Motoring costs UK vs US By rob63 (Read 816 times)

[rob63]

As this is a US forum I thought it might be interesting to compare motoring costs from across the pond. A lot of people over here in the UK moan that it`s very expensive here, so it would be nice to get some comparison to the US. Some of the stuff below doesn`t apply to me as I`m getting on in years but thought I`d include some things that new riders have to pay out as well

-Provisional driving licence $80
-Compulsory basic training $161 (lasts for 3 years after which they have to re do the training or take a bike test.
-Bike test including training $646
-Yearly Insurance.... 16 year old $400
48 year old $110
-MOT (yearly bike safety check) $40 plus cost of repairs if applicable
-Yearly Road tax....up to 150cc $26
151-400cc $58
-Litre of fuel $2.30
-litre of oil (2 or 4 stroke cost about the same) $11
-Garage hourly rate for repairs approx...$48
-Average weekly wage (40 hours) for scoot mechanic after tax....$310 - $400

Any comparison ladies and gents ?

[89newbie]

And our current ruller wants gas to cost the same here as in euro? 1 gallon = 3.8 gallons so that says about $8.75/gallon. Bet there would be a lot more scoots here if that happened!

[bullet]

Its very hard to come up with a comparison because its up to the individual states to set rates. In my state Florida, a $100.00 title transfer fee is charged and my 500 cc Royal Enfield costs $48.00 a year. Some states charge a property tax on vehicles and it can get quite costly. Insurance for both motorcycles is $95.00 a year. Keep in mind we are both around 60 years old and have very clean driving records. My Nissan pick up costs $71.00 a year as does my wife's Altima and we pay $1,900 a year for 100,000/300,000 coverage and we are in an area considered high for rates. Gas at the cheap places is about $3.85 a gal. for reg. up to $4.15 for diesel. About $80.00 per hour i would guess shop rates would average. Costs vary greatly from area to area, city to country its hard to come up with an average.

[kz1000st]

Oil can be as low as $3 a quart and fuel costs around $1 a liter. It cost me about $80 a year in insurance for the scooter although additional bikes are less. About $30 for the 250 Yamaha. It's $17.50 a year for registration. It was about $125 to register the Yamaha originally.

[Bashan]

It's very hard to compare things but swapping numbers back and forth across the pond is interesting. The revenue generated by the higher oil taxes in the UK helps pay for the universal health care that we don't have in the U.S.. So gas is cheaper but maybe an American pays a boatload for health insurance through their employer or forks it out of pocket if they don't have any at all. It's nice to see the UK enforces rider training and inspections. It would save a lot of lives and get some junkers off the road here in 'Bama....not sure on the other states. Rich

[rob63]

Thanks for the replies, interesting that the different states set their own rates, given that the UK is so small in comparison to the US everything here is regulated centrally.
Good point Bashan about the NHS, it`s something we take for granted here, I just wish it was run more efficiently. It`s become such a behemoth that it`s seemingly unmanageable.
Tend to agree about the compulsory training, in my day it was a case of wait until your 16th birthday and then straight out on the road, a recipe for disaster in a lot of cases. We did manage to get some 'bike handling' experience in a few fields nearby which helped a lot though.

[looker]

Hi Rob,
good to see a fellow countryman here

Couple of things if I may, CBT lasts 2 years, not 3.
Yearly MOT only applies after the vehicle is 3 years old.

Bashan,
we pay national insurance directly out of our pay packs to fund the 'universal health care' system, as we know it the NHS (national health service) Duty/tax from fuel does not fund the NHS.
The government take about 60% in tax/duty of the price of a litre of gas here. We also pay something like £125-£300 or so each year for a 'road fund licence' depending on the size of ya cages engine.
All of these procedes are supposed to go into the road networks, but do they? bo!!ocks they do.

The pollitricksters of this country are running it into the ground.

But still, I love riding my scoot and scooterdoc is always here to help take of the pain of real life away

[jct842]

One other thing some may not take into account is each countrys wage/living standards. There are some low income people here that could never afford a vehicle across the pond/.

[rob63]

May 12, 2012 14:27:23 GMT -6 looker said:

Hi Rob,
good to see a fellow countryman here

Couple of things if I may, CBT lasts 2 years, not 3.
Yearly MOT only applies after the vehicle is 3 years old.

Bashan,
we pay national insurance directly out of our pay packs to fund the 'universal health care' system, as we know it the NHS (national health service) Duty/tax from fuel does not fund the NHS.
The government take about 60% in tax/duty of the price of a litre of gas here. We also pay something like £125-£300 or so each year for a 'road fund licence' depending on the size of ya cages engine.
All of these procedes are supposed to go into the road networks, but do they? bo!!ocks they do.

The pollitricksters of this country are running it into the ground.

But still, I love riding my scoot and scooterdoc is always here to help take of the pain of real life away

Hiya bud, thanks for the correction on the CBT, it`s not something I`m overly familiar with.
Too true about the road tax we pay, our roads should be some of the best in europe with the money the government get. I`ve been to France/Germany a few times and their roads are fantastic, always in a good state of repair.