Does it make sense not to own a car at all?

[jamesf123]

(Zurich) Own a cheap car bought a long time ago with cash, which works well so far but still has some costs now and then. Since I thankfully don't have to commute to work by car anymore we use the car maybe 4 times a month on weekends.

No kids, no obligations that require car use, thankfully. The car has been very useful during multiple road trips and moves, so it absolutely was worth it (and I generally think it's worth it to get to some beautiful places easily), however I'm questioning it now, as life has changed and there aren't as many trips as there used to be.

I really like cars and live driving places - sometimes, I love the train as much - but I hate maintenance and spending unnecessarily (financial situation is generally good for now though). Since there is no magic option, and we don't have proper carsharing, I'm wondering if it doesn't make sense to just sell it while it still has a bit of value and just rent? And maybe sometimes rent something fancier if I feel like splurging?

Costs for the current one are something like 1,500 / year not including petrol, if I am counting this correctly (service / insurance / tax / blue zone parking etc, insurance could even be reduced further). Although some costs might be coming, like a new set of tires etc.

If I look at GoMore, which sounds like the most reasonable way to rent, this would translate to approximately 3-4 days of renting per month. Are there other options maybe?..

Leasing even a used one would be incomparably more expensive, but I also wouldn't just take any cheap reasonable car, as I would e.g. if I were to have kids soon.

Can someone tell me why some options are much more awful than others?

 

[jen76]

@jamesf123 If the car is depreciated to zero (or close) and running costs are low, I would keep it as long as you have no expensive repairs coming up, parking in Blaue Zone and doing essential service only. The flexibility of having your own car when needed would easily be worth the 1.5k p.a. to me.

 

[jamesf123]

@jen76 See I think this is still reasonable, but it sort of takes away from the "Fahrfreude" and you still have to invest something in it (we had to replace battery for example, and then tires...). And it's just sitting there. Kind of a "no one is really happy about it but it's okay" option.

 

[jen76]

@jamesf123 I mean, we are not talking about Fahrfreude here, are we? If you want Fahrfreude, just rent a nice car (if it needs to be cheaper than normal rental and you don’t mind older cars, you can look at 2em for P2P lending of cars for example) each time you need it.

What you have now is extremely convenient at a very low cost, even for longer distances (where mobility falls apart) - which is the best outcome if you are not concerned with „Fahrfreude“

 

[jamesf123]

@jen76 I mean in the end I do emotionally care about having nice things. But financially, both keeping the car and renting kinda makes little sense?.. then I pay double. I will just keep using the cheapest option unless I am forced to choose others.

On the other hand, I might not use the car for a couple months at all (and that leads to battery troubles etc apparently), and then use it a bit more intensively.

There are theoretically options to participate in the carsharing if it just stands there, which helps reduce costs - maybe I should look into that, but I'm not sure how good / safe those are?..

 

[jen76]

@jamesf123 I meant if you rent, you should sell your car, not do both. The cheapest option overall is probably renting a cheap car when you need it, but it does come with the hassle of picking up, inspecting, taking pictures, returning the car every time, and if you rent from private people you don‘t know how well they are keeping their cars.

My point of view is still that it‘s worth to pay slightly more per year to just have the car available anytime close to you - yes you could call this a luxury, but it‘s one that‘s worth it to me.

You could lower the cost by renting out your car, but tbh the hassle might not be worth it and other people always drive rental cars like they are stolen. I would just keep the current setup unless you really can‘t afford it.

 

[andrew1221]

@jen76 It's worth it if you use it often enough. Then again, if you own a car you're probably more likely to do little getaways more often. Owning a car is also a hassle though: servicing, tyres, parking etc.

 

[tipulovesonali]

@jamesf123 If your car sits in a garage with no sunlight your tires will be good. Sunlight and driving is the only thing that brakes them. Unless someone pokes them with a knife or you hit curbs.

For the Battery, you do need to use it once in a while or plug it into a wall with a certain power adapter. Those keep the battery charged and make sure they live a little longer. A lot of dealerships fit those in their expensive cars that sit around for months without being moved. Example product

You don't have to get this one, but check the internet for something like this that works with your car and battery you have or ask a professional who can suggest the right product for you. That is, if you have a wall plug next to your car. If it stands outside, forget about it.

If the car stands outside in the sunlight, you can use sun protection products. Either covers or some sort of tyre-shine that you apply to the tyre-walls whenever you wash the car. Makes them shiny and also protects from UV light.

Those things cost a little but save you money in the long run.

Also make sure to use the correct fuel and oil for the car. Don't cheap out on that especially if you have a german Benziner. Check manaual of the car to know what exactly the engine needs.

 

[shirel]

@jamesf123 I have no car, and I have a Mobility subscription. That is perfect for me.

 

[jamesf123]

@shirel Not a fan of Mobility because it gets really expensive on long distances (I want to be able to go several hundred km over a long weekend). And because they really are a lot worse than other carsharing options in Europe, just on principle.

 

[eklisiarh]

@jamesf123 The are new day packages with mobility now for a few hundred kilometers.
https://www.mobility.ch/en/private-customers/offers-and-rates/day-packages.
But yes for really long distance I use the traditional rental companies (Europcar, Sixt or Hertz). You can get discounts with your GA/Halbtax or even some credit cards.

 

[andrew1221]

@eklisiarh Don't forget that you can rent from Hertz using the Mobility discount through the Mobility website. You can also get a discount if you have a Mastercard but even with these discounts it's always worth doing a quick comparison on a site like https://www.rentalcars.com/ as sometimes there are better rental deals depending on where and when you are renting.

 

[jamesf123]

@eklisiarh But does it still require anything in advance or can you just like reserve the evening before and be pretty sure it's gonna be fine?

 

[eklisiarh]

@jamesf123 Depends on how many stations are near you. I have four of them next to me, so even a day in advance I still find a car easily. Lots of mobility stations are next to the train stations, so it's easy to find one even on short notice if your are willing to take the S-Bahn.

 

[allandavid85]

@eklisiarh I looked at mobility, having to take the train, s-bahn makes it very unattractive to me, at least for short spontanous trips.

I see how it might be different if you are taking 1-2 day trips

 

[sam96]

@jamesf123 We have no car. I use mobility without a subscription for very short distances. When i need a car for maybe 4 days, i use booking.com to find the cheapest offer. Last month I rented a VW at europcar for only 140CHF. In times with a car, I paid 120CHF a month only for the parking lot. I live in Bern where we have different rental car companys. At the end of the year, its still cheaper even if we rant a car for two weeks vacation. But the last two vacations, we switched to train… (Italy, Ligure in 5 hours)

 

[jesselharrison]

@jamesf123 > several hundred kms

sounds like train/plane territory?

But yeah, if you often go several hundred kms and you want to drive those, then you have no other option than a private car

 

[brandilynn17]

@jesselharrison This!

I have the same setup as McDuckfart (nice name, btw). And I use Mobility only for short distances. If I have to go long, I use the train, and if I have a lot of luggage, I book the SBB luggage service. Could look like this:

- SBB picks up luggage

- I use the train for the long distance part

- then I might use a Mobility car for the short distance or to go places around my destination

- SBB picks up luggage

- I take the train home.

Although, I haven't used the luggage pick up in a while. I tend to travel light

Also, if you use SwissPass, you get great rates with Europcar if you need a car for longer distances.

 

[jamesf123]

@jesselharrison Not if you e.g. drive for a long weekend to the Dolomites (I don't usually drive anywhere I can go by train, like larger cities, unless other circumstances interfere). Or maybe sometimes I get sent to visit a customer in southern Germany, and that's really 400km in 2 days. And no, I don't do that often - I don't actually know if I will be doing that a lot or at all - but I know that I used to do it a couple times a year, and having the option has proven very useful.

 

[evilrises]

@jamesf123 Then keep your car.

Simple.