Moved to VA. On the edge about getting a car. Suggestions?

October 10, 2024 9:16 AM

Last month, I moved to VA, and it's about an hour away from DC via Metro, plus a ~15-20 minute walk between the Metro station and my apartment. I'm torn about getting a car, and wanted your thoughts.

I've never owned a car. I have a driver's license and have rented cars. I'm not the most confident driver, and I'm generally somewhat inexperienced when it comes to driving. I also have anxiety of being pulled over, especially combined with being Deaf and seeing horror stories of interactions with police.

My apartment community is a 15-20 minute walk to/from the Metro station (5 minute drive), with somewhat limited bus service during the week. The nearest grocery store is about 10 minutes of a walk. Going to get infusions and other medical care would require a ~30 minute Metro ride, or ~20 minute drive. Visiting friends in the city would take about 1.5 hours one way (including walking/Metro/transfers if applicable).

When I originally moved here, I was determined to get a car. However, I've slowly came to realize that my lifestyle allows me to Metro to DC, as long as I preplan stuff, walking and/or utilizing the bus service, or if in a hurry, Ubering to Metro and then taking the train in town. It hasn't really affected my social life so far. I also can take advantage of grocery deliveries, restaurant deliveries, Amazon Prime deliveries, and Ubering to/from medical appointments if need be.

What also is scaring me away from getting a car in VA is the exorbitant taxes that VA levies for cars and other costs.

Car costs:
Highway use tax (new VA tax)
Property taxes on cars (it's a VA thing; assessed on your car value)
Tolls (where I live, pretty much the only fast way into DC would require an expensive toll to the tune of ~$15 one way; can avoid but takes more time)
Monthly car payments
Insurance
Gas
Repairs
Parking (free at my apartment community, but probably have to pay to park at some places).

If I utilize Metro for most of my travels, with the occasional Uber to/from DC if need be, I would assume the monthly cost would be roughly less than if I owned a car and had those payments/taxes above. I would pay more in time spent Metro'ing, but I can easily entertain myself on the train.

Metro/Uber/bus costs:
Uber to/from Metro and my apartment: $7-8 (including taxes/tips)
Bus from/to my apartment: $1
Metro to/from DC: ~$6-7
Uber from/to DC and my apartment: ~$70-80 (including taxes/tips)
Uber to/from medical appointments: ~$40-50 (including taxes/tips)
Grocery delivery fee (if I don't use the grocery a 10 minutes walk away): $6-7
Food delivery fee/tip: $5-8
Uber to/from somewhere else random: $20-100 (depending on where, probably very rare)

Most of my friends are within Metro reach, and those who aren't, we've always done a combination of Metro/pickups.

The pros of having a car would be that innate independence and the ability to go anywhere I wish, at any time. However, even if I had a car, I don't think I would drive it INTO DC proper. Too scary and overwhelming. I would most likely just drive it to a reasonably-located Metro station and Metro into town, then back. I don't think I would go out of town much (ie, out of the DC area), really. However, it might be nice to drive into Maryland and visit far-flung friends there, but I suppose Uber would be an option there. Costly, but doable.

I double-checked and there does not appear to be Zipcars in my immediate area, and I don't believe there are any carshares or scooters/e-bikes in the general area yet. My area recently had Metro added to the area about two years ago, so it's still up and coming. So, it does not appear Zipcar is an option. I could go to a local rental agency or try Turo if need be.

One thing: If I have to walk from the Metro station to my apartment late at night (no bus service/not wanting to pay for Uber), the route is a bit fraught—the area isn't well-lit and I have to navigate a combination of sidewalks, parking lots, and crossing a huge 8-lane intersection. Haven't been a problem so far—I use the flashlight on my iPhone. However, I can imagine that it might be a bit challenging in winter with icy conditions. I might just utilize Uber more during that time if necessary.

Am I missing anything here or mathing wrong? On paper, it looks like utilizing a combination of walking, bus service, Metro, and Uber would be much less expensive and I would be able to meet up with friends or do stuff as long as I preplanned stuff (which I did for the most part in DC anyway—I'm a planner type, not a "go with the flow" type of person). Does this seem accurate? As per my described lifestyle/patterns, does utilizing those "ground" options seem cheaper overall than owning a car.

