Scooter/Budget

Major Redneck · Post by **Major Redneck** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:07 pm

we as Scooterist,,, some old some new,,, have seen just how little money it takes to use scooters...

im just a sick redneck wondering here,,, but,,,

how has owning a scooter changed your budget???

far as myself in 06 my fuel bill for autos was $1590.00... in 07 when i got my tgb i used $600.00... in 08 and 09 it was right at $500.... this is just fuel alone...

i am changing the oil in my festiva (scooter with 2 extra wheels,,,windshild,,,heat,,,ac) not for the miles iv put on it,,, its been a year and iv only put 2,200 miles on it... im also noticeing just how much more i have to pay just to own 4 wheel autos,,, not so much to use but to have when needed... iv put less than 200 miles on my chevy van,,, most of those miles was just to move the oil around and charge the battery...

owning a scoot has created some free cash for me that went to a number of other things...

now with fuel prices going up to the $3.oo mark i guess i'll have less free cash,,, and i'll see more scooters on the road...

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:23 pm

When it all started three years ago I owned three cars, my wife’s, daughters and my personal car, all paid for.
When its all said and done; I still own the same cars; but now my wife has a scooter, her second one, she sold the first one on trade-in, I have two scooters, intend to sell one in the spring/summer. So, for me it has been much more expensive owning scooters than if I just stayed away from them. Gas prices will have to dramatically change for the worse before I see any monetary benefits with owning scooters - but, with that all said; it has been a real gas with the scooters.
...and I haven't even gotten my motorcycle yet (the wife got a scooter when I told her I was getting a MC)

Amend: after reading others comments I also need to add; modifications and accessories alone negate any savings

bigbropgo · Post by **bigbropgo** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:51 pm

Interesting topic. I think most buy a scooter because of the savings on fuel, insurance etc. But then it changes their whole lifestyle. Its not just poor kid in college or dui-cycles anymore. I can drive mine for work so for me, I have to make reasons to go for a ride. "We're outta milk? I'll get it."

scootermom · Post by **scootermom** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 6:55 pm

Funnily enough, the whole scooter thing started when my husband (who works 4mi from our house) offhandedly said he was thinking about getting a scooter. The original plan was for him to get one and save us wear and tear on our older van and also save gas. Then we went to Scoot Richmond last summer and *I* was hooked and had to have one.

Now, *I* have the scooter, he has an older motorcycle and we still have both the vehicles. This being a particularly cold winter, he is driving the minivan to work still, and my Buddy hangs out in the garage. I ride at least every other day, just for fun, but so far our van wear and tear and gas budget has been unchanged. We'll see how much that changes when the weather does.

We both work close to home, but can't rely only on the scooter because we have three kids, two of whom are in car seats. We're still thrilled with the scooter, though, even if it's more of a recreational vehicle now.

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 6:57 pm

Can't say that I've "saved" money by owning scooters. One reason is that I've modded one, put a lot of miles on it, and have spent a lot on tires, rollers, belts and replacement parts. It may have netted savings if I was still commuting, but as is much of my riding is recreational. Cost over a year is probably close to what I spent maintaining and repairing my old car, a 12-yo VW with issues. That sat in the driveway for 2 years as a result, then I ditched it and later bought a new car that costs me nothing to maintain and gets pretty good gas mileage. But, again, since I no longer commute, I actually put more miles on my Vespa than my car!

So maybe if circumstances were different, I'd have saved in the long run. I didn't buy to save money, though. I bought to ride! And I like spending money on my scooters when I can.

jmkjr72 · Post by **jmkjr72** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:02 pm

i think every penny i save goes in to my mod budget
i have redone my zuma a few diffrent ways and come spring it will be reborn again in a new form
then you have to budget in well i just have to have whats on craigs list now
one good thing is that when work is slow i dont mind working 30 mils from home if o only get a cople of hours when i can ride the scoot if i have to take the truck i have to work at least a full hour just to pay for the fuel with the scoot im even in just a few minutes

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:06 pm

ericalm wrote:...a 12-yo VW with issues...

Isn't that redundant?

I didn't get into it for gas savings, I got into it because I saw one when I was about 12 and had (kinda) wanted one ever since.

I may have saved a little on gas, because my first scoot was a 4T 50cc, which was too slow to ride home for lunch, so I cut my commuting miles in half and increased my gas mileage 6-fold. But I didn't replace a vehicle, so I still had registration, insurance, and gas/oil/etc on both.

I think I remember seeing a post or site somewhere that pretty effectively explained the savings you may expect from scooter ownership. I also seem to remember that the savings were much less than people expected when buying the scoot.

Kaos · Post by **Kaos** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:34 pm

Like many people, I went full time on the scooter to save gas. I work 25 miles from home and was daily driving a 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite with a 550HP bigblock in it. When gas hit 3 dollars at the end of '07/begining on
08 I was spending $30 every other day in gas. I now spend about $10 a week, which gives me more money to modify both the Buddy and my hotrods

hcstrider · Post by **hcstrider** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:37 pm

I am at the opposite end of the spectrum from Kaos, my scooters have not saved me any money but I did not purchase them with the intention of getting rid of a car and saving money. My wife and I retained our cars as our primary transportation. Our Buddys were purchased as a fun activity and are used almost exclusively on weekends. It is an expensive hobby but we love every minute of it.

