Advice for the Carless

Erin Bean — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:37:27 -0800

Gather round, young ones, and hear the lessons of They who Have No Car.

When we got rid of the car, we also got rid of our car insurance. A logical move. But we’re renting a car next week to go to Las Vegas, and we’ll need to have basic insurance to drive it. If we buy insurance from the rental agency, we’ll pay $20 a day. When we were insuring a car, we paid $320 a year.

So if we rent a car for more than two weeks a year (likely, since we’ve given up flying), it’s more cost-effective to get car insurance than to buy it only when we’re renting a car. It seems counter-intuitive, but that’s the way it works. So when you’re ready to part with your automobile, think twice before canceling the car insurance. Consider how many days you plan to rent a car in a year, and weigh the costs carefully.

Don't Drive: Advice for the Carless

Advice for the Carless