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Does the cost/benefit really work out, though? Suppose I buy a $50,000 minivan which I expect to keep/last 10 years. At $8/hr for a rental, the breakeven is 500
by kayson 6y ago
Does the cost/benefit really work out, though? Suppose I buy a $50,000 minivan which I expect to keep/last 10 years. At $8/hr for a rental, the breakeven is 50000/8/10/365=1.7hrs/day. When I was growing up in a family of 4, my parents easily spent more time than that in our van, shuffling us between school and other activities. And of course this doesn't count the depreciated value of the car after 10 years.
I can imagine the hotel argument working out better mathematically, but it's definitely very much dependent on where you live. In a rural area you'd probably be crazy not to get a bigger home. In an urban area, a hotel could make sense.
- Notorious_BLT 6y agoThe author has other articles about how he's taught his children how to use the bus on their own to get around, and how they ride it to school daily. The "take the kids to school" use case isn't true for everyone, and I feel like people are also missing the point of the article. You're supposed to analyze for yourself if you need to own a car full-time, and if the answer is yes, perhaps a smaller one might do? If you're constantly shuttling large groups around, then the answer to both might be yes, and that's fine too.
- koyote 6y agoYour calculation doesn't count for insurance, tax, maintenance and fuel. That being said, I consider nearly 2 hours a day spent in a car to be a massive amount of time and would definitely want to have my own car if that was the case. Then again I used to walk to school and today I walk or cycle to most places. I wouldn't be able to do that if I was living in one of those US suburbs.