Should I sell my car?

[Lethe]

I strategically positioned my domicile right in the middle of all my needs. 10 min bike ride to work, 5 min bike ride to grocery store. 5-10 min ride to bars depending on which one. Less than 5 min ride to weed dealer.

I am toying around with the idea, but it is scary when you've never been without a car since 16 years old. I could save over 6000 a year minimum, plus all the benefits of not consuming gas, etc.

Who said it best? "unnecessary possessions become unnecessary burdens."

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Sell it.

That 6K in savings is probably more than you'd spend in cab rides and delivery cost being sans car.

[UndertheOcean]

2. You need to find cheaper insurance

[Lethe]

3. insurance is $90 a month

they fuckin' raised it from $80 when i moved last. (no claims at all for about 4 years)

[harmonicon]

4. How could it be costing you $6,000 a year!?!?

If you have a dedicated parking space where you don't have to move it for weeks on end, keep it. I'm a crazy zealot when it comes to not driving, but a car can certainly come in handy. When I lived in Chicago I had a car. Sometimes I wouldn't drive it for two weeks (which could be a pain, because I had to park on the street - I probably paid more in parking tickets than I ever did in gas), but it was a great thing to have when I did need a car, or wanted to do something at an odd hour (like going to an all night diner to study - this was when I was in college) when public transit wasn't running.

[Lethe]

5. breakdown of expenses

$297 car payment
$90 insurance
$100 gas bill (minimum)
not added in: (misc expenses...oil changes, tire rotations, maintenence, etc)

multiply that by 12 and you get around $6000

edit: this is not a unreasonable scenario.....$297 is pretty mild compared to most people's car payments

[harmonicon]

6. ahh..... I see

I was assuming the car was paid off. Do keep in mind that all of that maintenance and gas will go down dramatically if you barely drive the car. My dad used to have his "nice" summer car and another one just for the winter and things where he didn't want to bang up the good one. The good car wouldn't even be insured for months at a time - just parked in the garage.

I just think that it would be a nice luxury to have if you don't want to use the space where it's parked for something else. A car is also a great thing to have in an emergency. If you would have the self control to not use it everyday, I would keep it.... or if it wouldn't be a huge financial loser for you, you could sell this car, and buy another used car that maybe wouldn't be all that you needed in a car before, but would still be very dependable, should you need it on short notice.

[Lethe]

7. yeah, i'm workin' on that

i'm tryin' to get a car-owning girlfriend before i sell :D

any sugarmommas out there? :D

[harmonicon]

8. good idea

I have two friends who are married, and the wife owns a car, but the husband just rides his bike or takes public transit to work.

That being said, I dated a girl for a few years who didn't have a car, and I did. That really sucked. Whenever I was around there was always another trip needed to the grocery store that she wouldn't have taken if she had to ride the bus, etc.

[Lorien]

9. I read somewhere that some car rental places

are now renting by the hour so that those who don't own cars can take the occasional six or eight hour day trip-I guess that it's very affordable. If I can remember the name of the program I'll PM it to you if you are interested.

[quip]

10. Best to consult someone wiser than I: