This is the reason why many people do not buy cars

Every time someone asks for advice on buying a car, the debate explodes: Korean, Japanese, American, European, which car is better? These debates are endless, there is no winner because everyone sees it from their own perspective.

For me, I personally see no reason to buy a car because I choose to rent a car, Grab for example. People with a lot of money, they do not need to calculate much when buying a car. As for the majority of people with less money, there are many things to consider to balance the cost and the value received (actual needs) when owning a car.

Illustration.

I calculate between renting a car (technology-based motorbike taxi) and owning a car for the middle class who need to travel annually like this:

My needs: 100 km/month for family outings; plus 16 km round trip for daily work, 22 days/month, so 352 km/month for work. In total, I need to travel 5,424 km/year.

Car rental price < 10,000 VND/km after discount code.

Total cost for a year when renting a car is nearly 54 million VND.

If I buy a car for 250 million, the annual costs will include:

Depreciation of 10% of the remaining value of the car: 25 million

8% interest rate if using 200 million from the bank to buy a car, 50 million down payment: 16 million

Average gasoline is 7 liters/100 km, or about 378 liters/5,400 km, gasoline price is about 20,000 VND: 7.6 million. Driving mainly in the city, the minimum is 7 liters for segment A cars.

Parking is 2 million/month, equivalent to 24 million/year. I plan to park near my house for 800,000 VND, and at my office for 1.2 million VND.

Body insurance 1.5%: 3 million. If not purchased, the car owner must pay for painting and body repair. Damaged parts other than the body and shell are not covered by this type of insurance.

Maintenance, other expenses: 15 million. This number seems like a lot but it is not. These expenses include: replacement of engine oil, oil filter, air filter, mechanically worn parts, parking tickets when going out, car washing, interior cleaning, civil liability insurance, registration... That is not to mention unfortunate cases such as traffic violations, accidents, water hammer due to flooding, causing the car to lose a lot of value.

Total cost of owning a 250 million car: 90 million/year.

So if I choose to rent a car, I reduce the cost by about36 million/year.For those who do not have to park their car at both ends (home, workplace), the cost of owning a car is also about 66 million/year.

Advantages of car ownership: Satisfies the feeling of owning and driving a car. This need usually disappears after 6 months of owning a car. The price is only cheap when the need to drive is 10,000 km/year or more.

Advantages of using car rental services: Lower cost and time saving. Users do not have to drive an average of 40 minutes/day, plus time to take care of the car such as washing, repairing, maintaining... Using this method also does not incur costs such as being fined, causing accidents to others or when the car is seriously damaged in an accident. You can drink a little wine or beer and still get home safely, without worrying about being fined.

In fact, the cost of my rental car is lower than 54 million because most of the trips are during off-peak hours. Each trip costs 84,000 VND for a distance of 8 km, after 9 am to before 5 pm, you can only pay 59,000 VND because you can use a discount code.

I don't buy a car. Okay, let's just say I'm a pragmatist. But I have a point, don't I?