I was thinking today about my car. This year it will be four years old. I’ve been very pleased with it, although if I could go back in time for a do over, I would still be driving my trusty old Scion.
In high school and college when I lived with my mother, I used her car whenever I could to go out after she got home from work. Other nights, my friends would borrow their parents’ cars. None of us had our own vehicles.
More often, my primary means of transportation was walking or taking the bus. Or, depending on where I was going, jogging and bicycling. Since this was my reality, I took commuting distance into account for everything from friend selection to entertainment to college classes to work. It was fine. Other than limiting my dating pool to a 5 mile radius, I never felt shortchanged. Bus commutes requiring 2 transfers made for long commutes, but I learned to make the best of them.
I bought my first car when I was 24 years old. A friend’s mother had passed away and he sold me her ancient, low mileage Datsun for $1000. I was thrilled to not need to take the bus to work anymore.
What I wasn’t thrilled about was the new expenses I had.
- Car payment – I didn’t have $1000 so I “paid” for the car with a cash advance on my credit card. With an interest rate of 19%, I suddenly had to pay $150 a month while taking home something like $750 a month from my entry level job.
- Car insurance – This truly sucked. I think I paid over $150 a month due to my age and sex.
- Repairs and Maintenance – My car was 20 years old. Every few months it needed something – brakes, tires, shocks, rotors, headlights. I’d drive around holding my breath hoping nothing major would happen this month so I might have a chance to get ahead. Something always happened.
All in, owing a car ate up 1/3 to 1/2 of my paycheck. In hindsight, I couldn’t afford a car.
I have owned cars ever since then. In time, I bought a new car for my wife and eventually for myself, generating decades of monthly car payments on top of more insurance, plus the accompanying costs for repairs and maintenance.
Fortunately, the cars enabled us to live fuller lives. I was able to take jobs that were further away but paid better. We could split chores, child chauffeuring, and other activities. I no longer had to factor in long hours waiting for the bus for everyday tasks like shopping or commuting.
I don’t regret owning cars.
But…
I wouldn’t mind living car-free again even though I’m no longer financially strapped. I don’t love driving. If I lived in a major metro area where I could walk and take reliable public transportation to the pools, grocery stores, vet, dentist and doctors, I could easily live without a car.
I don’t though.
I live in a suburb. Going car-free would involve innumerable logistical issues, inconvenience and commuting costs that would make my daily life suck so I have no plans to do it.
Whenever I fantasize about relocating to places where car-free living would be more reasonable like Portland, NYC, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Davis, or London, the costs and trade-offs make it a non-starter for me.
Perhaps someday that will be different.
It’s not just owning a car that costs more and brings more worries.
It’s owning a house – especially a bigger house.
It’s owning luxury goods.
Things like taxes, insurance, maintenance and the mental burden of caring for stuff all add up.
I don’t want to deal with any of it, so I choose not to own these things other than my small, non-luxury, home. While the taxes, insurance and maintenance costs are annoying, they are worth it to live here. At least for now.