How many miles per year is your commute to work?
Discussion
I was a passenger in a work colleague’s car last week, and despite it only being 5 years old, it had done over 130,000 miles. We got chatting the mileage and my colleague pointed out that she lives 90 miles from the office, and therefore a return trip was 180 miles. She comes into the office about 3 times per week on average, and accounting for holidays, she puts 24,000 miles a year on her car just to come to work. She then does another 2000-3000 miles per year in personal/social use.
I was honestly astonished by this. All sorts of things went through my mind, not to mention the sheer cost. Buying a new car at significant expense every 5 or 6 years and essentially sell it for next to nothing at the end? The cost of buying 27,000 miles worth diesel every year? The alarmingly regular servicing costs?
I was approached with a job offer a couple of years ago and turned it down as it would have meant 2 days a week in the office which was 50 miles away. I deemed sticking 9500 miles a year on my car purely to get to work unacceptable.
I then starting thinking about where some of my other colleagues live and realised a surprising number of them probably do 10,000-20,000 a year in commuting miles.
I have no idea why but I’ve got the ancient idea stuck in my head (probably from my Dad) that 12,000 miles a year was average mileage, and thou shalt not exceed it!
Am I completely out of touch?
How many miles per annum is your commute?
I was honestly astonished by this. All sorts of things went through my mind, not to mention the sheer cost. Buying a new car at significant expense every 5 or 6 years and essentially sell it for next to nothing at the end? The cost of buying 27,000 miles worth diesel every year? The alarmingly regular servicing costs?
I was approached with a job offer a couple of years ago and turned it down as it would have meant 2 days a week in the office which was 50 miles away. I deemed sticking 9500 miles a year on my car purely to get to work unacceptable.
I then starting thinking about where some of my other colleagues live and realised a surprising number of them probably do 10,000-20,000 a year in commuting miles.
I have no idea why but I’ve got the ancient idea stuck in my head (probably from my Dad) that 12,000 miles a year was average mileage, and thou shalt not exceed it!
Am I completely out of touch?
How many miles per annum is your commute?
) Mine used to be 420 a week...but it was mostly on expenses.
Put over 150,000 miles on my Z4MC that way and on the e34 M5 before it - although a little of that mileage would have been track days, 'Ring trips and road trips.
Since Covid it's been much less, and now that I'm doing a hybrid role I only need to be in the office twice a week - so min of 40 miles and max of 100 miles a week commute.
Put over 150,000 miles on my Z4MC that way and on the e34 M5 before it - although a little of that mileage would have been track days, 'Ring trips and road trips.
Since Covid it's been much less, and now that I'm doing a hybrid role I only need to be in the office twice a week - so min of 40 miles and max of 100 miles a week commute.
Normally three or four days a week at 80 miles round trip. Call it 3.5 x 80 x 46 = 12880.
But I do get a car allowance even though I do almost no actual business miles now. I used to do quite a lot and got an £8k car allowance. Bought a BMW 330i in 2020 (one of the few times I timed it just right before prices started to go mad) and three years of that more than paid for it. Now it's nine years old and almost at 100,000k and I changed roles and get a much lower allowance but the car has long since been paid for so not bothered by the effect the mileage has had on the value.
It is making me hesitate on buying something newer/better through just to drive it mostly to work and the shops (have a weekend car too)
But I do get a car allowance even though I do almost no actual business miles now. I used to do quite a lot and got an £8k car allowance. Bought a BMW 330i in 2020 (one of the few times I timed it just right before prices started to go mad) and three years of that more than paid for it. Now it's nine years old and almost at 100,000k and I changed roles and get a much lower allowance but the car has long since been paid for so not bothered by the effect the mileage has had on the value.
It is making me hesitate on buying something newer/better through just to drive it mostly to work and the shops (have a weekend car too)
Zero actual commute.
I only ever travel for work when I have to be somewhere for a meeting, and where possible make sure that's in a pub rather than the office, and even then usually use trains and planes over a long drive.
20 years ago, I averaged 20 to 30k miles a year. Now, probably 7000 across 2 cars, a campervan and a motorbike. All personal use.
I only ever travel for work when I have to be somewhere for a meeting, and where possible make sure that's in a pub rather than the office, and even then usually use trains and planes over a long drive.