Major Redneck · Post by **Major Redneck** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:02 pm

i got my first scoot in 07 just to ride and it was a prayer when i got it if i could even ride it... but once i found out i could ride it without hurting my back it was on,,, then came the modding,,, better tires,,, tools,,, cooler looking riding gear,,, etc... and yea that took alot of the savings,,, but unlike fuel,,, i still have most of eveything i spent the savings on...

after a few months of scootin i found that i was getting more than good gas milage i was also getting "Therapy" mental and phyical... its great for getting a brake from the all-so norm of things and taking off for a 45min scoot... in doing this i also increased the muscle tone in the back... which was painful at first but once the muscle grew to that its not bad at all... i see my chiropractor when needed last time was 4 months ago... before 07 it was weekly... that part was amazing who would have thunk??? he asked me why was i doing better and i realy did not know,,, asked what am i doing deferent than before,,, i said riding daily... he said there you go...

my pop-doc (chiropractor) really loves my scooters and some days ill let him ride one at lunch for a few,,, he talks all the time about wanting to get a vespa but his wife says NO!

Anachronism · Post by **Anachronism** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:24 am

Kaos wrote:Like many people, I went full time on the scooter to save gas. I work 25 miles from home and was daily driving a 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite with a 550HP bigblock in it. When gas hit 3 dollars at the end of '07/begining on
08 I was spending $30 every other day in gas. I now spend about $10 a week, which gives me more money to modify both the Buddy and my hotrods

RB powered Satellite? I'm drooling. I knew there were other hot rodders here.

I don't have anything classic, but I have a 1991 Firebord Formula that used to run 11's and would get air under the passenger front tire on launch (yay chassis flex!). I detuned it a lot so I could drive it without worrying on cheaper gas, but it still has a brutal kickout on the 1-2 shift.

I haven't daily driven it for a while- I actually found that I really, really liked Subaru's for a daily driver because they are reliable and simple to work on (for a newer car).

I got the scooter for commuting, but also because I like driving places for fun, and not having to worry about destroying the wallet for fun is pretty cool.

Lostmycage · Post by **Lostmycage** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:36 am

I used saving money as an excuse to get into scooting. I've not saved any money at all. Too many mods, bikes and gear out there for that. What I will say is that the money I've spent has become more tangible. The things I've spent it on I can actually account for, not just burned up in vapor at the hands of a 4 liter truck engine. However, I still cannot carry a framed door on any of my bikes, but my truck doesn't even flinch at the though of that dainty payload.

It's all a matter of trade-offs. I've not saved money, but it's all been worth it by a large margin.

Kaos · Post by **Kaos** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:48 am

Anachronism wrote:
Kaos wrote:Like many people, I went full time on the scooter to save gas. I work 25 miles from home and was daily driving a 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite with a 550HP bigblock in it. When gas hit 3 dollars at the end of '07/begining on
08 I was spending $30 every other day in gas. I now spend about $10 a week, which gives me more money to modify both the Buddy and my hotrods
RB powered Satellite? I'm drooling. I knew there were other hot rodders here.

I don't have anything classic, but I have a 1991 Firebord Formula that used to run 11's and would get air under the passenger front tire on launch (yay chassis flex!). I detuned it a lot so I could drive it without worrying on cheaper gas, but it still has a brutal kickout on the 1-2 shift.

I haven't daily driven it for a while- I actually found that I really, really liked Subaru's for a daily driver because they are reliable and simple to work on (for a newer car).

I got the scooter for commuting, but also because I like driving places for fun, and not having to worry about destroying the wallet for fun is pretty cool.

Yep, its a 440 powered just shy of Pro Street car

And its not my only one

I've also got:
72 Plymouth Scamp(340),
66 Plymouth Belvedere(413 Max Wedge)
50 Chrysler Windsor(Strait-8 )
37 Ford Pickup(327 chebby)

Howardr · Post by **Howardr** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:58 am

I initially thought that owning the scoot would save me money, however, my wife, quickly pointed out that there is not real savings. The money just goes to different things, other than gas.
If you get rid of your cars completely, you may save money, but as long as you own 1 or more cars, your savings are negligible, if at all. That being said, I just love the scooters. I wouldn't trade them for all the Priuses ever made.
What do you spend extra money on?
1.)Oil changes are much more frequent than cars and, if you don't do them yourself, as MUCH more expensive than your car. Even if you do it yourself, it's about the same as your car.
2.)Tires changes, again, much more frequent than cars and 2 scooter tires can easily be the same as 4 auto tires.
3.)Still has to be insured.
4.) Mods can eat up a lot of cash, but not everyone does them.
5.) You can also spend a lot of cash on gear that you need to ride, that you not have spent had you just kept your car.

