When I had a car, I never thought about how much it cost me. The car was constantly costing money: gas, parking, tire replacement, insurance, repairs. At some point, I calculated all this and realized that it would be cheaper for me to travel by public transport and taxi.
A personal car is beneficial if you need to travel a lot and far on a regular basis. It will be beneficial if you live outside the city or in remote areas of Moscow, and every day you need to wander around the city. But if your trips are irregular or if you live in a small city, then a personal car is even more expensive than a taxi! Yes, in small towns where taxis are cheap and distances are short, there is no need at all to own a personal car. You can easily get by without a car by taking a taxi every day, and it will be more profitable!
It is clear that all my calculations are very arbitrary! Each person has his own routes and his own expenses. I tried to imagine and calculate several standard scenarios.
I’ll answer some questions right away:
Yeah, will you also take a taxi to the dacha?
- It all depends on where the dacha is. My dacha is located 100 km from the center of Moscow, near Klin, a trip there by taxi will cost about 2,000 rubles. In addition, for 2,000 rubles per day you can rent a car sharing car (Delimobil, Belka). Theoretically, you can find a driver and negotiate individually. It will still be cheaper than driving your own car.
But a car is freedom!
- In fact, this is an illusion of freedom. A car is a constant headache. Where to store? Where to put it if you are leaving for a long time? You are tied to a parking spot. Without a personal car, the routes are more convenient. For example, if there is a traffic jam, you jump on the subway, drive through a couple of stations, get out, take a taxi and move on. And so on.
In Moscow, the best-selling models in 2016 were Hyundai Solaris And Kia Rio. In Russia as a whole they are joined by Lada Granta. The first two models without discounts and promotions cost 650,000 - 700,000 rubles, Lada Granta - on average 400,000 - 450,000 rubles.
So, now we will calculate how much it costs to own a regular (that is, inexpensive) car for a Muscovite and for a non-Muscovite!
Let's imagine that we have a Muscovite who lives in the northeast of Moscow and drives a 2016 Solaris. It has a model with an automatic transmission and a 1.6-liter engine, which consumes 9.3 liters per 100 km in the urban cycle. Need gasoline with octane number not lower than 92nd. Let's say our driver chooses medium quality fuel, AI-95. In Moscow today it costs more than 39 rubles almost everywhere.
Our Muscovite lives in the area of Torfyanka Park, in house 1 on Magadanskaya Street, and he works somewhere on Sukharevka, say, in Daevoy Lane. It's 14 kilometers one way. Agree, not the greatest distance for Moscow.
He already does at least 28 km a day. Taking into account any trips on other business, attempts to avoid traffic jams, visits to shops, cafes, etc. this distance easily grows to 40 km per day, and this is the minimum. On Sunday, our Muscovite is at home all day (0 km), and on Saturday or Friday evening he goes to the dacha/out of town/to the outskirts to buy groceries. Therefore, let the car travel 60 km over the weekend. In total we get 260 km per week.
We have 52 weeks in a year, that is, the car’s mileage in a year will already be 13,520 km. This is 135.2 times 100 km. Thus, in a year the car in the urban cycle will consume at least 135.2 * 9.3 = 1257 liters of gasoline. This will cost the car owner 49,000 rubles.
Now to other expense items.
In 2016, Moscow earned more than 17.5 billion rubles from parking and fines. In total, approximately 5.6 million cars are registered in the capital. This means that the average motorist in the capital spends about 31,250 rubles a year on parking and fines. Let's round up to 30 thousand.
Transport tax on his 123 hp Solaris. will be 3075 rubles. The MTPL policy will cost him at least 10,000 rubles in year.
Depreciation. Solaris of the same generation, but produced in 2014, now costs less than 500 thousand rubles. That is, in three years the car has fallen in price by 200 thousand, let it be 65 000 in year.
Since the car is new, the cost of a technical inspection and a new kit summer tires can be neglected. But you still have to buy winter tires, which costs at least another 12,000 rubles. After a maximum of three years of use, it will have to be changed, that is, per year this 4000 rubles.
Tire fitting (2 times a year) and tire repair in case of a puncture will cost 5000 rubles in year. To this you can add the cost of a car wash. Comprehensive car wash in Moscow it costs from 1000 rubles, that is, it will cost at least a year 12,000 rubles.
Maintenance of a 2016 Hyundai Solaris costs 8,730 rubles. for the first year, 12,437 rubles. for the second and 8,730 rub. for the third. On average it turns out to be about 10,000 rubles in year.
We don’t take into account accidents, breakdowns, traffic jams (and excessive fuel consumption), as well as inexpensive consumables such as oil and anti-freeze (and it’s difficult to calculate). Just the bare minimum.
Minimum cost of owning a budget car in Moscow (rubles per year):
65,000 – depreciation;
49,000 – gasoline;
30,000 – parking and fines;
12,000 – car wash;
10,000 – OSAGO (for a year);
10,000 – maintenance;
5000 – “re-shoeing” of tires;
4000 – winter tires;
3000 – tax;
Total: 188,000 rubles.
It turns out that the owner of a new economy-class car, which does not get into an accident, does not break down, does not break down, and almost never gets stuck in traffic jams, spends at least 188,000 rubles a year, or more than 15 thousand a month, on it in Moscow. In fact, the annual amount will most likely tend to 200 000 .
By the way, paid parking immediately sharply increases the cost of owning a car. Parking at the place of work of our hypothetical Muscovite, in Daevoy Lane, would cost him at least 760 rubles per day. This is 3800 rub. per week or almost 200 thousand per year! But here you can be sure that our driver will either park in some yard, or simply cover the number with a piece of paper and save significantly on this.
Now imagine that the same driver spends money not on a car, but on public transport and taxis.
Even if he takes a taxi to and from work every day, it will cost him 4,000-5,000 rubles a week, that is, about a year 208,000 – 260,000 rubles. An annual single pass would cost him 18,200 rubles. If he took a taxi from home to the metro, it would cost him 250 rubles a day or 1250 a week, 65,000 a year. We add it up with the price of a metro pass and get 83,200 rubles. You can round up to 100,000 if you take into account unexpected taxi costs. You can even add another 20,000 for a taxi on the weekend. We get 120 000 , and still it will be one and a half times cheaper than owning an economy class car.
Moscow car sharing costs 8 rubles per minute. To get from Magadanskaya, 1 to Daev Lane, you need to spend 40 minutes in traffic jams or 23 minutes without traffic jams. Let's take average, it's 32 minutes. A ride in a carsharing car will cost 256 rubles. By the way, this is much cheaper than taking a taxi. Our driver will spend 512 rubles per day, 2560 per week for trips to work. The annual cost of car sharing will be 133,000 rubles.
It is not advisable to use car sharing for other types of trips, because traffic jams in Moscow are quite unpredictable. In addition, there is an obvious problem: there may simply not be a car sharing car nearby your home. We will compensate for these disadvantages with the help of additional taxi costs - in total it will be about 160 000 .
Consider the following cars price category– cars costing around 1 million rubles. The Top 25 in sales for 2016 in Russia are close to this level Skoda Octavia And Nissan Qashqai.
Let's take an average Skoda with an automatic transmission and a 1.4 liter gasoline engine with a capacity of 150 hp. (1,177,000 rubles) or a simple Nissan with a continuously variable transmission and a 1.2 liter engine capacity of 115 hp. (RUB 1,123,000). For the first, fuel consumption in the urban cycle will be 6.9 liters per 100 km, for the second - 9.2 liters.
Obviously, they will consume less gasoline. If they drive the same amount as the Solaris driver (13,520 km per year), then the owner of the Skoda will spend around 36,000 rubles per year on fuel, and the owner of the Nissan - 48,500. Let's round up to 40 000 .
A similar 2014 Nissan Qashqai will cost about 950,000 rubles. In three years, the car will lose 173,000 rubles in price, this 58,000 per year. Skoda has a difference between new car and three-year-olds are much more, this is due to the recent price increase. We round the annual depreciation to 60 000 .
Since the car costs more than a million, the driver will most likely prefer to add Casco to the compulsory motor liability insurance. Such insurance will cost 43,000 rubles. Transport tax on Skoda will be higher due to more powerful engine(5250 rubles versus 2850 rubles). Let there be an average of 4000.
Maintenance of a Nissan will cost 8,600 rubles. for the first and third years and 18,700 rubles. for the second, on average it comes out to about 12 000 in year.
Minimum cost of owning a car starting from 1 million rubles in Moscow (rubles per year):
60,000 – depreciation;
43,000 – “Casco” + OSAGO (for a year);
40,000 – gasoline;
30,000 – parking and fines;
12,000 – maintenance;
12,000 – car wash;
5000 – “re-shoeing” of tires;
4000 – winter tires;
4000 – tax;
Total: 210,000 rubles.
Of the cars of an even higher price category, the Top 25 in sales include Toyota Camry and Toyota RAV4. They cost from 1.5 million rubles in a simple configuration.
Let's take for example a Camry with a 2-liter engine (150 hp) and a 6-speed automatic transmission. It will cost 1,557,000 rubles. Fuel consumption in the urban cycle is 10 liters per 100 km.
Here 53 000 it will only be spent on gasoline, Casco insurance + compulsory motor liability insurance and tax - another 37,000, plus maintenance in the region of 10 thousand. The most expensive car of 2014 in a similar configuration costs 1,200,000 rubles. That is, depreciation will be more than 100,000 rubles in year!
Minimum cost of owning a car starting from 1.5 million rubles in Moscow (rubles per year):
100,000 – depreciation;
53,000 – gasoline;
32,000 – “Casco” + OSAGO;
30,000 – parking and fines;
12,000 – car wash;
10,000 – maintenance;
5000 – “re-shoeing” of tires;
5000 – tax;
4000 – winter tires;
Total: 251,000 rubles.
With more expensive cars it’s difficult to calculate everything; too much depends on the configuration. Usually, people who buy cars that cost more than 2 million don’t skimp on gas and other things (except to modestly hang up a piece of paper on a paid parking lot), and we’re talking specifically about saving.
But it can be assumed that when purchasing expensive car It's harder to guess with depreciation. Most likely, most of the annual costs will fall on this column (unless it is luxury car limited edition, which will only increase in price over time).
What do we get as a result? As you can see from the infographics, you can save significantly even if you drive around Moscow only in car-sharing cars and taxis. If you combine taxis and car sharing with public transport, it turns out even cheaper. In Moscow, there is some point in buying a budget car, but only if you always drive along strictly specified routes. The slightest deviation from the norm and you start overpaying.
