Do you track your car spendings somehow?

Hi guys!
I am pondering creating an app for tracking car spendings. For a proof of concept, I would love to learn what are your habits here.


It would help me a ton if you could just dedicate 3-5 mins to answer the questions below:


1. Do you write down somewhere car-related transactions? (if no - just answer NO and that's all I need :) If so - please answer YES and go to 3 more questions below)


2. What kind of spendings do you write down? (all of them, or maybe just fuel, or just major works, or...?)


3. What tool do you use (Excel, some mobile app, web service...?)


4. For what purpose do you use the collected data? (is it getting back to the information on what was done to the car & when? is it to compare two or more cars in terms of cost generating? for personal budgeting? any other reason?)




Any input highly appreciated :) Chances are good, this will contribute to creating something cool and useful :)

When I owned the car in my business name I kept track of every penny spent and every mile driven.
When I owned the car in my name I only logged miles driven for business and gas purchase for long term mileage average.
I tried computer app one year and went back to the good old fashion form type travel diary from the business supply store because paper books don't break when you drop them and mechanical pencils work at all temperatures warm and cold.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Digger

When I owned the car in my business name I kept track of every penny spent and every mile driven.
When I owned the car in my name I only logged miles driven for business and gas purchase for long term mileage average.

---

Well, that makes sense, as for business you probably deduct some tax, etc. But it really comes down to the type of person each of us is. http://mkivsupras.co.uk/vbb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif Some do (and always will) gather the data, analyze it, make lists, etc. (that's me) - while others hate that (my wife, for instance http://mkivsupras.co.uk/vbb/images/smilies/wink_new.gif ).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Digger

I tried computer app one year and went back to the good old fashion form type travel diary from the business supply store because paper books don't break when you drop them and mechanical pencils work at all temperatures warm and cold.

---

Haha, I guess in Minnessota it really does matter ;)

The problem I have with just a plain log of transactions (be it a paper book or a spreadsheet) is that they are cumbersome to aggregate/analyze.
With hundreds of transactions (think of more than one car, and maybe a few years of ownership) you need to put significant effort if you wish to know how much (in general) this or that car costs you. How much of this are repairs? and fuel? what are the average monthly spendings? average cost per mile driven? total cost of particular modification project? and so on...

I have a gas log where I record most of the details of a purchase such as brand, location, amount purchased (gallons), price per gallon, total price, octane, mpg, method of payment. I am afraid to admit that I have all gas receipts since 2005 with the exception of one missing one, which was replaced with a handwritten substitute that I wrote up.

I also have a maintenance log as well as a file of receipts of parts and repairs.

I don't track all spending as I don't record wax and car soap, unless it's purchased along with oil or car parts. I used to use the car wash vacuum and didn't track quarters used. If I buy a sun shade, it's not logged. However, most spending is recorded in one of two spots, either the repair log or gas log.
---
1. YES


2. Fuel, repair shop receipts, parts receipts. Not parking receipts or car washing supplies or toll receipts.

3. Google docs spreadsheet except fuel is recorded twice, Google and a paper notebook. Receipts kept in a folder.


4. purpose: like a diary. Might use the repair log to show if I sell the car. I still look at my Saab 900 log once in a while even though I haven't had the car for years.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dave T

4. purpose: like a diary. Might use the repair log to show if I sell the car. I still look at my Saab 900 log once in a while even though I haven't had the car for years.

---

Yep, same here... I would say, I like to compare different cars I own/used to own cost-wise. I was surprised a few times when a car that seemed to be expensive to maintain, turned out to be actually less expensive than some others when I compared actual data.