No Car For Now
By Jeffrey Strain, June 12th, 2006 | 9 Comments »
The decision not to purchase a car for the time being has been made. While there would not be a problem getting one financially, the question was does it really make sense at this point (the cost of purchasing it and maintaining it vs how much use it would get) While this will certainly make for some inconvenient situations, it will save a ton of money that can be dedicated to other things of importance. Here are a few of the thoughts that went into the decision:
Having lived in Japan where there really is no need for a car, this decision has been made a lot easier. I’m not sure I would even have considered it as an option if we had lived here all the time. Of course, the decision will be evaluated in a couple months to see if this decision still makes sense.
This is also a decision that was based in some degree on exercise. Not having a car will force me to exercise more which is something that I worry about working at home. With a car, it makes it a lot easier not to exercise whereas I’ll be forced to bike and walk a lot more with this decision.
It will be interesting to see how this all works out…
We’re wrestling with this very issue now. We have two cars that are about the same age and mileage. Although either would probably last another 2-3 years before it would be necessary to replace them, we’re debating the merits of replacing one now rather than be in a position to have to replace both of them within a very short time somewhere down the road.
I know in a perfect world we’d all like to pay for cars in cash. But despite the fact that my wife and I are very good savers, I don’t see us reaching that point in the foreseeable future. What I’d like to do is get on a rotation, where one car is being replaced every 4 years or so. That means each car will last approximately 8 years, which means we’ll only have one car payment at any given time and we’ll always be driving reliable vehicles. And with any luck, we’ll be aggressive in paying down our auto debt and even be able to save up a nice chunk for the next vehicle. Maybe someday we’ll even get far enough ahead that we will be able to pay cash for a car.
Good for you! It takes a little guts to not own a car in a country where such a thing is assumed to be a requirement to living and often a status symbol to boot.
People like to put down public transit and walking with any possible, flimsy excuse but as soon as you list a few reasons to not buy a car they think you’re nuts.
Nice. While I’ll never not have a car, I’ll try to have one bought and paid for. For that exact reason I’ve been forcing my wife to consider getting another German diesel – a Mercedes 300D, but she’s too much into little sporty compacts like Focuses, Civics, and Corollas.
Max: A what? You want a Corolla?
Wife: Yeah! I like that car!
Max: Why won’t you like a nice little diesel Benz?
Wife: Yuckey … Diesel … Phew … Besides, Corollas look cooler.
Max: Ok, I guess looking cooler is better that not having a payment or a maintenance bill. [sighs]
Wife: I think I can change your mind on this one.
Max: Oh yeah? How?
Wife: [censored]
I understand you totally. The train system in Japan is probably the best in the world. It is a shame the US government hasn’t done more to provide a reliable mass transit system. It may have also saved a couple of wars.
Yes, being able to buy a car financially doesn’t mean that we need to buy a car. If there is not needed, then buying a car will simply become a luxury and waste of money as there are a lot of expense comes with buying a car like petrol, maintainance. If I can choose to drive a car and take a public transport to work, I will take the public transport. This is exactly what I did now.
good for you! i’m coming up on one year since i sold my car and 1.75 years
since i stopped using it regularly, and i’ve never been happier.