Almost exactly two years ago, our car lease expired, and my family decided to embark on a “one month” experiment of living without owning or leasing a car. At the time our daughter was attending an elementary school just a few blocks away (easily walkable), and Kia was willing to do the bulk of the grocery shopping on her Xtracycle cargo bike. In terms of commuting, Kia and I both work from home. Otherwise we planned to use car sharing services and Lyft/Uber as needed. Our #1 rule for the experiment was that we would never turn down social invitations for lack of transportation. Also, we would not depend too much on family and friends for rides.
Tag: no car experiment Page 1 of 2
As regular readers know, my family gave up our car about a year-and-a-half ago. Our lease ended, we turned in the car, and we didn’t get another one. The idea was to go one month without a car and see if we could get around with biking, walking, public transportation, Lyft, and the occasional rental.
Overall the experiment has been a success. I’ve written about the experience at length in the followings posts:
Not my car. Probably not your car either.
So we gave up. Or gave in. After more than a year without a car, we decided to get one.
We knew we wanted a hatchback. You can fit anything in a hatchback. One time we purchased a bunch of furniture at IKEA, pulled our Fiat 500 into the loading zone next to a guy in a Ford F-150 (that’s a biggish pickup truck, for you European readers). He gave us a dubious look until we popped the hatch, folded down the back seat, and loaded in those flat-packs no problem. I think we got a tiny nod of appreciation.
After reading too many reviews and watching too many YouTube video reviews, I narrowed it down to the Yaris, the Prius c (both Toyota), the VW Golf or eGolf, and the Honda Fit. I created an account on TrueCar to get some estimates. I also called a few dealerships directly to get some lease quotes.
That’s when things started going south.
The eight-year-old’s bike.
Back in February when Kia and I turned in our leased Fiat 500 and decided to do a “one-month experiment” of living without a car, I suspected that the experiment might last longer than one month. But eight months? No way. I was sure we’d have another car by now. But it turns out there are a few advantages to not having an expensive hunk of metal to care for, including:
- On average, it’s cheaper (about $150/month less).
- It’s great to not worry about your car (will it break down or get stolen/scratched/dented/broken into/ticketed).
- We save time on car maintenance and paperwork.
- All three of us are fitter, stronger, and leaner (details below).
- I feel more physically and socially connected to my neighborhood.
- Our carbon footprint is reduced (though still high — we sometimes fly on airplanes).
- I get to use my phone like a magic wand to summon friendly drivers to my house who arrive within minutes and take me wherever I want for a reasonable price and I don’t need cash not even to tip (thank you Lyft).
- Local grandparents have been great sports about having to drive a bit more (thank you!)
- Given our situation (we both work from home, our kid goes to school three blocks away, our neighborhood has a Walk Score of 91/100, local car-sharing options), we’re pretty much the ideal family to NOT own a car.
Our neighborhood Walk Score
Costs
Back in February I calculated our average cost of car ownership at $440/month, as follows:
Just another commute.
May was the fourth month our family went about our business without owning or leasing a car. We still used a few cars, including the CityCarShare car-sharing service and the occasional Uber or Lyft ride, but we also got around more by foot, bicycle, skateboard, and scooter.
The experiment started in February, with the end of our Fiat 500 lease. I’ve posted a short update each month since (here’s March, and April, if you want the whole story to date). In May we started to get the feeling that not owning a car is the new normal. It just didn’t feel like a big deal to run errands on foot or via self-propelled means. A few things that spring to mind:
- This month we made an extra effort to make sure we were pulling our weight in terms of dropping off/picking up our daughter from cross-town playdates, either with her grandparents or friends. This meant heavier CityCarShare use. Also, we reimbursed some friends and family for extra driving they did on our behalf during the first three months of the experiment. Basically, we’re trying to not be those people who congratulate themselves for not owning a car but then bum rides all the time, or assume other people will happily do all the driving (and absorb the related costs).
