Do you or don't you need a car?

[ZLoth]

From Fool.com (a financial planning website):

3 Signs You Really Don't Need a Car Anymore

Owning a vehicle is hardly an inexpensive prospect. Between maintenance, auto insurance, and other expenses, the average cost of having a car reached an astounding $10,728 last year, according to AAA. That's almost $900 a month.

Now, think about what an extra $900 a month might do for your finances. It could be your ticket to boosting your savings account balance, paying off debt, and having more cash on hand for leisure and fun activities. So if you're able to unload your car, the upside could be huge.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Reasons given from article:

• Your job has become 100% remote
• You do most of your shopping online
• Your kids are older and are easier to bring on public transportation

4 Reasons I'm Keeping My Car, Even Though I Work Remotely

Owning a car isn't cheap, and if you're trying to cut your costs to improve your personal finances, getting rid of yours might be one way to get ahead. I've become a fully remote freelance worker in the last few years. You might assume that I no longer need a car, but that isn't the case. Here's why I'm happy to still own a vehicle.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Reasons given from article:

• My car is paid off
• My insurance costs are low
• I take a lot of road trips
• Public transportation isn't a great fit for my schedule

[Rothman]

This seems a study of the obvious.

[J N Winkler]

From the first article, it appears that about $730 of the $900 monthly average cost of car ownership consists of a car payment.

[epzik8]

From the first article, it appears that about $730 of the $900 monthly average cost of car ownership consists of a car payment.

Tell me about it...my insurance went up last month and I passed up a chance to keep my previous rate by moving to a different insurance company...

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't picture there will be ever a time in my life when I "won't have a car."  I enjoy driving way too much and I own one collector car that isn't going anywhere.

[gonealookin]

I tried going without a car for about 3 months, once.  Various issues between the time I got rid of the old one and when I was able to get the new one that I won't bother with discussing here.

Commuting to work was not a problem.  I lived about 1/2 mile from a transit station and my office was a 15 minute ride down the line.  I didn't usually drive that anyway.

Everything else, those were problems.  To name a few:

1.  I lived about 1/2 mile from a supermarket, but there's a low limit on how much you can carry that distance.  A 12-pack of soda pop takes up half of your available hands by itself.  And obviously shopping for anything else and having to wrestle it home on public transit can be a pain.

2.  Recreation was limited to impossible.  There isn't much bus service to trailheads, for example.

3.  It puts a real crimp on your social life.  Having to keep an eye on who's leaving a party late at night and begging them to detour to drop you off at your house becomes old, and embarrassing, pretty quickly.

I was in pretty good shape from all the walking at the end of the 3 months, but man oh man was I glad to have a car again.

[Bruce]

Outside of road trips, my car spends a lot of time parked at the nearest park-and-ride. It just doesn't make sense to take it into town every time I'm down there, and the service isn't that bad on the trunk routes. Once transit service is improved in my immediate area, I might be able to park it at home for long periods and save on some wear and gas.

[ZLoth]

In my opinion, the biggest determining factor in determining the "need" for a car is, quite frankly, "location, location, location" and the resulting time compromise between using your car and the time waiting for and taking transit. Or, are you going to order everything and have it delivered through either WalMart or Amazon and pay the higher cost for convenience? How many times will you use the "beg-a-friend" feature especially when attending a restaurant or event where transit doesn't go? In my experience, public transit has a daytime schedule, then a reduced nighttime and weekend schedule. And, how many employers have asked "Do you have reliable transportation?" as part of the interview process? 

[kalvado]

In my opinion, the biggest determining factor in determining the "need" for a car is, quite frankly, "location, location, location" and the resulting time compromise between using your car and the time waiting for and taking transit. Or, are you going to order everything and have it delivered through either WalMart or Amazon and pay the higher cost for convenience? How many times will you use the "beg-a-friend" feature especially when attending a restaurant or event where transit doesn't go? In my experience, public transit has a daytime schedule, then a reduced nighttime and weekend schedule. And, how many employers have asked "Do you have reliable transportation?" as part of the interview process?

Other options may include Uber or taxi or whatever car with driver service is available, or car sharing & rental to drive yourself

[tchafe1978]

If you live in  rural area public transportation isn't an option either. Outside of walking to the bars/restaurants in my town which are three blocks away, or possibly to the gas station/convenience store, which are either 1/2 mile away or 1 mile away depending on which one you pick, you're going to need a car to go anywhere. The nearest town with more than a gas station or bar for food and other essentials is 6 miles away. I'm not walking that every day. Other small towns in the area are further away. Having a car in a rural area is pretty much a necessity. If you can't drive you know someone who does.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I live in the boonies, so I have to have a car.

One of local do-gooders, suggested that I drive to town (22 miles), park, and use public transit around town.

Think FTFY applies here. The only park/ride is at the south end of town. I come in from the north. I'm also not expanding, what could be a 2-hour trip, into like 6. I live in the mountains because I don't like living in town.

[ZLoth]

If you live in a rural area public transportation isn't an option either.

