Sell it now. No insurance needed, don’t have to worry about gas $ anymore!

I'd suggest make a list of everywhere you go during the week and on the weekend and then in the next column list how far each of those places are from where you live. In the third column write in minutes what walking/public transit would take.Live in JC with no car (sometimes get a zipcar for huge pantry restocks/grocery hauls) and it's just fine--but definitely depends on what your key activities are and how easy they are to get to. Like if you would be miserable without it for your 10% of activities, then you need to determine how much of a deal breaker that is (or if it's not actually a deal breaker).

Yep. You don't need a car here. Especially if your whole life is downtown

why are you including depreciation? The car payment is the car payment -- so what are you paying and is it worth it is the basic question. My car sits most of the time as well -- I put barely 5k miles a year on it, but my all in payment is nominal against the convenience it provides. I'm the type that needs freedom from having to schedule my coming and going. If you don't mind hurdles every time you need to do something beyond walking distance, then get rid of it.

How do you save $8k a year using Uber?

Depreciation is the highest cost of owning a car, especially for an Audi bought with cash. I agree the convenience it provides is the biggest thing that I’m keeping this car for now

We will use subway and light rail most of the time, and Uber if we really wanted to go somewhere without reasonable public transit access

Good suggestion, we will trying to make one

ya.....keep it. you're fine.

Our life used to be in Fort Lee, Edison, Flushing and Pine brook. Now we rarely go to those places anymore…

Then you can sell the car. Everything you need is pretty close by and the path can still take you to ny for other stuff

Zipcars can be a fantastic substitute.

You don’t qualify your statements so no one can give you real advice. Your leave 1-2 times…a week/month/year? You currently spend $15k on a car you paid cash for? You’re paying for deprecation?

Regardless, having a dog it’s helps when you need to go to the vet or if you have an emergency. To me the best part about living here is leaving on the weekends, but it sounds like your priorities are different than mine.

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Well, if I sell the car next December it’s gonna sell 8k less, that’s a hidden cost of owning a car isn’t it? But I agree with with what u said about leaving on weekends, that’s one of the reasons we chose JC,

If you do sell the car you may want to keep a driver only policy. I went car less for a few years, and my rates coming back to owning a car were about 2.5x (even with worse coverage & deductible) what they were before. The insurance person gave me the reason was lapse in coverage made them rate me back down with new driver/insurance scofflaw policies, and that keeping a low basic driver only policy would have helped with that. Maybe blowing smoke at me, but fuck no one told me about the possible downsides

I don't find a car necessary in downtown. I don't have a dog though.

I do a mixture of Amazon Fresh, Amazon subscription, and Target delivery for grocery staples. For last-minute or stuff where I want to pick it out there are enough walkable places (Oliva, Key Foods), which aren't cheap but fine if you're not stocking up. I guess you can walk to ShopRite too. Super Buy Rite has free local delivery for beer/wine/liquor and good prices.

A lot of it comes down to whether you want/need to be in suburban NJ frequently. Car rental is fine for a weekend trip now and then, but probably not if you're visiting your parents in Morristown every weekend. A lot of the people without cars have social lives more oriented around either JC itself, or JC+NYC.

Its feasible but relying on public transit and Ubers for everything outside of downtown will add up quickly and more importantly be a time suck. Jersey city isn’t like Manhattan where public transit actually ends up being faster than driving - it just makes running errands longer and more miserable. It also drastically limits your ability to do outdoor activities that would otherwise be super accessible with a car - beach, hiking, skiing, etc. If you’re fine with being stuck in downtown JC and don’t do anything else it’s manageable.

Lol insurance companies are such fucks. But ya / that sounds right. Which sucks.

Try renting it out on Turo?

Train to South Mountain or Harriman or Asbury/Long Branch or Coney Island or Long Beach NY or Jones Beach NY. Enough to scratch the itch a couple times a month, can even rent a car for another weekend on top of that and still come out ahead. Having 2 people in the car does make their math work better. Skiing, that would indeed be tougher, but I wouldn't live in Jersey City if skiing was a big part of my life, unless I had tons of disposable income (it does seem these people do have tons of disposable income)

"We are thinking we could use Avis/Turo for weekend trips, " .

