Does Anyone Want My Lexus? IGO Car Sharing!

Car payments, leases, insurance, gas, parking, washes, maintenance, I-Pass… it all adds up. Before you know it, you are in over your head. When I look at all the extras in owning our car, I always come back to the basic philosophy our family recently adopted. We want less.

However, this simple life strategy isn’t quick or easy to achieve. Take for example, the 2007 Lexus parked in our garage. Thank heavens it is leased so that in a couple months (don’t say years, it sounds too long) we can happily hand it back to the dealership and politely say no thank you to their pitch for the newest model. Hybrid or no hybrid- we do not want to own a vehicle for a variety of reasons.

We all know that cars are expensive to buy or lease. My husband and I are former materialistic consumers, hence the jazzy car and related luxurious expense. This reason for not owning a car is a no- brainer. Insurance? Same gig. Gas? You already know this all too well.

Since we live downtown, when considering a home our choices were more limited due to the need for parking. In Chicago a parking space means big money. If you purchased a condo, your deeded parking spot can literally be $50K. Ouch! If you rent you still need to consider reserving about $300 for parking each month. And that is only to store the car. Now think about when you take it in the Loop or downtown. You either have to spend $24 for a couple hours or $50-100 for your ticket if you are so lucky to have your meter expire while you pick up your son at preschool. (Does this sound like it has happened to me?) Cha Ching!

So what happens when you don’t have a car in the city? You walk. Take the CTA bus or train. Or you use a car sharing service like IGO (Chicago funded and based) or Zipcar (recently featured in the Sunday Chicago Tribune) when you absolutely need a car (like going farther distances to see family or if you are lucky, on a vacation). The beauty of car sharing is that you don’t have all the financial obligations that go along with owning or leasing a vehicle. It’s there just when you have no other choice.

And the best part? These energy efficient vehicles are designed to save environmental resources. It’s a win-win in my book. Reducing the amount of cars on the road is critical so when you provide the ability to use an eco friendly and affordable vehicle when you really need it, I think we are getting close to genius.

An Original 5 Minutes for Going Green post. Jen also shares her journey going green while raising a family as The Eco Chic Organizer. Subscribe at www.ecochicorganizer.com.

4 Responses to Does Anyone Want My Lexus? IGO Car Sharing!
  1. Gracia Fraile
    October 14, 2008 | 3:09 am

    Hi! It’s great that you’re going car-less. 3 months ago, when we moved in together, bth my boyfriend and I had a car, but with my insurance expiring in 10 days (and the 500€ bill to renew it for another year not being so appealing) we’re giving mine to a good friend who really needs it. For now, my boyfriend needs his because there’s no way he can get to work without it. Not even carpooling would do, since he works very different hours from the rest of his workmates, but how we wish we could give or sell that one too!

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  4. Car Ownership a Hassle « I-GO Car Sharing
    September 9, 2009 | 5:22 pm

    […] “Car payments, leases, insurance, gas, parking, washes, maintenance, I-Pass… it all adds up. Before you know it, you are in over your head. When I look at all the extras in owning our car, I always come back to the basic philosophy our family recently adopted. We want less.” Read full article […]