I disagree that we should consider gasoline only and I'm going to tell you why I disagree with that position.
Insurance, tags, inspection fees, and age related depreciation are fixed expenses related to OWNERSHIP of a vehicle. Mileage related depreciation, maintenance, repairs, tires, and gasoline are variable expenses related to OPERATION of a vehicle. You will note I did not list gasoline first, the reason being it is not the major portion of the cost of operating a vehicle.
In addition to recognizing the burden of all variable costs related to operating the vehicle, it's important to grasp that the more the vehicle is driven the sooner it will have to be replaced. If the shopper recovers ONLY the cost of the gasoline related to operating the vehicle the shopper will lose money that should have been recovered on each and every job. Therefore, the more jobs the shopper does that require driving, the more total money the shopper will lose.
We have a little saying about that in the south. If that's your plan for hauling watermelons, you need a bigger truck.
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.