7/10/14 Buggy or car - which is cheaper?

  • By Nick Sabo
  • July 10, 2014
  • 551
                        
SUMMARY: A price comparison of motor vehicle transportation vs. horse - drawn falls in favor of the horse. If Horse Progress Days has a message, it is that horse-drawn farming implements are making inroads on the power equipment scene. As the cost of fuel and equipment go up, small farmers are staying in business thanks to new twists on old technology. That being said, might the horse begin popping up on roads more as an alternative to gas-powered transportation? It isn’t likely. Yet a cost comparison of buggy vs. car makes a good argument for a return to horse and buggy days, at least in money terms. A 2014 study by AAA puts the cost of owning a new car at an average of $8,876 per year. The study factors in payments on a five year loan, gasoline consumption based on an average of 20,000 miles per year, insurance, registration and general maintenance. The AAA study based gas consumption on a gas price average of $3.278 per gallon; the actual national average price of gasoline in June was $3.64. The average price of a motor vehicle was $32,531 in 2013, according to a report by Interest.com. Of course, the price of car ownership would go down as the car loan is paid off. Maintenance costs may increase as the car gets older. And what about the buggy? A similar cost comparison can be made looking at the cost of a buggy, the price of a buggy horse, and the cost to feed the horse. Insurance and registration are not required for horse-drawn vehicles. (There is a fund in Ohio that allows for the Amish to make contributions for vehicle registration if they so choose). On average, a new buggy can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000. The buggy’s power plant - the horse - starts around $2,000, Steve Mullet, with Mt. Hope Auction, said. “It depends on what you want,” Mullet said. “You want a pacer, that’s $2,000. A trotter, $3,000. You want a horse that is traffic safe, add another $500.” Most buggy horses are five or six years old when they cross the auction block, Mullet said. Buggy horses are bred as race horses and begin their lives at the track, Mullet said. They come up for auction when they are no longer competitive. A buggy horse has a productive life of 12 to 13 years of age, Mullet said. Earl Stoltzfus, Jr., of Birdinhand, Pa., was at Horse Progress Days representing his father’s business, Abe’s Buggy Rides. Stoltzfus said his horses consume about $25 of feed in a week - $20 being the cost per hundred of feed and $5 for a bale of hay. A horse will eat $20 in feed a week and about two-thirds of a bale of hay, Stoltzfus said. At $25 per week, 52 weeks in a year, the average cost for the horse’s fuel - feed and hay - is $1,300 per year. If the horse has access to pasture, the feed cost can be a little lower, Stoltzfus said. Alvin Miller, owner of Oak Grove Carriage, Fredericksburg, said a buggy can last anywhere from 20 to 30 years if it is properly cared for. “It depends on how you care for it,” Miller said. “My closed buggy, I bought it back in 1990. I redid it two years ago, I put everything back to new. I figure it will last another 10 years.” Miller said the annual maintenance on a buggy involves adjusting the clips that hold the buggy to the chassis and lubricating the moving parts. Stoltzfus said buggy prices are going up. A typical buggy in Lancaster County costs around $8,000 because the design is more complicated than those in Holmes County. Stoltzfus still uses the buggy he bought 10 years ago for $6,200. Outright, then, a buggy will cost about $10,800 - an average purchase price for a new buggy at $6,000 and a horse for $3,500, plus $1,300 for fuel. A new horse will have to be purchased every seven or eight years; If the average life of a buggy is 20 years, it will have had three horses to pull it, costing about $11,500. Fuel over 20 years, at $1,300 per year, is $26,000. With the buggy purchase price, $6,000, plus $500 in maintenance over 20 years, the total cost over two decades is $44,100. Divide the total by 20 and you have a yearly cost average of $2,205. Take away the purchase price of the buggy and the average yearly cost is $1,905 per year. There are associated costs not factored in, such as stabling and medical care for the horse. Though a buggy comes in vastly cheaper than a car, there are advantages to motorized transportation that a buggy can’t touch. A car starts up easily (if properly cared for) and you are on your way with the turn of a key. A buggy horse must be harnessed up. A car can travel across a state in a matter of hours; a buggy will get you to town and back, with a little down time factored in for the horse. KUTLINES: Nick Sabo photos Buggy parking at Horse Progress Days included a feed area for the horses. On average, a horse will consume about $1,300 in feed and hay per year. A buggy, complete with horse, will cost around $9,500 outright, plus $1,300 a year for feed. A new car cost $32,531, on average, in 2013, according to a study by Interest.com


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