Cost of Ownership

[Plati]

I've kept track of every penny I spent on my 2003XLT purchased new.
It cost me $32,000 (including sales tax) to purchase & $14,100 maintenance since then.
Residual value is like maybe $1000 (not that I will ever sell)

I did not include gasoline or insurance or NYS registration.
Did include tires, brakes, oil/filter, wipers, fluids, parts, and all required maintenance.

Probably burned 14,000 gallons of gas ... $28,000
Insurance maybe ... $11,000
NYS Registration/Inspection maybe ... $1200

So with those added in I've spent about $85K for the privilege of being with her.
That's $0.47/mile.

183K miles on the Old Girl. Runs like a champ, but BUTT UGLY with Corrosion.
I keep hoping she will die so I can buy a new Vette, Porsche, or BRONCO.

Recent years I'm running about $700/year on maintenance, $500/year insurance, $100/year Reg/Insp, $600/year fuel to drive it 3000 miles/year. Thats $0.57/mile. I think that tells me it's more expensive to drive an older BEATER than a newer vehicle? I suspect that will be way worse in the future with a newer vehicle that has all the electronic crap on it.

 

[Aspen03]

I very highly doubt its more than a new one. Being a 2020 XLT is about 60k sticker and gas now is very likely more than it was in the first decade you owned yours. Assuming it lasts as long as this one the vehicle cost alone is 30 cents a mile. Gas is at least another 14 cents, even on an EcoBoost, using 87 octane. My guess is youd be north of 70 cents 17 years from now on a 2020, the maintenance at high miles and age on these newer vehicles is likely to become devastatingly expensive with all the tech and safety equipment on them.

My 03 EB I plan on about 25 cents a mi for basic operational costs. Fuel averages about 15 alone, wear items, consumables, etc. That budget has worked out pretty well in the past 16 months. Major repairs are not in that as I've never done anything. I've put almost nothing into this other than gas, brakes, oil, air filter in about 17k miles of ownership. I'll be due for tires this winter, that's going to be 700-1k depending on how fancy I go. It'll likely be the last set it sees so going to get something I like for the hwy.

Next spring I plan to service the LSD and 4wd components to hopefully avoid any surprises and keep w the service interval the PO used. According to the substantial records I received with it the 2 owners before me spent $6093.37 on maintenance over 205k miles. That's including tires, oil changes, diagnostics, hub replacements, etc. I'm at about $500 w my brakes and oil changes so far. When tires go on that'll push the total of maintenance to probably around $7500 and it'll have north of 230k on it by that time. Pretty reasonable if you ask me as that's about 3.5 cents per mile.

What's maddening is our navigator. A tank of gas has been lasting her about 6 weeks and that's at an average of 11mpg in the city w all of the extended idling we have to do w the way things are. Breaking her down to cost per mile is crazy. It's probably close to 60 cents without budgeting for repair. This tank of gas was $73, last one she got almost exactly 300mi. Insurance is 60 percent more than expedition despite her not working and has no commute. Same year vehicle as well. I know the maintenance will be more overall just due to the differences in it, air ride, the extra electronic goodies, etc. Hers will be a good $2k year expense just to sit in rhe driveway assuming nothing goes wrong and the few miles for the errands she does. Theres no payment as it was bought outright.

 

[BlackCoffee]

I look at the cost of repairs/ownership from a different view. 18 months ago, after putting new tires on my 2003 Eddie Bauer, I lost the transmission. Sure, it's got 250K, but the interior and body is pretty good and I like it. I put about 7K into a complete engine and transmission rebuild. While in, I replace the radiator support and cleaned up all the little stuff. Noticed the inner rocker panels were rust and payed 3K to a body shop to weld in new rockers. All said it was 10K. A new Expo is running over 50K. That's about $1000 a month payment. So, when I past 10 months on the rebuild, I figured I was doing good. I don't mind a 18 year old Expo as long as it is reliable, starts every morning, and has good power.

That all being said, notice the most expensive thing is body work. Especially since I get someone else to do it. Also, I can tell you from the rebuild, it is beginning to get hard to find parts for the gen 2 Expeditions. My cams were gone and I was lucky to find a CompCam stock grind to substitute.