Just think of the hassle of choosing a car, hoping the rates are not high on the particular weekend you want to take, having to deal with with Customer service representative trying to upsell you all kinds of insurance service , inspecting the car to make sure they don't blame you for any existing dings etc, etc and compare that to just getting in your car and just driving off ...

Also as other's have said, not sure if just it's a good idea to include depreciation cost unless your sole purpose is reach some kind of financial goal post to the detriment of everything else.

Tbh not having a car wjen you need one suuuucks and grocery shopping without one sucks too

That’s a pretty reasonable policy tbh.

People who drive less get into more accidents. So making them pay more is exactly how insurance is supposed to work.

There’s 4 zip cars in the garage right next you (160 Morgan) that are used a lot! I have a car but only because I can’t get to work by public transit. I order my weekly groceries through Amazon but get cold cuts and stuff from Sprove.

I’d check how much a month you’d be spending on ordering groceries/Ubers first and compare that cost to your monthly car costs!

We used to be in the same situation as you. Had a car, moved to DTJC near the PATH and found ourselves using it way less than before.

Between the car payment, parking and insurance I realized that it was way cheaper to take Ubers and Public transport to places. For Costco we can take the light rail to Bayonne and an Uber for $20 back.

I ended up selling the car 3 weeks ago and I honestly don’t even remember I had a car lmao

You could look into making your car available for rent on Turo. It would monetize the days you’re not using your car

Yup, when I sold my car Progressive walked me through the scenario and offered non-owners insurance for pretty cheap. It's something you usually have to call them to access the policy because they're not generally available online. It also covers you if you borrow someone else's car and if you get injured in a car-related accident and rental cars.

I've been car free since moving to JC and I save a lot of time and money not owning a car. I have an e-bike and I'm in the process of buying a trailer to haul larger amounts of groceries, etc. It's great for around town trips and i use transit during bad weather or for longer trips. I've rented a car in the past with getaround for longer trips.

How's your stamina, and how much are you bringing back on the 99 Ranch grocery runs? I make the trip there pretty regularly from the Heights with no car, and you're way closer to it than I am. For me, the big downside is that light rail service absolutely sucks on weekends--plus, there's dragging your groceries up the steps from Hoboken--but at under a mile away, you probably don't need it. I will say that using a rolling shopping bag makes a big difference.

They also deliver, though you do have to deal with delivery fees and tips then.

We moved from CA a few years ago and kept our car. The only time we use the car is during the weekends for hikes and trips that are inaccessible by the public transit. Everything else is either accessible by walk, public transit, uber, or delivery.

Whatever you do, don’t use GetAround

There this growing wave of anti car people in the USA. Truth is, a car is such an incredible tool. Like anything else in the world, you need tools to match your lifestyle.

I’ll never trust a stranger to buy my groceries.

And I have my personal feelings on the shared economy….

Giving up my car is not in the cards for me.

SELL SELL SELL!

Ah yes who doesn’t love soaking up the sun at the beach or going on a long hike and then ubering(if you can find a car) back to the train station that runs on a tight schedule, and then riding the train for an hour and then waiting for the path and/or lightrail while lugging all your beach gear?😍

Sounds like a fun and relaxing day! I bet it’s even more of a blast on weekends when the schedule sucks.

You're perfectly allowed to sell the car then buy back again in the summer or next year. Me personally I think its worth having a car for the few trips away but I dont pay for parking.

We've been in Jersey City car free for three years and are now thinking of getting our first car. Reasons why we are getting it:

• Can buy more per grocery run
• Can go to further away grocery shops
• Can leave things like car seat in the car
• Can explore the rest of NJ and NY. Honestly exploring without a car is a real pain. I haven't been for a single hike.

Getting bikes might make the transition to car free life a little easier, and also save on the Uber budget. Jersey City has a growing network of bike lanes - biking has become safer and easier every year since I moved here.

“To me the best part about living here is leaving on the weekends.”

So why do you live here?

I’ll give you one guess

If it’s because you work in Manhattan, There are plenty of cheaper places with easy access to the city. The Jersey City premium is about living in a city.

