Breaking Down the Costs of Driving
The Car
If you have your own ride, this expense is free—sort of. You don’t pay anything out of pocket, but with every mile you drive, your car wears down. Eventually, that wear and tear leads to repairs and part replacement. A 2017 AAA study reveals that car maintenance costs are about 6-10 cents per mile.
The Cost of Car Maintenance = Miles in your trip * Maintenance price per mile
Renting a Car
Before you make your final choice, consider renting a car to travel to your vacation spot. Renting a car vs. flying can actually save you money in two parts of your vacation budget: getting to your destination and getting around once you get there.
Breaking Down the Costs of Driving
The Car
If you have your own ride, this expense is free—sort of. You don’t pay anything out of pocket, but with every mile you drive, your car wears down. Eventually, that wear and tear leads to repairs and part replacement. A 2017 AAA study reveals that car maintenance costs are about 6-10 cents per mile.
The Cost of Car Maintenance = Miles in your trip * Maintenance price per mile
Renting a Car
Before you make your final choice, consider renting a car to travel to your vacation spot. Renting a car vs. flying can actually save you money in two parts of your vacation budget: getting to your destination and getting around once you get there.
Fuel
Unlike car maintenance, this travel expense does come straight out of your bank account. To calculate how much this part of the trip will cost you, you need to know a few things about your car:
You also need to know how many miles you’ll actually be driving AND what gas costs along the way.
The Cost of Gas = This can be very difficult to estimate, especially for a long-distance trip. But the fuel calculator at FuelEconomy.gov can do it for you in minutes.
Auto Insurance & Car Payments
Wondering why these costs are listed here? After all, you pay the bills every month whether you go on a road trip or not. But think of it this way: the cost of an airplane ticket isn’t just the value of your seat on the plane. It factors in all of the airline’s costs to run the plane: employee salaries, fuel, insurance, etc.
To truly compare the cost of flying versus driving, you have to take these expenses into account.
Auto Insurance & Car Payments = (Insurance + car payment) / 30 days * Number of days on your trip
Example: ($75 insurance + $315 car payment) / 30 * 5-day trip = $65
Tolls
This is one expense you won’t encounter on an airplane. If you’ll be driving through a part of the country with toll roads, you can save yourself time by using them. They can be less crowded during heavy traffic times and are often maintained better.
Of course, you also have the option to ask your map application to take you around toll roads, eliminating this expense altogether.
Renters who want to drive on toll roads can request affordable e-Toll services from Budget. Our cars have electronic transponders that let you drive past the cash-toll windows (no juggling change in the car!).
The math: An app like TollSmart comes in handy here for estimating toll expenses.
Fuel
Unlike car maintenance, this travel expense does come straight out of your bank account. To calculate how much this part of the trip will cost you, you need to know a few things about your car:
You also need to know how many miles you’ll actually be driving AND what gas costs along the way.
The Cost of Gas = This can be very difficult to estimate, especially for a long-distance trip. But the fuel calculator at FuelEconomy.gov can do it for you in minutes.
Auto Insurance & Car Payments
Wondering why these costs are listed here? After all, you pay the bills every month whether you go on a road trip or not. But think of it this way: the cost of an airplane ticket isn’t just the value of your seat on the plane. It factors in all of the airline’s costs to run the plane: employee salaries, fuel, insurance, etc.
To truly compare the cost of flying versus driving, you have to take these expenses into account.
Auto Insurance & Car Payments = (Insurance + car payment) / 30 days * Number of days on your trip
Example: ($75 insurance + $315 car payment) / 30 * 5-day trip = $65
Tolls
This is one expense you won’t encounter on an airplane. If you’ll be driving through a part of the country with toll roads, you can save yourself time by using them. They can be less crowded during heavy traffic times and are often maintained better.
Of course, you also have the option to ask your map application to take you around toll roads, eliminating this expense altogether.
Renters who want to drive on toll roads can request affordable e-Toll services from Budget. Our cars have electronic transponders that let you drive past the cash-toll windows (no juggling change in the car!).
The math: An app like TollSmart comes in handy here for estimating toll expenses.
