WARNING: this thread is about cars, but not in an evil way!
So I’m thinking about buying a car, however a friend of mine today said ‘have you thought about car sharing?’
I’ve had a look into a couple of the companies operating these schemes, and they seem pretty good. There is www.flexicar.com.au, www.charterdrive.com.auand www.goget.com.au
Charter drive offers one of the best rates- $70-110 per weekend, however they only have a few locations, while Flexicar is pretty convenient as they have a car spot on my actual street.
The reality is that I work in the city, I ride to work and I rarely use my current car during the week. Are these schemes good value for someone like me, or are they still expensive.
Remember when comparing that insurance, fuel etc is taken care of.
Peoples thoughts thanks, or do fixie people hate carz?
Have been a member for over a year now with the most basic plan (like you I live inner city, work city, ride to work (training, right?), ditched the car and never looked back. I save rego/insurance/depreciation/servicing/etc costs to the tune of a few grand a year and it costs ~$10/hr depending on your plan, once over 8 hrs you get it for 24 for the same price. From 11pm to some early hour of the morning (6?) is only billed as 1 hr too.
You get 100km in a standard booking, after that there’s a small per km charge. As stated, all running costs are included (insurance is $50/yr comprehensive).
They have mostly Jazz’s, some Smarts and some Foresters.
There are regular promotions with deals for long weekends etc.
I looked at goget, but flexicar had more cars, and closer locations to me.
Only downside is inability to pickup somewhere and dropoff elsewhere, but that’s understandable.
If you want to join up, PM me, as if I recommend you we both get 3hrs drivetime free.
Thanks for the thoughts Blakey.
So you recommend it then?
One question I still have is how many hours of driving makes economic sense. I mean there must be a point where driving a certain amount of Flexicar hours is no longer cheaper than just having your own?
You need to do the math yourself and work out if it’s economic. I have an xtracycle, so I shop via bike, I only need a car to do airport runs, occasional longer trips or hauling lots of stuff. Some months I don’t use it at all, but probably average 1-3hrs/month I guess.
RACV often publish running costs for various sized cars, including lease, insurance, fuel etc. So take that figure and compare it to the number of hours you anticipate using the car per year x plan cost and compare.
Even though it’s still cheaper than owning a car, you do find yourself asking if you really have to drive or is foot/bike/PT/taxi a better option.
It is less convenient than a personal car, but it only requires a small amount of additional planning to work around it.
The one detail I’m having trouble with however is the fact that Flexicar requires you make significant compromises:
[ul]
[li]You need to organise your trips in advance. Life is unpredictable, I’m not sure if I could deal with “okay I’m going to visit a friend on this date so I’ll book the car for three hours…”[/li][li]You need to book around other people. Who knows how heavily booked the car you want to get is?[/li][li]Flexicar uses the fact that it has many cars scattered around Melbourne as a big selling point. But the thing is, I would only ever use the same car near my house?[/li][/ul]
Well, in that case, keep paying to keep your car at your beck and call!
I either know a few days in advance and book to suit, with some extra padding time (you can extend during the booking online/via phone if it isn’t already booked by someone else following yours), or take a chance and book the closest one 2min before I go.
How many are within 10min walk? (Or 10min ride on a junker bike?) I have 3-4 in that radius. The closest one isn’t always available, but I’ve always managed to get the next closest. And if they aren’t, then a taxi is the next option.
You have to trade convenience for dollar savings. Whatever works for you is the path you’ll choose.
If you just had some tyre liners you wouldn’t have to worry about flats and could ride instead of driving.
haha well that’s right isn’t it?
It’s a hard decision because I want to believe the Flexicar marketing hype about it being ‘great’ ‘convenient’ and ‘environmentally friendly’, except I’m finding it hard convincing myself…
It’s a lifestyle change … similar to trying to loose weight. You can do it the good way (exercise and proper diet) or the easy way which never works in the end (crash/fad diet, drugs etc etc). If you accept the changes to your life by going with Flexicar instead of moaning the loss of convenience, then things won’t seem so difficult.
It’s all in your head.
BTW … I’m not a flexicar user but I don’t own a car either and in fact have never owned one. Cycling as transport is my lifestyle and I accept it, live it and love it as such. I have never thought “Gee it’ll be great if I had a car to do this/that etc etc”. Like I said, it’s all in your head.
That’s worth more than 2c Des. As always, you’ve said it best.
I used to own a car in BNE and at the time couldn’t imagine living there without one. In some of the BNE suburbs it would be very tough to survive due to distance/heat/lack of PT.
Horatio, how about going carfree (or car-lite and use a taxi or three / friends as required) for a month or two to see how it impacts you. It’s not as bad as you think.
Plus, think about all the extra cash you’ll be able to spend at PBK, or on shirts you can take off.
You never had a car before anyway Horatio. When i moved out and didn’t have a car i was thinking about going with go-get. But due to the distances, various times of travel and lack of PT a car suited me best.
You are moving to an area with heaps of PT, lots of safe bike routes, within a close distance to all amenities. You dont need a car. Flexicar should be fine for you.
But if you still want to get an Alpha i wont stop you.
Sounds like your in a phase of wanting a car, because you have already tasted ownership of one.
haha thanks for all the useful and interesting replies!
Yes it is true, I used to live without a car and really it wasn’t the end of the world. But since I’ve had a car for 6 months it has created some lazy habits…
