Just punching keys on the calculator at lunch.

Assume you'll drive 100,000 miles over the life of the truck. Then, averaging Ford's mileage ratings for city and highway:

4.6L: City - 15, Highway - 18, Average - 16.5
100,000 miles / 16.5 mpg = 6060.61 gallons used
At $1.50 per gallon = $9090.91 worth of gas
Or $0.091 per mile

5.4L: City - 14, Highway - 17, Average - 15.5
100,000 miles / 15.5 mpg = 6451.61 gallons used
At $1.50 per gallon = $9677.42 worth of gas
Or $0.097 per mile

Difference in per mile costs: 6 tenths of a cent.

Over 100,000 miles you will spend an additional
9677.42 - 9090.91 = $586.51 by having the 5.4L

If you drive 15,000 miles a year then it takes you 6.67 years to get to 100,000 miles and the big motor costs you $586.51 / 6.67 = $87.98 per year to have the bigger motor.

Compare that to other costs of truck ownership over 100,000 miles:

Assume a base price of $25,000 and a $27,000 drive out after TT&L. Capital cost per mile = $0.27.

It's probably financed, say $25,000 at 7 percent over 48 months.
Interest cost is $3735.68, or $0.037 per mile

Insurance at $760 per year (my rate) times 6.67 years is $5069.20 or $0.051 per mile.

Estimate another $3000 for oil changes, filter changes, one set of new tires, and other maintenance and repair items or $0.03 per mile.

Sum it all up for a 5.4L

Gas - $0.097
Capital Expense - $0.27
Financing - $0.037
Insurance - $0.051
Maintenance - $0.03

Cost of Ownership, per mile - $0.485 or $48,500 over 100,000 miles.

For the 4.6L, yousave 6/10's of a cent per mile on gas, 48.5 - .6 = 47.9 cents per mile. $47,900 over 100,000 miles.

So at a total operating cost of 48.5 cents per mile, 6/10's of a cent just doesn't seem like much.

 

yep it costs money. i would throw in a few friendly amendments though. you didn't show the difference in purchase cost ( unless i missed it) between the V-6 (which uses even less gas) or the small V-8. compared to the V-6/5 speed, you spend an additional $3,000 for the 5.4 and required automatic; about $2,000 compared to the 4.6/5 speed. and you double the gas differential to the V-6.

 

Excellent post..


BTW this really scared me!

 

Well Done!, However, be careful what you print. If we are concerned about costs. We'd be buying Tacoma's or some other rice kettle.

It's not about the cost. It's about the love of a fine truck, a fine cigar and a fine wo...

 

Thanks beast, excellent information. For me it was a somewhat more simple calculation...I found out you couldn't get the V-10...found out the 5.4 was the biggest available, so got the 5.4. That was easy.

But it is good to know the numbers aren't that much different...and even if you add in the cost difference between the 4.6 and 5.4 ($800 I think), you would then have to get into adjusting for resale value which would wipe out most of the extra cost.

An illustration of this is that when I leased my 98 supercab, the lease payment was the same for the V6 or the 4.6 V8 because the V8 had a better residual factor.

In fact, the only issue I have with your bottom line cost of operating numbr is that it assumes you have a truck with 0 value after 100,000 miles which of course isn't true. If at the end it is worth even $15,000, you are down around thirty something cents a mile.

As for the V6...my opinion is that it just doesn't belong in a higher end truck....fine for a reg. cab utility work truck, but not enough torque for a heavy SC or Screw.

 

You are correct, I left that out of the equation... duh! I agree, you'd get somewhere between $7,000 and $15,000 depending upon equipment model and condition, which would reduce capital cost by 7 to 15 cents per mile.

 

Just to throw a few "real" numbers out there, here are my numbers since I started to keep track since August of 99 in terms of cost per mile. Bear in mind, I got the truck in October of '96, the the total picture is probably just a bit different, but thought you might like to see for comparison sake.

Cost per mile for gas: $.084
Cost per mile for maintinence: $.050
(FYI - maintinence is anything I've spent money on for the truck including all parts, repairs, consumables (tires, brakes, oil, etc), even car washes.)
Cost per mile to operate: $.134
17mpg fuel mileage average
Average cost of gas/gallon: $1.427

Insurance Cost is $700 per year
I drive about 27,000 miles per year
Insurance Cost per mile: $.026

Cost per mile to operate plus insurance: $.160

I'll throw out the capital cost because I had a different deal with the truck being a company vehicle that I bought out the end of the lease. It's paid for, and reasle value isn't an issue since the next owner of this truck will be a junkyard when the thing rolls over and dies completely. In any event, the capital cost is even less of an issue with every mile that rolls on by with no more cost.

Just thought you may like a few numbers to compare to, since I had em handy. If anything, my beef would possible be with the $3000 for repairs etc over alomst seven years. If anything, that sounds awful low if you actually follow the recommended maintinence schedule for transmission services, radiator service, etc.. Just a thought...

Peace!