they pay $120 for a 400km trip, & if you go by train, its relaxing, it costs you $36 for the trip.
Craig is well infront because he has little cost of capital, its all just running costs.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Exactly, the major cost for most people is depreciation (the cost of replacing the vehicle periodically). If I bought a car for $30k, drove it for 100k miles, and sold it for $10k; I would be spending $0.20/mile for depreciation alone. If I did the same with a $60k car and kept it for 200k miles, I would be spending $0.25/mile for depreciation. In my case, my car only cost about $7-8k when I bought it over 10 years ago so depreciation is not a factor, that frees up more than enough money to do whatever it takes to maintain the car indefinitely (in exchange for a $0.25/mile depreciation allowance, I could replace my engine once per year).

My lowest cost per mile auto that i have ever owner was my 94 Buick Roadmaster. I paid $5800 in 2000 for it, and put 95,000 miles on it. 6.1 cents per mile, Average mpg over this time has been 23, at 90% + highway. 4130 gallons of fuel or 11 cents per mile. Repairs over this time, 2 rear shocks @ 45, 2 sets of front brakes @12 and 17, (still on original rears), 1 set of tires @ $436(Michelin X radials installed at 85,000 miles still have tread), 1 tune up $425(expensive cap, rotor, wires, plugs @ 110,000), Water pump at tune up preventative @ $80 and 1 radiator @ $135. $1150 spent on maintanance items, doing all work myself. 1.2 cents per mile.

total cost assuming zero residual value = 18.3 cents per mile. No wonder so many taxi cabs were Chevy Caprice.

This car is now used only in the winter, so that my 87 300D can be parked over the salt season. But, I expect it to be on the road another ten years, or 80,000 miles. What will the cents per mile be at the end?

Regardless of what anyone's personal views are on Detroit iron, Ford and GM always could make a good RWD sedan. Caprice, Roadmaster, Crown Vic, Grand Marquis were incredibly well built to rack on mile after mile at low cost.
Fuel economy with a V8 in the mid 20s. I have got as good as 27 MPG with the Roadmaster. Never got less than 20 mpg with any fillup.

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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

If I was interested in getting the absolute minimum cost per mile, I would buy a small 5-10 year old, 100-150k mile, domestic/ricer POS with rough cosmetics and a decent drive train for $3-5k and drive it with minimum required maintenance until it needed a major repair. Then I would scrap/sell it for $500 and repeat the process. The only problem is you are constantly driving a piece of crap that may break down, but it's cheap.

I felt that way for one winter. Two years ago i bought a 93 Saturn sedan for the winter. 5 speed manual for good fuel economy, $800. I hated that thing by the end of winter and i sold it for $800. I guess that qualifies as my lowest cost per mile transportation, but that car was too small for me. Never again, but it was reliable.

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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

what he said. it trumps fuel cost, insurance, ....at least in the first 4 years.

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

Wod,
Just curious. Is that the strategy a lot of people do in the cold north? So when does the MB start and stop its hibernation?

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

The other factor to consider is what else could be done with the $26k cost of the Honda over the $3-5k cost of a used 123. If that money went into a downpayment on a rental property, the difference could be quite substantial.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I drive my 87 300D until the first snow that gets salted. Then in March I take it back out. If we get March snowfall, then I always wash it the next day and get an underbody flush. I hope to get another ten years out of it.

You can make cars last in the rust belt by washing them nearly every day, but it adds up quickly. Some will oil the underbodies every fall.

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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

Firstly, you left out the price you paid for the Mercedes-Benzes.

And, you must add ALL dollars spent on each vehicle, including it's purchase price, sales tax, interest paid annually on loans, insurance costs, annual licensing, tax levies - EVERYTHING.

Also, it's not anywhere near fair to compare a new Honda (less than 10 years old) with automobiles nearing 20 years of age in repair costs. Not to me anyway.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert