RECORD YOUR TYRE COSTS TC A FRACTION
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It Pays to Keep a Separate Record of Every Tyre Throughout Its Life, Whether It be in Use or Not N0 doubt many readers will recall a report of an interview I had at Earls Court Commercial Motor Exhibition last year, which embodied some assistance given to a haulier in respect of keeping cost records of his expenditure on tyres. I have always insisted that, in regard to both maintenance and tyre costs, it is wise to provide for two sets of records, one an estimate, the other embodying actual expenditure. This is necessary because, as I have so often explained, the haulier wishes to know from the outset what his expenditure is likely to be, but, for obvious reasons, cannot collect the necessary information for months or even years.
The proper procedure is to begin by recording estimated expenditure on the basis of pence per mile for each of these two items and, concurrently, to record actual cost in such a form that, later in the life of the vehicle, the estimated figures can 'be checked or amended.
So far as records of maintenance are concerned, the procedure is reasonably straightforward. In The Commercial Motor Operating Cost Records I provide for it in extra pages at the back of the book, in such a way that expenditure on materials and labour can be recorded separately, and for the individual vehicles.
I have previously explained that where repair work is executed outside the operator's premises and a maintenance or repair job paid for without reference to what are materials and what is labour, this can fairly be entered under the heading of materials. The principal object is attained if the greatest care be taken to record every penny spent on maintenance.
So far as tyres are concerned, the procedure is not always quite so simple. In explaining this, I cannot do better than refer to the case quoted by this haulier whom I met at Earls Court.
His difficulty was that he found himself unable to separate tyre costs so that each vehicle could be properly debited with expenditure under that heading. His several vehicles are all of the same make, size and type. The tyres are interchangeable and if the driver of any vehicle makes use of the spare tyre on his vehicle during the day, to replace one which has been damaged, any one of the following situations may arise.
Ft IN He may entirely overlook the fact that he has made use of the spare, and go out next day with that tyre unfit for use, or he may drop his defective equipment in the garage, leaving it to be repaired so soon as possible, and pick up a stock tyre or spare wheel with tyre from the garage, putting it on in place of the discarded spare.
The first procedure is, obviously, to be deprecated on any account. The second, results in the circumstances that, of a number of tyres, any one may be on any vehicle. In the view of my interrogator that makes it impossible to check the tyre cost of each vehicle.
I explained that there was really no difficulty whatever in tracing tyre costs, even in the circumstances he had described, and I gave him a sample tyre-record card which I recommended him to use. It now appears that he does not quite understand how to use the card and I am, therefore, going to explain its use.
The tyre record which I recommend is reproduced herewith, but this time, instead of the blank card, I am showing one completed in every detail. It should be noted that, on this card is the complete life history of a tyre from the time it is placed upon a vehicle until it is discarded. The total cost is there, the cost per mile, the fact that it has been used on four vehicles, the mile age which it has covered on three of them—on the fourth it was carried as only a spare—and the exact amount which must be debited to each vehicle.
The headings on the form are, I think, self-explanatory. I should mention that it has been found convenient to keep these records in a card-index file, and the usual size card, 6 ins, by si ins., is suitable.
At the top right-hand corner the make and size of the tyre are entered, and the price paid. This tyre was fitted new to the off-side front wheel, as indicated by the letters O.F. of lorry No. 5 on August 3, 1934. It ran without incident until January 5, 1935, and had covered 8,765 miles when it was punctured. Another tyre was
fitted in its place, the punctured tyre repaired at a cost of 4s. 6d. and placed on the spare wheel of the same•
vehicle, No. 5. It will be appreciated that the tyre 'which took the place of this one on the off-side front wheel is also having its history recorded.
On March 6, 1935, the tyre, with the history of which ' we are dealing, was moved from its position as the spare on Vehicle No. 5 and placed as the inside of the twin tyres on the off-side rear wheel of vehicle No. 2. That is the meaning of the letters I.O.R. In that position it remained until July 10, 1935, when it was deemed advis able to repair a bad cut in the cover. That repair cost 8s. 4d., and the tyre, after being repaired, was returned to lorry No. 2 again, but was used as the spare: It had by this time run 16,824 miles.
On August 3, 1935, it was again moved on the nearside rear wheel, as the outer of the twin tyres. That explains the letters O.N.R. It ran, in that position, until October 11, 1935, and had covered altogether 20,056 miles. It was then wearing rather thin and it was decided that it should be retreaded. This was done at a cost of 23 5s. 6d. and the tyre was transferred to the spare wheel on vehicle No. 3.
A week later, on October 18, 1935, it was put on the near-side front wheel of lorry No. 4, in which position it ran without incident until March 20, 1936, by which time a total mileage of 29,285 had been covered. It was then decided to discard it, and it was sold with others and realized a scrap price of 2s. 6d.
In the foregoing, there is the story of tha life of this tyre, its mileage and its total cost, all of which has involved, as I have already pointed out, only eight actual entries. It now remains to summarize these figures and to allocate the due proportion to each vehicle. The total expenditure is 211 5s. 10d., and that, for a mileage of 29,285, is equivalent to a cost per mile for that particular tyre of 0.0925d. The tyre has covered 8,765 miles on lorry No. 5, which must, therefore, be debited with that mileage at the cost of 0.0925d. per mile. The total is 23 7s. 5d. That sum should be entered as actual expense under the heading of "Tyre " in reference to that particular vehicle.
On lorry No. 2 this same tyre has run for 11,291 miles and the actual cost is 24 6s. 10d. On lorry No. 3 it was carried as only a spare, so there is no debit on account of that vehicle, and on lorry No. 4 it ran for 9,229 miles, the cost being 23 us. 7d. S.T. R.