I'm not trying to talk anyone out of owning or riding a scooter. But when people tell me they are thinking of buying one just to save money, I try to get them to see all these other expenses and not just look at gas mileage, as wonderful as it may be.

My $.02
Howard

Anachronism · Post by **Anachronism** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:16 pm

I think Lostmycage made a really good point that while getting into scooting may not save you money, the things you spend money on are tangible: scooter, mods and gear.

While all things considered, having a scooter may not be cheaper, for me it still lowers my monthly recurring costs with the fuel savings. In the riding season (March/April to October typically), I save about $150 a month in gas.

That money saved does typically go for racks, mods, jackets, helmets, etc., but those are purchases I CHOOSE to make as part of the hobby. I've purchased both of my scoots with extra cash from good month at work (I work as a fraud investigator and get paid by each case that I work, so if I work hard one month I can make a LOT of extra dough).

I bought my first scoot to save money on monthly "gotta pay this to live" expenses, and scootering moves those expenses to larger purchases when I want to make them. It is also awesomely fun. The forecast is for a nice day, and I look forward to getting some riding in!

Anachronism · Post by **Anachronism** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:17 pm

Kaos wrote:
Anachronism wrote:
Kaos wrote:Like many people, I went full time on the scooter to save gas. I work 25 miles from home and was daily driving a 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite with a 550HP bigblock in it. When gas hit 3 dollars at the end of '07/begining on
08 I was spending $30 every other day in gas. I now spend about $10 a week, which gives me more money to modify both the Buddy and my hotrods
RB powered Satellite? I'm drooling. I knew there were other hot rodders here.

I don't have anything classic, but I have a 1991 Firebord Formula that used to run 11's and would get air under the passenger front tire on launch (yay chassis flex!). I detuned it a lot so I could drive it without worrying on cheaper gas, but it still has a brutal kickout on the 1-2 shift.

I haven't daily driven it for a while- I actually found that I really, really liked Subaru's for a daily driver because they are reliable and simple to work on (for a newer car).

I got the scooter for commuting, but also because I like driving places for fun, and not having to worry about destroying the wallet for fun is pretty cool.
Yep, its a 440 powered just shy of Pro Street car
And its not my only one
I've also got:
72 Plymouth Scamp(340),
66 Plymouth Belvedere(413 Max Wedge)
50 Chrysler Windsor(Strait-8 )
37 Ford Pickup(327 chebby)

Sick. Now I want to cry.

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:51 pm

Monthly payment PLUS GAS is cheaper than a monthly SEPTA transpass. Win/win.

sunshinen · Post by **sunshinen** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:43 am

This is what I tallied after my first year of ownership

Purchase Costs:
scooter purchase $2495
helmet $250.00
gloves $128
cold weather gear $250
accessories $200.00
reflective $20
chain $100.00
Class M license $10.00
MSF course $100.00

Total Cost $3,911.00

Annual Cost/Benefits
Net savings on depreciation (value of not putting the miles on my car minus cost of scooter depreciation if sold, using bluebook estimates of changing the mileage) = $150
Net savings on vehicle maintenance (based on online "real vehicle cost" estimates for my car per mile) = $895
Savings in gas costs = $255 (my commute was only 6 miles)
Savings in parking fees = $130
Net insurance savings (Reduction in car insurance premium minus cost of adding insurance for the scooter) = $15
Cost of scooter registration = $-122

Total value of riding my scooter for the year = $1320

Annual return on initial investment of $3911 = 33.75%

-------------------------------

Now that I've sold my car... I save about $2000 per year on gas and vehicle costs (I now have a 3-mile commute, and am no longer in grad school, so less mileage and less parking fees or that number would be much higher). And by selling my car, well that pays off the scooter and gives me a nice chunk of change I can invest in other things.

Major Redneck · Post by **Major Redneck** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 12:39 pm

i'll agree i have to have my 4 wheel autos... there is a need for them still... i just dont drive them much at all now with owning a scooter...

and if i owned a motorcycle say a V-star,,, Hardly-Davison i dont think i would i would drive it as much as i do my scooters...

B-rad · Post by **B-rad** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 6:08 pm

I have super opposite modes of transportation. A 2002 Dodge Dakota R/T and my Buddy. I figure, if you average out the mileage between the two, it is kinda like owning a Civic

I think most scooterists are kinda geared towards hot rodding oddly enough. I have built a 49 Caddy, 47 Caddy, 54 Buick Super, 91 silvia jdm monster, and a bunch of other things that go fast.
I think the cool thing about most scooter people is how much more well open they are when it comes to building stuff.
As far as savings... Even though I ride all of my bikes till they can't be rebuilt anymore, I don't think I save that much money due to the fact that every chance I get to ride you will see me on the road. I don't play video games, facebook, myspace etc. I live in a place where you can ride everyday and still never run out of places to go.
When I get home I plan on riding every day that I can. Hwy 31 goes all the way to the gulf of Mexico. Gas savings... probably not. Happy soul; definately!