I'm open to input or different perspectives that I haven't considered. Moving from previously being within a 3 minute walk to the Metro station to far-flung suburbia has been a bit of a challenge, but my apartment is super nice and it's peaceful here, so worth it overall so far!

posted by dubious_dude to Travel & Transportation (28 answers total)

You are getting great exercise and sunshine 2x a day, 5 days a week. Winter will have cold and slush, but is manageable with good gear. The saying that there is no bad weather, only inadequate outerwear is at least partly true, even if you live in Maine.

Consider an electric bike rather than a car.
posted by theora55 at 9:28 AM on October 10 [6 favorites]

I think you would enjoy having a car, and also, if your health changes it might be easier to own a car so you can conserve energy for errands and appointments, or friends can help drive you in your own car.

As for being pulled over while Deaf, I would suggest you make a laminated paper with large easy-to-read font that says something like "I am Deaf. We can communicate using text-to-speech on my phone." and keep it somewhere easy to reach like top of the glove box. If you get pulled over, pull out that paper and show it to the officer through the window. On your phone, keep voice-to-text transcription app (SOOO useful for all kinds of interactions). Then all you have to do is turn on that app, and when the officer speaks, the screen will instantly type what they say in large letters so you can both read it, then you can type back to the officer. I went to a party the other day and met a hard-of-hearing guy who communicated like that, and it was super easy and awesome, we were able to have a long and very clear conversation.

Having a car gives you freedom and I think it would be great for you! And if Uber or transit is the right option at certain times, you can always own a car and take Uber when it fits your needs. I have a car and I still take a few Ubers a week if I need to do a bit of work in the car, want to drink, or am running late and don't want to add the extra 5-10 minutes of "look-for-parking" time to my trip.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:31 AM on October 10 [1 favorite]

Is there a way for you to estimate what you might spend on Uber, if you used it every single time you went to/from the Metro and grocery store? That would give you your maximum possible cost to compare the car to. I live further out from DC than you do (walking to Metro is not possible for me -- it would take 3+ hours to walk). I recently did the above exercise to help me decide about the cost/benefits of a car. It was eye-opening.
posted by OrangeDisk at 9:33 AM on October 10 [3 favorites]

As I've got older and made more money the thing I value the most is my time. For me, driving saves me time, saves me the headache of uncertainty, allows me to be in control of all my movements, gives me options in an emergency. And on top of that when I crunch the numbers, driving and paying to park is usually only a couple dollars more expensive than transit costs (without counting my time at all). (And less than half of a ride service.) So I choose to drive. (Not sure if spothero is in big use in the DC area, but the spothero app absolutely rules for parking in Chicago.)

Anyway, I used to take transit a LOT. Now I drive more often.

Yes, I got fatter. It's fine.
posted by phunniemee at 9:36 AM on October 10 [2 favorites]

It kind of seems like your primary issue is a last-mile one. Given the significant cost and hassle of a car, I think having a budget that encourages you to use rentals, rideshare, etc for Adventures would give you the lifestyle benefits, and then you can consider getting a bike, e-bike, or even an electric or gas scooter.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:42 AM on October 10 [5 favorites]

Attempt to solve the last mile problem with something inexpensive like a scooter or e-bike, and if that doesn't work, only then consider buying a licensed, registered and insured motor vehicle.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:58 AM on October 10 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: I might need to post a separate question for the first/last-mile problem, because I did consider getting an e-bike. Issue is, it's not well-lit at night at all, and I have terrible balance at night (often happens to Deaf people due to imbalance issues in the inner ear). I've e-biked before in night a while ago (in MD), in almost pitch-dark, and even with the bike light on, I kept wobbling and eventually fell over. It was terrible.

Plus, bringing the e-bike/scooter with me to/from DC would be a hassle—where would I lock it? Thefts are common. There isn't a storage/bike locker at my Metro station where I could safely store it. There are bike racks, but even in my nice area, thefts might happen.

What I'm wondering is, does my estimations about cost (not including time) seem lower if I used a combination of walking/bus/Uber/Metro instead of owning a car? Also important to clarify that the Uber costs shared in my question is based on one-way trips, while the Metro/bus costs are round-trip. Should've clarified that.
posted by dubious_dude at 10:04 AM on October 10 [1 favorite]

Ugh no I 100% agree with you on not driving into DC - the thing that Google Maps never reflects in the time-cost of getting to your destination is trying to find parking and then navigating from the parking to your actual destination, because most of my destinations don't have built-in parking. In built-up areas of major cities like DC, that usually means adding on an extra 15-30 minutes depending on the neighborhood. Mr. Kouti and I generally follow a similar rule of thumb re "transit/bike/walk in, drive out" from our various homes over the years, though he drives and I do not (for similar anxiety reasons).

