Disadvantages Of Owning A Car

Owning a car definitely gives you a lot of convenience, especially when public transport are limited. Not everyone has the same reason to buy car.

Here are disadvantages of owning a car for you to ponder, if buying a car is part of your plan.

Car park fee

As long as you own a car, the chances for paying for car park fees are unavoidable. You rather pay a few dollars to park your car in secure car park with bright lights, or free car park with insecure environment?

Maintenance fee

The car has to sent to workshop after a certain period of time, or certain distance of journey to maintain the car. Main purpose is to “retain” the value of the car, and have a solid history of the rego in order to prove to future buying that you’re taking reasonable steps to maintain the condition of the car. It is vital procedure to get a good price.

Besides that, anything minor accidents occur from time to time. Example, scratches, dent, brake not working and tire replacement. All these are included in maintenance fees.

Petrol

The petrol fees has been fluctuating since I came. The petrol was only $0.66 per liter (petrol) during 2005 and it has been sky rocketing since then, reaching $1.41 during 2009. More than 100% price increase! By the time I write this, the price is around $1.20-ish. Full tank for 1.5L car (Honda Jazz) is approximately $40.00, which drives up to 500km. I have to emphasize Honda Jazz is very petrol economical car.. petrol usage might varies among cars and drivers.

Wash car

Car is your asset. You need to maintain and keep it in best condition as possible. Therefor you will clean it time to time. Good thing about washing car in Australia – the water is free. You probably need 30 minutes or more to clean up your car every week. I love my car, and I spend at least two hours to clean it during weekend.

Selling off when leaving?

You need to go through a lot of procedures and documentation to sell off your car. You will find it troublesome, especially this is your first trade. You are unlucky if you meet up with good negotiator. Haha.

Responsibility

Owning a car is like having your own child. You have a responsibility towards your car. If you are not looking after the car, no one will. Besides that, having your own car means you will need to fetch and send friends around. This might be fun during first few months, but you’ll get sick and tired some day.

Remember rego (Car Registration)

Pay extra attention to the details of your rego, especially the expiry date. I was fined $500++ for driving with an expired rego – the rego was only expired for 1 day. Another friend of mine even had to attend court because his rego was expired for a month.

Cannot drink and drive

Your chances of drinking with friends are definitely lower if you own a car. You cannot drink and drive at Australia (yes, you can at Malaysia!). If caught, penalties are severe. Get a designated driver to take charge of the wheel if you plan to drink. Or catch a cab.

Speeding fees and charges

You will never know where is the hidden speed camera. Even if you’re familiar with that area, police traffic in Australia are one of the most hardworking group of people I met so far. They are always pointing the speed camera at the least surprising corners. To make it worse, they always catch you while you were least off guard, e.g. holding a phone. One of my friend were fined $150 for driving 75km/h in 60km area.

Traffic jam

I hate traffic jams, especially if I am driving manual. To make it worse – I HATE it when nature calls while I am stuck in middle of traffic jams. Good practise is to avoid peak time, e.g. 7-8am, 4-5pm. 5-7pm during weekends. Plan ahead.

Sudden surge of friends

Not everyone had this problem, I’ll list this down, as this could be part potential disadvantages (or advantages).

You will notice some old friends from your contact list “reappear”, suddenly befriend with you. You probably guess it right – they need you. They invite you to gatherings in order to exchange for free rides home. Thus the sudden surge of new friend(s). Well this can be advantages if you judge this from another point of view.

Join the discussion!

Feel free to add more disadvantages of owning a car in the comments.