[procrastinator]

I am simply overwhelmed for the great support.
A Big Thank You all for the valuable inputs.

I am able to grab the gist as reclaiming the life albeit practically.

My financial scene is like this
1. I can afford to buy a used hatchback or even A segment new car without Loan.
2. Right now, I save 20% of my salary which is enough to take care of petrol for 600kms, insurance and maintenance.

My only concern is saving a bit too to manage other big expenses like shopping and flight tickets back home.

I have started looking for cars (Brio, Swift) with low odo readings and less age on OLX in Pune and hope to find one soon.
I hope to start a thread on new acquisition soon.

Cheers!

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by procrastinator

I am ----snip---.

Cheers!

So this thread was for, er, how to put it, procrastinating!!
Badum-tss.
Couldn't resist that.

Anyway, happy hunting, and let us know the budget. Wider horizons, you see.

[Arjun Reddy]

Head vs heart. Should always let the heart win but take your brains along. Go for it and buy yourself a car. A segment if it is now don't worry , the Cs and Ds will follow.
Try finding a low mileage Ford Fiesta. It should tick all the right boxes. I have seen good examples of these for 2-2.5 lakhs.
Happy hunting.

[Alfresco]

Lots of reasons you can think of while debating renting vs owning. Expenditure, convenience, dependence, etc are for you to decide as lots of advice has already been given. I cannot even imagine not having my own car if i can afford one and move around a lot for 2 reasons:
First, I love to drive myself and Second, most taxis stink! Most of the cabs are always in use and they are full of peculiar smells. The driver might sit and smoke inside or eat gutkha. Many of the passengers are no better. The only time I have not been assaulted by smells is in the taxis operated by good hotels. I don't know about the condition of self-drive rentals.

[Mithrandir]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I suggest against that. Instead of taking Uber/Ola, book a zoomcar or myles self drive car for the intercity runs. The good thing that is, you can try out different cars and not be stuck with one. Plus, it saves all the monthly EMIs, service cost, insurance and everything since your daily running wouldn't justify. You could instead look at a good bike for any quick commutes at your comfort.

Edit: Rather than splurging all the money, please start investing at least 20% of your earnings in a monthly SIP. 10 years down the line when you look at your savings, you'll love this one step. Go for a good mutual fund if you believe in it. Check our threads to get a good hang of it.

Totally agree with swiftnfurious. Life seems easy when you finish college and just start earning. Huge salary but very few commitments. But, trust me, things will be different when you get married and have a family of your own. When I got my job, I listened to my heart and bought an expensive car. But now I wish I hadn't done that. Invest now and enjoy later. Best of luck..

[jassi_jeeper]

Nothing can beat the joy of owning a car! One can not go the the roadside chai-wala to have chai samosa sitting in the car with ones wife in a cab or rent a self driven car for this. I love my midnight small drives to have Maggi with my kids. But yes the need for a second car has gone out of the window. When my wife needs the car, I use Ola share.

[anandpkumar]

Hi,

Lots of good, relevant advice has already been shared, and I do agree that it is the middle path - a balance between the head and heart that is the best option.

Just to add my 2 paisa....
1. The suggestion to buy a second hand car is a good one. There are some great deals available in you look hard, and is a good way to save money on your first car
2. As much as possible, try and not take a loan for a car. A car is a depreciating asset, and paying EMIs on a depreciating asset is bad financial sense. So if you can afford to 'pay in full' for a car (new or second-hand), please go ahead and buy.
3. Do save a little bit at least every month. You will be surprised, how after many years, the compounding effect of this adds up. I just wound up my first PPF account (after 15 years of working - had started a PPF account in my first year of work) - and was amazed at the amount of balance I had!

Best,
anandpkumar

[procrastinator]

I am bumping my own thread today.
It's been close to three years since I created it; I want to share of what happened during this time.

I had a budget of 5L OTR car three years ago in which I could afford insurance, fuel, maintenance and depreciation with my pocket.