I mean, even if you did get a car, you could certainly avoid the high tolls by not driving into the city, you could still take Metro for those trips and it would be cheaper and less stressful.

Especially since WMATA provides bike cages at certain stations for secure storage (and they do allow you to bring bikes and ebikes under certain dimensions on the train!) I heartily nth theora55 and LynNever (and on preview, seanmpuckett on looking into ebikes. Even the most expensive of them is going to cost you like 10-20% of what a new car will. If you're near one of the stations with a bike cage, you can even leave your bike there and ride Capital Bikeshare from Metro stations closer in.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:06 AM on October 10

Cars cost $10k a year on average, between payments, repairs, insurance, etc. You just have to decide if that's worth it to you for your last mile problem and the convenience (which really is a factor, considering how car-centric the US is).
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:08 AM on October 10 [1 favorite]

For the last mile-- do you have ice creepers/yaktrax and trek poles? If it's icy the yaktrax will make it much easier to walk, and the trek poles help eith balance. You can also get a headlamp so it's easier to see, and reflective stuff so others see you. If you have sidewalks where you are, you should be totally fine.

I don't think you should get a car because the Metro + Uber seems like it's working for you. But I also think it wouldn't be the worst thing ever.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:23 AM on October 10 [2 favorites]

I was on the "don't get a car" side until this:

One thing: If I have to walk from the Metro station to my apartment late at night (no bus service/not wanting to pay for Uber), the route is a bit fraught—the area isn't well-lit and I have to navigate a combination of sidewalks, parking lots, and crossing a huge 8-lane intersection.

This doesn't sound very safe and, while I defer to your experience on this, is probably extra risky for a Deaf person.
posted by praemunire at 10:23 AM on October 10 [2 favorites]

I relate to this post. I struggle with anxiety and find driving pretty stressful. I also really dislike the logistics around breaking down, repairs, etc. (I mean, no one likes that stuff, but social anxiety and anxiety make it especially awful). I have both lived car-free for a decade or so in a mostly suburbs place with so-so transit as well as currently owning a car.

My major deciding factor is having a small child: having a car for doctor's appointments, emergencies, and special trips (birthday parties that aren't transit accessible, museums, apple picking, etc.) is extremely helpful and opens us to more experiences than transit alone does. It is also helpful to have when thinking about emergency planning. That said, our life is still organized around not owning a car. My spouse & I both take transit to work, we drop our kid off at daycare by walking, and all of our regular doctors are accessible by transit and bike. I can get to a couple of grocery stores on foot or by bike. My car is currently broken down (possibly very expensively) and in the shop and we're getting by with no rental. We're going to repair it even if is pretty damn expensive because you can't get a cheap used car anymore. We've only got the one car and my spouse doesn't drive.

Now if I didn't have a kid to think about, I'd likely go car free again. Why? Yes it take time, energy, and planning to use transit, to walk, to bike, to rent a car, get a taxi (my area does not have reliable uber/lyft). But it saves on worry, money, and administrative headaches.
posted by carrioncomfort at 10:25 AM on October 10 [1 favorite]

Even an older car will end up costing you around $10k a year all-in (taxes, gas, depreciation or payments maintenance). that's around 300 round trips trips a year on your metro-uber max, or at least 6 a week. Do you leave your neighborhood every day? If not, I'd just go without a car.
posted by sandmanwv at 10:32 AM on October 10

This seems like one of those decisions where you'll have better information if you just wait a bit. Try it without a car for a bit longer, through the winter, and you're still free at any point to "time out" and decide that avoiding this experience is worth $whatever to you. Or maybe you'll get to spring and be confident that the public transit experience is fine.
posted by quacks like a duck at 10:37 AM on October 10 [4 favorites]

Even an older car will end up costing you around $10k a year all-in (taxes, gas, depreciation or payments maintenance).

Counterpoint: less than $2000 a year

I bought a car I could afford to buy outright. I know this isn't possible for everyone, but if you are really truly able to live without a car (you are) you should not finance a car. Only get a car once you can buy it outright with cash. Financing a car just to have a car in your position would be foolish.

