transport costs estimation

[freshy]

i am writing a business plan for a coursework module and need a car to visit clients. i need to estimate the running costs for the car. can anyone help?

in the plan i will write that i already have a car and such so would just need to cover petrol costs - do you think this is adequate? i may put i will need a contingency fund in case of repairs etc (500 pounds say)
how much should i allow money wise for each mile? -- this is my problem - can anyone recommend a suitable figure to charge.

any help with your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. it's only a a level piece so it does not need to be overly accurate.

 

[nealw]

generally, travel expenses when you work for a company is around 35p/mile, in my experience anyway.

dunno if that is any help...

 

[thebrasso]

Head to www.parkers.co.uk and go to technical data. Find the car you have or are meant to have for the purposes of your project. Make a note of its MPG. Also you should be able to click on each model and get more in depth information such as fuel tank size.

Base your calculations on getting say 2mpg less than the mpg stated by Parkers. Base a tank of petrol on filling it 5 litres less than its capacity.

There are lots of mpg>litre calculators on the internet so you can work out how far a tank of petrol would get you. Check out a local petrol station for the prices.

Having worked out your actual petrol costs you can decide on a rate you are going to charge per mile. Most businesses charge per mile so its a case of deciding on a figure.

I'd allow a fund for repairs, as long as it is a reasonable car and you have insurance anyway £500 should be more than adequate to cover things like bulbs, even tyres and consumables like brake pads for quite a while.