Owning A Car Is Cheaper Than Using Taxi Services! Know How

In times of the new normal, a car is more of a necessity than a luxury. The number of first-time car buyers has been on the rise. While public transport like metros, buses, taxies are operational, one cannot be a hundred percent sure of how safe they are.

While app-based taxi services and cabs aggregators have taken all the necessary precautions to keep their customers safe, the number of people using them is yet to hit the pre-covid numbers.

If you're a regular taxi user and have plans to buy a car, this article is for you. We did a study to find out if using taxi services on a daily basis is cheaper than actually owning a car. We took into consideration an average person who travels 50 kilometres a day for 25 days a month for a period of 3 years.

Owning a car includes various costs such as regular maintenance (service cost), fuel, parking charges, road toll car insurance, etc.

We have listed out various prices for both owing and hiring a taxi.

COST OF A USED  CAR
Price of Used Maruti Suzuki Swift: Rs. 3 Lakh (in Delhi)

LOAN COST

Interest Rate: 14 per cent
Loan Term: 3 Years
Loan Amount: Rs. 2,70,000/- ( 90 percent of car value); Down Payment: Rs. 30,000/-

Total Cost of Car: Rs. 3,63,359/-
Comprehensive insurance cost for 3 years: Rs. 30,000/-
Car servicing & maintenance cost 3 years: Rs. 70, 000/-
Parking cost & miscellaneous charges for 3 years: Rs. 50,000/-
 

TOTAL CAR MAINTENANCE FOR 3 YEARS

Monthly distance covered: 1500 kms
Diesel cost: Rs. 80.00/- per litre (Note: Cost of Diesel is considered as R.85 per litre)
Fuel Economy /Mileage: 20 km/litre
Monthly running cost: Rs. 6000/-
Total running cost for 3 years: Rs. 2,16,000/-

TOTAL COST OF OWNING A CAR IN 3 YEARS: Rs. 7,29,359/-
Resale value after 3 years: 1,50,000 – 1,75,000*

COST OF HIRING A CAR/ TAXI SERVICES

Daily total distance covered: 50 km

Number of  trips: 2

Time of each trip: 50 minutes

Tax, Road Toll and surge pricing included.

Number of days taxi services used in a month: 25 days

Lets us consider the fare of Uber Go in India for the study
UberGo's fare is the total of base fare and charges for time with the distance covered during each trip
Base fare: Rs 52.5/-
Per-minute: Rs 1.50/-
Per km: Rs 6 - Rs 12 /- ( Rs 6 per km up to 20 km & Rs 12 per km thereafter)

Regular pricing 
Base fare (2 trips) + Time (2 trips of 50 minutes) + Distance (20 km one way, or 40 km in total) + Toll 

Rs 105 (Base fare) + Rs 150 (Time) + Rs 360 (Distance) + Rs 50 (Toll) = Rs 665 (Cost per day)
TOTAL COST FOR 3 YEARS IN REGULAR PRICING: Rs. 5,98,500/-

Surge pricing 
Assume surge factor to be 1.5x
665 X 1.5 = Rs 998 (Cost per day)
TOTAL COST FOR 3 YEARS WITH SURGE PRICING: Rs. 8,98,200/-

Owning Car vs Hiring Taxi for a period of 3 years

Well! It is clearly evident that owning a good used car is cheaper than using taxi services on day to day basis; the pleasure of owning a car and driving it incomparable; it's also safer than any taxi service offered. The car is readily available if you’re planning on a road trip with friends or during an emergency. Given the cases of virus spread, we can say owning a car is the best travel option for you and your family. You can also be a hundred per cent sure of safety!

Taxi services sure make life easy when it comes to traffic jams and driving in crowded areas or places where finding a car park is difficult. But owning a car is something else, it's a very special feeling; the bond shared between the car and the owner cannot be described by words. 

And if you looking to buy a used car, CARS24 has a wide range of thoroughly inspected pre-owned cars with warranty for sale. It is advisable to upgrade to another car in a span of three to four years as the regular service and maintenance costs shoot up as the car gets older; the depreciation also increases.

And if you want to sell your used car or had difficulties looking a buyer when you sold your previous car, try CARS24 for hassle-free car selling experience in 1 hour with an instant payment transferred to your bank account.

*Price depends on car's condition