House 6 Garden 
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KEEPING DOWN THE 
UPKEEP OF THE CAR 
By Attention to the Little Things — New Angles on An 
Old Problem that Concerns Every Automobile Owner 
ERNEST A. STEPHENS 
W HITE elephants and automobiles 
were considered as occupying the 
same class a few years ago, the point of 
similarity being that although it was pos¬ 
sible to ascertain the first cost in either case, 
the purchaser was immediately faced by the 
unknown quantity representing mainte¬ 
nance. Dismissing friend pachyderm from 
further consideration, as having served his 
purpose and joined his fellow-shades, we 
have still the pleasure automobile with 
nearly all its early faults eliminated but 
yet retaining its capacity for piling up the 
repair and accessory mens’ bills when un¬ 
restrained or carelessly used. 
Pages of the earlier issues of journals de¬ 
voted to automobile matters were filled with 
data of varying reliability and doubtful util¬ 
ity bearing on the subject of what it cost 
to run a car; but in the light of later ex¬ 
perience it has been found that such esti¬ 
mates, however conservative, served only 
to make the motorist wise after the event in 
the sense that a set of figures covering the 
past road performances of an individual 
car were found, in practice, to possess but 
little value in estimating the cost of operat¬ 
ing a similar car under approximately iden¬ 
tical conditions. That this should be the 
case is one of the apparent mysteries which 
require some explanation, and it is well to 
recollect in this connection that official fuel 
and other road tests made with precisely 
similar cars of the same make and model, 
over the same roads and under similar cli¬ 
matic conditions have shown as much as 
fifty per cent variance. 
W HEN experts fail to determine in ad¬ 
vance the actual cost of running an 
automobile under what may be termed rela¬ 
tively known service conditions, it seems 
reasonable to assume that the average mo¬ 
torist cannot anticipate the figure 
with any degree of accuracy. 
Of course, if one is content to 
keep close record of all expendi¬ 
tures during a season’s running, 
there is a reasonable expectation 
of the result giving an approxi¬ 
mation of the cost of operating 
during the following season, but 
naturally the item of repairs may be some¬ 
what higher during the car's second year. 
For those who are content to keep rec¬ 
ords of this kind, it is suggested that the 
item of interest on the original cost of the 
car should be written off, in effect, against 
the added health and pleasure conferred by 
the possession of a reliable car, but if a more 
business-like method is desired, the interest 
should be figured on the basis of what the 
money would bring if invested otherwise. 
Depreciation is another variable figure—it 
can be, perhaps, checked up, from time to 
time, by investigating the state of the sec¬ 
ond-hand car market. Storage or garaging 
is yet another item which varies in almost 
every case and repairs should be divided 
into two classes—the annual overhaul, and 
expense incurred in replacing breakages or 
worn parts. These several items, once de¬ 
termined to the individual case, may be 
averaged to cover the operating costs of 
subsequent seasons, but after all, though 
they may be considered as of primary im¬ 
portance, they do not dominate the vexed 
question of what it costs the average motor¬ 
ist to run his car. Items which are practi¬ 
cally constant are insurance, taxes, registra¬ 
tion, license and chauffeur’s salary. 
General running expenses are usually 
considered as being represented by the cost 
of tires, gasoline, oil and grease and, to 
owners of methodical temperament, it is an 
easy matter to keep the records, checked 
by the speedometer reading, necessary to 
arrive at the cost of each per mile, per 
month or season, or in fact in any division 
of time or distance. 
This method is useful only in the sense 
that it tells what use has been made of 
money after it has been spent and gives 
an approximate idea of what may be spent 
in the future under similar service condi¬ 
tions, but it is not at all safe to rely on one 
month’s or one thousand miles’ running as 
being indicative of another’s. In fact it 
may be said that such a method would be 
reliable only if the two unknown quantities 
—the roads and the driver—could be re¬ 
duced to a known equation. 
U PON the principle that it is better to 
be wise before the event than after it, 
and basing an argument upon the foregoing 
premises, it seems fair to take it as an axiom 
that whatever you can save by giving proper 
care to the components of your car dur¬ 
ing a season of normal operation, will help 
in meeting any unexpected costs incurred 
through possibly abnormal conditions en¬ 
countered later on. 
Tires are, it is generally admitted, the 
most costly item in the operation of a car, 
and nevertheless it is undeniably true that 
they receive but a fraction of the attention 
they need in order to give efficient service. 
A tithe of the attention given to the elec¬ 
trical system would, if bestowed on the 
tires, make a surprising difference in the 
year’s bill. Tire records may be individu¬ 
ally kept by the aid of a notebook and the 
speedometer. These are useful for com¬ 
parative purposes but won’t reall}'^ reduce 
the actual tire costs. 
There are two accessories of primary im¬ 
portance in the well-being of the tire; these 
are the pump and the pressure gauge. A 
tire which is in good condition cannot be 
injured by such over-inflation as is possible 
with either a hand or engine-driven pump; 
the limit is really controlled by the com¬ 
fort of the car’s occupants, as riding on 
absolutely hard tires is decidedly uncom¬ 
fortable and the extra vibration caused by 
them is apt to cause minor mechanical 
troubles. The golden rule of correct infla¬ 
tion is twenty pounds per inch 
diameter (for example, a 4" tire 
should be pumped to eighty 
pounds) tested with a pressure 
gauge. It is impossible to at¬ 
tach too much importance to this 
point, and it is also well to recol¬ 
lect that the atmospheric temper- 
(Coiitiiiiied oil page 54) 
