The Great Car Debate: To Buy or Not to Buy

For most Americans, owning a car is a necessity.  And I was a part of that culture for many, many years.  That is until I came back from Korea.  There, I was able to make my way using the public transportation system, sometimes zigzagging all over the country or just going to the store.  Now that I'm back in the U.S., I am somewhat reluctant to fork over all my hard earned money.

Living in San Diego, where public transportation is minimal, I have been debating whether I should delve back into auto ownership.  Yes, there are definitely advantages of owning a car.  I can go wherever and whenever.  But I still need to justify the huge expense, since I am a new graduate student with student loans...a lot of student loans.  So after a month without a car in San Diego, I have decided to wait it out.

How have I and will I survive without a car?  Well, I have a shuttle that takes me back and forth to campus.  So, I don't need a car for school.  A definite advantage of having (semi) on-campus housing. I say semi because of the distance to campus...it's a bit far to be considered truly on-campus.  But I digressed.  Once fall quarter starts, I will be studying after which point I will be studying some more. And instead of fun, I will be studying.  I also found a way to do my groceries shopping online and have it delivered for free.  Yay! No grocery shopping for me!!!  The point is, there will be days that I will not be using my vehicle. To top it off, I will be paying insurance for a car that mostly sits in the parking lot.

So, what about all the times I need a car?  I have signed up for Zipcar, which is a car sharing program with a membership fee plus hourly or daily usage fee.  I did the math.  I can justify using Zipcar about 24-25 hours per month for the same price as I would pay for gas and insurance.  I don't pay for gas or insurance with Zipcar because it is all inclusive.  By using Zipcar, my money stays in my bank account.

I realize that this is not a long term solution, which is why I'm waiting it out.  But my decision for now: I will be Zipping (at least for Fall Quarter).

On a side note:  I haven't driven a car in 2 years and I will be making a trek from Denver to San Diego...ALONE. Yikes!!!