Respectfully, i didn’t ask for your advice on where to live. This isn’t about me.

No one offered this to me or let me know it was a thing, so happy to bring it up. It was a nice few years with no car or driving, but holy hell does it suck to have a very high deductible & monthly rates higher than 22 year olds

Yes yes yes. This is how we live now. My car was stolen and it took an ENORMOUS weight off me. You are living here, not the car.

Have you used VIA?

I personally love having one for beach trips and the like. Your issue is you bought a car that is wayyyy too expensive. Just downgrade to a civic or accord and you won’t be “paying $10k a year in depreciation”

Turos a huge pita to run

Now is the time to sell. People are paying more now than ever for cars

Not really, I make 250k a year so I certainly can afford that. But with very low utilization in JC,10k a year doesn't make sense anymore, that's why I posted this.

tbh if we don't have a car and needed asian groceries, we will probably switch to services like Weee, or stock up some asian stuff on occasional weekends trips with a rental car

For Costco that what we plan to do as well, or maybe even switch to BJ's? idk lol

Maybe I’m just unlucky but whenever I try to use it it’s either fully booked and I can’t get a ride or the via driver is 20+ minutes late

You could probably rent a car from Avis/Hertz/etc. for a weekend 2 or 3 times a month and still be paying less than you are for insurance/maintenance/parking.

Yes, it's a bit extra work to go pick up a rental when you need it, but it's way less stress than worrying about parking or break-ins on unexpected maintenance.

Source: have lived in DTJC since 1995 without a car; had one, but it was broken into twice and then stolen and all we ever used it for was the occasional trip to the shore. No car is muuuuch nicer.

Per hour driven? Perhaps. But on an annual basis? No way, if you drive every day you're absolutely going to get into more accidents than someone who just drives on the occasional weekend or on vacation.

I was going to say yes but (and no one seems to have mentioned this) you have a dog. That would make me hesitant to sell. If you can do everything with dog (vet, parks, increased rental fees) then go ahead. Especially if you are sure you will rarely use the car.

For me I use my car only a few times a month so it's parked far away in a cheap but secure lot. I can't sell as I go out further into NJ and other states enough that itd be too much of an inconvenience. When I dogsat for an extended time I found the car very helpful too.

Ultimately up to you! If you expect to only exist in JC and NYC shouldn't be a problem getting rid of it.

If you make 110 after tax and rent just keep the car. Convenience counts.

Either way is irrelevant. You always pay partially based on usage. That’s always factored in.

But someone who had a period of inactivity is going to be a higher risk. Lapsed insurance or license = higher odds of crashing

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You made a poor decision and now you’re trying to rectify it. Just buy a cheaper car if you’re so worried about money you big baller

Beach gear? I'm carrying a chair at most and more likely only a blanket. I also don't sunbathe anyways, I walk for 2-3 hours at most. That beats hunting for parking and moving a car 4 times a week when I only use it once a week. Taking transit is also relaxation time unless you believe in the NY Post lunacy about it, unlike driving time. With the money I save I enjoy a better life on the weekdays.

Granny cart or ebike is the way. Wheels make it easy.

U completely missed the point of this post. The car made perfect sense back in CA since we use it every day. Doesn't matter if it is a 20 or a 70k car. If u really wanted to talk about how much I make and how much I should pay for a car, do it elsewhere. I'm not here to discuss that with you.

How does insurance work for Zipcar? If we don't have a car will the secondary insurance provided by Zipcar acts as primary? Or we need to get some other insurance.

I see ppl hopping on the light rail and pay nothing for it.

I don’t think this is always the case.

I went 3 years without a car and without auto insurance. When I got a car again, I ended up with a pretty reasonable insurance premium.

But I did have to shop around. My previous insurer was State Farm and their quote was significantly higher than what Geico quoted me for the same level of coverage.

Also important to note that rates vary by address/zip code. JC has higher than average insurance rates, so if you live in a different area than you did when you last had a car then that might explain some of the sticker shock.

Just sell your car and see what life is like without it for a few months. You can always buy another one, especially since car prices are finally starting moderate.

Personally, I lived here for 3 years without a car before I decided to buy one. I only use my car once or twice a week, but for me it’s worth it to have the ability to leave town spontaneously. It’s definitely more of a luxury than a necessity.