Now let's look at an example of a driver in our beloved Tula!
He decided to save a little on the car, so he will not drive a “Korean”, but his pride domestic auto industry, Lada Granta in mid-spec and with a machine gun. Such a car now costs about 500,000 rubles. Fuel consumption in the urban cycle is 9.9 liters, gasoline is not lower than 95.
To somehow justify owning a car in a city like Tula, let’s imagine that our driver lives somewhere on the outskirts and works in the center. Let's say he needs to drive from house number 13 along Pushkin Street in the village of Kosaya Gora to Pushkinskaya Street, but in Tula itself. It's 10 kilometers.
It turns out 20 km a day to work and back, add to this 5 km for other needs. On weekends, the car rides according to the same pattern as a Muscovite: one day it rests, the next it does double the distance (50 km). In total, the car travels 175 km in a week.
During the year the mileage will be 9100 km. This will take 900 liters of gasoline at a price of 39 rubles/liter (fuel prices in Moscow and Tula are almost the same), in total you will have to spend 35,100 rubles.
Now to depreciation. Lada Granta with automatic transmission 2014 costs an average of 330,000 rubles. Over three years, the car lost 170,000 rubles in price. Even if you drop it to 160 thousand, the depreciation will be no less 55,000 per year.
Assuming that we are dealing with a conscientious driver who spends as much as 80 rubles a day on paid parking in Tula, then this is an additional 20,800 rubles per year. But we cannot take them into account yet, because no one pays for parking in Tula) Let’s assume that Tula spends the total on fines and parking 10,000 rubles in year.
OSAGO will cost 7500 rubles, winter tires - at the same 12 thousand (or 4000 per year), transport tax will be 2700 rubles. Renewing tires 2 times a year – another 4 thousand.
Car wash - about 600 rubles per month, per year this is the minimum 7200 .
Maintenance for Lada Granta costs 3,700 rubles. for the first year of operation, 4900 rub. for the second and 3700 for the third. Average - 4100 per year.
Minimum cost of owning a budget car in Tula (rubles per year):
55,000 – depreciation;
35,000 – gasoline;
10,000 – parking and fines;
7500 – OSAGO (for a year);
7200 – car wash;
4100 – maintenance;
4000 – “re-shoeing” of tires;
4000 – winter tires;
2700 – tax;
Total: 133,500 rubles.
In total, our Tula resident will spend about 133,000 rubles on a car for each of the first three years of ownership, and subsequently the cost of ownership will only grow rapidly. In fact, the annual costs will be about 150,000.
A taxi ride from Pushkin, 13 to Pushkinskaya, 13 costs 160 rubles one way, or 320 rubles per day. This 83,200 rubles in year. That is, even if our Tula resident lives in luxury and takes a taxi to work every day, it will still be cheaper than owning a budget car. If you take into account taxi costs on weekends, you can round up to 100 000 . But why then do you need the hassle with insurance, technical inspections, changing shoes, traffic jams, finding parking and everything else, if you can just always take a taxi and spend only money, and not money along with nerves and time? And at the same time save up to 50,000 rubles per year.
And our driver could get from his place of residence to his place of work on the 28th bus and spend 30 rubles a day on a pass, or 7800 rubles in year.
What freedom are you talking about? A car is just an extra expense and a headache, that’s all.
It turns out that in a city like Tula you don’t need a car at all. In Moscow it makes sense to take budget car for regular long-distance travel, but you'll pay more for it with every wrong turn and every day it ages.
If we look at other cities, it turns out that the smaller the city, the greater the gap between the cost of owning your own car and an annual “subscription” for a taxi. It turns out that a car is truly a luxury. Even if you drive carefully, do not spend money on repairs and do not incur any additional expenses, the slightest mistake will instantly increase the price of its use. A fine, an accident, a pothole on the road - and you will no longer meet the minimum.
So in our cities, public transport in combination with taxis and (for Moscow and St. Petersburg) car sharing easily replaces a personal car.
Calculate how much you spend on a car per year and compare it with how much you would spend on taxis and public transport! Tell us in the comments what happened.
If you've ever had to make a choice, you've probably come across the same, not entirely clear, phrase in the ads: “the car has been newly configured.”
What does "setting" mean in relation to modern cars? Rest assured, most likely, even the seller himself does not know what is meant by this term and what needs to be done to carry out this setup. He probably just threw a popular phrase into his ad without worrying too much about its meaning. Meanwhile, in real life There are certain actions that any car owner simply needs to do in order for his car to drive confidently and not cause trouble.
Open the hood and check!
Most modern cars these days hardly require any serious routine maintenance, except, perhaps, for checking the level of technical fluids.
This became available thanks to technological advances V automotive industry, which began to be used since the late 1980s. Widespread use of fuel injection and electronic ignition systems, as well as ignition with individual coil on each spark plug created fertile ground for a serious increase in engine reliability internal combustion. Nowadays, engines can easily work out their service life without the owner’s headaches in setting up the power unit systems.
However, this does not mean that car enthusiasts cannot benefit from occasional diagnostics. engine compartment. Today we will look at what exactly this process means for modern gasoline car and how effective it is. You'll be surprised how easy and inexpensive it is to improve engine performance.
