AutoMobile 1.7.1 Mileage and Cost Tracking

Available on the App Store

Installation and Upgrade

AutoMobil runs on iPhone and iPod touch handhelds with at least iOS 8. You can find the complete version history at the bottom of this page.

At the first start you should enter an initial mileage for your car using the + button in the upper right. This value will be used as the basis for all further calculations. The initial mileage should be the odometer value at a full fill-up, so you can start with a clean value for consumption or fuel economy measurement. Do not enter any cost or fill-up for the first value.

Screenshot of input dialogData Entry

For a given date, you can enter the mileage as total or since last entry (trip), the cost, and/or amount of fill-up or fuel price.

To enter maintenance or repair costs, just leave the fuel value at zero.

Use the toolbar on the cost entry keyboard to add negative values or simple formulae.

You can change the category of this entry or attach a note.

If you've maintained multiple currencies you can tap on the currency symbol to select another currency for input, e.g. when you refill abroad.

Partial and Forgotten Fill-Ups

If you're only doing a partial fill-up (e.g. refilling for $ 10), tap on the button next to the refill value until it shows "Partial". Partial fill-ups will be summed up until the next full fill-up and statistics will be calculated accordingly. The current average can not be calculated if the tank is not completely filled.

If you forgot the last entry or someone else did the fill-up, when you do the next refill entry, tap on the button next to the refill value until it shows "Missing". Fill-ups after a missing entry do not count in the fuel economy calculation (but the costs will be summed up). Fuel economy statistics will be continued at the next full refill.


Screenshot of statistics screenScreenshot of overview statistics screen Statistics

AutoMobil calculates various statistics and displays them on the overview page. The current fuel economy or consumption is calculated by summing up all partial and the last full fill-up and dividing the total distance driven since the last full fill-up by this sum (or vice versa).

Cost per month is the estimated (averaged) value based on the total cost and the total time span of entries. Recurring costs are taken into account for the time span for which they are due.

Costs per mile is the total cost divided by the total driven distance.

The estimated next fill up distance is calculated from the largest refill and the current fuel economy. If the estimate seems wrong, check the log to see if there is an excessive refill value (e.g. by combining two refills into one entry).

There is also a dedicated statistics view (via More) which lets you analyze your data by selecting a time span and/or category.

Note that the averages may be inaccurate in the first 1-2 months, when not enough data is available. The longer you use AutoMobil, the more accurate are the statistics.

If you have several cars maintained in AutoMobile, you can easily switch between them by swiping left or right on this screen.


(Screenshot)Log View

AutoMobil stores all entered data in a log. The newest entry is displayed on top. Tap on the count symbol (#) to scroll to the bottom of the log.

Tap on an entry to edit it, or use the Edit button in the upper left to remove entries. Use the action button in the upper right to filter entries by category or select additional data to show in the log.

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(Screenshot)(Screenshot)Charts

AutoMobil can display graphs for consumption and fuel economy, monthly cost and distance, and fuel price. You can horizontally zoom in and out of the data.

A thick pink line indicates a smoothed average of the data and can be used to easily spot trends in the data. The dashed green line indicates the average value.

Cost per category is displayed as a pie chart.

Tap on a point in the graph to display the value of the closest data entry.

 


(Screenshot)Reminders

You can schedule reminders e.g. for maintenance or oil change. The reminders will be checked whenever you start AutoMobil or enter a new odometer value.

You can add new reminders based on odometer value, date or both odometer and date (whichever comes first). Events occurring at regular intervals, like oil change, can be entered as repeated events.

Screenshot of recurring cost entryRecurring Costs

If you have costs that occur at regular intervals, like insurance fees or amortization of costs, you can enter them as recurring costs. Each recurring cost has an interval in which it occurs, and a repeat type (monthly, quarterly or yearly). Based on these settings, recurring costs are summed up for the total and average monthly cost as well as for the cost per mile/kilometer.

Note: Recurring costs will not appear in the Log.

(Screenshot) Currencies

You can work with multiple currencies in AutoMobile. Internally, all costs are stored in your home currency. When you maintain additional currencies with Settings - Currencies you can enter costs in these currencies and they will be automatically converted. Always enter the three-letter ISO code as currency name on the Currencies page (e.g. USD or CAD or EUR).

You can update the exchange rates with Update Exchange Rates from the Internet or manually.

Import/Export/Backup

The AutoMobil documents folder is shared with iTunes. Just select your iOS device in iTunes, then click on the Apps tab, and scroll down to see the list of applications with shared documents (see also here).

AutoMobil can import *.pdb files created by AutoMobile Palm, Pocket PC (Windows Mobile), or Android. It can also import *.csv (comma separated values) files create with e.g. a spreadsheet program. Copy the *.pdb or *.csv file to the AutoMobil documents folder in iTunes, then, from the main (statistics) screen, select Import from the action button in the upper left. For *.pdb files, a new car will be automatically created, for *.csv files you are asked whether you want to import data in the currently selected car or a new car.

Before you import a *.csv file please make sure your current distance and fuel units are correct in the AutoMobile settings and the date format of the CSV is correct according to the current iOS international settings.

You can also export your data as CSV (comma separated value) e.g. for backup or for analysis with a spreadsheet program. Select Export from the action button in the upper left. The *.csv file will be saved in the documents folder with a file name derived from the current car name.

AutoMobile will automatically save a backup name backup.db of the complete database in the Documents folder after every change (but only once per day). When you install AutoMobile on a new iOS device, or accidentally deleted some data, you can restore the backup from the main view with Restore Backup. Note that this will overwrite all data for all cars with the backup.

Many thanks to Benoit Bouchard and Pierre Dubor for their help with the French translation.

Version history


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Last Update: 2021-07-14