Blog Article

Buying a Car: Does It Make Sense to Use Rideshare Instead?

Danielle Strumbeta

By Danielle Strumbeta, Wealth Advisor, CFP®
Published On 08/31/2021

The decision to buy a car today is different than it was a decade ago because of today’s rideshare options. If you’re in the market for a new car, there’s more to think about than shopping for the lowest price or best interest rate. Have you compared the cost of your car to the cost of using rideshare options? We have, and we’d like to share our thoughts.

Cost

Let’s compare some estimated costs of buying a car or using rideshare:

Using rideshare may cost about $7,500 less over a 10-year period—which is not a trivial amount. Keep in mind, this excludes other expenses people often pay when owning a car, such as parking fees or toll fares. For many people, owning a car is probably more expensive than our estimate. However, we’ve kept things simple here, so our cost estimates may differ from your actual costs for both owning a car and using rideshare. In addition to cost, there are other factors to consider.

Lifestyle

Your lifestyle probably also plays a part in your decision to own a car or use rideshare. Let’s meet two different couples who said just that and examine some aspects of their lifestyles:

Judy and Joe are both 35, have two kids ages 8 and 10, and a dog. They live in a house and have two cars parked in their garage.

Kim and Kyle are both 32, don’t have kids, and have two cats. They live in a condo and have two cars, which they both pay to park in their building’s garage.

Location

Location determines a big part of our lifestyles. If you live in a metropolitan area, you’ve probably spent a lot of time considering where you live, where you work, and what your commute is like. Wherever you live, do you commute to work by car? Is having your car a “must”? Here’s what Judy and Joe’s and Kim and Kyle’s locations look like:

Judy and Joe live in Redmond, and both commute to Seattle for work. Their morning commute consists of a 10-minute drive to their nearest park-and-ride, followed by a 40-minute bus ride into Seattle.

Kim and Kyle’s condo is located in downtown Seattle, and they both commute to work on foot. Their daily commute is about a 20-minute walk each way, but they’ll bus or Uber if it’s raining.

Judy and Joe agree that they only need one car to get to the park-and-ride while commuting to work. Kim and Kyle realize that they don’t need their cars in order to get to work and could save a lot of money if they downsize to one or none, especially considering they pay for parking in their building. These instances illustrate the importance of considering location when deciding between owning a car and using rideshare. Likewise, your activity choices also play an important role.

Activities

Activities and hobbies dictate a huge portion of our lifestyle choices. Do you have kids or do your favorite activities involve a lot of driving? If you love the outdoors, could you still get to those hikes you’ve been dying to do without a car? Some recreational activities may be limited when you don’t own a car, so it’s important to consider this when determining if utilizing rideshare options is not only economical but also practical. Here are some of the activities Judy and Joe and Kim and Kyle participate in:

Judy and Joe’s weeknights are spent shuttling kids to and from various sports practices. Once home, they typically enjoy a homecooked meal together. On the weekends, the kids generally compete in sporting events. Occasionally, they also get out of town for a family camping trip in the mountains.

Kim and Kyle spend their weeknights going to the gym. This is often followed by dinner at a friend’s house or a local restaurant. During the weekend, they like to hike, visit Kim’s family on Bainbridge Island, and kayak as often as Seattle’s weather permits.

Judy and Joe agree they likely still need two cars to get the kids to their conflicting practices. They’ve decided to experiment by driving only one of their cars for a couple weeks in conjunction with ridesharing as needed to see if life with one car would work for them. Kim and Kyle agree that they still need one car for their weekend trips and for hauling their kayaks around town. As we can see, our activity choices are also an important consideration in deciding whether to own a car or use rideshare.

Bottom line

Having a car for the sake of convenience may unnecessarily be costing you money. Using rideshare might save you money; however, it may be more practical for you to own a car if you’d like to maintain a certain lifestyle. We encourage you to evaluate your situation.

If you’d like to speak with a financial advisor about your current transportation situation, we can help you determine if it makes more sense for you to own a car or utilize the various rideshare options available today. Please reach out to us. We are here to help you!

 

Sources: 

*https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/auto/cost-of-owning-a-car

** https://www.zipcar.com/pricing

***https://www.ridester.com/uber-rates-cost/

Disclosure: The material is presented solely for information purposes and has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Merriman does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be relied upon as such.

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Danielle Strumbeta

By Danielle Strumbeta, Wealth Advisor, CFP®

Danielle’s focus has always been providing comprehensive financial planning to help others with all aspects of their finances, not just their investments. Her goal is to help her clients understand where they’re at, where they want to be, and how to get from point A to point B while living a fulfilling life along the way. She’ll be there to listen to what’s important to you, help you build a holistic plan, provide solutions and education, and reassure you in your decisions.

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