I sold my car!

All the different ways of solving the shelter problem. To be static or mobile? Roots, legs, or wheels?
Post Reply
mojelly
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2018 1:18 pm

I sold my car!

Post by mojelly »

This is the first time I haven't owned a car since I was 17, and, it feels amazing! I've been wanting to sell it for over 2 years, ever since we moved to the perfect location (walking distance to work, library, coffee shop, beach, parks, good fishing spot, etc.) But, I'm already choosing not to date, homeschooling my kids, living in an unconventional housing situation, and working "only" 20 hours a week, etc. I guess there were some limits on how much I could handle in the social disapproval arena. Then, along came the pandemic, creating the perfect excuse to sell my car. I took the kids on one last end of summer camping trip in it, and then sold it by word of mouth, with hardly any effort. It was way easier and quicker than I imagined it would be.

None of my friends or family get my excitement and happiness, even when I explain that with WFH, homeschooling, and home delivery of any item one could want, it's simply unnecessary.

My sister, looking puzzled and concerned about my mental and/or financial health, asks: "But what if you need to take the kids somewhere when it's snowy and icy?" I half-jokingly mention that everything is so close it actually takes longer for the car to defrost in winter than it does to just walk there. She still looks worried.

Inwardly, I think about the end of fracking and cheap oil, feel a little bit smug about getting out with time to spare, then a little bit guilty that I can't seem to convey this information to my sister in a way that she can grasp.

Outwardly, I tell her that I never really liked my car anyway, and since I don't need need one right now, I'm just going to save up for a few months and find a different vehicle after the pandemic. It's not a lie, because I'm pretty sure a bike cargo trailer meets the definition of a vehicle.

Relieved, my sister excitedly begins to tell me about the $50k SUV she custom-ordered and will only have to pay 1.25% interest on the loan. Now it's my turn to wonder about her mental and financial health, then shrug it off but wish we were debating the merits of fat-tire bikes for snowy and icy conditions...

Anyway, I'm just posting because I'm really happy about unburdening myself of vehicle ownership and how easy it was to do, but sadly it seems to be a source of worry, so far, to those I've told.

Feel free to cheer, or commiserate.

Holy moly donut shop! I sold my car!
Last edited by mojelly on Mon Sep 28, 2020 3:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Alphaville »

congrats! or not? i don’t know. i did the same last winter, felt fantastic for a couple of months, but then the pandemic came, and now i’m stuck at home, except there’s really nowhere to go even in a car? and due to the pandemic, i don’t currently trust rideshares or car rentals. mass transit even less. so if i have to go somewhere i can’t bike to, i’m sort of stuck...

nevertheless i’m saving a bundle by not having a car expense so there’s that. but maybe i want a bug-out vehicle anyway? even if i don’t need a car. oooof...what to do. strange times! anyway, i might get an uber and open the window if the situation arises. also ambulance rides are cheap with my health insurance :lol:

mojelly
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2018 1:18 pm

Re: I sold my car!

Post by mojelly »

@Alphaville

I'm already in Alaska, so I have the bugout box ticked. My kids were wondering about how to go camping next summer. In my little town, U-Haul has pickup trucks for rent for $20/day plus some kind of mileage fee. I don't feel stuck, or at least no more now than I have in the preceding six months.

Do you have a specific trigger event and bug-out destination in mind, or do you mean a just-in-case getaway vehicle?

I ask because we happen to live in a coastal zone, and had to evacuate three times in the last couple years due to earthquakes with the potential to produce tsunamis. Fortunately no tsunamis occurred, but we had to spend many hours away from home at our evacuation point each time. It would be nice to have a vehicle in which to wait in relative quiet/privacy/comfort. On the other hand, each time we evacuated, there were extremely long lines at the gas stations and far more traffic on the roads than at any other time. It took twice as long as it should have to arrive at our evacuation point, and we had a close-call with an oncoming vehicle. Some people were driving without headlights, others speeding, and it was very chaotic and generally very stressful to drive.

I cannot imagine the scale of traffic and chaos if large numbers of people tried to leave a heavily populated area all at the same time. But there would likely be a lot of congestion along the major arteries. I hope you don't live in a city, but if you do, perhaps your route and method would be something to think about.

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: I sold my car!

Post by wolf »

congrats! welcome in the club of car-free ERE'ers! do you WFH 100%?

