Own vs Rent a car - have you crunched the numbers?

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Edwood

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#253189 31-Jul-2019 07:34

I'm considering the idea of selling my car and using a car rental service.

It occurs to me that one of you bright sparks may have crunched the numbers already and I can borrow your spreadsheet!

If you've run the numbers on this, or know of a spreadsheet / table I can 'just use', I'd love to fast forward!

If you need more reading material, here's some additional (personal) factors:

- My car is worth ~$15k

- I use it 1 x weekly @ 5km; 2 x monthly @ 45km; 4 annually @ 300km

- I live in Akl city and ride an e-scooter to work

- No idea what insurance/wof/rego/servicing costs look like, but it's in somebody's spreadsheet already :)

- Car hire services include cityhop, yoogo, and Yourdrive (I think all have hidden / insurance costs)

Anybody got a pre-populated calculator for me?

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#2286181 31-Jul-2019 08:20

I don't have a calculator but I for one uses Cityhop as I estimated roughly that owning a car in the city cost 5-6k easy. Parking alone at let's say 60pw on the low end is 3k+ a year. Add insurance/petrol/maintenance/rego. The closest Cityhop car for me is 2 blocks away. I pretty much have the same use case as you e.g. occasional trips here and there. Have driven the Cityhop to Ohakune once :) I dont think I have spent more than 6K a year.

kotuku4

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#2286187 31-Jul-2019 08:24

You can look up your vehicle (rego) on car jam, to see all the costs.

Edwood

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#2286201 31-Jul-2019 08:58

CrashAndBurn:

...I for one uses Cityhop as I estimated roughly that owning a car in the city cost 5-6k easy...

Wow, I didn't expect that it would be such a clear cut case!

I got a bit excited and started building a basic calculator... it gets complicated very quickly because everyone uses different pricing structures, and your Ohakune trip would be best done in a normal rental car (My calculator says $100/day 6 trips a year).

Anyway... long story short, my very rough calcs say my car costs ~$4,500 annually, and Cityhop/rentals would cost ~$1,000

...and that's if I nab an e-golf!

Sheeesh!

Who wants to buy a sweet looking 2012 Suzuki Swift Sport!? :)

...oh and who wants to rent my car park next to Britomart :) :) :)

CrashAndBurn

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#2286216 31-Jul-2019 09:03

The Ohakune trip came out cheaper due to it including petrol and insurance plus it was on a weekend special.

Edwood

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#2286218 31-Jul-2019 09:06

Ahh... cool.

I'm guessing you pay the $10/mo as well to get cheaper usage rates?

I guess Uber would also be cheaper in some scenarios (eg. going to friends place for lazy lunch / long dinner)... lots of factors, but certainly seems a lot cheaper than owning.

timmmay

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#2286220 31-Jul-2019 09:08

You should also consider convenience - what if one of the short term rental cars isn't available when you need it? Maybe factor the occasional uber ride in.

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CrashAndBurn

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#2286224 31-Jul-2019 09:11

Edwood:

Ahh... cool.

I'm guessing you pay the $10/mo as well to get cheaper usage rates?

I guess Uber would also be cheaper in some scenarios (eg. going to friends place for lazy lunch / long dinner)... lots of factors, but certainly seems a lot cheaper than owning.

Nope. I am on the yearly one for the exact reason you just mentioned e.g. Uber. And mostly because the places I regularly need to go to are accessible to me as I live and work in the CBD.

CrashAndBurn

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#2286225 31-Jul-2019 09:13

timmmay:

You should also consider convenience - what if one of the short term rental cars isn't available when you need it? Maybe factor the occasional uber ride in.

I agree with this and is exactly why I prefer Cityhop because I can suddenly need a car late in the evening or very early.

Nate001

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#2286226 31-Jul-2019 09:16

Edwood:

If you need more reading material, here's some additional (personal) factors:

- My car is worth ~$15k

- I use it 1 x weekly @ 5km; 2 x monthly @ 45km; 4 annually @ 300km

- I live in Akl city and ride an e-scooter to work

- No idea what insurance/wof/rego/servicing costs look like, but it's in somebody's spreadsheet already :)

- Car hire services include cityhop, yoogo, and Yourdrive (I think all have hidden / insurance costs)

Are you saying you currently own a car and you don't know how much you are paying for insurance/wof/rego?

Before you take the leap maybe consider a trial of the hire services for 1-2 months to see if it fits your needs.

CrashAndBurn

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#2286228 31-Jul-2019 09:17

If you need more convincing. I have not owned a car for 11 years now on the agreement with my wife that the savings made goes to a holiday trip every year.

phrozenpenguin

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#2286229 31-Jul-2019 09:19

Edwood:

Anyway... long story short, my very rough calcs say my car costs ~$4,500 annually

Are you happy to share how you get anywhere near that number - is parking the main bulk of it?

I'm not in Auckland and don't spend anywhere near that much. $500 fully comp insurance, $100 rego, $50 WOF, $500 servicing? Even add in $1000 for tyres or a larger service and I'm still less than half of your running costs.

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Fred99

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#2286241 31-Jul-2019 09:43

phrozenpenguin:

Edwood:

Anyway... long story short, my very rough calcs say my car costs ~$4,500 annually

Are you happy to share how you get anywhere near that number - is parking the main bulk of it?

I'm not in Auckland and don't spend anywhere near that much. $500 fully comp insurance, $100 rego, $50 WOF, $500 servicing? Even add in $1000 for tyres or a larger service and I'm still less than half of your running costs.

Depreciation is often cited as the largest cost component of car ownership - but it's also the most variable.

trig42

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#2286243 31-Jul-2019 09:49

phrozenpenguin:

Edwood:

Anyway... long story short, my very rough calcs say my car costs ~$4,500 annually

Are you happy to share how you get anywhere near that number - is parking the main bulk of it?

I'm not in Auckland and don't spend anywhere near that much. $500 fully comp insurance, $100 rego, $50 WOF, $500 servicing? Even add in $1000 for tyres or a larger service and I'm still less than half of your running costs.

What about petrol?

alasta

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#2286350 31-Jul-2019 11:33

I do about 8,000km per year and I've worked out that my car costs around $10.5k a year made up of:

$8k depreciation.
$1k insurance.
$1.5k operating costs (fuel + registration).

Since you have an older vehicle you will have less depreciation, but that saving will be largely offset by higher operating costs as you will be paying for servicing, WOF, roadside assistance, etc.

Some of the figures that people are throwing around here reinforce my long standing suspicion that most people grossly under-report the cost of car ownership, and for me the car would be the first thing I would get rid of if I ever came under financial strain.

alasta

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#2286352 31-Jul-2019 11:34

By the way, if you are going to use urban car share services then you need to check the insurance excess. It's $1500 with the low use plan on Mevo, and with a modern car you only need a very minor mishap to incur that cost.

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