10 Reasons to Sell Your Car Immediately
March 14, 2014
It used to be one of those classic markers of adulthood: buying your own car. Finally: Freedom! Independence! Car Payments! Ask any adult and they’ll tell you, with freedom comes responsibilities. Like insurance. And rising gas costs. Then there’s the realization 6that parking in the city is the stuff that Dante’s Inferno is made of. If you’ve been thinking it’s time to ditch your ride, have a look at these 10 reasons to sell your car. These days, not having a car is the real freedom.
1. Insurance premiums are sucking up your savings. Owning a car seemed like the coolest thing when you were 16. If only your naïve, adolescent self knew that your insurance payments would suck up everything that wasn’t already going to rent. Who needs to eat anyway?
Photo courtesy of Wavebreakmedia Ltd
2. You live in the city, where it is easier to find a job than a parking spot. You’re now on lap 38 around your block and no free spaces have appeared. Wait, is that a space?! Nope, fire hydrant. 39th time’s the charm?
Photo courtesy of Radu Razvan
3. Gas prices are just too unpredictable. Despite a recent drop in cost, gas prices are back on the rise. Couple that volatility with inefficient, stop-and-start city driving, and the thought of Zipcar paying for the gas and insurance sounds pretty good right about now.
Photo courtesy of Tonpicknick
4. You’ve dug it out of the snow about 17 times this winter. Between the polar vortexes and the storms named after figures from Greek mythology, it’s rough out there. When your car is just a lump in the snow, it’s maybe a sign that this is all just too much trouble.
Photo courtesy of Bizoo
5. Should you really trust this mechanic named Rusty? You don’t know the difference between your transmission and your elbow, so whether or not your mechanic is taking advantage of you is up for debate. That gleam in his eye when you dropped your car off, though? Not promising.
Photo courtesy of Tomwang112
6. Sitting behind the wheel isn’t helping you stay healthy. Long commutes can cause all sorts of problems with your mental and physical well-being. And you’ll inevitably get more exercise by walking a few blocks to the train or hustling up and down the subway steps. Not to mention the chance to interact with more people than you would when holed up in your 2,000-lb fortress of solitude.
Photo courtesy of Martinan
7. Rush hour traffic is so bad you don’t bother driving to work anyway. Before you bought your car, you saw yourself driving to work, living it up on the open road and blasting your favorite tunes. Now, at minute 47 stuck on the freeway, you long for the luxury of public transportation.
Photo courtesy of Chris Mueller
8. You only use it a couple times per week. Once you resigned yourself to taking the subway to work, your car only got more neglected. Now, it seems the only time you use it is to help your friends move. And who needs more pizza?
Photo courtesy of nemar74
9. It’s not the prettiest. Okay, so it’s a little bit rusted in places. The back bumper is hanging on, quite literally, by several strings. The paint job on the doors doesn’t match the hood, and the A/C conked out back in ’94. But it still works, right? Or maybe it’s time to get rid of it.
Photo courtesy of nemar74
10. Your car doesn’t reflect your future paycheck. One day, you’re going to be rolling in the big bucks, cruising in one of your stable of Ferraris and generally living it up. (The fact that you work a $12/hour retail job right now? A mere technicality.) Let’s face it: that beat up old ride isn’t doing your reputation-in-the-making any favors.
Photo courtesy of Peter Hince
1. Insurance premiums are sucking up your savings. Owning a car seemed like the coolest thing when you were 16. If only your naïve, adolescent self knew that your insurance payments would suck up everything that wasn’t already going to rent. Who needs to eat anyway?
Photo courtesy of Wavebreakmedia Ltd
2. You live in the city, where it is easier to find a job than a parking spot. You’re now on lap 38 around your block and no free spaces have appeared. Wait, is that a space?! Nope, fire hydrant. 39th time’s the charm?
Photo courtesy of Radu Razvan
3. Gas prices are just too unpredictable. Despite a recent drop in cost, gas prices are back on the rise. Couple that volatility with inefficient, stop-and-start city driving, and the thought of Zipcar paying for the gas and insurance sounds pretty good right about now.
Photo courtesy of Tonpicknick
4. You’ve dug it out of the snow about 17 times this winter. Between the polar vortexes and the storms named after figures from Greek mythology, it’s rough out there. When your car is just a lump in the snow, it’s maybe a sign that this is all just too much trouble.
Photo courtesy of Bizoo
5. Should you really trust this mechanic named Rusty? You don’t know the difference between your transmission and your elbow, so whether or not your mechanic is taking advantage of you is up for debate. That gleam in his eye when you dropped your car off, though? Not promising.
Photo courtesy of Tomwang112
6. Sitting behind the wheel isn’t helping you stay healthy. Long commutes can cause all sorts of problems with your mental and physical well-being. And you’ll inevitably get more exercise by walking a few blocks to the train or hustling up and down the subway steps. Not to mention the chance to interact with more people than you would when holed up in your 2,000-lb fortress of solitude.
Photo courtesy of Martinan
7. Rush hour traffic is so bad you don’t bother driving to work anyway. Before you bought your car, you saw yourself driving to work, living it up on the open road and blasting your favorite tunes. Now, at minute 47 stuck on the freeway, you long for the luxury of public transportation.
Photo courtesy of Chris Mueller
8. You only use it a couple times per week. Once you resigned yourself to taking the subway to work, your car only got more neglected. Now, it seems the only time you use it is to help your friends move. And who needs more pizza?
Photo courtesy of nemar74
9. It’s not the prettiest. Okay, so it’s a little bit rusted in places. The back bumper is hanging on, quite literally, by several strings. The paint job on the doors doesn’t match the hood, and the A/C conked out back in ’94. But it still works, right? Or maybe it’s time to get rid of it.
Photo courtesy of nemar74
10. Your car doesn’t reflect your future paycheck. One day, you’re going to be rolling in the big bucks, cruising in one of your stable of Ferraris and generally living it up. (The fact that you work a $12/hour retail job right now? A mere technicality.) Let’s face it: that beat up old ride isn’t doing your reputation-in-the-making any favors.
Photo courtesy of Peter Hince
