Background: 24, married a little over a year. "Saving" $2k a month by paying off debt over the minimums, trying to get debt free ASAP.
I bought a car when fresh on the job in 2011 and at that time I had a 45 minute commute to work. Recently moved this past March and I work maybe 1.5 miles from the townhouse we rent. About half the way is sidewalk and about half is road with no shoulder. My car would not start last Thursday morning and I was too lazy to jump it at the time. I had my wife drive me to work and then I walked home. This got me wondering if we need two cars.
The car is a 2010 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V. KBB has it valued between $12,500 and $14,500 for a trade in. I owe about $8,800. If I sold it I could use the cash for a scooter and safety gear. Then we would be saving an extra $500 a month from no car payment or insurance. I would obviously need to look into scooter insurance but surely it is cheaper than $70 a month.
My main concern is theft. We have no garage and are the #2 or #5, depending on how you count, townhouse in a row of six connected units. I imagine a ~300lb scooter to be gobbled up pretty quickly if I park it in my driveway. I could ride it around back every day but I am worried about what that will do to the grass. I would have to walk it through an alley type path that is behind all of our units' fences. I have never seen anyone back there before so I guess it is community property. In our fenced in area we have a storage shed so I could put it in there and lock it, plus the fence gate is locked. Do you think it would be acceptable for me to wheel a scooter in this little path behind all of our units?
Then at work, my office has no window and I am in the back of a warehouse so I could not keep an eye on it. With a good enough tire lock I do not see this as being a big issue, there is even another person who works in the warehouse who rides a scooter. It just makes me nervous to leave something that expensive and that light out for anyone to grab.
Winter is just around the corner as well. Though I figure with the right gear and my short commute the cold would not be a big issue.
Are my concerns about theft justified or should I just stop worrying and do it? Also, I realize that many will suggest a bicycle but I do no think that is for me. Thanks!