Car-free!

[ivyfic]

I drove up to visit my brother for Thanksgiving...and ended up selling him my car. This was a strange confluence of events: I'd finally decided I needed to sell the thing and just last week my brother decided he needed a new car. The reason for this was his very nice Audi, which he just paid off, had its headlights stolen. Again. Do you know what it costs to replace headlights on an Audi? $2,000. A light. That means he's put in $8,000 of claims just for the headlights on this thing and he wants to own a car that doesn't get ripped off as often.

So now that I have returned to the natural pre-teen state of pedestrianism, here is my car ownership by the numbers:
-Five years of car ownership
-Two cars (Sam, a Honda Civic and Clementine, a Honda Accord)
-One auto stolen (Sam)
-One auto vandalised (Clementine)
-One accident that was totally not my fault and didn't cause any damage
-One flat tire (that I didn't notice--someone honked at me on the turnpike to tell me about it)
-No major repairs
-No moving violations
-Three parking tickets

And here's why I really shouldn't own a car
-Three oil changes. Yes, three oil changes for two cars over five years. In my defense, I drive it about every other month.
-No state inspections. Ever. I've never taken a car to be inspected. I'm sure this must be illegal, but I've never been ticketed and now I won't be. Haha!
-No maintenance record. I took it for the perscribed tune-ups, but danged if I can figure out where I put the records.
-Two years with an expired registration. I didn't notice. And in NJ, you aren't required to update the sticker on your license plate, so unless you're pulled over, you're good. (When we took the car to get inspected this weekend, I discovered that, though I renewed my registration, I had not put the valid one in the car).
-One check of coolant level, and I didn't even do it. It was the gas station attendant who told me my radiator was about to die. I pretty much just check to make sure the windshields and tires are still there and leave it to faith that the engine will work.

I've also done things like leave my car out in the rain with the back window missing (good times). Since I moved I see the thing once every few weeks maybe and still pay enough in insurance and parking to buy myself a new fully featured iPod every month. And given the care and attention I lavish on my vehicle, it's a good thing I owned two very reliable Hondas. It was only a matter of time before they failed in spectacularly preventable ways. So it was time to let the car go. But still, there is a certain finality to it. Now I am truly a captive of the city.

Comments

[bubbleslayer.livejournal.com]

But still, there is a certain finality to it. Now I am truly a captive of the city.

But, with the money you're going to save you can afford a rental car if you really need one...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Wow, what are you going to do with all the money you save now? I trust you will not, in fact, be buying iPods every month.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

Nice that it worked out so neatly. And yes, it sounds like you're better off renting a car when you absolutely need one--they'll check everything for you beforehand. :)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

You know, my parents said the same thing... They actually sounded worried that I would go out and buy an iPod every month.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Which is precisely why Jethrien and I, for example, did not purchase a car and have no plans to do so.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Yes, true. Though the "check engine" light reassuringly went on in the rental car as soon as I got on the highway. Also the cruise control had a habit of turning itself on. What can I say. It was a Chevy Impala=p.o.c. (my apologies to Dean).

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

An iPod for home, an iPod for work, an iPod for everyone in the gaming group...

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Yes, but my car was so nice. And rentals are always crap. Also, the marginal cost of, say, going to cons, is now considerably more. And you have one less friend you can bum a ride off of. :)

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Where did you end up renting from? (Or to, as the case of one-way rentals may be.)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Let me think about that for a second... Um, no.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Avis. Enterprise wanted to charge me $400 (!!!). What amuses is me about the Avis in the mall is that I walked past their desk hundreds of times but had never noticed where it was. I had to ask the information clerk. I have to say driving a different car was disconcerting. I kept reaching for the gear shift in the wrong place and could not figure out at all where the headlights were. Guess it's a good thing I got home before dark.

[shnayder.livejournal.com]

You should look into zipcar--their cars tend to be better than rentals, and it's also much more convenient--you book online and can pick up and return whenever you want, even if it's 2am.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say rentals are always crap. The Mitsubishi Lancer Jethrien and I drove to Vermont got fantastic gas milage and handled fine; and the first time we rented from that Avis we got a spontaneoud upgrade to a luxury car. Rentals are only crap (along with the service) when you get them from Hertz.

I'd say that this only encourages us to be more efficient with out con-planning. A rental split four or five ways is damn cost-effective, especially compared to what you were paying in parking and insurance.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Yes, the days of my subsidizing your con-going through overhead costs are over!

I'm more worried that I won't be able to do the oh hey! Sure I can drive up to upstate New York this weekend! sort of thing. I mean, I've done that once, but the days of spontaneity are over.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

That's why I suggested Avis right off the bat. Enterprise is often cheaper, but the way their business is structured (mostly franchised) makes one-way rentals a problematic proposition for them.

Which reminds me, I should block off my Xmas vacation time and price out a rental car to visit Jethrien's folks.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I suspect you can rent a car just as spontaneously as you would hike up to where your car was parked.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

What can I say? I'm a worrier!