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Unless you can consistently average at least 23mpg (during the rush hours) that won't even cover half your fuel cost let alone wear and tear.

(Calculation based on my local fuel price of 91.9/litre)

Ouch. 86.9 per litre here. I don't want to go off on another fuel price tangent but how can nearly 25p a gallon difference from one part of the country to another be justified?

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

At 23mpg and 91.9p fuel costs that's 18p per mile. Now the figure of 91.9p suggests your refering to diesel(since petrol is 84/85.9 everywhere I've seen) and if you've got a diesel vehicle that averages less then 23mpg then that's your problem, not your car-pool mate's. Even my mates Range Rover gets 23mpg around town! The idea is that you charge people a fair price, which 10p seems entirely reasonable to me.

my old car a 1.3 toyota cost £10k sold for £3k with 60,000 miles on the clock

£300 ins
£300 servicing (every 10,000)
£30 a week petrol
£1500 a year depreciation
=£2400 for 30 miles each way
46 weeks a year=14,40 miles a year

£2400 / 1440 miles =16.9 p per mile on a direct uncongested route with no break downs in 4 years no accidents and an economic engine

I don't see that 10p a mile runs to a high power car

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

The 10p per mile is the car sharer's share of the costs, i.e. if there is you and him in the car, it represents a total cost of 20p per mile.

Also it could be argued that assuming you would continue to own the car anyway, the passenger should only contribute to his share of the marginal costs of making the journey, which is fuel plus a bit of wear and tear.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

But the whole point is that you are car sharing, not running a taxi service.

It is reasonable to expect that when sharing that you will accept half the costs, and your passenger will pay half the costs. So their 10p/mile, plus your 10p/mile = 20p/mile to cover costs. And they are not forgetting that you would have done the journey anyway (or a very similar one) and absorbed the whole cost. Find a third person and 30p/mile starts to look very generous.

I have tried car sharing in the past, most recently when a work colleague that lives 2 miles down the road from me had a crash and was off the road for a month, being realistic, it only works if you have fixed working hours; the moment one of you needs to work late and the other needs to come in and leave early to pick up the kids the whole arrangement falls to pieces.

Free market economy. If you had government regulation of prices it would be 91.9p or more everywhere.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

91.9 is what I paid for ordinary unleaded last week in Slough. But let's not get into a petrol price debate.

Obviously if you have someone contributing to your running costs then that is better than if you are travelling alone and get no contribution at all. The point I was trying to make was that "acceptable amount" mentioned previously does not allow the passenger to pay for half the fuel cost. I'd be very surprised if you really do average 23mpg in stop-start rush hour traffic.

This thread is getting way off topic.

It's rare that an entire journey is stop-start. I used to commute to Salford every morning from Burnley in a Trafic van and used to get over 30mpg at least. Most average cars be they petrol or diesel should get 23mpg or more on a typical commute. Some won't of course but then it wasn't the car share's choice, it was the drivers. It's unfair to charge them BMW 750 money when they would be quite happy in a Mondeo diesel. Things like insurance and depriciation are largely irrelvent, since you would have to pay those anyway. They may vary a bit with milage, but not huge amount. I was getting a few quotes this year and is was only £4 per 1000 miles extra on insurance. Of course if you buying a car specifically to share the commute with someone else then that's completely different, but if your going that way anyway then it seems like a good deal.

Move (or drive) to Slumsville to get your petrol then.


10p per mile actually works out just fine in a modern standard 2 litre saloon/hatch.
You are not making any profit, but you are not on a loser either.

You can't count depreciation/servicing/insurance/tax/MOT, etc because you would be suffering that regardless of whether you shared or not.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I just got my Subaru MY99 STI back from being tuned yesterday. I have dumped the 2.0l for a 2.5l block and upgraded the fuel pump, exhaust, injectors, turbo and engine management computer. My baby now produces 315bhp ATW but has oodles of torque from 1500rpm.

For 95% of my driving I tootle around with the traffic, occasionally squeezing the throttle to move ahead. The thing that is so nice to know is that if I need to overtake someone my time on the wrong side of the road is measured in very small numbers.

All I need is a very short straight piece of road and I am ahead of the mobile road block. Back off and cruise at a comfortable and safe speed until I meet the next mobile roadblock and repeat.....

Fuel economy is remarkably good because I am usually driving at under 3000rpm riding on the torque.

Bottom line is that I derive enormous pleasure from having that power available to me. For those for whom a car is a means of travelling from A to B just get whatever gets you there safely and comfortably, but for me horsepower rules.

I should also note that the first modification I made to my car was to install the biggest and most powerful brakes available for my car, which necessitated bigger wheels to fit them, because stopping is even more important than going.

My other car, which I use for track and motorkhana days, is an E36 M3 – modified of course.

I've been remiss for quite a while and am just having a quick catch-up.

Merry Christmas to all and may your New Year bring you joy and happiness...

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Ross

Yes I'm a hoon, but only on the track!!!!

How's this sound then? 660cc, 3 cylinder car. 600Kg unladen. Top speed of about 60mph, and gets 42mpg driving at that up and down mountains (lots of mountains...)

Cheap, but not very cheerful. They sell them in Japan, and they're very popular because you pay far less on road tax, insurance and "shakken" (bi-annual inspection, very very expensive)