User avatar
Jean
Posts: 1890
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:49 am
Location: Switzterland

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Jean »

Congrats!
A way not to feel stuck is to look at your fat, and know that every pound of it gives you about thirty miles of walking autonomy.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Alphaville »

mojelly wrote:
Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:15 am
yeah, i live in a city and have a cabin in the woods. the city is great for car-free life. or was until march, ha ha ha.

in the city, most things are reachable on foot or by bicycle, $20 uhauls abound, there are cheap car rentals for vacation trips, there’s rideshare and mass transit for hard to reach places... in normal times.

currently i’m avoiding rideshares and mass transit and i do not like the covid protocols for rentals. so i’m waiting and seeing,

the missing piece of the puzzle is the abnormal times. eg, my own car without someone else’s droplets. but as i said there’s nowhere to go to anyway. most of the time.

as for evacuations, one possible destination for us, eg in case of civil unrest, would be the cabin, which optimally requires a 4wd vehcicle to get us to the front door. other disasters might point us in other directions. i need to think more about this.

my truck was 4wd, but it was too big really, and wasteful and impractical, so we said adios to it. it felt good.

anyway, in case of evacuation, yeah, i don’t know where i’d go, but we now have bags ready to grab with the essentials, not heavy at all. that is, unless we need to carry water hahaha.i’ll solve that problem eventually...

great point about congestion, i’ve been stuck for hours on the interstate, and having a 4wd vehicle allowed me to escape traffic somewhat. of course in an mass panic many others would do then same and who knows what the result of that might be. for that reason i would not feel safe getting away on a bicycle either.

so yeah i’ve been thinking about an old jeep wrangler or something... but i’d drive it so rarely it might not start when i need it. someone in another thread recommended motorcycles but frankly i think an accident in one would be highly likely due to our lack of experience in them.

so i really don’t know, and in the meantime i remain car-free. which is about 95% great, 4.99% cumbersome but not worth the high cost, and 0.01% unknown...

it’s the xxi century already but i’m still waiting for my jetpack :lol:

-

ps i use studded bike tires for the snow and ice. thin ones, 30 or 35mm. 30 come with 2 rows of studs, 35 with 4 (better quality they say). i also have 1.9” ones but those are *heavy*

AxelHeyst
Posts: 2117
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 4:55 pm
Contact:

Re: I sold my car!

Post by AxelHeyst »

Congratulations! I didn't own a car until about 3-4 years ago, and I really miss being carfree. Particularly after getting hit with insurance ($800) and new tires (720) two months in a row - it's got me trying to figure out how to ditch it.

Crusader
Posts: 342
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:16 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Crusader »

Congratulations! I am weighing the pros and cons of doing the same. The main thing that is stopping me is that I don't know whether the (lowish) insurance I have right now would be available if I change my mind and get a car in the future and then have a coverage gap.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Alphaville »

Crusader wrote:
Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:09 am
a coverage gap.
you can avoid the coverage gap by keeping non-owner car insurance, which covers rentals or borrowed vehicles for when you get one, up to a certain size.

if you rent using a credit card (visa/mc, don’t know about others, check with yours for terms and conditions) the card will insure the vehicle but won’t cover your liability. your car insurance covers that. so if you just buy insurance for that purpose it’s a) a smart move, b) cheap, way cheaper than buying liability insurance from the rental place, and c) keeps you from having a coverage gap.

this exists but it’s not well-known. call your insurer and ask about it.
Last edited by Alphaville on Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:36 am, edited 3 times in total.

Crusader
Posts: 342
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:16 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Crusader »

Alphaville wrote:
Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:24 am
you can avoid the coverage gap by keeping non-owner car insurance, which covers rentals or borrowed vehicles for when you get one.
Wow, thanks, I will!

thrifty++
Posts: 1171
Joined: Sat May 23, 2015 3:46 pm

Re: I sold my car!

Post by thrifty++ »

Congratulations! I have had no car for more than 8 years now. Mind you, I actually long for and crave a car now and have for some time. But I don't have anywhere to put one is the problem. Not having a car makes it harder for me to do some things like visit my parents and go off for trips to nature. But that is also because I work fifty hours a week. If you only work part time it does not matter much as you have the time to navigate public transport more for longer trips

Hristo Botev
Posts: 1731
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:42 am

Re: I sold my car!

Post by Hristo Botev »

Congrats! I'd like to get to car free, some day; so I'm envious. We finally managed to go from being a 2 car family to just 1 last year, with that one car sitting in the driveway except for big grocery runs and soccer parent stuff. If it weren't for the soccer parent stuff, we could definitely do one car, as neither DW nor I need a car for the work commute, but (a) DW would never go for being truly car-free, at least while the kids are in the house, and (b) we still have the kids in the house, and kids' soccer, etc. activities are only going to get more time intensive in the next few years, not less. Nevertheless, the only thing worse than paying insurance on 1 car that sits idle in your driveway 99% of the time is doing it for 2 cars.

catpepper
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 9:19 am
Contact:

Re: I sold my car!

Post by catpepper »

Congrats! I think it's a good choice. In my country, cars can only last 10 years and public transport is very efficient in my city, so it's a huge cost. If you live in a city, you will see some benefits of switching to public transport like being able to read a book on the subway, not having to find parking space etc.

the_platypus
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2020 12:03 am

Re: I sold my car!

Post by the_platypus »

Congrats! That is very impressive to me, especially being up there in that climate! I'm happy for you and all the wonderful exercise you will get from walking or biking places -- it truly feels very healthy and very freeing!!! Not to mention the financial benefit!

And if SHTF, you can look to your community for support. Contrary to what the propaganda states, people are usually quite generous and helpful during a crisis! A social network and a good reputation is cheaper than a car! So there is that option if motor transit is needed.

So in any case, congratulations!

Post Reply