Replacing spark plugs
The first item on the tune-up checklist is replacing the engine spark plugs. Many cars today are equipped with "long-lasting" platinum or iridium spark plugs ignitions that last so long that it's easy to forget they wear out or even exist. These spark plugs often reach their full service life, which is an impressive 100-160 thousand km. Surprisingly reliable things, especially considering how difficult conditions they are walking".
But as soon as their life cycle comes to an end, you will instantly feel a deterioration in the car's behavior.
The symptoms are as follows: difficult start and slight loss of engine power. The spark plugs need to be changed.
An example of a car on which spark plugs will be replaced is a 2010 Mazda 3. The car needed to replace the spark plugs during mileage. 105.000 km .
Accessing the spark plugs on some vehicles can be a real pain, so be sure to research your vehicle's procedure for removing them before you proceed with the replacement.
On Mazda given model and year, to get to the spark plugs, it was necessary to disconnect the car's battery, remove the plastic engine cover and unscrew the set of ignition coils that are installed on top of the spark plugs.
Important! It is strongly recommended that you thoroughly clean the work area, especially the spark plug wells, before removing the spark plugs. A powerful vacuum cleaner or a can of compressed air suitable for quickly removing all dirt from hard-to-reach places. The last thing you want is for sand or dust to get inside the engine during a replacement.
We also draw your attention to the fact that it will not be so easy for those who have expired to finish their term. Therefore, they need to be unscrewed with the appropriate tool - a 16” wrench with a sufficiently long lever. However, after removing the candle, things will go much easier!
Unscrew the old spark plugs.
Once the old spark generating elements have been removed, it is time to prepare the new spark plugs for use. Of course, the right type of candles must be purchased in advance.
Always check the gap on the spark plug before reinstalling it. The gap determines the temperature and intensity of the spark provided by the plug. An incorrectly set gap can cause pre-ignition, detonation or other engine problems. Of course, such a delicate technical point, but it's worth double-checking.
Gap measuring device.
You can check the gap with an inexpensive device like the one pictured above. Specifications for your vehicle's spark plug gap dimensions can be found in the owner's manual or in the table in engine compartment. If the measurement reveals that the gap is off and out of specification, you can carefully adjust it by moving the ground electrode further or closer to the center electrode.
Plugs with platinum and iridium tips have fragile center electrodes that are easily destroyed when trying to clumsily set the gap. Be careful!
However, we repeat, everything will probably be set up at the factory, so your intervention most likely will not be needed.
It's time to put candles in.
Some auto mechanics recommend using a small amount of anti-seize paste applied to the spark plug threads. At the same time, it is important to ensure that chemical composition do not hit the center electrode area, otherwise the spark plug will not work. However, other masters are also categorical in the opposite opinion.
The main arguments against are over-tightening the spark plugs (the anti-seize paste lubricates the threads and can change the torque value) and poor grounding from the engine cylinder head.
Screw in the candles by hand, take torque wrench and tighten them to the specification numbers. Look for specifications in the user manual or Google it. Don't have a torque wrench? Definitely buy it! A normal torque wrench can be taken for as little as 2-2.5 thousand rubles . With it, you will never break delicate connections and will not be the unwitting initiator of a very troublesome and expensive restoration repair.
Having tightened the spark plugs properly, you can replace the coils and decorative engine cover. We leave the battery disconnected to perform subsequent setup steps.
Price: depends on the quantity and quality of spark plugs plus a torque wrench.
Cleaning the throttle valve
The next item on the setup list is cleaning the case throttle valve. The throttle valve regulates the air flow to gasoline engine, with direct participation in the operation of this element, the formation of the air-fuel mixture occurs.
The throttle, which opens and closes depending on how much gas you apply with the pedal, gets significantly dirty over time. Over time, a film forms on the back of the damper, facing the engine, and then a whole thick layer of “oil” deposits, which is mainly the fault of the engine crankcase ventilation system.
The larger the layer of oil on the damper, the worse its response to opening and closing the throttle, “freezing” after releasing the gas pedal. Uneven work on idle speed will also be present among the symptoms.
And since cleaning the throttle valve is very rarely included in scheduled maintenance by automakers, it is better to do it yourself. Moreover, this is not difficult when it comes to a mechanical drive.
When to clean? If the car's mileage has exceeded 80 thousand km and you know that the damper has never been cleaned or, conversely, you do not know whether it has been dismantled, we advise you to clean it.
Here's what you'll need to get started:
Throttle valve cleaner (you can use regular cleaner)
Screwdriver
Spanners
Lint-free cloth or brush
New throttle body gasket (for replacement)
To thoroughly clean the part, you must remove the throttle body from the vehicle. This will require removing the rubber intake pipe, disconnecting some of the electrical plugs (depending on the model and year of the vehicle) and unscrewing a few bolts that hold the throttle body in place. intake manifold engine. Depending on the vehicle, you may have to remove a couple of hoses from the throttle body.
This is not soot, this is plaque. There should be no black “velvety” coating
When you remove the throttle body from your vehicle, you will likely find a thick layer of oil on one side of the throttle body and just dust on the other side. Your goal is to remove all contaminants from inside the case.
If there are electrical components on the throttle body, such as the drive motor, and you are concerned about splashing cleaner into the throttle body, simply spray the cleaner onto a rag and begin wiping off the residue. This process may take a little longer, but it's better to work a little longer than risk destroying expensive electrical components.
