Another car question

[Hottentot]

Well, my parents dropped a bomb here.
They given me the family car (we have two). It's a Fiat Palio 97.
The only difference now is that i'll have to pay taxes and maintenance (i still live with them). I've been using the car for years and now they gave me for good. They have another one for them.

So, i'm thinking here.
I live 40 minutes from work (walking), maybe 20 minutes biking.
I can sell the car for something between R$9000~R$11000 i think.

Gas is about R$90/month, taxes R$400/year. Maintenance this year was R$400+, i didn't do all the maintenance until today so i don't really know for sure.
The car is 16 years old, i think soon the engine will need repair and you know how much this costs.

The question here is: should i sell the car and get a bike, should i sell the car and walk to work or should i keep the car?

There's public transportation nearby in case of too much rain (R$2,50 i think). It's not good, but works.

Thanks in advance and sorry for my english.

[Hottentot]

Reality check: i can sell the car for R$8000,00 with patience
R$7000,00 to sell it faster.

Time is all i have, so...

[dot_com_vet]

The question is do you need a car often? If not, would it be cheaper to rent a car occasionally when you need it? A car can be a liability, or it can be a great tool.

I'd put the numbers into a spreadsheet and compare the different scenarios to find the winner.

[Hottentot]

I use the car to work and weekends. Everyday really.
The costs of owning the car will be almost R$1800/year. My salary is R$12000/year. The car sucks up to 15%. Plus i don't know anything about cars.

Walking to work will be a issue right now. I would need to wake up 1 hour earlier, it's a long walk (usually 45 minutes). I did it for one month with no issues, but gets tiring and suckes up your day.
I plan to leave my parents home in 2 or 3 years and walking to work will become easier, but for now it's out of question.

Biking will take the same time as car. 10 to 15 minutes. Low maintenance, the problem will be rain and cold (my eyes on cold winds gets dry and it's the worse feeling ever, i can't keep them open). A raincoat and glasses will solve the problems i think.
I'm not going out a lot since i stopped drinking. On weekends that i want to go out i can rely on friends since they all have cars and i only go out with them.

The major issue if i decide to ditch the car will be explaining it to my parents. They'll think i'm mental. They already don't understand me because i don't care about cars and fancy things and don't spend money on anything trivial
All my friends think i'm crazy and one of them tells that i need to grow up and take up responsibilities. I think weird that people associates cars to responsibility, but who knows.

[jennypenny]

All my friends think i'm crazy and one of them tells that i need to grow up and take up responsibilities. I think weird that people associates cars to responsibility, but who knows.

That is so true! being responsible = owning things

[JohnnyH]

Will your parents be offended if you sell it?

Unless the car will significantly cut costs (buying in bulk) or produce enough income (where you actually need a car, say hauling tools) to cover the R$1880/year I'd sell it while it's still running well.

Explain it to your parents, see if you can convince them. Sell it for R$8000 and give them a portion, or nice gift... Then get a practical bike, glasses, rain gear.

[Hottentot]

Don't sell it. Give it back to your parents and stop using it.

I can't give it back. They don't want to pay anything related to this car, they already have other bills to pay and another car.
I already asked them if the car is really mine now and i can do anything i want with it. If i want to sell, i can have the money.
But in their heads, the idea of selling it is to buy a newer one. If i don't, i'm a crazy guy that needs psychological counseling.

My parents are super protective. If i force them to get the car back, they'll keep paying the car and let me use it like i always have. I won't feel good about this.
I'm serious about this. When i walked to work in the first month, they woke up earlier just to ask me if i want a ride. They force it to me, i need to refuse a lot.
When it's raining they want to ride me to work even if i'm using the car, just to keep me from walking two blocks under the rain.
I know it's sounding like i'm bitching, but this isn't doing any good. They don't let me walk with my legs and make my choices and mistakes.
I can understand because i'm the last son in the house, my other two brothers are married now and it's their way to try to keep me around.

Maybe i can keep the car and walk or bike to work everyday and use it when it's raining. But why keep paying taxes if i'm using it very little?
Why don't sell it and take the public transport when it's raining?

Will your parents be offended if you sell it?

Unless the car will significantly cut costs (buying in bulk) or produce enough income (where you actually need a car, say hauling tools) to cover the R$1880/year I'd sell it while it's still running well.

Explain it to your parents, see if you can convince them. Sell it for R$8000 and give them a portion, or nice gift... Then get a practical bike, glasses, rain gear.

The car won't cut costs neither produce incoming.
I don't think they'll be more offended than be upset with my way to see and do things.
My mindset related to ERE and "minimalism" is something they don't understand. They buy things they don't need, keep trying to win the lottery, buy brands just to try to win a new car in those television shows.

[slimicy]

Sell the car and use the funds to speed up your timeline of moving out of their house. It sounds like they mean well but are causing you a lot of stress. Just getting out from under their day-to-day observation could do wonders!

[Hottentot]

I'm thinking about keeping the car for two more years and i will be ready to move out. Once i move out i sell the car and keep the money. It'll be losing some value, but since it's a gift i'll still be good and my parents will not be that offended.
I'll see the distance between my home and work in the way back today and calculate how much i'll drive the car these two years to keep it away from the point that the engine needs repairing.