This is the question posed on CityNerd video titled “Walkable Cities But They Keep Getting More Affordable”
If you ditched your car, could you afford to leave the suburbs for a great urban neighborhood?
Ray Delahanty answers the question in the 26 biggest US cities.
The analysis assumes the all-in cost of owning and operating a car is $1,000 per month, including purchase, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.
In the city, transportation costs might total about $250 per month for transit passes, biking, ride-hailing, and other small expenses.
This results in an effective $750 per month increase in the housing budget for city center residents who do not own a car.
The results of the video are quite interesting, as you can get more m² in walkable areas in most cities
I mean it’s not crazy IMO, running cost is probably 500 but depreciation is a major factor. A rule of thumb is around 10-15% of the value of the car each year so if you can sell yours now for 35000 depreciation is in the range of 300-400 a month. Older cars have a lower depreciation but higher maintenance. Then also not applicable in your case is financing cost which varies a lot.
In your case I’d look at how much just paying for a taxi for Costco and full day rental for day trips would cost compared to owning a car.
The car isnused formximmuting to work daily, so absolutely less expensive than cabs
I see, I was under the impression that you didn’t use it for work as in walking/biking/public transport instead.
But did you factor in all the other things like insurance, oil changes, car washes, property tax for owning a driveway and public street maintenance?