20 years ago, I averaged 20 to 30k miles a year. Now, probably 7000 across 2 cars, a campervan and a motorbike. All personal use.
mmm-five said:
Mine used to be 420 a week...but it was mostly on expenses.
Put over 150,000 miles on my Z4MC that way and on the e34 M5 before it - although a little of that mileage would have been track days, 'Ring trips and road trips.
Since Covid it's been much less, and now that I'm doing a hybrid role I only need to be in the office twice a week - so min of 40 miles and max of 100 miles a week commute.
420 a week in a Z4mC is punishing.. not the most comfortable of cars.Put over 150,000 miles on my Z4MC that way and on the e34 M5 before it - although a little of that mileage would have been track days, 'Ring trips and road trips.
Since Covid it's been much less, and now that I'm doing a hybrid role I only need to be in the office twice a week - so min of 40 miles and max of 100 miles a week commute.
I do about 18k a year commuting. I was musing the other day that between my job, my commute, walking the dog and my cycling hobby it’s no wonder I feel short on time, I can’t see a way of running anything in parallel.
As others have said it’s a horrible waste of time, I’ve been in my role for a long time and various things have conspired to put me in my current commuting position. The locations are pretty moody too, I’d love a 10 mile cyclable commute to a descent city and a nice office. Instead I get a 160 mile round trip, no real desk of my own and I’m in the middle of nowhere.
And I’m the boss…
Mont Blanc said:
I have no idea why but I ve got the ancient idea stuck in my head (probably from my Dad) that 12,000 miles a year was average mileage, and thou shalt not exceed it!
Am I completely out of touch?
Yes, you are. It's now around 7,000 miles a year.Am I completely out of touch?
I did 2100 in one car last year, and 3000 in my other.
But I too also work from home.
Mont Blanc said:
I have no idea why but I ve got the ancient idea stuck in my head (probably from my Dad) that 12,000 miles a year was average mileage, and thou shalt not exceed it!
Am I completely out of touch?
UK average is 6-7K/yr. Many people must be doing next to nothing - around me it's all retired people and their cars hardly ever seem to move.Am I completely out of touch?
Judging by how rammed the M62 gets in both directions at rush hour there's absolutely loads of people commuting chunky distances from Manchester to Leeds and vice-versa. I always wonder why they don't just swap jobs.
When I was about 25 years old I worked for a steel stockholder and I drove around the country trying to sell the stuff.
I had company cars . A lot of blue Astra diesels cars I recall.
It was early 90 's. The last century!
I did arround 40k a year . The roads were a lot easier and not all of the M25 was in place.
I used to go through a lot of tyres .
I had company cars . A lot of blue Astra diesels cars I recall.
It was early 90 's. The last century!
I did arround 40k a year . The roads were a lot easier and not all of the M25 was in place.
I used to go through a lot of tyres .
My wife is about the same as the OPs colleague - think she does about 85 miles each way, usually 3 days a week.
She's always had long commutes - civil engineering and her 'office' tends to be wherever it's taking place
Her last car did almost 200k over 12 years (helped by COVID) before being replaced last year.
Now, she uses one of my cars in summer and her car in winter which keeps her car mileage to 'average' and just clocks mine up a bit (but it's the rubbish car so doesn't matter).
I also only go to the office 2 or 3 times a week, but that's 1 mile each way.
She's always had long commutes - civil engineering and her 'office' tends to be wherever it's taking place
Her last car did almost 200k over 12 years (helped by COVID) before being replaced last year.
Now, she uses one of my cars in summer and her car in winter which keeps her car mileage to 'average' and just clocks mine up a bit (but it's the rubbish car so doesn't matter).
I also only go to the office 2 or 3 times a week, but that's 1 mile each way.
About 500 miles a year for me probably, once a week on average and a short journey.
There's a taxi driver who lives at the end of my road and has a taxi which is licensed for a city which is 50 miles away, so it is a 100 mile round trip to work... which is a driving job in the same car! He's putting 70k a year in the car!
There's a taxi driver who lives at the end of my road and has a taxi which is licensed for a city which is 50 miles away, so it is a 100 mile round trip to work... which is a driving job in the same car! He's putting 70k a year in the car!
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