I mainly bought a car because I got into hiking and I found that dealing with rentals got to be really annoying.

The traditional rental car places can be frustrating to deal with. Sometimes the JC Hertz would run out of cars on holiday weekends and ruin my plans even though I had a “reservation.”

Even Zipcar was a hassle because I found that the cars near me were always booked up when I wanted one. And when you do get a Zipcar, you’re constantly looking at the clock and stressing out about returning it on time.

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people have given you some decent suggestions but the only other one i'd say is your decision is not final. you can always re-buy your car again in x years if you change your mind, and you'll likely be financially better for for not having owned a car during those x years.

My wife and I use the car to visit family - it's much easier to do that by car than by any other means. Is that a concern?

Sell

If money is a thing. You can put your car on turo.

I sold my car just about two years ago and have had no regrets except until I recently started seeing someone that lives a distance away. Food? Amazon fresh/local markets/other grocery delivery services for the odd thing (also 99 Ranch is not a bad walk at all with reusable bags at that distance); Uber can get expensive but I've found I spend less on uber than having a car. If you own a car and don't street park, you are likely spending at least $500 per month between parking and insurance. If you do a bunch of weekend trips then I'd say it's maybe worth it to keep the car, but if you're talking once every two or three months then rent.

That said, if you have an SUV feel free to dm me and I might want to take it off your hands to drive to see the GF, which is my biggest issue currently.

I was in a similar position this summer and I sold mine. It feels like an inconvenience to go without a car after having one, but the monthly parking and insurance payments, + the stress of maintenance on the car is also inconvenient. If you use it more than twice monthly, especially for long distances, it probably makes sense to keep it if you’re willing to pay for the convenience of having a car at your disposal 24/7. If you can go without it for 4 weeks or more, ditch it. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass to coordinate a rental car when I need it but it’s just an adjustment I was willing to make

Nope, for me this was JC zip code to the same JC zip code.

Also insurance rates have games, so to your point anything like this isn't universal advice. But it's good to know it's part of the game in case

Nope, family is in Europe lol

That's what my gf was saying, which makes perfect sense

Thanks. Rental car reliability is my biggest concern. I've only dealt with local rental cars in Pittsburgh which were pretty reliable.

Zipcar basically gives you minimum liability. I carry non-owner insurance for that, continuous coverage, and peace of mind. It's not expensive. Zipcar allows you to upgrade insurance but it's a rip.

So I got rid of mine, and while there are endless benefits and I barely miss it for the most part... I miss my car because that means I can't decide to drive my dog somewhere so he can have enrichment (beach, hiking, dog park, etc) on a whim. I have to ask friends or boyfriend to drive me, which sucks, and I feel like my dog suffers.

Having a car would definitely be convenient if you want to do some impromptu visits around the city to take a break etc. I don’t have a car and during holidays like Christmas etc, Car rentals are sold out and I literally am dependent on my friends who own cars in such times. So if you think you can afford it, I’d say keep it and cut down parking cost, get a low maintenance car or something else if possible. Another problem is that you won’t think twice before going out for silly things when you have car, but in case of rentals, sometimes you might double think on the worth of spending 100-150$ on a day’s car for it. You can still easily survive here without a car, but will need to pre-plan outings, rental car bookings etc.

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Geico is cheaper because it’s a big step down in insurance. It’s what you get to meet the legal requirements. State Farm is a big step up. There’s more than a chance in hell State Farm may pay out if necessary.

Nothing wrong with Geico. For some people that’s exactly what they want/need. But even if the amounts on the policy are the same, it’s not the same product.

Same with State Farm vs one of the mutual companies like NJM, MET Life, Amica. You get what you pay for. Those are policies for people who expect to get paid out when they have an insurable event.

Comparing policies purely by coverage amounts is like ordering food by total calories. You’re ignoring a lot of the details.

Depreciation due to wear/tear on a rental doesn’t come close to your cut in revenue. You technically lose money with schemes like that in the long run.

How much does non-owner insurance cost? Does it cover you when you're renting cars too? Where do you get it from?