Gradually remove all plaque
Attention: Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area when using the cleaner. This is a powerful chemical, the vapors of which can cause loss of consciousness and serious harm to health if inhaled. Rubber gloves and safety glasses can also provide good protection.
Just like from the factory! It's a completely different matter!
With all the dirt cleaned off, it's time to install the throttle body onto the intake manifold using a new gasket. It is important to use a new rubber sealing product to establish a sealed connection.
Price: 1000-2000 rubles.
Cleaning the air flow sensor or MAF sensor
If your car is equipped with fuel injection, it will have either a mass air flow sensor or a pressure sensor.
The mass air flow sensor, also called MAF, is usually installed in the air duct after the filter.
MAP, or manifold pressure sensor. It’s easy to guess that this sensor measures the pressure in the manifold, using a computer to calculate how much air enters the car’s engine.
This information is used to determine the amount of fuel that should enter the cylinders. Thus, we are talking about critical sensors on which the quality of engine operation depends.
The MAF sensor is easy to reach on this Mazda 3.
Both types of sensor can become dirty over time, affecting the healthy operation of the engine.
General symptoms: increased fuel consumption, sluggish start and acceleration.
Luckily, cleaning these sensors is as easy as the throttle body.
Mazda 3 is equipped with a mass air flow sensor, so we will clean it. To do this, take a cleaner for the mass air flow sensor (sold in auto parts stores).
Note that there are Various types MAF sensors - not all of them look like the one in these photos.
Attention: Be sure to research the best way to clean your specific MAP or MAP sensor before proceeding. Special precautions and/or cleaning agents may be required to avoid damage to the specific type of sensor used in the vehicle.
The MAF sensor on this vehicle is located in an easily accessible location next to the air filter box. Disconnecting the electrical connector and removing two small screws is all that is required to remove the sensor.
In this type of sensor mass flow air, two parts need to be cleaned: the temperature sensor and the contacts going to it. You can see that the temperature sensor has darkened on one side. We clean off dirt.
Once the remaining spray has completely dried, the sensor will be able to function like new again. We install it back into the car, connect the car battery and begin to be proud of ourselves. The car will perform better, and that's thanks to you!
Price: 750 rubles.
Replacing the air filter
I'm sure you understand that replacing an air filter is not a difficult task, but you would be truly surprised to learn how often this essential and ingeniously simple way to extend engine life and improve performance indicators car is ignored.
Your car's engine air filter can be either a blessing or a curse. Working in optimal mode, it holds dirt and other solid particles, preventing them from entering the engine.
However, after 25-35 thousand km (depending on the car and operating conditions), the air filter will become completely clogged and will no longer pass sufficient quantity air. Old dirty filter will literally begin to “choke” the engine.
Quality air filters can be found at a reasonable price at any auto parts store. For many car models, you don’t even need to unscrew anything; just remove the filter box cover, which is often secured with clips. Many automakers specifically make the part available for replacement by the owner himself.
The only thing you should pay attention to when replacing the filter element is the box in which you will place the new one. The box will be dirty and dusty. Therefore, you should clean it of foreign particles before installing new spare part. For ease of cleaning, it is best to remove it.
Price: 1,000-2,000 rubles.
Feeling of newness
It can be argued that there are a huge number of other consumable parts, such as software controlled PCV valves (part of the engine's positive crankcase ventilation system), spark plug wires, ignition coils, oxygen sensors and fuel filters, which also must be replaced on time and which are extremely important on a modern car.
Unless the lack of seats, roof and doors, windows and wipers does not interfere with its movement, everything else plays a decisive role in its ability to drive. So there is no need to talk about which detail is more important and which is less important.
However, there is also something that is the most important aspect for the movement of any car - this is the battery (aka battery, that is accumulator battery). A lot can be said about it, but you need to start with the fact that for electric vehicles the battery is the main source of energy, and for cars or motor vehicles it is an auxiliary one. In cars, the battery is used to start the engine, that is, without it, the car really won’t go anywhere.
Of course, given the variety of modern cars, it is not surprising that a lot of batteries are also being created for them. And when choosing a battery, you should carefully consider all aspects, all parameters, choosing what suits the car most. Wide choose The battery in St. Petersburg can be found here: http://bestakbspb.ru/, but for now it’s worth noting some other aspects.
What is a battery?
This chemical source current, consisting of several batteries (usually for car batteries 6 elements are used). During the existence of batteries (and this is already more than a century and a half), they changed their composition, and this moment The most common are lead-acid. However, this does not mean that all battery types are the same. The basis for electrodes is still, as many years ago, lead, but additives to it can be different, which determines different types of batteries.
Here are a few examples: batteries can be antimony, low-antimony, calcium, hybrid, gel, alkaline and lithium-ion. Of course, each of these types of batteries has various properties, which makes them popular to varying degrees. However, antimony ones are currently obsolete. But there are many other types, so the question remains open.
Car sharing appeared in Moscow six years ago, but rapid development began in 2015, and in January of this year there were already thirteen companies operating in the capital, with a fleet of 6,700 cars! The Moscow City Hall estimates the capacity of this market at 10-15 thousand. This perspective is shared by the operators themselves, vying with each other to assure us of the benefits of this type of transport, because drivers do not have to spend money on fuel, spare parts and repairs: the companies themselves are involved in the maintenance of carsharing cars. In addition, they can be parked for free. According to the mos.ru portal, more than one million users have already registered in the short-term car rental system, who made 5.6 million trips last year!
