Why don’t I have a car anymore?
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An accident made me review priorities and find alternatives
TL;DR
I suffered an accident with total loss of the car and instead of buying another one, I kept the insurance money. I bought an electric unicycle (more on another article), which I use when the weather is good. When it rains, I ride an Uber. To travel, I rent a car only when I need to. Financially it has been very worthwhile, especially with the pandemic. But maybe when I have kids, it could make more sense to buy a car again.
Where it all began
Having a car offers a number of benefits and comforts. But it also demands expenses, foreseen and unforeseen, as well as a certain concern with traffic, maintenance and accidents. Sometimes it seems that the annoyance is not worth it, is it?
Since Uber started operating in the city where I live, a certain thought has been prowling my mind and that of some friends: Why have a car if I can always ride an Uber?
So I started an initial analysis based on my routine… Some values I considered my monthly average, like fuel, while others, like maintenance, I considered the amount I spent in the last year as a reference. Depreciation I was able to estimate comparing the variation of my car’s valuations over a few years in a trusted local website.
The result was that Uber would be more expensive! Simply replacing the car with Uber, continuing to make the same number of trips on the same paths, would not be worth it. And just imagining the effort of selling the car and then running the risk of regretting it and having to spend more time looking for another car to buy… I ended up letting this matter go.
Until there was an accident
On a highway trip, I had an accident because there was oil on the road. No one was hurt, but the car was a complete write off. I found myself in the situation of having the full value of the car reimbursed by insurance, and I started to ride Uber daily while looking for another car to buy.
I started to make some experiments: If I walked a block towards the main street and then requested an Uber, the ride to the office was cheaper. And if I dropped off a block before work, it would be even cheaper. I discovered something else, which is quite obvious: if I went on foot to work, I would not spend anything. I started doing this on days with good weather and that I was able to leave early. I didn’t have to face traffic and I was exercising, killing two birds with one stone.
So I changed that initial analysis a little bit. Rather than just switching to Uber, I should consider some changes to my lifestyle which was very adapted for having a car. Living in a location that is close to the main venues, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, etc., in addition to living just a few kilometers from the office, facilitated this move to a more pedestrian lifestyle. I also started looking for alternatives that could reduce my use of both car and Uber on days when there was good weather.
I started researching about personal electric vehicles (PEV)
I stopped looking for another car to buy, saved the insurance money and started looking for transportation alternatives. At that time, electric scooters were on the rise, getting some highlights in the country, so in addition to researching scooters, bicycles, electric bicycles, I found another vehicle called an electric unicycle.
Taking these new discoveries into account, I put several alternatives on the table:
I had already used bicycles to commute a few years ago, and I knew that in the summer I would arrive very sweaty at my destinations if the transport involved significant physical effort.
A motorcycle demands maintenance similar to the car, although it is much less expensive, but there’s a higher risk of accident.
The scooter practically does not require maintenance, but the smaller wheels make it not very practical in rough terrain, just like some of the paths I need to cover.
The electric unicycle has a longer learning curve, but it is a lot of fun and if I am surprised by an unexpected rain, it fits easily with me inside any Uber.
I ended up choosing to try the electric unicycle and started using it daily. I will discuss in more detail what this process was like in an upcoming article.
The change started to make sense, with a lot of advantages. The cost I would spend using the electric unicycle most days, plus the occasional Uber on rainy days, was much cheaper than the cost of owning a car. But one last part of the equation still needed to be solved: travel to other cities.
I started renting cars to travel
I had never rented cars before, but I was very positively surprised by the ease, the quality and the prices. Being able to choose a different, cheaper or more comfortable car for each trip is an interesting advantage.
But it’s not all flowers: I need to schedule myself a few days in advance to travel. I waste several minutes at the rental agency waiting to be serviced until I leave with the car. I haven’t had an accident with a rental car yet, so I can’t say about what that experience is like, especially talking about the financial loss that can be caused.
The positive result
In addition to spending less, another positive result that I observed was mental: Those thoughts that lurk the minds of many car owners were no longer recurring in my mind:
What was that little noise? Is it the engine? The suspension?
How much will maintenance cost this time? Do I need to change the tires?
Let me look here in the garage if there is an oil leak…
I have to remember to leave the car at the car wash… Should I ask for polishing too?
When is a good time to change cars?
Did someone keyed my car here in the parking lot? Where did that mark on the bodywork come from?
Having more peace of mind about unexpected additional costs is a very good benefit.
The pandemic effect
With the 2020 pandemic, I started working from home like many, and the need for commute has decreased dramatically. As I already had no car, I simply reduced transportation costs to almost zero, without major consequences. If I had a car, I would still have some maintenance and depreciation costs, even without using the vehicle.
However, when I needed transportation, having to resort to Uber meant another vector of possible viral contamination. At times, the number of available drivers had greatly decreased, and the waiting time for rides had increased, detracting from the experience. Spending too much time at home, the need to make a short car trip to the countryside increased, to get in touch with nature and be able to relax a little, and at this moment we missed having our own car available to avoid any unnecessary contact.
Final considerations
Financially, giving up having a car has been very worthwhile, especially with the pandemic that reduced our daily transportation needs. This advantage is mainly due to having managed to adapt my lifestyle to a more pedestrian modality, combined with the use of personal electric vehicles.
However, I estimate that I may not be able to maintain this more pedestrian lifestyle forever. Probably when I have kids, the transportation needs will increase, making more sense to buy a car again.
