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Interested to see how he'd fare under carsharing as opposed to ridesharing. It seems UberPool is about $30 an hour per hour, UberX $54. But car2go for example i

Interested to see how he'd fare under carsharing as opposed to ridesharing. It seems UberPool is about $30 an hour per hour, UberX $54. But car2go for example is around $20-25 depending on the car and city. (not available in SF) And that doesn't require you to share a car with other people (which is fine as a taxi service, but perhaps too intimate for many as a daily routine). That having been said, in terms of 'car hacking' he should be able to do much better if he just bought a cheaper but reliable car. He never owned the car for status purposes, his previous choice of car seems like a bad benchmark to compare Uber to. 8k depreciation is just crazy, might as well just lease at that point or buy a small, cheap japanese car, like a Honda Civic or something. Maintenance is a few hundred bucks, you can buy em for two years worth of his BMW depreciation, pretty fuel efficient. I think ridesharing is great, but you shouldn't compare it to a newly bought $80k BMW benchmark imo.

lettergram 8y ago
In 2010 I bought a Nissan Versa for around $10k (lightly used). It still runs like a champ, the door handle has been replaced, a few belts, tires, oil, etc. However, all the repairs in 8 years is less than $5k. That's around $700 a year, and the damn thing has 165,000 miles. Still starts, drives, no rust. Should easily be able to pull 200,000 miles off of it (or another 2 years). I think the car today is still worth a ~$1k - $2k.
- dorfsmay 8y ago
  But to compare it to car and ride sharing you need to add insurance, fuel and parking cost. Also, 165 k miles and you never had to change the timing belt, break pads etc? Does the 5 k$ include all those costs?
  - lettergram 8y ago
    Yes, $5k covers this costs. A timing belt or break pads are $100 - $200 for the whole thing. Insurance isn't included sure, nor is gas. According to my mint, on average I spend $500 / year on insurance (two cars) and gas is $1000 / year. I also get things like freedom to drive cross country (which I've done) or go to national parks. Which adds value. Take all that and its still what: $8k + $4k + $10k + $5k = $27k For 8 years... And I gurantee I travel more than 686 rides, as I drive pretty much 365 days a year. Plus it has some value. In many cases, as with most things, convenience comes at a premium. That's what ride sharing is. I use it too when traveling, but the car is way cheaper long term.

lettergram 8y ago

In 2010 I bought a Nissan Versa for around $10k (lightly used). It still runs like a champ, the door handle has been replaced, a few belts, tires, oil, etc. However, all the repairs in 8 years is less than $5k. That's around $700 a year, and the damn thing has 165,000 miles. Still starts, drives, no rust. Should easily be able to pull 200,000 miles off of it (or another 2 years). I think the car today is still worth a ~$1k - $2k.

dorfsmay 8y ago
But to compare it to car and ride sharing you need to add insurance, fuel and parking cost. Also, 165 k miles and you never had to change the timing belt, break pads etc? Does the 5 k$ include all those costs?
- lettergram 8y ago
  Yes, $5k covers this costs. A timing belt or break pads are $100 - $200 for the whole thing. Insurance isn't included sure, nor is gas. According to my mint, on average I spend $500 / year on insurance (two cars) and gas is $1000 / year. I also get things like freedom to drive cross country (which I've done) or go to national parks. Which adds value. Take all that and its still what: $8k + $4k + $10k + $5k = $27k For 8 years... And I gurantee I travel more than 686 rides, as I drive pretty much 365 days a year. Plus it has some value. In many cases, as with most things, convenience comes at a premium. That's what ride sharing is. I use it too when traveling, but the car is way cheaper long term.