So, my car itself costs nothing, because I already paid for it by saving ahead of time for years.

Besides that:
Insurance - $800 a year (it used to be $600, but they jacked the prices over 2023-24), I'm considering dropping my collision coverage now my car is 10 years old but idk
Maintenance - I get it regularly, at the dealership, probably $300 a year
Registration - Illinois, $150
City sticker - Chicago, $100

Variable costs:
Gas - I'm a city driver, I don't have to fill up often; I checked, looks like I've spent $300 on gas in the last year
Parking - I feel like I've been really lax with myself over the last couple years about just making my life easy and paying to park instead of hunting for a spot; I also went and checked this and I spent only $200 on parking in the last year

I don't care about depreciation because I don't care about my car like that?? I have a used Subaru, she's not for showing off. I'll drive it until it isn't drivable anymore, which is likely years away, and then I'll get a new car when I have to. My car is a tool, depreciation isn't my problem.
posted by phunniemee at 11:08 AM on October 10 [3 favorites]

Oh and a life pro tip, if you want to car shop, look for a used rental car. This is advice I got myself from Metafilter. No high pressure sales tactics, no bullshit. I literally just looked at the cars available (with prices clearly listed), said I want that one, signed some paperwork, and got my car. The hardest part about the whole process is that I had to take transit to the physical sale lot location, and it wasn't conveniently located to transit. Big ironic lol.
posted by phunniemee at 11:13 AM on October 10

Attempt to solve the last mile problem with something inexpensive like a scooter or e-bike, and if that doesn't work, only then consider buying a licensed, registered and insured motor vehicle.

I really agree with this. A 15-20 minute walk becomes a 5-minute trip with an e-scooter, which of course is a lot less expensive than a car. (An e bike or analog bike is another option of course, depending on the OP's comfort and interest.)

A friend got an e-scooter when their spouse had a knee injury and they wound up using it all the time for errands that were juuuuust outside of walking distance (or when there wasn't quite time to walk).
posted by entropone at 11:49 AM on October 10

Can you rent, borrow, or test-ride an e-trike somewhere? (I mean, it's DC, you probably can.)

These are not a slam dunk vis-a-vis balance -- my understanding is that learning to take corners is a thing. But you'd be lower to the ground than on most bikes, and they might suit you fine.

I recommend tall reflective flags (like recumbent riders have) and every reflective sticker in existence. Light that puppy UP if you get one.
posted by humbug at 11:56 AM on October 10 [5 favorites]

It sounds like you are pretty solidly focused on a life in the D.C. metro area, in which case a car really does seem a bit of work for the limited amount you need it. For daily life, it seems like the annoyance is not worth it.

For non-daily life... I guess it depends what you want to do in life, on the weekends and otherwise. VA is a big, beautiful state with an awful lot of things to see that are not public transit accessible. Not "hard to get to," but "can't get there." If your life is D.C. metro, it is what it is, but I hope you'll be able to do some day trips with friends at some point, even if you aren't driving.

The stuff you mention about being Deaf, and about concerns with police interactions: I don't feel like that's really a VA-specific issue. That said, if you drive around D.C., the traffic can be bad, especially if you wind up using 95 or other heavily-trafficked bypass routes. I don't know what the per capita frequency of accidents is in D.C. vs. elsewhere, but if I lived in D.C. and drove regularly, I might expect a greater-than-average chance of interactions with police, minor accidents, etc.
posted by cupcakeninja at 12:24 PM on October 10

I second the plan to wait. Go without a car as long as it feels good. After six months, decide whether it's onerous or if you find yourself not going to things due to transportation hassles. Or if it feels uncomfortable sooner than that, you can buy one fairly quickly. Renting a car is also an option if you expect to want it a lot for a particular weekend.
posted by metasarah at 12:31 PM on October 10 [3 favorites]

I agree, wait. I live on the Maryland side of the river now, but spent the first 30some years of my life in VA, sometimes with a car and sometimes without. I currently share a single car with my husband, the smallest oldest little compact hatchback, and we have a small child. Especially if it's just you and you don't have an extenuating circumstance that makes rideshare really hard like kid needing a car seat or a pet, I'd just wait it out and make cheap tweaks before saddling yourself with a car (or deciding to work towards housing a little closer to the Metro station; that really does make all the difference in the world).