Tempting? But I didn’t decide to become a car sharing client right away. We were frightened by the draconian fines from operators for customer offenses. The BelkaCar company alone imposed fines of 26.9 million rubles last year! True, among them the leading punishment is for transferring a car to a third party, but evacuation and ending a trip in a closed area are also among the three most popular violations. But not a word about dirty interiors and broken parts of rental cars. So companies are turning a blind eye to this? Now fine…
For the test, I chose five operators that are popular in Moscow - the popular Delimobil and Car5, the advanced YouDrive and BelkaCar, as well as the EasyRide operator, which was the first to offer crossovers to users. Car sharing in Moscow now costs from five rubles per minute of travel. Which operator will be more reliable and which application will be more convenient?
EasyRide
Renault Captur: 9 RUR/min in travel mode, 3 RUR/min in standby mode.
Having launched the application and clicking on the registration button, I suddenly find myself on the page with its end, where I am asked to put the necessary checkboxes opposite the lines with consent to data processing, with the terms of the contract and other formalities. Information about tariffs and fines is provided in the form of links on the same page - and there are no greetings or instructions. I send the documents and wait for a response with the results, but in vain: after three days it still hasn’t arrived. A call to the company also did not yield results. And even by the time this article was published, registration, which began back in 2017, had not been completed - and the reason for this was never explained to me. It seems that the company does not really need new clients, so the introduction to EasyRide had to be postponed.
Delimobil
Hyundai Solaris, Renault Kaptur: 7 rubles/min for the Basic tariff and 8 rubles/min for the Fairy Tale tariff with zero liability in case of an accident, 2.5 rubles/min in standby mode.
The most ridiculous registration! The system forced me to immediately subscribe to the tariff. But wait, we’re still strangers! What if I don’t like the functionality of the application? In addition, in order to figure out which option is preferable, you have to read the fine print, delving into the differences in conditions. But the list includes a tariff with zero liability in case of an accident. And the price is reasonable: eight rubles per minute of using the car. I choose him.
I proceed to fill out the form, subconsciously noting the unfriendly layout of the application. I enter necessary information, I wait for the next stage and... complete the required sections that suddenly appeared on the screen. But what about the agreement itself? On a smartphone, its text is displayed in small font - it is unlikely that any of the users have studied it to the end. Now I am not surprised by situations where dissatisfied customers accuse the company of issuing fines that they did not even know existed. All it would take is to make a readable form of the agreement.
According to the rules, the company activates the user account within two days. But a day later I only received a request to provide a new, more “readable” photograph. Then the security service demanded that I print out the contract, sign, scan and send a package of documents in a response letter: without this, the account will not start working. Finally, the next day I received confirmation in the mail that my profile had been verified and Delimobil could give me a car.
I didn’t have to go far to get it: a car-sharing Hyundai Solaris was waiting for me under the editorial windows. Having booked the car, I carefully inspected it for damage in order to enter it on a special form and then not have to pay fines for someone else’s faults. The list turned out to be impressive! Loose pad rear bumper, damaged rear view mirror housing, abrasions on the body, sagging front bumper, dent on the trunk lid...
In the meantime, the three free minutes for inspection have ended and the standby mode has turned on with a tariff of 2.5 rubles per minute. But I haven’t looked into the salon yet! Having contacted the operator just in case, I reported numerous damages, and the organization did not even know about some of them. In response, I was advised to send photos to the company’s Telegram channel. It took ten minutes to inspect the car and negotiate.
The Solaris interior was met with a layer of dust on the panel and dirty seats, but the most unpleasant thing was the sticky steering wheel - I had to use wet wipes.
Already upon leaving the parking lot it was discovered that brake pads They have been in need of replacement for a long time, as was clearly indicated by an unpleasant grinding noise. By the middle of the journey, the desire to wash my hands became more and more obsessive. Meanwhile Windshield It began to fog up treacherously, and the windshield wiper blades froze. As it turned out, all due to the fact that the operator followed the simple way and did not bother installing the engine start button, just glued the key into the ignition switch. With time contact Group started to act up and therefore, while driving, the car’s heater, wipers, and “music” disappeared. But thanks to some miracle the engine continued to work. No, I don’t need such a miserable car - having reached my destination, I park the car and leave in search of a place where I can wash my hands.
Rental time is 51 minutes. The price of the trip is 411 rubles.
Having managed to say goodbye to the EasyRide operator ahead of schedule, I did not give up trying to rent a crossover. And just then Delimobil purchased a batch of exactly the same Renault cars Kaptur, like EasyRide. Will they be able to rehabilitate the company in my eyes?
Of course, I was pleased with the condition of the brand new crossover, but it was not possible to start it, and at the end of the rental, the car doors remained open. Meanwhile, 50 rubles were debited from the account. Again, I couldn’t get in and drive, as the company promised... Another call to the operator (I had already gotten used to this) solved the problem: the system was restarted, and this time the engine start button worked. They promised to return the money to my account. Having driven a very short distance in a fresh car and noting the interior that had not yet been soiled, I parked the Kaptur and went to the editorial office with a feeling of accomplishment.
Rental time - 15 minutes. The price of the trip is 168 rubles.
