Myth Busted: Owning a car is cheaper than Uber,

[muhammad.irtiza]

Assalam O Alaikum!

It has been 8 months since I got my first car, and I have kept record of every penny spent on the car uptil now including fuel expenses to calculate whether it was a good decision as a student to get a car and save money. I got a cuore automatic 2006 model and here is the cost comparison for 8725km/580 rides:

Fellow Pakwheelers, what is your input? What do you think?
Here are the computations used to get these figures:

As you all can see, at most Cuore is an Uber mini car and it is more expensive than Uber mini and quite close to Uber Go figures.

Important assumptions:
1. My car was totally driven on petrol. CNG is cheaper but your maintenance cost can more than compensate for the savings in long run.
2. 15km per ride is an average of my total running distance per trip daily. +- 10% deviation can be expected.
3. Economic costs such as time savings, savings from surge pricing, and savings from frustrations are not included.
4. EDIT: the biggest factor of owning a car is freedom and this cannot be quantified by numbers. For students like me though, budget is tight which is why I thought it could help students who commute daily by Uber to make a good decision.

And finally, here is the maintenance cost breakdown;
Cuore Automatic Maintainance Schedule.pdf (156.2 KB)

[Xulfiqar]

you forgot to add one most important item.

FREEDOM.

[muhammad.irtiza]

Agreed. Specially for students, having a car means freedom. However, it is difficult to put a monetary value on freedom and stress savings. Any suggestion on how I can quantify and factor in?

[umer_chaudhary]

Doesn't seem to be logical thread.

Do you think the "driver" is driving you around for free? Or Uber car doesn't have maintenance?

The basic problem with you algorithm is, you are comparing 9kmpl car with 15-16kmpl car. (Coure vs wagonR / Cultus).

If you want real difference, find Uber rates for Honda Civic / grande (giving 8-9kmpl) then see what u save.

[muhammad.irtiza]

The basic problem with you algorithm is, you are comparing 9kmpl car with 15-16kmpl car. (Coure vs wagonR / Cultus).

oh no sir, this isnt the cost of operating Uber as a business.

This is the cost of using Uber daily for commute vs. using your own car for commute. I used my car Cuore as an example for a personal car my car gives 10-11 km/l which equated to 9.09 rs/km back when I calculated it.

I found this misconception that Uber is very expensive, but we must realize that even Uber is operating on margins and the Uber drivers use economies of scale i.e. a large number of rides daily to cover the rides.

[omersiddiqui5482]

@muhammad.irtiza someone is really active on Pakwheels today.

The basic point is freedom as @Xulfiqar SB said.. you don't have to wait and constantly montior the captains position, you don't have to have spare change, you don't have to bear nukhrey whenever you need to go somewhere even at 3 in the morning you just pick your keys and drive off.

Keep a personal car does accounts for it maintenance but then again everything has it's pros and cons but on the whole I like to drive personally get me relaxed and relieved from stress except when the shit traffic blows your head off.

[faizan7891]

There is no comparison between your own car and any rented car service hands down. You haven’t even thought about a bundle of things while making this thread.
Again its a matter of personal choice for everyone but as far as i think including me majority prefer their own personal commute for a number of reasons.

[muhammad.irtiza]

someone is really active on Pakwheels today.

haha sir exam week holidays and off from work, so I got carried away by my passion for cars. Still learning please keep on guiding me on where I am wrong.

The basic point is freedom

Agreed 100%. For a working person these hassles are too much but students can afford some hassles and for someone who earns very very less like me perhaps its not financially sound to bear the expenses of a car. Poor students often think they can save a buck or two by buying a car but they find out later. But I have to say..I have found few things in life as satisfying them owning, maintaining, cleaning, and restoring a car! And passion ke liye we somehow manage

[omersiddiqui5482]

For something you are passionate about a person has to lose practicality. Passion makes you do crazy things..

Best of luck Bhai..

[dayrider]

the fact of the matter is that you aren't doing a fair comparison, your car wasn't in the best shape to begin with, had you purchased a mint car by spending a little extra, your "total Coure cost" would be a lot less.
Another factor that you also overlooked was how you were scammed by different mechanics, which was again added to "total coure cost".
PS Uber mini and your car have another major difference which isn't mentioned in this thread, Air COnditioning. a blessing in disguise.
So yes, Myth Busted, owning a car is much cheaper and better than using uber, given that you do your homework.

[capsat]

Passion makes you do crazy things.

watching porn is passion for some .. too ! so you are right

[capsat]

careem / uber / kangroo etc etc

you give them money, while destroying your own car needing regular maintenance expenses, adding digits to the odometer wear & tear it is all at your very own account.

A Car which is purchased in Pakistan with substantial cash resources and it is a capital investment.,

The banks have tough terms to lease out a car. The People qualifying to get lease approved for a car does not need a source of surplus income at cost of their mental & family peace.

[k-four-nine]

But you're forgetting about stress and headaches.

Driving a car in Pakistan isn't exactly a pleasure, it's a pain actually. And if you love driving in Pakistan; in this HOT climate then you're practically an idiot in my book (Your mileage may vary). Whereas when you hail a ride via Uber, you basically get chauffeured around, like a businessman or a gangsta or something! Traffic, semi-insane and/or suicidal teenagers with broken hearts on motorcycle, rickshaw drivers with their adrenaline glands full to the brim, truck/bus drivers on crack, none of that matter anymore.

Then there's maintenance. It's a total pain in the bottom to find an honest mechanic nowadays. Everyone is out on the hunt, looking for the next victim because inflation is on the boil as of late hence everyone is itching to 'whitewash' (چونا لگانا) somebody and make a quick buck.

