Why I Don’t Own a Car

There’s plenty of reasons why you’d like a car in Boston. The city’s public transit options are improving, but constantly overwhelmed and limping along. The bike infrastructure is lacking. Walking’s nice, but not so much during New England winters. On a more positive note, you just want a car to make getting around easier. It’s more relaxing and convenient in bad weather. Best of all, you can go explore New England whenever you want! The natural beauty and mountains of New Hampshire are just a short road trip away. Ditto for Vermont’s breweries and other amazing foods. Heck, in the summertime you can leisurely explore the coast without worrying about bus arrivals or ferry timetables.

There’s even more reasons for car ownership outside of Boston. In much of the country cars are your only method of transportation; in most rural areas there aren’t public transit options, bike lanes, even sidewalks in some places. The house in Fearsville I grew up in was at least three miles from the nearest store, for example, and the roads to that store had a speed limit of 55 MPH; that limit was more of a suggestion than a hard rule. Being anywhere near the roads, unless you were in a vehicle, was risking your very life. There’s no way around it; if you’re rural enough you have to have a car to get around.

For Me, That’s Not Enough

If you’re NOT rural, however, and there’s literally any other option for transportation? Ditch it. Take it from me, you don’t want to own a car.

I’ll break down each argument for cars. Sure, having a car means no dealing with the MBTA, and the risk your train car will suddenly catch fire. Sure, you no longer have to deal with rude passengers who crowd you and refuse to take their backpacks off when the subway is packed (one of my most hated pet peeves, next to loud adults in the library). But you’re still stuck on the interstate and clogging up Boston traffic, contributing to a problem that’s becoming worse and worse as the years go on.

Maybe you like cars because you like having access to a bunch of things you keep in it? If that’s the case, drop that argument now. Unless your job involves hauling a ton of tools or packages from site to site, you choosing a car for its storage options is asinine. That indicates you’re such a disorganized person that you fail in prioritizing what must come with you and what doesn’t have to.

Additionally, the pollution is a big stickler. I like being outside. Getting to walk through the woods and over the scenic Charles River bridges makes for a happy Darcy. I DO NOT like the smell of diesel in the air from the passing cars and trucks. I like its effects on environmental quality even less. Give me my fresh air please.

Worst of all is the cost (as you might expect from a finance blog). It’s similar to homeownership in that actually owning the thing is less convenient than the alternative. Registration, insurance, gas? Repairs and exise taxes?? Parking meters??? All of this would mean adding another bucket to my budget and that really does not bring me joy.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

But to further convince you the numbers aren’t in your favor, I grabbed the data on car ownership costs from some of the most frugal people around. The Frugalwoods proudly drove a very ugly car to save on their expenses, and also proudly published how much that car cost them. Using their 2014-15 expenditures as reference, and assuming the car gets 25 mpg, here’s the numbers I crunched for a year’s worth of car expenses:

Car repair/parts	$720	Needed twice in one year (350+380)
Gas	$600	Assuming a $50/mo average
Insurance	$406	Paid annually
Exise tax	$64	Paid annually
Registration	$60	One-time expense every 2 years
EZ Pass toll tag	$50	Estimate
Replacement tire	$45	Roughly once a year
Bumper issue	$35	An unexpected expense
Car inspection	$35	Paid annually
City parking pass	$25	For residents, paid annually
Brakelight bulb	$8	Another unexpected expense
Parking meters	$5	Could vary year-to-year
TOTAL YEARLY COST	$2073
PER MONTH	$172.75

Yeesh. I didn’t even account for inflation and I’m not excited by these numbers. Even worse? These are conservative numbers that don’t include car accidents or payments!

Surprisingly, even extremely conservative numbers aren’t that exciting for me. The leader of Mustachianism, Mr. Money Mustache, spent roughly $945 on car-related expenses in 2015. That shakes out to a little less than $80 a month.

The Votes are In… No Car For Now

Even if I get to those insanely low levels that’s still almost a thousand dollars that’s no longer in my bank accounts. On one hand, that’s only an eighth of a percent of my current net worth. On the other, I can think of a lot better ways to spend a thousand dollars than dumping it something that’ll sit in the driveway 80% of the time. I’ve already proved to myself that buying a car isn’t necessary in my current living situation, so why would I need this extra expense? I’ll stick with my bike, my feet, and public transportation.

But still, those New Hampshire mountains are calling my name. I do answer the call and drive up, but I do so with a rented car like one from Turo. If there’s any car rental company I’d recommend it’s them, as they have great vehicles you can rent for as low as $25 a day. By all means, check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me; I got that number after a quick search on their app. For a weekend trip that might run me a hundred dollars all-in including gas and other fees, which I can cover with my Misc. Expenses bucket just fine. You can get practically any way you want with them as well, including my personal favorites like electric cars and the push-and start ones.

I’ll need a car eventually, sure, when I decamp to my rural dream home. Until then, I will happily save thousands of dollars to get me closer to that goal.

In short, do you guys see where I’m coming from with this? Am I batshit for not giving into car culture or being a frugal badass?