However, I choose to put my money in Stocks and stick with Uber/Ola or Self driven cars.
As we are car enthusiasts, I bought stocks in auto industry.
I was novice but conservative in making investments.

The initial results were good but after January 2018, I started making loss.
I had put more investment covering it but it continued to plunge.
Even today, it is a loss but that's fine for now.

- - - - - -
So, I walked wherever possible. Honestly, It made me healthier.
I have reduced weight a lot which also includes opting for healthier lifestyle but I choose cycle or walk if destinations were nearby.

My commute for weekend was on Uber. I opted for Premier cabs mostly though I picked up Go and Auto for small commute.

Majority of the cabs were dirty and the part of journey which used to be interesting (read driving) became boring (read sitting and looking)
But it costed me less than Rs. 2K/month.

Sometimes I opted for Zoomcar, Drivezy and Revv self driven cars.
I have got the chance to drive 10+ different cars with different fuel options and transmission.
How was the experience?
Okay.

It's a luck to get a good car and it's a luck to get a car without speed governor.
Twice I had to drive on highway with 80kmph limit which includes a drive on Mumbai Pune expressway.
On the brighter side, the diesel Baleno delivered 23 kmpl.

The condition of the cars were mediocre. As an enthusiasts, we love our
rides and when we are behind the wheel, we can feel that most of them require efforts to bring them in tip top driving condition.

With net expense of Rs. 2.5K/month so far, Cabs and self drive cars were substantially cheaper than owning a car.

- - - - - - - - - -
On paper and in bank account, the experience may look good but in actual it was difficult for someone who had car at his disposal since college days to go anywhere, whenever (of course with parents permission) because

There were challenges.
1.Waiting Time: Although Cabs are available at the very moment but at the need of hour (read peak times) they are far.
Usually my wait time was anywhere between 5-8 minutes.

2. Unavailability: Sometimes the cab itself would be unavailable and if we used to get one, the waiting time would be 15+ minutes.

3. Rain: The time when you need the cab most is also the time when the pocket became lighter with surcharge.
Availability was low and waiting times were high.
One has to walk to boarding point which made us wet.

4. Cabs: Majority were dirty from inside. It never felt you are paying and getting a good service. This used to happen mostly.

5. Drivers: They are mixed. Some of them have been nice and supportive whilst some just leave the passenger in bad mood with their bad habits.

6. Self drive Cars condition: Any car that had less than 20K was good.
20K-40K is okay and above 40K, I could feel it needs some attention.
I will still rate my experience better than cabs provided you can manage a good car.

There are many other factors which are hard to put but I can say that *owning* a car is an experience which was missed.
As my stocks made loss, it did not make sense to sell and buy depreciating thing.
But in these three years, with god's grace, I managed to save enough that I can buy from my own pocket.

The Grand i10 Asta which was made in 2014 and driven for 24K kms was bought by yours truly a week back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thanks to all who replied to this thread.
I learnt the hard way but the recommendation from post #5 just leaves me nodding and smiling today.

[rajushank84]

I don't compare it commute-cost to commute-cost. This is how I see car ownership: running and owning costs aside, it is a 5000-rupee-per-month depreciation, which means it is a luxury to possess one.

This money goes towards having a chariot of my own for outstation trips. Not necessarily just the long ones, but so many places that are in the 100-150km radius. Those are trips I'll never do in an Ola.

In Chennai for example, it is things like
- Unplanned drive to Mahabalipuram of Pondy over an involved conversation
- Temple towns like Tiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram with my mom.
... and so on.

So, definitely a luxury, but a luxury that's worth it if I can afford it.
A bike on the other hand, is indispensable for daily duty.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by procrastinator

I am bumping my own thread today.
It's been close to three years since I created it; I want to share of what happened during this time.

The Grand i10 Asta which was made in 2014 and driven for 24K kms was bought by yours truly a week back.

First of all, congrats on the car. I wish you years of trouble-free happy motoring.