YouDrive
smart: 9 rubles/min in Use mode, 2.5 rubles/min in Parking mode.
BMW 218i Active Tourer: 14 RUR/min in Use mode, 3.5 RUR/min in Parking mode.
BMW i3: 17 rubles/min, Parking mode not provided.
The registration process turned out to be not at all complicated and intuitive. The system greeted me with welcome slides, offered to undergo instructions and did not find fault with the quality of selfies with documents taken the first time. The questionnaire turned out to be completely easy to fill out.
The company has a rating, and the higher it is, the more interesting cars you can rent it. Starting level is microcars smart fortwo and forfour. The car I booked (I got a fortwo) was relatively clean on the outside and absolutely clean on the inside. True, on front bumper there was no plug, and to report this problem, I had to tinker with the functionality for about two minutes mobile application: communication with the chatbot developed, to put it mildly, strangely, and the system stubbornly returned only the information about the damage that had already been entered. And about such insignificant ones that you can’t see without a tip!
Having managed to freeze near the smart phone due to a glitch in the application, I was still able to get the operator’s approval for the trip (when he accepted the information about new damage) and put the car into rental mode. Little smart I was amazed by its maneuverability - this is what you need for short trips around the crowded city center.
Rental time - 16 minutes. The price of the trip is 129 rubles.
The company’s fleet also includes more interesting cars, but access to them is only available to clients with a higher rating. And then I decided to take advantage of my official position and asked the company’s press service to upgrade my account. Is it worth racking up minutes on smart phones and accumulating ratings for the opportunity to rent, say, a BMW 218i Active Tourer compact van?
Costs! I liked this experience of short-term vehicle rental the most. Firstly, despite the strange substance underfoot, the inside of the car was relatively clean, although the previous tenant left an open can of soda paired with a crumpled napkin on the floor. Secondly, the car turned out to be very comfortable. Good smoothness, enough spacious salon, good dynamics - and such pleasing to the eye orange scales in the signature BMW spirit. It was in this car that I finally got used to my “car sharing” mode, but unlike previous experiences, I did not have to call the operator to complain about the damage.
Rental time - 72 minutes. The price of the trip is 644 rubles.
Well, now - BMW i3! While the Active Tourer can be booked at user level two, the unusual hybrid will only be available to customers at level five out of eight. To my chagrin, the “i-third” turned out to be dirty. Finding no visible damage to the body, I tried to open the car, but to no avail. Due to a weak mobile Internet signal, the locks did not work. What if you need to go urgently? After a few minutes of walking around looking for good signal the doors opened.
Unfortunately, the interior was not clean: the rugs were stained with footprints from previous tenants, and there was a crumpled rag in the cup holder. It is worth noting that I did not meet the free 20 minutes that are given to users to get to the car. By the time I arrived, the hybrid had already been in rental mode for four minutes and was “eating up” my money: the Parking mode is not provided for this particular model.
The journey was long, and during this time I managed to get used to both the unusual traction control (the wheels are driven only by an electric motor!), and to the feeling of the huge space inside such compact car. So much so that excessive confidence played a cruel joke on me: I missed the video camera, slightly exceeding speed mode, which the operator subsequently informed me about by email with a request to pay the fine (with the 50% discount required by law). In short, if you are planning to rent a BMW i3, be careful: after the first dose of electric mobility, you can get hooked. So I didn’t want to say goodbye to the car, but the rental counter sobered me up.
Rental time - 54 minutes. The price of the trip is 921 rubles.
Car5
Datsun mi-DO: 5 rubles/min in Travel mode, 2 rubles/min in Standby mode.
The registration process was much faster than that of Delimobil. But, having started it in the company’s application, I had to continue through email, where they sent a confirmation code. And I was already starting to get nervous, waiting for an SMS on my phone, as is customary in other companies. Nevertheless, the account activation took place in the most short term- literally within ten minutes.
This morning I noticed a free one on the map Datsun mi-DO company Car5, which was located near the editorial office. To my surprise, the car stood still for the entire first half of the day, which was confirmed by a fixed dot with the location of the vehicle on the mobile phone screen. Is the service really that unpopular? But when I eventually got to the car, everything became clear: the car does not have turn signals on the front fenders, the threshold is passenger side jammed, and there are countless abrasions and abrasions.
I called the operator to report the worthless condition of the car, and received the answer: “Take photos of all the damage and send them to us by email.” In order not to deal with such difficulties, I decided to find a similar, but serviceable car, and the trip in it still took place. True, it was very short-lived, because being in the middle of scattered wrappers from curd cheeses and chocolates, napkins and other garbage was unpleasant. As a consolation - the most low price trips.
Rental time - 15 minutes. The price of the trip is 75 rubles.
BelkaCar
Kia Rio: 8 rubles/min in Drive mode, 2 rubles/min in Standby mode.
Mercedes CLA: 16 rubles/min in Drive mode, 4 rubles/min in Standby mode.
The operator welcomes the user with open arms: there is a preliminary navigator through the application's functions, and clear explanations on how to use the program - all on welcome slides. Photos of documents and selfies with them in Belka were successfully verified in one day.
