Walking Away from My Car: The Expected and Unexpected Benefits
Car payments, insurance, gas, parking, maintenance… the list goes on and on. The true cost of owning a car is much more than I remember it being when I pulled out of the dealership after buying my first car, a new Hyundai, back in Fall 2012.
After almost two years of driving the car and watching my auto related payments syphon money out of my savings each month, I knew there had to be a better solution.
I live in Atlanta, which is a pretty car-dependent city. We have MARTA, our mass transits system, but the rail lines leave much of the city underserved and the buses are not as reliable or convenient as I’d like. However, with the ever growing popularity of ride-sharing companies like Uber, Lyft, and Relay-Rides, I wondered if using these public and private services in tandem would be effective.
After much deliberation, I broke my lease and decided to see if the MARTA/Uber transportation combo would allow me to conveniently navigate the city of Atlanta for less than the price of owning a car.
First lets look at the average monthly price of car ownership for me:
Fixed Costs
Registration (Broken down by month) — $40/m
Variable Costs
Gas — ~$100/m (2 Tanks a Month)
Event Parking (Garage/Street/Valet/Lot) — ~$25/m
Parking and Traffic Tickets — ~$320/y or ~$25/m
Maintenance/Repairs/Wash — ~$240/y or $20/m
Owning a car is expensive, even for my modest Hyundai Sante Fe Sport. I spent more a month on car related payments than I did on rent, granted Atlanta has cheap rent. The fixed-cost of owning a car is the really frustrating part for me. I went on a two-week vacation and had to pay ~$260 to have the car sit in the garage while I was gone. As a frugal millennial that makes me weep.
I went on a two-week vacation and had to pay ~$260 to have the car sit in the garage while I was gone. As a frugal millennial that makes me weep.
I’m much more accepting of my variable car costs… the more I use the more I pay. However, if I never own a car in the first place, I don’t have to repair/maintain it. If I don’t drive I can’t get a traffic ticket, don’t have to pay for parking (variable or fixed), or can’t get a parking ticket. To me these are all very appealing reasons to not get behind the wheel, let alone own a set of wheels.
When I add my variable car costs to my fixed car costs, I pay a total car cost of $685 a month on average. $685 dollars divided by 30 days (a month) means I was spending ~$23 a day to own and operate my car. That is almost a dollar an hour for the entire day, whether I was using it or not.
I only need a car when it’s in the actual act of transporting me from point A to point B. I pay for owning the car 24-hours-a-day, yet I’m only in transit for maybe three of those hours. Why did it take me so long to realize the absurdity of this transportation situation? And that is where the MARTA/Uber transportation combo steps in; I’m only going to pay for a car, when I’m using a car.
I only need a car when it’s in the actual act of transporting me from point A to point B. I pay for owning the car 24-hours-a-day, yet I’m only in transit for maybe three of those hours.
Using the MARTA/Uber combo has allowed for me to completely remove all of my previous fixed and variable costs. However, I do now have two new variable costs…Uber rides and MARTA rides. I understand that I’m paying a bit of a premium when I use Uber, but is that premium cost combined with MARTA less than $685 a month? Yes…way less.
I live in the heart of the city so I very rarely have to travel outside a 4-mile radius from my home meaning my average round-trip Uber ride is ~$16. Let’s say I take one round-trip Uber ride a day and spend $95 a month on MARTA, that would add to $575 a month…over $100 in savings compared to my car ownership. Also, looking at the additional money I save not having to pay fixed costs when I’m out of town is a huge bonus.
I’ve been living without a car now for almost two months and I’ve been saving a lot of money, but I expected that to happen. Here is what I didn’t expect to happen.
When I owned a car it was a fixed, sunk cost. I would drive everywhere, the more I used it the more value I felt I was getting from it. But by shifting the entirety of my transportation cost structure from fixed costs to variable costs it now makes me think twice before choosing my transportation method.
By shifting the entirety of my transportation cost structure from fixed costs to variable costs it now makes me think twice before choosing my transportation method.
I now #walk to anything under one mile without hesitation. Anything under three miles I #run to, if appropriate. For example I run to trivia every Tuesday, which is held at a causal outdoor bar. When I meet with a group of friends odds are one of them is passing by my place on their way home and can drop me off… I think they call that #carpooling. I’m also now, for the first time in my life, considering a #bike.
I suggest restaurants and venues that are closer to my home or a MARTA station. I’ve gotten to know my neighborhood better by spending more time in it and not leaving in my car for other parts of town. It’s not that I’m limiting myself or being less social than before, I’m just appreciating the things that are around me much more.
One classic attraction of a car is the freedom it gives you to go where you want, when you want it. Now that I don’t have a car do I feel more restricted? No, in fact I feel freer than ever! The stresses and time commitment of car ownership are gone for me. No more DMV lines or auto shop waits. No more car washes, or frustrations about new dents and scratches. No more frustrations about not finding parking, no more fear of potholes. No worries about break-ins or vandalism. No more road rage, or wasting time in traffic. No more sober driver concerns. I’ve found that for me the promise of freedom that a car brings is only an illusion. One of the last days I was driving my car, I was stuck a quarter mile from my home in concert related traffic. I could have walked home in less than 5 minutes, but I was trapped in my car and it took over 30 minutes to get home. Is that freedom?
So I’ve walked away from my car, and so far it’s great. Do I still ride in cars, rent them, and find them useful? Yes, but it’s been wildly refreshing to diversify my transportation methods. The fiscal savings are the most noticeable, but as more time goes by the more I appreciate the unexpected simplicity and freedom of no longer depending on a car-centric way-of-life.
Photo by Steve Hardy
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