It varies by your driving record and state but I paid $379/year. In 26M with an accident and 1 moving violation 5 years ago. In NJ they told me no new policies but only converted existing policies.

They also ask you how many miles you expect to drive in that time frame. I think I said 500 mi for 6 months or something like that.

Yes, it covers when you rent. I'm pretty sure regular car insurance does as well. That's the point of non-owner insurance basically. It also keeps continuous coverage for you. If you sell your car and you go without insurance, then when you get a new car eventually your insurance will basically be like you went uninsured, but maybe not as bad. I bet this is saving me money in the long run. Especially if I ever rent and insurance is going to be more than that.

If you have a clean driving record and you're in your 30s, 40s or 50s, you would probably be significantly less money than I paid. It was like a quarter of what my real insurance was when I had a car.

Living right next to Path sort of clinches it right there. Shopping online for groceries is awesome. Instead of traveling in a car for weekend trips you’ll just spend more time in the city. The city has more to offer anyway.

I moved from New Jersey into Manhattan. The rent there was a lot more than I had been paying in Jersey. The guy that owned the building I was moving to asked if I’d be able to afford it. I told him my plan was to sell my car. With that I’d be able to take all the money I saved and donate it to some struggling real estate investor. He liked that. He laughed his ass off and I got the apartment.

Read my next comment. He could make more than that renting it out to people on Turo. Plus he'd have a car for emergencies and convenience. Win-win. Doesn't have to be zero sum.

It seems like you've made a pretty compelling case on your own re: ditching the car. do it!

As for me: Born and raised in the suburbs, so always lived a very car-centric life (including a stint in the Bay Area). Moved to Hoboken in 2006, and, like you, my car basically sat in the garage all week, with weekend trips to visit family.

Sandy hit, and I lost the car to the flood. Just assumed I'd replace it because... well, because I always had a car! One month goes by, then another. I realize... I don't miss the car at all.

It's now been 10 years, and I still don't miss it (I live DTJC, which isn't quite as convenient as Hoboken re: walkability, but is obviously excellent in this regard).

I don’t understand the argument that the cost of the car itself doesn’t matter. In addition to comparing your current car to the cost of Uber/zipcar with no car, you should definitely compare to getting a cheaper car. I make more than you do and bought the lowest price Honda CRV during the pandemic. It was a great decision, and cheaper by far than using Uber and zipcar given how often I use it.

I switched to Metromile from State Farm in March 2018. I drive under 5,000 miles/yr. I'm fully insured and pay less than 40-50% of what I was paying with SF, & I had a discount with SF for low mileage. I even upped my liability insurance with MM. As for living DT without a car, I did it for 20+ years but eventually the car rentals became a headache. Living uptown it's not as convenient so I like having a car.

Sprove and P&K are right by you and have some Asian foods, and the new Whole Foods might have some, too.

I’m not sure that it will be the best or cheapest vet clinic, but there’s a clinic opening up around the corner from you on Marin.

That’s what I thought too. But my wheels got stolen a month or two after I bought the car and it ended up being close to a $10k claim because of the damage the thieves caused in the process.

I sent the car to the body shop of my choosing and got all OEM replacement parts. I didn’t have any trouble getting Geico to pay out the claim and they didn’t hike my rates after that. So my experience with them has been OK so far.

Congrats? Most normal people aren’t going to the beach to “walk around for 2-3 hours” with just the clothes on their back. Its relaxing to drive back in air conditioning with room for blankets/umbrellas instead of carrying it on your back while standing in the hot sun covered in sand and waiting for a train that will be followed by atleast 1-2 transfers.

Also NYC beaches are mostly disgusting and I say that with love. They don’t even compare to jersey or Long Island. But that’s what’s nice about having a car- I can have all these options and I’m not limited to dirty beaches or whatever hikes are near a train station. It allows me to have a great quality of life 7 days a week 🥰

I also don’t understand why people are so obsessed with how much my car cost. I don’t need personal finance advise from you. If u make more than 250k and wanted to drive a CRV I respect that, but keep in mind people value stuff differently and not everyone (with ok financial situation) wanted to drive super low cost cars. Same applies to choosing apartments, dining out and purchasing electronics etc, please don’t force people to have the same values as you.