Yes, it's definitely nice being able to drive out to Great Falls or Shenandoah or wine country or whatever for a day trip, but with friends and/or advance planning, you still don't REALLY need to drive. If you're managing a daily commute, groceries, socializing, healthcare without a car, I'd say see how the winter goes and then decide how to go forward, but you definitely don't NEED a car in this area. Traffic is awful, transit is unusually good, rideshare availability is plentiful, and most people are happy to let friends bum rides.

I will say, having lived your particular commute for a few years (including the 20-minute walk with dicey sidewalk access and giant stroad crossing), you should go ahead and buy some sort of reflective or light-up vest/belt, a headlamp, and make sure you have good grippy snow boots and/or Yaktrax to put over shoes. Drivers around here are wretched and visibility is vital, especially if you aren't going to hear people coming up on you, and I guarantee you that nobody is going to clear the snow adequately if we get a decent storm and you'll wind up with a stamped-down ice path to the metro for at least a week or two over the winter.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 12:53 PM on October 10 [3 favorites]

Could you qualify for MetroAccess? One of the houses on my street has a MetroAccess bus or car outside multiple times per week.
posted by xiix at 1:39 PM on October 10 [1 favorite]

I checked in with the hard-of-hearing guy I met about what app he uses and it’s Live Transcribe by Mighty Fine Apps. The logo is blue with an elephant.

Looking at it in the App Store, it has a lot of explicitly Deaf-friendly features and is recommended by a lot of Deaf and HOH people! Looks like it costs $99/ year.

I will say I could not believe how convenient it was to be able to talk to that guy at a really loud party. The app correctly transcribed about 95% of what I said, and the font was big enough that I was able to watch while it was being transcribed, and verbally correct the few things it got wrong, in real time. In that loud environment, the app actually made talking to him feel easier than talking to other hearing people!!

And when he typed to communicate with me, the app had a small typing window that let him type in small letters (like sending a regular text), but then it also displayed whatever he typed in giant letters that were easy for me to read at a comfortable distance! So I didn’t have to touch his phone at all and we didn’t have to be standing too close together for strangers to be comfortable. It is really a great app! It would be perfect for communicating with a police officer at a traffic stop.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:54 PM on October 10

Knowing what I know about your life and illness and anxiety from your posts here....I would say the car is just going to add mucho stress to your life. I don't think it'll be worth it.
posted by tristeza at 3:13 PM on October 10 [4 favorites]

On top of monetary costs, cars add stress, maintenance, you have to get gas, you have to insure them, you have to park them, etc.

In most areas with solid transit they’re more expensive than some combo of transit + taxi/uber.
posted by knobknosher at 5:11 PM on October 10

I'd wait on the car and dig into the commuter bus routes that connect to Metro. Over the next months, some of the Loudoun County (hello from Sterling!) commuter buses that connect to Metro will become free, while some of the commuter buses that go directly to DC will actually go UP in price. I think this is happening to encourage more Metro use. Not sure your NoVa county, but could be worth looking into.
posted by ersatzkat at 5:17 PM on October 10

Owning a car is much more expensive than one thinks. I can't imagine that Ubering back and forth to Metro stations or the local grocery would come anywhere close on a yearly basis to car payments, insurance, gas, parking, and regular car maintenance -- PLUS all the unexpected costs of repair, which can be a lot, because there is a deductible.
Plus ... getting a flat tire or a dead battery is something that happens. Most people call roadside assistance company for that if they aren't very confident with jumper cables and tire jacks. If you do get a car please make sure there is a Deaf assisted component to your policy for calling them.
But as you can see, I vote go with Ubers and trains. Having a car is quite a lot of money and energy.
posted by ojocaliente at 6:51 PM on October 10

I apologize for not being able to provide a link but only a URL because I am on my phone and it’s being difficult. It is a pain to drive, especially if you were somewhat anxious or cautious driver. And it’s also expensive. I’ve been trying to find a place that would let you rent an electric trike to address the balance issue. And you’re not gonna want to buy an electric trike without trying one out. This is the only place I’ve been able to find in the Washington DC area, which does not mean it is the only one. I agree with others that you should probably wait on buying a car. But I also think it would be really nice if you could get yourself home sooner from the metro station. So consider trying this out. https://www.cloudofgoods.com/washington-dc/mobility-rentals/2-seater-trike-169. Good luck!
posted by Bella Donna at 9:18 PM on October 10