Toss your car and get Ubering

UBER IS CHEAPER: NO MAINTENANCE, FINES, PETROL, E-TOLLS, PARKING If you’re looking to make some big savings next year, you might want to consider selling the car and turning to Uber.

If, like many South Africans, you drive less than 50km a day, using Uber will save you money.

If you are looking for ways to save in 2017, you might want to consider tossing your car and Ubering. My Treasury.co.za, which helps South Africans find the savings account with highest interest rates, crunched the numbers to see when it makes financial sense to own a car or to Uber. If like many South Africans, you drive less than 50km a day, using an Uber will save you money.

Depreciation: Owning a car is expensive and depreciates over time. Although a car is an asset, it’s not an investment.

MyTreasury.co.za based its calculations on a Toyota Corolla, the most common car used by UberX drivers – the 1.8 Exclusive sells new for R300 900. The car’s depreciation and financing costs are around R61 000 per year. Insurance is the most significant

added cost of car ownership. One of SA’s largest insurers gave a quote of R1 500 per month (R18 000 per year) for comprehensive insurance with a minimal excess. Parking: The bane of a driver’s life is parking fees. If parking at home and at work is free, parking fees were estimated at R1 560 a year. Cleaning: If you wash your car once a month, at an average of R150, it costs around R1 800 a year. Licences, fines, tolls: Licences, tolls and fines typically amount to R2 000 per year. Petrol: MyTreasury.co.za worked out a standard of R27 000* a year for the average South African driver.

Total cost of owning a car: Putting all these numbers together, the annual cost of car ownership for the average South African driver works out to R111 000.

Cost of taking an Uber: By comparison all your Uber costs are variable. You only pay for what you use. The cost of taking an UberX is R7.50/km + 75c/minute. At average urban traffic conditions, we calculate an average cost per km of R9.

The bo om line: The money-saving benefit of using Uber comes down to how much you drive. With your own car, the less you drive, the higher your cost per kilometre.

Kransdorff is chief economist and co-founder of MyTreasury.co.za.

Picture: Bloomberg TAKE A CAB. Could Uber signal the end to traditional motoring? Its hassle-free service provides jobs and removes the need to own a car and that cuts a huge tranche of expenses out of your budget. No workshop arguments, no road rage, worries about petrol prices or the future of e-tolls.