I feel one major thing that has changed in the last three years is the availability of Uber and Ola. At least, here in bangalore, the availability has drastically reduced in peak hours and the rates have exponentially increased. Not to mention the quality of cars and dirty interiors. So many of my friends have almost entirely stopped relying on App-based cabs.

Originally Posted by rajushank84

So, definitely a luxury, but a luxury that's worth it if I can afford it.
A bike on the other hand, is indispensable for daily duty.

Why should a means of convenient transport be termed luxury? We Indians should come out of the Roti-Kapada-Makan mindset and not confuse basic well being with luxury. Maybe it is a topic for a new thread.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Why should a means of convenient transport be termed luxury? We Indians should come out of the Roti-Kapada-Makan mindset and not confuse basic well being with luxury. Maybe it is a topic for a new thread.

For me anything that isn't necessary is a luxury. I grew up traveling by bus and share-auto, and then a bike was an immense convenience in youth. And even now, years later, I still find myself taking the bike for most things. Sometimes ola and uber, even when a car is available. The car gets, as I mentioned above, only for occasional trips on ECR or something like that. So it is a luxury, an expensive luxury, for the way I use it.

Yes, correllating this with nationalistic sentiments would be another topic for sure. There are other countries where millions of people use a 5-person car to travel alone, day after day, and then complain about traffic. What a colossal waste. I very much find the predominantly bus/bike commute culture of India and South-East Asia to be more sensible.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

For me anything that isn't necessary is a luxury. I grew up traveling by bus and share-auto, and then a bike was an immense convenience in youth. And even now, years later, I still find myself taking the bike for most things. Sometimes ola and uber, even when a car is available.

I see this mindset everywhere, within the family, among friends, especially amongst the middle class. The tendency to put a guilty tag to anything good and live a life much below one's means. I too grew up in a household without any vehicle and graduated to bikes and cars. Why not enjoy these comforts for which I and my parents have worked hard for? Why compromise on one's quality of life if one can afford it?

The below quote from earlier in the thread sums it up nicely

Originally Posted by GTO

If we had to live a need-based life, we'd all live in tiny houses, eat only simple home-cooked food (never eat out), use Rs. 5,000 basic phones and watch the news on 14" TVs.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by procrastinator

The Grand i10 Asta which was made in 2014 and driven for 24K kms was bought by yours truly a week back.

Congratulations! Am curious to see how much miles you put. However I'd say this, its a good decision to go the pre-owned way, if you aren't using for daily commutes and amount of miles being clocked is going to be low. Did you completely skip the 2-wheeler?

Been in your shoes (having home in walking distance to work). Used to come home for lunch It then became 4 km commute then 10 km (current). Had a 2-wheeler for a couple of years and has been a car commute ever since.

Your cab waiting times look saner I've seen a minimum of 20 mins at home and 45 mins at work (both well within urban limits and 10 km apart). Usually I get a cab on first attempt from home, from work I see anywhere between 2 to 8 cancellations before I find a ride. Needless to say, I despise relying on them.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by procrastinator

The Grand i10 Asta which was made in 2014 and driven for 24K kms was bought by yours truly a week back.
-----
I learnt the hard way but the recommendation from post #5 just leaves me nodding and smiling today.

Congrats on the acquisition. I hope it serves you well for the years to come.

I think cars have become a necessity in our life. I found it very difficult to run multiple errands in CA when I didn't have a car. Uber and Lyft were useful, but nothing like the convenience of storage space in your own car.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I see this mindset everywhere, within the family, among friends, especially amongst the middle class. The tendency to put a guilty tag to anything good and live a life much below one's means. I too grew up in a household without any vehicle and graduated to bikes and cars. Why not enjoy these comforts for which I and my parents have worked hard for? Why compromise on one's quality of life if one can afford it?

Hmm, you are the one equating "luxury" with "guilty" . The below is what I said about it being a luxury:

Originally Posted by rajushank84

So, definitely a luxury, but a luxury that's worth it if I can afford it.

While I have absolutely no guilt about indulging myself and my family, I will always make the distinction between necessity and luxury. Not only does that keep things in perspective, it also helps prioritize among luxuries.