After the cars of Delimobil and Car5, I expected that other operators also do not pay attention to maintaining cleanliness in economy class cars. But Kia salon The Rio turned out to be well-maintained, there was no dirt (and this was in winter), and in addition, the company took care of installing a charger for smartphones with three different connectors. The car was fully operational, driving it was pleasant - it cannot be compared with the Solaris Delimobil, which is in the same “weight category”.
Rental time - 38 minutes. The price of the trip is 301 rubles.
But it's time to move on next level tariffs. The same Belka offers Mercedes sedans CLA. There are fewer premium cars from operators in the city than there are economical Kia and Solaris, and to rent a Mercedes, you had to travel a couple of kilometers. But the car also turned out to be clean. There were also charging device for mobile phones, brought out through the cup holder, and in the trunk there is a canister of washer fluid and a snow brush. I have not found such amenities with Delimobil, Car5 and YouDrive.
Driving a Mercedes, of course, was more fun than driving a Rio: the difference in class is obvious. And the phone was able to be recharged during the journey. But the tariff is completely different: you have to pay for comfort.
Rental time - 19 minutes. The price of the trip is 295 rubles.
Is there any reason?
As a person who often travels to the center of the capital on business, which also requires me to look my best from time to time, I admit that a short-term car rental service can be useful in such cases. For example, you can use car sharing instead of a personal car if you have to return home as a passenger. Or if the potential costs of parking your car in the city center exceed the costs of car sharing. True, this does not cancel the torment of searching free space. Although smart fortwo can serve well in this situation: due to its compact size (length 2.69 m), it can be parked perpendicular to the sidewalk (unless signs and road markings prohibit this).
There are many car sharing cars in the central part of Moscow, and finding a free one nearby is not difficult. Although, for example, if you live in the very nearest Moscow region, then finding a car sharing car turns into a problem: for example, in Mytishchi on Sunday morning there was not a single car, and the applications offered to get to the nearest cars by taxi.
Rent budget cars like Datsun or Solaris, the price is reasonable - in many cases even cheaper than a taxi. Take, say, my ride in a Datsun for 75 rubles: how long have you seen such a taxi bill? In addition, many do not want to deal with taxi drivers, who are often rude and do not choose the most profitable route. And behind the wheel of a car sharing, you are your own boss.
Rent is much more expensive premium cars. But, oddly enough, the feeling of annoyance for overpaying did not haunt me, and all thanks to the special atmosphere in these cars. And I, it seems, began to understand those clients who overpay for the rental of a Mercedes or BMW.
The understatement remained after communicating with the BMW i3. Experiments of this kind, in which you will have to pay more than 1000 rubles for an hour of rent, are needed, apparently, for the sake of the experiments themselves, when you really want to try out an extravagant and expensive car. But the operator should take better care of the condition of such machines: dirt inside the cabin is unacceptable in such a situation!
Car sharing operators somewhat exaggerate when they say that short-term car rental is almost a replacement public transport. All my trips turned out to be more than 50 rubles. Although, if you need to transfer from one type of transport to another, then car sharing can actually become more profitable. But this is justified only if a “cheap” car sharing car is nearby, otherwise a walk of a couple of kilometers will negate the advantage.
At the same time, there is no worse moment than when a user comes across a tired machine. While driving one, you involuntarily begin to regret choosing car sharing. Taking into account the ticking minutes of waiting during the protracted inspection of the Delimobil Solaris, I count the expenses for calls to the operator, remember the ten-minute pandemonium around the car with a telephone camera and further torment on the road - and mourn the 400 rubles that I had to pay for such insufficient service. Considering the problems, albeit minor ones, with Captur of the same operator, I without regret deleted the unnecessary application from the phone’s memory. Next came EasyRide, which was unable to activate my account. But the number of operators in the city is growing: from October to December last year alone, five new companies were opened in the capital, and the online giant Yandex never tires of reminding users about the imminent launch of the service. Therefore, we will return to the topic of car sharing later.
Yes, actually, almost without everyone
Exceptions may include mirrors, window glass, seat covers and steering wheel braid. Without them, the car will start and drive. But there are also parts that are definitely necessary, because without them the car will not move. And such parts include the battery. Of course, it is needed not only in cars, but also in phones, cameras, and so on. That is, it is a device that accumulates (stores) energy and then transfers it to the device for which it was created. It is clear that in different types devices and batteries are also different, but now we’ll talk about a specific one - automobile.
Those who want to buy a car battery have no idea how much interesting information you can find about it.
And what information will we discuss?
So, for example, does everyone know that the basis for the battery was created by Alessandro Volta back in 1800? He realized that copper and zinc plates connected by wire and immersed in acid created a flow of electricity. But after such a discovery, the researcher needed almost two more years for the battery to appear in mass production. Of course, it was a very primitive battery, but it worked. It consisted of two sheets (zinc and copper), soldered at the ends and immersed in wooden box with sea water or acid.
Another interesting fact- this is the creation of a battery that could be recharged. It was invented by Gaston Plante in 1859. The composition of such a battery was different from that of Volt: the electrodes were lead plates, and the electrolyte was sulfuric acid.
Well, a little about modern car batteries
There are many rules in their operation that cannot be listed all in a short note. But it can be noted that you should not change the battery while the engine is running, because this can lead to disruption in the operation of the entire car. And one more thing important rule The problem is that you won’t be able to warm up the battery in winter, no matter how hard you try. Moreover, even a new one can sit down. In cold weather, you just need to periodically remove and charge it.