If you live in the "rural" towns of Allen, Murphy, Wylie, Sachse, or even little Arlington, there are little-to-no public transportation options. Of course, if you look at a map, you'll find out these are all suburbs around the north and east of Dallas, and hardly qualify as "rural".

[kalvado]

If you live in a rural area public transportation isn't an option either.

If you live in the "rural" towns of Allen, Murphy, Wylie, Sachse, or even little Arlington, there are little-to-no public transportation options. Of course, if you look at a map, you'll find out these are all suburbs around the north and east of Dallas, and hardly qualify as "rural".

Which, of course, only means that the nearest bus stop is pretty far, and that bus goes only to the location you don't need at the time inconvenient for you.

[tchafe1978]

If you live in a rural area public transportation isn't an option either.

If you live in the "rural" towns of Allen, Murphy, Wylie, Sachse, or even little Arlington, there are little-to-no public transportation options. Of course, if you look at a map, you'll find out these are all suburbs around the north and east of Dallas, and hardly qualify as "rural".

And here I was talking about my town of 900, where it isn't expected to have public transportation. Cities of 100,000 should defintely at least have a bus system.

[Bruce]

If you live in a rural area public transportation isn't an option either.

If you live in the "rural" towns of Allen, Murphy, Wylie, Sachse, or even little Arlington, there are little-to-no public transportation options. Of course, if you look at a map, you'll find out these are all suburbs around the north and east of Dallas, and hardly qualify as "rural".

And here I was talking about my town of 900, where it isn't expected to have public transportation. Cities of 100,000 should defintely at least have a bus system.

Rural transit is still important, albeit more for inter-city use. We've got plenty of small towns with daily buses that hook into a suburban transit system so that access is spread equitably.

For example, Darrington, WA is a mountain town of under 1,500 that has 2 daily buses on weekdays. It's bare minimum service, but when the 2014 Oso landslide cut off the only highway, it became a major lifeline for the community. Having some of that infrastructure already in place helped a ton.

Not to mention a rural location with a lot of tourists really benefits from having robust bus service, if only to keep the dumb tourists from parking illegally or clogging up the streets that locals need.

[Rothman]

How did the bus run if the only highway was cut off?

[MikeTheActuary]

In my opinion, the biggest determining factor in determining the "need" for a car is, quite frankly, "location, location, location" and the resulting time compromise between using your car and the time waiting for and taking transit.

It's location and mobility needs.

At my prior residence, which was in an urban area, and blocks away from two bus lines that went to the places I needed to go, there were times where I drove at most once a month, for errands (usually grocery runs) that were too inconvenient to handle at the nearby corner market or via transit.

At my current home, it's a half-hour walk to the nearest bus stops, where bus service runs less than hourly.   Working from home, and being able to take care of almost all of my shopping needs via delivery definitely reduces the need for me to leave the house most days, but I still have pesky things like medical appointments that require going somewhere.  Uber can help fill the void -- and there have been short periods of time where we've been carless (either car in the shop, or the 3-weeks between when I totaled my prior car due to black ice and the subsequent bonus day).

If money were tight, if my wife and I had chosen doctors with Uber bills in mind, and if we didn't consider the stir-craziness that arises from spending extended periods of time at home (c.f. pandemic lockdowns), I could see number-crunching revealing that we would save money by going carless.  But if money were that tight, I'd want to live someplace with better transit access.

[Max Rockatansky]

No amount of rural transit is going to get me from the a remote corner of Fresno to the middle of the farm boonies.   The only living situation I've had in the last decade of my life where I didn't need a car to get to work was in Orlando.  That wasn't so much due to available transit options but more so that it was short enough of a distance to walk, run or cycle to work.

[ZLoth]

If you live in a rural area public transportation isn't an option either.

If you live in the "rural" towns of Allen, Murphy, Wylie, Sachse, or even little Arlington, there are little-to-no public transportation options. Of course, if you look at a map, you'll find out these are all suburbs around the north and east of Dallas, and hardly qualify as "rural".

And here I was talking about my town of 900, where it isn't expected to have public transportation. Cities of 100,000 should defintely at least have a bus system.

FWIW:

• Allen, TX - 106,874 (2021)
• Murphy, TX - 21,219 (2021)
• Wylie, TX - 59,394 (2021)
• Sacshe, TX - 29,042 (2021)
• Arlington, TX - 392,786 (2021)

Combined population: 588,096, which exceeds the population of Wyoming of 578,803.

[kalvado]

How did the bus run if the only highway was cut off?

Bus. Airbus. A320 can go where highways do not.

I wonder how much people ride those buses in regular service though. 

[SkyPesos]

Personally, I'll most likely still have a car for roadtripping purposes (If I don't like roadtripping, I wouldn't be on this forum). But definitely appreciate places that make getting around on bike or transit for daily needs convenient enough that I can live car-lite.

