When you idle a car, you not only are making the air dirtier, you are hurting your wallet. Here is how:
1. Idling just 10 minutes a day can cost you around $337 not including fines and wastes gasoline (or diesel).
Assumptions:
• Gas costs $3.70/gallon
• Average car gets 23.8mpg driving, 20mpg idling
• 2 minutes idling = 1 mile driving, 10 minutes idling = 5 miles driving
Therefore:
20mpg / (5 miles/day) = 0.25gal/day
0.25gal/day x 365 days/year = 91.25gal/year due to idling
91.25gal/year x $3.70/gal = $337.63/year due to idling
2. Idling causes additional wear and tear on your vehicle
Frequent restarts are no longer hard on a car’s engine and battery. The added wear (which amounts to no more than $10 a year) is much less costly than the cost of fuel saved (which can add up to $70-650 a year, depending on fuel prices, idling habits and vehicle type). Idling actually increases overall engine wear by causing the car to operate for longer than necessary.
3. Idling could lead to a fine of $100 or more
Under Massachusetts Law, individuals caught idling their vehicle for more than 5 minutes may be subject to a fine of $100 for a first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses.