I have now owned multiple two and even three wheeled forms of transportation. In a budgetary sense they have been brought about a huge saving for me when I rode them exclusively for three consecutive years. 3-4 litres per 100 kilometres travelled. Around $382 for registration (still expensive). And with self-servicing, around $4 in oil to complete a home-job oil change. What’s not to love? When I sold them, I would also estimate that I lost no more than 10% for a year of use. What fabulously slow depreciation!
My latest set of wheels is a Yamaha BeeWee YW100 that I bought with 5,000 kays on the clock for $725. I’ve got to get it fixed, resprayed and registered. All up I envisage around $950 to get it on the road and looking nice.
In the same week I received the registration for my old faithful Rav 4 with over 320,000 kilometres. I would estimate it would now be worth around $500 yet the registration is a ridiculously high $718! I am again pondering returning to a two wheeled commuter as the costs of servicing for a car, the registration and the insurance can be outrageous for such an old, but faithful clunker.
My passion for scooters came about after a trip to Japan and Europe. Those things are everywhere with people easily zipping around.
The location I currently live in is highly conducive to scooter commutes. A gentle 19 kilometre ride through the Yarra Valley has never once brought about anything close to a near miss. Would I ride in the suburbs or city? Probably not. The odds are not really in my favour.
Just comparing the two in a rough tally:
Scooter Car
Value $950 $500
Annual Servicing $4 $345
Registration $382 $718
Insurance $295(Comp.) $266(3rd Party)
Petrol (5k km) $210 approx. $700 approx.
Total Expenses $1841 $2529
$688 is an okay saving to having a scooter. But as you can see there is a large an advantage to having a cheap vehicle with such low annual outgoings and zero depreciation (it’s at an all time low). This year, however, I do have a few upkeeps on the horizon to keep the Rav 4 roadworthy such as tyres, a new headlight and the windscreen. These would easily add another $950 to the cost of the car.
There are advantages to having a car but I tend to travel to work alone, and out and about in the family car. I do love commuting by scooter. At the moment, the minus 3 degree morning requires quality motorcycle apparel to stop from freezing up.
The savings are minimal but still worth it given the table above. Where a scooter really comes into its own is when you have a high value vehicle that is rapidly depreciating.
Owning a newish vehicle haemorrhages money each year. Read the Drive article below for more information.
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/biggest-losers-20110506-1ean8.html
Return Of The Scooter!
July 19th, 2015 at 10:47 am
July 19th, 2015 at 11:18 am 1437304717
July 19th, 2015 at 04:00 pm 1437321620
July 19th, 2015 at 08:18 pm 1437337093
July 20th, 2015 at 12:02 pm 1437393753
Scooters are such a fun form of transport but they can only be ridden by the coolest of the cool!!
July 25th, 2015 at 12:54 pm 1437828850
Currently, my work commute is too long to warrant such a vehicle, but I wouldn't mind if, some day, I am in a living situation where I can use scooters exclusively for all my transportation needs.
Not many may realize this, but among other benefits, due to their inherent design, scooters generally also have bigger cargo capacity than most motorcycles. I mean, yes, many motorcyclists either wear a backpack, install side saddles, or both, but scooterists (haha) can do the same thing!
Also, due to the generally slower speeds for scooters, electric scooters are a realistic option. That means I don't even have to worry about gas. I just take it inside the front door, and plug it in.