- I got some more upgrades to my bicycle, including thicker tires for a smoother ride, and switching from fixie mode to single-speed (with the option to coast). On my Critical Cycle this was just a matter of flipping the back wheel, but I had the guys at the bike shop do it so as not to find myself inadvertently and unexpectedly riding a unicycle at some point.
- In the process of exploring new ways to get to a client in South Berkeley I ended up having one of the most epic longboard rides of my life. I took BART to the North Berkeley station, then rode the longboard all the way down Virginia to 4th Street. Smooth pavement, gentle slope, no traffic, all the way. Slalomed all the way down, fast enough to be fun but not so fast to get the wobbles and crash. So fun!
Total transportation costs for May, including amortized expenses:
- CityCarShare — $142
- Lyft (including in-app tips) — $51
- Uber (including cash tips) — $20
- car expense cash to family and friends — $30
- amortized bike upgrades — $25
- additional public transportation spending — $10
Total: $278. By comparison, total transportation expenses were $289 in April, $290 in March, and $225 in February. I would predict that if we continue our “no mooching” policy, in addition to our “no declining social invitations because we can’t easily get there” policy, our expenses will average out at $275-300/month.
Looking at available leases that we would seriously consider, we could get a 36-month deal on an eGolf for $219/month and $2349 due at signing. Other car leaser approximate costs would include:
- $75/month for State Farm insurance, including loyalty and good driver discounts
- $80/month for gas, bridge tolls, and parking
- $50/month average cost of repairs and maintenance
- $15/month amortized DMV registration
So that comes to $504 a month. So even at the upper end of the no-car lifestyle costs, we’re saving $200/month.
After 4 months, I’m starting to get a feel for the overall pros and cons. Here’s how we would characterize them at the moment.
JD’s Cons
- Cross-town transportation requires a little more planning (though the CityCarShare app is very easy to use, and almost always we can pick up a car within a 5-minute walk).
- I still don’t love using Uber or Lyft. Most of the drivers are really nice and completely competent, but we had one “Crazy Taxi” style driver, and one guy who got completely lost. Getting in a car with a stranger is always a bit of a crapshoot, now matter how you slice it.
- I sat in a CityCarShare Prius (my first time driving one) button mashing for several minutes before I managed to turn the damn thing on.
JD’s Pros
- Better fitness from biking (now more comfortable with my high-end seat and fatter tires and coast-mode), skateboarding, and walking.
- Transportation is generally more relaxed — it’s nice to be out and about on sunny days, and not stuck in traffic.
- It’s great not having to worry about your car (where’s it’s parked, if it’s OK, if someone has stolen it or broken into it).
- We’ve probably lightened our environmental impact, at least somewhat. Less CO2 emissions, less fine particulate pollution, less noise pollution.
- Save $200/mo. on average.
8-Year Old Daughter’s Pros
- “I like that we don’t have to go get gas anywhere, because CityCarShare usually takes care of the gas”
- “I like that I can play in the driveway when we don’t have a car there.”
- “I usually like the cars that they give us.”
8-Year Old Daughter’s Cons
- “I don’t like that we have to walk to get a car.”
Kia’s Pros
- Kia has discovered that walking/biking is often just as fast as driving, for short trips.
- She really enjoys walking family outings.
- She likes the “car shopping” aspect of CityCarShare (get to know a particular model, and know that if you don’t like a feature you don’t have to live with it for a long time — for example finicky seatbelts, beeping while backing up [Prius], odd button placement).
Kia’s Cons
- “I mostly really like it.”
Moving Forward
The fact that our neighborhood is highly walkable (close to schools, close to stores) influenced our decision to buy the house we did, but this feels like the first time we’re fully taking advantage of it. I realize that not everyone has it so easy, but for us it makes sense to at least try out the no-car-ownership lifestyle.
Maybe we’ll eventually lease or buy a car, but I could see us continuing the experiment indefinitely. I’ll provide an update at least a few times a year, but this will be my last monthly post on the topic.
If you’re currently on the fence, what’s preventing you from making the leap? Many of what I considered to be insurmountable problems turned out to be relatively easy to solve.
If you have any questions about how we’re making it work, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments. Or just share your own thoughts and experiences.