[1995hoo]

In theory, I "could" function without a car, but as a practical matter it would make life difficult and I would not "want" to do so. Among other things, I'm not willing to rely on buses and the Metrorail to get me somewhere when I need to be there at a particular time, given that outside rush hour the bus comes once an hour. It also takes substantially longer to get to, say, Dulles Airport on the subway than it does by car. Sure, things like taxis and Uber are theoretically an option, but not one I view as a viable choice as a mode of everyday transportation. We also make reasonably regular trips to some more rural places where having your own car is pretty much a necessity unless you were to rent a car for the day (which likewise doesn't appeal to me). I know there are some younger people in the DC area who want to pretend this is New York by living in a small apartment located right on a subway line and trying to use public transportation to go everywhere, but I'm not willing to limit my life in that way. No doubt the fact that I grew up here, living outside the Beltway, factors into my outlook there, but I have a life beyond the immediate DC urban core.

I don't view grocery shopping as too much of an inconvenience because in theory I could walk to any of three nearby grocery stores if I were to buy what I call a "Grandma-style" cart, one of those two-wheeled vertical basket-type carts that all the old ladies in Brooklyn used when I was a kid (I'm sure nowadays they've evolved to collapsible plastic instead of the metal wire design that prevailed in the 1970s). On the other hand, we prefer to go to Wegmans and it's not within easy walking distance (close to five miles). Usually the grocery shopping uses four full reusable bags. I don't know whether that would be viable to transport using a bike. Maybe a bike with a trailer.

With all that said, I certainly appreciate having options. If I have to leave the car at the mechanic for them to get parts, it's nice to have the option of taking the bus from the nearest subway station (as long as it isn't pouring down rain, as it's a half-mile walk from the bus stop). Having the Virginia Railway Express commuter rail as an alternate to the Metrorail when I worked downtown was useful the day a subway train broke down at precisely the wrong spot and turned a 35-minute train ride into over an hour and a half—I saw the advisories online and took the VRE instead.

[The Nature Boy]

In theory, I "could" function without a car, but as a practical matter it would make life difficult and I would not "want" to do so. Among other things, I'm not willing to rely on buses and the Metrorail to get me somewhere when I need to be there at a particular time, given that outside rush hour the bus comes once an hour. It also takes substantially longer to get to, say, Dulles Airport on the subway than it does by car. Sure, things like taxis and Uber are theoretically an option, but not one I view as a viable choice as a mode of everyday transportation. We also make reasonably regular trips to some more rural places where having your own car is pretty much a necessity unless you were to rent a car for the day (which likewise doesn't appeal to me). I know there are some younger people in the DC area who want to pretend this is New York by living in a small apartment located right on a subway line and trying to use public transportation to go everywhere, but I'm not willing to limit my life in that way. No doubt the fact that I grew up here, living outside the Beltway, factors into my outlook there, but I have a life beyond the immediate DC urban core.

I don't view grocery shopping as too much of an inconvenience because in theory I could walk to any of three nearby grocery stores if I were to buy what I call a "Grandma-style" cart, one of those two-wheeled vertical basket-type carts that all the old ladies in Brooklyn used when I was a kid (I'm sure nowadays they've evolved to collapsible plastic instead of the metal wire design that prevailed in the 1970s). On the other hand, we prefer to go to Wegmans and it's not within easy walking distance (close to five miles). Usually the grocery shopping uses four full reusable bags. I don't know whether that would be viable to transport using a bike. Maybe a bike with a trailer.

With all that said, I certainly appreciate having options. If I have to leave the car at the mechanic for them to get parts, it's nice to have the option of taking the bus from the nearest subway station (as long as it isn't pouring down rain, as it's a half-mile walk from the bus stop). Having the Virginia Railway Express commuter rail as an alternate to the Metrorail when I worked downtown was useful the day a subway train broke down at precisely the wrong spot and turned a 35-minute train ride into over an hour and a half—I saw the advisories online and took the VRE instead.

Speaking as a fellow DC resident - you hit the nail on the head. I know people who live in DC without a car and their lives are pretty confined to areas with a Metro stop or where their bikes can take them, which seems pretty limiting. I view public transit as a good supplement to owning a car, but it doesn't enough to make a full replacement. Whenever I don't have a car, I feel pretty trapped here.

I'm also probably more frugal than a lot of people my age here. I drive an older, paid off car and live in the suburbs (away from a Metro rail line) so I can save money.

[HighwayStar]

One of the things these studies tend to miss is that car ownership costs varies considerably. Those with less to spend do spend less on cars. I don't spend anywhere close to what these studies claim is the cost of car ownership even though I could if I wanted to.

[fhmiii]

One of the things these studies tend to miss is that car ownership costs varies considerably. Those with less to spend do spend less on cars. I don't spend anywhere close to what these studies claim is the cost of car ownership even though I could if I wanted to.

It helps a lot to own a practical car with a reasonable payment.  Distance from places you need to go also makes a difference.  I'm 2 miles from work, 1-1/2 miles from the grocery, and 14 miles from church.  I drive a plug-in hybrid that was a used 3-year-old model when I got it.  My all-in for an average month, including maintenance (but not depreciation since that's not cash-out-the-door) is about $470 per month.  When my payment goes away in a few months, it'll be more like $210.