Noticed you are from Penfield, spent my formative years in upstate NY back when the drinking age was 18 (that'll date me) and chicken wings were only available in Buffalo. Love upstate NY.

 

[Trainmaster]

I've kept track of every penny I spent on my 2003XLT purchased new.

A very interesting thread. Thanks, Sticker for sharing and for keeping the records. From what I've read over the years, your 47 cents/mile sounds right on average. I'm a bit surprised, as I don't usually trust those type of statistics.

Those numbers pretty much match mine, though I do all my own work, so I save a little there, but probably spend a good part of it on tools supplies and grief. Looks like you do most also.

Didn't know NYS did emissions testing up there. Though we downstate were the only lucky ones.

Of course as machines age, the probability of a big repair increases. And the likelihood of amortizing that huge repair over a long future diminishes. And that's why we eventually give up and replace these things.

 

[TomB985]

I just wanted to chip in and say THANKS for posting this! You keep outstanding records, and this is useful in a number of ways. I like how you noted which repairs were done professionally in which you did yourself, and the cost difference is substantial.

 

[BlackCoffee]

There is a nice Android app I use that tracks all expenses and you can set up service alerts. It is called drivvo. It can be synced across multiple phones if you have more than one driver. It can also track multiple cars.

https://www.drivvo.com/en

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

That's a high maintenance cost over the years, but your annual maintenance cost at the moment is low. I consider < $1,000/year maintenance to be perfectly acceptable. If it keeps up that way I would keep driving it, but don't be afraid to let her go if she becomes a money pit.

My Mountaineer only cost me ~$2,000 in maintenance for 13 years (170K miles) of ownership, but another $2,500 in the last 2 years of ownership. I bought it for $9,500 and sold it for $2,500, so it only cost me $767/year over 15 years. My Expedition has already cost me more than that. :x

 

[Plati]

That's a high maintenance cost over the years, but your annual maintenance cost at the moment is low. I consider < $1,000/year maintenance to be perfectly acceptable. If it keeps up that way I would keep driving it, but don't be afraid to let her go if she becomes a money pit.

My Mountaineer only cost me ~$2,000 in maintenance for 13 years (170K miles) of ownership, but another $2,500 in the last 2 years of ownership. I bought it for $9,500 and sold it for $2,500, so it only cost me $767/year over 15 years. My Expedition has already cost me more than that. :x

Hmmm ... $2000 can't include tires, brakes, filters, fluids, plugs & normal wear items (???) so that's an apples to oranges thing. I did get hit by 2 window regulators, 2 wheel hubs, rusted out brake lines & other corrosion expenses - but I would think my costs were typical for a rust town Expy. Even those named expenses are typical on an Expy in Rust City.

 

[Trainmaster]

Yes, Sticker. After owning and driving a half dozen of these, your numbers seem right on. Couldn't be closer to mine. The only deviation comes with some of the stuff where you paid for labor. At about $100/hour and double of part prices, that adds up. But it's pay someone or roll around in the dirt for the day. There are always a few choices depending on how you value your time, what you want to do yourself and what preventative work you choose. Looks like we service these and run these very similarly. Funny as to how the cars behave about the same.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Hmmm ... $2000 can't include tires, brakes, filters, fluids, plugs & normal wear items (???) so that's an apples to oranges thing. I did get hit by 2 window regulators, 2 wheel hubs, rusted out brake lines & other corrosion expenses - but I would think my costs were typical for a rust town Expy. Even those named expenses are typical on an Expy in Rust City.

I looked at my records after posting and it was actually about $2,300, but yes, that includes tires, brakes, etc. I never did the fluids at all (I should have, but I didn't.). In the first 13 years the only repairs outside maintenance that were needed were a radiator hose and a wheel bearing. The last 2 years (not included in that $2,400) I had all sorts of stuff go (radiator, another bearing, alternator, brake caliper, etc.). My '11 Expedition has already cost me a couple thousand plus since 2015.