If you really wanted to talk about cost, renting from enterprise is occasional stuff and also only costs 35/day with code. For a lot of the weekend trips and sports our friend group all have cars and usually share rides. And no I’m not gonna use Uber as often as u assume.

My post is about going carless in JC vs the hassle and cost of owning a car here. Please stop replying if you don’t have the above ^ experiences

Thanks for sharing!

You are literally asking for personal financial advice here, you’ve said it yourself above: “my post is about…the hassle and COST of owning a car here” (emphasis mine). It’s weird to ask about that while disregarding the idea of a cheaper car. If you rent zip cars, what do you think you’re going to get? Not the kind of car you have now. So if you’re considering a using a cheaper car via something like zipcar, you should also compare that with owning a cheaper car. Of course it’s ultimately your choice, but it’s strange you think this is odd.

Love this dude talking about an economic downturn in his post and then bragging about making $250k a year in the comments. F off dude

It’s important for us to know what kind of car it is and that he paid in cash to determine wether or not he needs a car in jersey city.

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lol I love how everyone saying no car because it’s a city immediately admits they get literally all their groceries and necessities shipped to them via Amazon.

You can’t get this kind of convenience in the burbs am I right guys?

Are you not allowed to live here if you have a life outside of downtown jersey city and Manhattan? Some of you sound like the most boring people alive.

Ok, your arguments against the other commenter are getting illogical.

Most "normal people" living in the downtown do not go to the beach or whatever multiple times a week and OP has also said how they spend more and more time working. The biggest upside of living here given the high rent is not needing a car, and that's what a majority of the people in downtown JC do. If you live here and own a car, that's good for you but you're a clear minority.

Some people don't understand that you don't spend on things and keep losing money just because you have a high income if it doesn't serve its purpose as much. It's a losing battle trying to explain it to them.

The high rent is making some of you delude yourselves into thinking JC is a booming metropolis when it really isn’t. The Path and the lightrail (the two major public transit options that people in JC rely on) absolutely suck on weekends.

The point is with no car you are absolutely limiting yourself if you have a normal 9-5 week day job. If you want to be stuck in downtown JC waiting for the path to go anywhere else on a weekend- have fun with that! I personally find living in a “city” and still relying on Amazon instead of being able to drive to a store to do my own shopping to be pretty bleak (which is what almost everyone without a car is admitting in this thread).

Also should be noted there are parts of JC where public transit sucks 24/7 and you genuinely do need a car to work and have a life - so if you move out of downtown that is something to think of.

Well, that's your opinion. A majority of residents in JC disagree with them being inconvenient to the point of needing a car. I don't think it would make sense to suggest a car as long as 100% of the residents feel that they don't need one given what OP has stated about themselves.

The path and lightrail schedule being terrible on weekends is a fact not an opinion.

And I hate to break it to you buddy but people using JC Reddit does not equal “the majority of residents in JC”. Take a walk outside of downtown JC sometime - there’s a whole big world out there.

OP lives in Grove street's XX Columbus building. Keep your advice to yourself since neither OP nor I find any use with it, "buddy".

You’ll probably want to start your errands early today- looks like the path is using the holiday schedule and stopping in hoboken even though it’s Monday. Have fun!

The reliance on Amazon for literally everything is one of the better reasons to hold onto a car…

One could just as easily argue that someone constantly driving is at a higher risk of crashing due to fatigue and complacency

Not very convenient when some Turo renter wrecks it

Most personal auto insurance isn't gonna cover Turo

There’s data behind all of this. Commercial drivers have by far the fewest accidents per mile. It’s not even close.

Likewise, rental cars are about as risky as drunk drivers since so many of them rarely drive. The most likely class of vehicle to kill you in a collision is a rental. Least likely is a truck.

But how many do they have total? End of the day, the total is what determines how often the insurance company is paying.

Are you really that dumb? You pay based on avg usage and types of driving. You also get rates increased if you get in an accident.

You clearly have never paid for insurance before or you’d know how stupid your argument is, given the first questions you answer are exactly that.

But from mile 0, and per mile, someone who rarely drives will be the biggest burden. That’s just math.

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