What are advantages and disadvantages of owning a personal car?
Owning a car is every individual’s dream but behind the excitement of this achievement , there are hidden costs and silent suffering. If you are an average employee, you will definitely get firsthand experience, which can influence ta decision to dispose of the car. Here we analyze cons and pros of owning a car.
Advantages of owning a car
Movement from one location to the other
When you own a car, it becomes easy to move from one location to the other. In case you are required to meet a friend, you will spend less time and energy to reach the destinations.
Public transport usually takes long on the road due to the time taken to drop and collect passengers.
Good in emergency cases
There are emergency cases that are beyond public transport. For instance, your child might get sick at wee hours of the night. You call ambulance and discover there are kilometers away. If you have your own car, well and good, but if you will dependent on the services of ambulance you might not able to save the life of your child.
Status
When you own a car, there is some respect you command. With this status, you will get several favours.There is one strange thing that happened in South Africa.
A man was invited for an interview for a senior position. During the interview, he was asked by a member of the interview panel, “where is your car located in the parking lot”. The man replied, “I am yet to buy a car”. He failed the interview.
Extra source of income
The car can help you raise extra income. In most cases, personal cars are converted into taxi vehicles. This happens when the owner is unable to raise money to fuel the car or when he simply wants to do business. To take advantage of a vacuum between public transport and commuters, the car owner fits in with cheap transport offers.
In other cases the car can be used to ferry passengers to their work places for a fee.
Ideal for large families
If you have a large family that is travelling to the village over the festive season, you will realize the importance of having a personal car. During the festive season, public transport becomes more expensive, forcing some town dwellers to give up on travelling. Those with personal cars have nothing to worry since they can spend few coins and travel safely upcountry.
Disadvantages of owning a personal car
Expenses
The following are expenses attached to owning a personal car
- Fuel
- Servicing
- Replacement of engine parts
- Spare parts
- Parking costs
- Car wash
- Insurance cover
- Driving license
For you to sustain a car, you must be ready to spend not less than $2 on fuel each day. You also need to wash your car every week, pay for insurance cover, buy spare parts and pay for parking expenses-all these expenses require one to dig deep into their pockets for the car to be in excellent condition.
Accidents
Personal cars are more prone to accidents because they are less regulated.
In case insurance company believes you are responsible for the accident, they won’t pay for the damage, which means you have to foot the bills.
Lifestyle diseases
Car owners are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and obesity. This is due to the long hours they spend while driving. They also have little time to exercise, unlike commutes who take minutes to walk into bus stages.
