Start with the real annual cost of owning that $8k compact, not just the note and gas. Insurance is about $1,800, your apartment parking is $2,400, depreciation is roughly $1,000–1,500 a year on an $8k car, maintenance and repairs average $800–1,200 for an older compact, and registration and inspection run $150–300. You are at about $6,100–7,200 before fuel, tickets, tolls, or any parking at work. If you drive 5,000–6,000 miles a year between the commute, groceries, and family visits, fuel at 30 mpg and $4 a gallon is about $670–800 a year. Call it roughly $7,000–8,500 per year all in, plus any work parking, and there is also the $400 a year opportunity cost of tying up $8,000 in a car.
Compare that to your current spend on a bus pass and rideshare, then ask what time you actually save door to door. In most dense cities a 7 mile drive is 20–30 minutes if you have guaranteed parking at both ends, but add 10–20 minutes if you are circling or walking from a garage, so the realistic savings over a 45–60 minute transit trip is often 20–40 minutes a day. Put a dollar value on that time, say your after tax hourly rate, and multiply by about 230 workdays to see if it clears the extra $5,000–7,000 a year you would pay to own the car. Factor in the soft stuff too like the stress of traffic, the risk of a $1,500 surprise repair, and the upside of easy grocery runs and spontaneous trips. If the math does not pencil out, consider a middle path like an e-bike or bike plus transit for the commute, carshare or rentals for the family visits, and grocery delivery or a monthly carshare for heavy shops, which often lands under $2,500 a year while keeping most of the convenience.