Consider all this and Uber suddenly starts to look like a blessing from the heaven! Just grab your phone, fiddle with it for a few seconds and voila!

[capsat]

@k-four-nine

you have very valid point. however not all the time careem / uber does not turn up as anticipated they do hanky panky the desi way. May 3rd past week a ride was hailed for an elderly at Liaquat National Hospital check point given was "emergency" ride responded 3 minutes away..... ... and turned up 18 minutes later with all lame excuses upon calling on phone here & there just now right now etc etc .. may be it is not true abroad but we need to accept DESI STYLE CHAY BANA_NA

& yes everytime i come across your comment to read my left hand goes over screen to clean the bug

[nfssaad]

another view...

i was looking for a source of travelling for my wife.

i had saved up money started looking for a 2008 cultus. i already had a reliable person for a driver.

the plan was to run the car on careem. so that the drivers salary, vehicle maintenance etc everything was to be earned from careem, in return, i get transport for my wife, pickup from home in morning and drop off in evening. with no additional daily cost. sell of the car in 2-3 years.

then the hassle of buying used cars, such a headache.

also since the driver already had used careem, he knew of their issues, he said there were several times when no ride was available... so it was a hit or miss.

in the end, i bought a new sazgar rickshaw. the driver gives my wife pick and drop at specified times. at all the other times hes free to use the rickshaw as a commercial vehicle and earn from it. he manages the maintenance, fuel and his salary. i have set him free to earn as much as he can.

the cultus would have cost me around 7 lacs. the rickshaw cost me Rs 244,000. when the documentation is done i will transfer ownership to the driver, so he will have a permanent source of income.

cons are uncomfortable ride (planning to get soft seats) and no AC. but definitely cheaper than a car.

[omersiddiqui5482]

Traffic, semi-insane and/or suicidal teenagers with broken hearts on motorcycle, rickshaw drivers with their adrenaline glands full to the brim, truck/bus drivers on crack, none of that matter anymore.

a point in concern

DESI STYLE CHAY BANA_NA

Again a very valid point. they dont just ask you cancel the damn ride they wander around or dont even start to move causing loss of time.

in the end, i bought a new sazgar rickshaw. the driver gives my wife pick and drop at specified times. at all the other times hes free to use the rickshaw as a commercial vehicle and earn from it. he manages the maintenance, fuel and his salary. i have set him free to earn as much as he can.

atleast @nfssaad you cared enough that the other guy could earn a living. Yes maintaining a car in Pakistan is becoming a hassle since the mechanics majority of them are frauds and people basically dont maintain any record for the maintenance of their cars

[capsat]

i have set him free to earn as much as he can.

هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ
ar_rahman ayat 60 .. Good Deeds Gets Rewarded By Nothing But GOOD

[pwuser150469741418]

Almost 60000 spent on maintenance? I can bet you got hands on a bad vehicle. So the way you are accounting that keeping vehicle is costly is kind of in the wrong direction. Also the 9/KM is a pretty bad average for such a small car. But then you ran your car on petrol and counted Uber Mini which runs on CNG and without AC hence the fares are lower than GO.

It would have been a lot easier to breakdown this way:

Vehicle does 160KM per CNG Tank without AC:

8725/160 or with AC 140 = 43600 and with AC 49840

Now add up the maintenance for a decent vehicle:

You would change oil twice: 2000 or 3000 x2 = Max 6000
Oil Filter Air filter etc: 1000 or 2000 = Max 2000
Tuning plugs etc: 1000 Max

All this goes for like 60K and man if you drive carefully on CNG the maintenance is not a lot different. I do agree engine gets abused but still you can keep your car in a very good shape engine wise if you drive it wisely.

So I'd take 60K + Freedom of not only roaming around but in sort of emergencies as well. Just last night my mother informed when I returned at around 11 PM that her Blood pressure tablets are not available in the area so I will have to travel a few KMs. I put in the keys turned on the AC and on my way back I did a few extra stops to buy some other stuff as well.

So a good vehicle would still be cheaper then Uber. The above stats are for my Cultus, add in a relatively expensive car but you don't find those in Mini anyways.

[muhammad.irtiza]

your car wasn't in the best shape to begin with,

It wasn't, but do remember that the repairs were also a lot cheaper. If I compare the costs with my WagonR, I have barely spent 5K on it in 3 months but now the tyre change of rs.20000 is due, as compared to 7000 for cuore.

Another factor that you also overlooked was how you were scammed by different mechanics,

I agree, but again it would barely be a 5-7k difference since I bought most parts myself, and real dandi would be in labor cost.

PS Uber mini and your car have another major difference which isn't mentioned in this thread, Air COnditioning. a blessing in disguise.

In this car Air conditioning was barely used. We bought it in September when the worst of heat was over. Maybe 10% of total running might be on AC.

[muhammad.irtiza]

8725/160 or with AC 140 = 43600 and with AC 49840

Thanks alot for the input. Really appreciate your contribution.

You would change oil twice: 2000 or 3000 x2 = Max 6000Oil Filter Air filter etc: 1000 or 2000 = Max 2000Tuning plugs etc: 1000 Max

Sir you are quoting very conservative numbers on the maintainence side. This is in the case of a car that is less than three years old and in the upper range, most likely a japanese one too. For a car like cuore/cultus/alto, these numbers cannot be achieved since I have also owned cultus and it was also a money pit after 3-4 years. Same goes for my Taya who owns an Alto.
The economics will almost definitely work out in favor of owning a personal car if we use WagonR, Mira, and similar cars in comparison, but we are talking in the range of 1M+ then and very few of the masses can actually afford these cars.