Should I use my car for a work trip?

I’d use my own car. It’s kind of like getting a bonus check at the end of it.

Someone here (who shall remain nameless as per the rules of Fluther) told me that he did a breakdown of the cost and it’s better to rent for a trip such as the one you are taking, @hominid.

Perhaps that Jelly will come add to this discussion and explain his findings.

Why can’t you name the jelly? As far as I know they just won’t let you put jelly names in the questions or the details.

I’d love to see some actual numbers if this person has done this work. If it helps, I drive a 2015 Honda Fit.

Check with your insurance company to make sure using your personal car for business isn’t a problem. I’ll look for some numbers if I can find them.

I work at a remote office near my house, but my main office is 200 miles away. I am just going to the office, so I am not sure if it counts as business. I can check though.

That’s probably okay, it’s more like commuting, so it shouldn’t be a problem

For comparison, 57.5 cents per mile is the number IRS allows as a business deduction. For example, if you are self-employed as a realtor, you would deduct 57.5 cents per mile from your gross income as a business expense.

That figure is meant to cover “the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil.” Link

So roughly speaking, expect that trip with your car to cost you $230.00 (400 x $0.575).

Your reimbursement will be roughly $233.20 (math below).

So my thought is rent a car, your cost is $0.

If you use your own car, the cost is essentially $0, HOWEVER there’s the chance of causing a mechanical problem or even just getting your car scratched or who knows what.

$208 for 400 miles x $0.52
$25.20 for gas
(400 miles / 33mpg gallon = 12 gallons and 12 gallons x $2.10 = $25.20)

For my situation I figure it is worthwhile to rent if I am going to be driving over about 500. But there are several factors in my favor. I own a Tahoe that gets 15 MPG . I can rent a smaller car that gets over 30 mpg and I can enjoy satellite radio.
I also get rental cars at a reduced rate from Enterprise. (about $20 per day unlimited mileage). I do not get any of the insurance (typically $6 per day) as I have it on my company credit card. I typically get it for a week.

There are costs involved with driving your car. Let’s do some rough numbers and round up for easy math:
Tires: Need to be replaced at 20000 mile and cost $800 for a set. 400 miles = $16
Oil change: Due at 5000 mile cost $50, 400 miles = $4
Brakes: similar to tires. = $16
Yearly service: due at 10000 miles cost $100, 400 miles = $4
Timing belt…..
etc…

Last question: Is renting a hassle? The rental place might be far away or will not let you leave your car there. Time and convenience is worth a lot.

Depending upon your situation it might be better to rent a very economical, cheap car, pay for everything out of your own pocket and then claim the standard mileage rate. But this only makes sense if you can rent at low cost and it is convenient. And the mileage rate makes filling out our expense report easy. I like that .

Thanks everyone!
Note: I think I was unclear about something, and this might make the math easier. My options are:

a) I drive my car. My company pays me .52/mile.

b) I rent a car. My company reimburses me for the cost of the rental + gas.

The obvious choice appears to be (b), but there is a bit of a hassle to rent the car. It means that I have to leave much later than I want to (wait for the rental place to open), as well as some extra car-juggling/parking stuff.

I just want to make sure that I’m not making a completely foolish decision if I choose to drive my own car out of convenience. I like the breakdowns that you guys have done. It is a decent way of putting actual dollar amounts on a decision like this. Thanks again.

Here is a recent discussion on CarTalk on this subject.
Rental or drive own car on long trip I have a small disagreement with the 3 weeks of car payments working only against the rental car. I think that should be a wash as the payment must be made in either case.

The best math might actually be a third choice, unlisted. You can rent the cheapest car available that gets the highest mileage and pay for everything out of your own pocket. Then submit a bill for the $0.52 per mile as if you drove your own car.

I know this is way past your trip date however it might still be relevant.

The Feb 2015 issue of Consumer Reports has a series of charts listing the cost per mile for various types of cars. They break it down into 15 categories of vehicles: subcompact, compact… luxury… pickup trucks…minivans. Then they assume depreciation based on new purchase and trade in at 5 years, 12,000 miles per year, EPA mileage figures, repairs, insurance. Then they calculate the cost per mile. 50 cents per mile is quite common. Some vehicles are well over $1.00 per mile. Typical numbers for midsized cars range from 52 cents to 72 cents per mile.
Borrow the magazine from the library. It is enlightening. (And backs up what others suggested.)

@LuckyGuy – Thanks. I did end up just renting a car, since I could get reimbursed for the whole thing and save my car some use. I’m on ConsumerReports.org (logged in) and don’t see that article, however. Maybe it’s print (what’s that) only?

It is called Road Report on page 49 . If you like I will look up your car for you.

@LuckyGuy: Can you look up 2015 Honda CRV? Thanks.

@jca They did not have long term data for 2015 cars yet. I will PM you with some info.