Should You Keep Your Car?

[Kiwi Mustache]

I've recently made some changes to my life.

I've split up with my long term partner and have thus been able to move within 4km of where I work.

I've bought a mountain bike and have fitted it out for commuting. I've been riding this to and from work every day and also use it to ride to visit friends close by, go the supermarket, library, etc. Everything else closer I walk.

I live in a major city (Auckland) and the public transport system isn't the greatest.

I use my car primarily for visiting my parents (who live 20km away) for dinners every other weekend and also if I'm meeting friends for events or socializing weeknights or the weekends. I also use it every 2-3 months or so for a weekend car trip away to meet family/friends.

I can see the financial benefits of getting rid of it but then can also see the hassle of not having one if where I'm going is late at night, an hour plus commute away or public transport simply doesn't go to where I want to go to.

Thoughts?

[Lordy]

I am in a similar situation so I will share my thoughts. There are a few factors to consider:

- How easy is it to get a car should you need one?
Can you lend from someone? Is there car-sharing? How about rental (for weekends)?

- What alternate ways of transportation are available?
Think Uber, Cab, etc. These rides may be expensive but possibly still cheaper than owning a car.

- What is the value / depreciation of your car?
If you have a really old car that no longer looses value it's much different from a recent model.
What are your costs of owning the car? (Parking, Insurance, Maintenance, Taxes?)

As for my case, I own a 6yr old Audi that I hardly used after switching from commuting to home-office.
Car Sharing has recently started in my home town so a small short-term rental is a 10 minute walk away.
I calculate the cost of my car as follows:

- Depreciation: ~300 EUR/month
- Insurance: 50 EUR/month
- Parking: 50 EUR/month
- Tax: 10 EUR/month

So having a car around costs me about 400 EUR without having moved it a single kilometer. YMMV

[gooki]

It looks line you have legitimate reason to own a car. My advice would be to drive your cost of car ownership down by: making sure you don't own more car than you need (if you have a late model, or luxury car, down grade and invest the difference), and switch to third party insurance only.

PS, congratulations on cycling to work.

[Retired To Win]

It looks line you have legitimate reason to own a car. My advice would be to drive your cost of car ownership down by: making sure you don't own more car than you need (if you have a late model, or luxury car, down grade and invest the difference), and switch to third party insurance only.

PS, congratulations on cycling to work.

Right.  In my view, the issue is not so much whether to own a car but rather how much capital and ongoing expense to tie up in a car.  The  original post does not specify a type or year of car, or what the fixed monthly costs are to operate it.  In the OP's shoes, my goal would be to lower those costs of vehicle ownership as much as practicable by switching to the most economical yet reliable vehicle I could find.  (I drive a 1996 Dodge Dakota pickup that I have owned since 2003).