🚗 Should I Buy a Car?
True cost of ownership vs. Uber/Ola, plus an affordability reality check — all in one place.
The car
Ex-showroom + registration + insurance
Minimum 20% recommended
SBI: 8.65% · HDFC: 8.75%
Used to calculate NGT/state scrappage deadline
How you'll use it
Sets parking cost (₹3,500/mo)
9K km/year at 300 days
Weekdays only ≈ 250 · incl. weekends ≈ 300–365
Bangalore Uber/Ola base: ₹13/km
Annual running costs
₹15K–₹30K typical for sedans
Comprehensive. Decreases with age.
Opportunity cost
Historical avg ~12% CAGR
Petrol cars lose ~50% in 5 yrs
Opportunity cost: If you invested your ₹₹2.0L down payment in Nifty 50 at 12% CAGR instead, you'd have an extra ₹1.5L after 5 years.
Verdict
🛺 Cab is cheaper
You need to drive 110 km/day for owning to beat cabs. You drive 30 km/day.
5-year total cost of ownership
This compares the full 5-year cost of owning vs. taking cabs for your daily commute. The car cost includes everything — not just EMIs — while the cab cost is based on your daily usage.
🚗 Own a car
EMI + fuel + parking + insurance + maintenance − resale + opportunity cost
₹14.5L
🛺 Use Ola / Uber
30 km/day × ₹13/km × 300 days × 5 yrs
₹5.8L
You save by choosing cab
₹8.7L
Car: annual cost breakdown
Beyond the EMI, owning a car means fuel, insurance, maintenance, and parking every year — plus the opportunity cost of the money you paid as a down payment that could have been growing in an index fund.
🗓 Scrappage deadline in Bangalore: 2038 (12 years remaining · 15-yr petrol limit)
Run your finances against the20/4/10 ruleand theVeblen Index. Car details carry over from above.
Your financial position
Car price, down payment & loan details carry over from above · EMI auto-calculated
Post-tax income
Savings + investments + assets
Home loan, other car, personal loan
From loan inputs above
Rules check
20/4/10 rule + Indian finance heuristics
You're putting down 25%
20% down payment
Your tenure: 5 years
Loan below 4 years (4-year rule)
Longer loans look affordable but cost significantly more in interest.
Your EMI load: 8% of income
Total EMIs below 10% of income
Your net worth: ₹5.0L vs. car: ₹8.0L
2× Cash Rule (can you buy it twice?)
If you can't afford to buy the car twice in cash, you can't afford it once on EMI.
Double EMI (₹24,910) = 17% of income
Double EMI comfort test
Reality Check
⚠️ You're stretching
You can make it work, but some rules are being bent. Proceed with caution.
3/5 rules passed
Veblen Index
Is this a utility or a status purchase?
55/100
Borderline