Buying a shared car with friends | Good idea or bad?

Sudarshan42 · 23rd February 2021, 12:45

A lifestyle vehicle is a sparingly used thing, so it might make sense to split the costs of ownership. This reminded me of the concept of timeshares in the US, and their various problems and advantages. Their problems far exceed what you are proposing with the Thar, since you're not paying a faceless entity, but instead kept between 3 friends. Something as basic as a Splitwise account could help divide costs and keep track of who spent on what.

All of this comes down to your equation with the other 2- is this a small enough purchase for all 3 of you not to flake on responsibilities? If not, then there could be chances where someone may not prioritize paying for service/insurance etc. Divide it on a quarterly basis rather than monthly, since lower frequency of transfers would mean higher chances of you using it in a given time. Keep an exception clause too- if anybody has special requests during that interim period where they can request for use of the vehicle when it's somebody else's time, it can be considered on a case-by-case basis (the person whose time it is will obviously hold the veto power).

Just make sure this doesn't open up cracks in your friendship, or lead to other issues- something as perfunctory as a 2nd/3rd car doesn't justify such headaches.

Interesting, and let us know how it goes! All the best.

sramanat · 23rd February 2021, 13:09

On the face of it, looks like a bad idea - you are looking at a potentially soured friendship. However, I voted YES if you can work out the details. What you are looking for is a miniature Zoomcar with 1 car fleet and 3 customers. I am no auditor, but I can imagine something like this may work out well for all involved.

1. Incorporate a company with the three of you as promoters
2. Buy the car in the company's name.
3. Depreciation on this asset (maintenance, fuel etc.) can go to company's books. Not sure if this would work. Sounds like free money and government would have clamped that route.
4. For sharing I propose this
* normal times - a rolling two week window for each person.
* holiday times/long weekend - person going out takes the car - if and when there is a conflict - see if you can resolve with a coin toss. All other ways of negotiating would result in a sore loser and strained friendship.

mkpiyengar · 23rd February 2021, 13:11

Very good option if the friend is well-known and trusted..my colleague bought a Ford Figo second hand with his friend.. they're school friends and grown together so made sense to me with respect to camaraderie they share.
Cheers,
MKP

Sandy Damodaran · 23rd February 2021, 13:56

While counter intuitive, this really is the perfectly wrong forum for this question, From what I've read here, everyone treats their vehicle with more emotions than a normal person looking at a vehicle strictly as a commodity or an means to an end.
Having said that, even you and your group of friends are buying the Thar more out of heart than any need, given this scenario is say refrain from it.
Me and my college buddies are planning on the same with an Innova or something, but more as a need, as the self drives now come with speed governors and are not emotionally attached to the vehicle per se.
Wouldn't think of doing the same for our Motorcycles

Adam · 23rd February 2021, 15:23

A strict NO in my opinion.
And there is chance that it may spoil relationship between friends.
In my early days of my career me and my friends tried this method and it ended up being a huge mess. But gladly we took the car for one month rental from a private party to understand the feasibility before we buy a shared car.
It really shown us what all could go wrong, believe me if I said only thing which gone as per plan was sharing one month rental money among 4 of us, all other rules, plans, usage everything gone north.

pavanmadhini · 23rd February 2021, 17:22

There are 2 types of vehicles I'd prefer shared ownership of:
1. Off-road weekend fun. (Thar or a V-Cross)
2. Purebred racetrack motorcycle for weekend track days. Can be stored and maintained at IndiMotard in Bangalore.

As long as the shared ownership cost is not so high as to affect the friendship, I think this model will work fine.

View Poll Results: What do you think?
Good idea	56	12.42%
Bad idea	395	87.58%
Voters: 451. You may not vote on this poll

23rd February 2021, 12:45	#76
Sudarshan42 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 378 Thanked: 1,722 Times	Re: Buying a shared car with friends \| Good idea or bad? A lifestyle vehicle is a sparingly used thing, so it might make sense to split the costs of ownership. This reminded me of the concept of timeshares in the US, and their various problems and advantages. Their problems far exceed what you are proposing with the Thar, since you're not paying a faceless entity, but instead kept between 3 friends. Something as basic as a Splitwise account could help divide costs and keep track of who spent on what. All of this comes down to your equation with the other 2- is this a small enough purchase for all 3 of you not to flake on responsibilities? If not, then there could be chances where someone may not prioritize paying for service/insurance etc. Divide it on a quarterly basis rather than monthly, since lower frequency of transfers would mean higher chances of you using it in a given time. Keep an exception clause too- if anybody has special requests during that interim period where they can request for use of the vehicle when it's somebody else's time, it can be considered on a case-by-case basis (the person whose time it is will obviously hold the veto power). Just make sure this doesn't open up cracks in your friendship, or lead to other issues- something as perfunctory as a 2nd/3rd car doesn't justify such headaches. Interesting, and let us know how it goes! All the best.
	(1) Thanks

23rd February 2021, 13:09	#77
sramanat BHPian Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Bangalore Posts: 290 Thanked: 677 Times	Re: Buying a shared car with friends \| Good idea or bad? On the face of it, looks like a bad idea - you are looking at a potentially soured friendship. However, I voted YES if you can work out the details. What you are looking for is a miniature Zoomcar with 1 car fleet and 3 customers. I am no auditor, but I can imagine something like this may work out well for all involved. 1. Incorporate a company with the three of you as promoters 2. Buy the car in the company's name. 3. Depreciation on this asset (maintenance, fuel etc.) can go to company's books. Not sure if this would work. Sounds like free money and government would have clamped that route. 4. For sharing I propose this * normal times - a rolling two week window for each person. * holiday times/long weekend - person going out takes the car - if and when there is a conflict - see if you can resolve with a coin toss. All other ways of negotiating would result in a sore loser and strained friendship.
	(1) Thanks

23rd February 2021, 13:11	#78
mkpiyengar BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 331 Thanked: 143 Times	Re: Buying a shared car with friends \| Good idea or bad? Very good option if the friend is well-known and trusted..my colleague bought a Ford Figo second hand with his friend.. they're school friends and grown together so made sense to me with respect to camaraderie they share. Cheers, MKP
	(1) Thanks

23rd February 2021, 13:56	#79
Sandy Damodaran BHPian Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Pune Posts: 140 Thanked: 458 Times	Re: Buying a shared car with friends \| Good idea or bad? While counter intuitive, this really is the perfectly wrong forum for this question, From what I've read here, everyone treats their vehicle with more emotions than a normal person looking at a vehicle strictly as a commodity or an means to an end. Having said that, even you and your group of friends are buying the Thar more out of heart than any need, given this scenario is say refrain from it. Me and my college buddies are planning on the same with an Innova or something, but more as a need, as the self drives now come with speed governors and are not emotionally attached to the vehicle per se. Wouldn't think of doing the same for our Motorcycles
	() Thanks

23rd February 2021, 15:23	#80
Adam BHPian Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: KL/KA/MH/BKK Posts: 139 Thanked: 254 Times	Re: Buying a shared car with friends \| Good idea or bad? A strict NO in my opinion. And there is chance that it may spoil relationship between friends. In my early days of my career me and my friends tried this method and it ended up being a huge mess. But gladly we took the car for one month rental from a private party to understand the feasibility before we buy a shared car. It really shown us what all could go wrong, believe me if I said only thing which gone as per plan was sharing one month rental money among 4 of us, all other rules, plans, usage everything gone north.
	() Thanks

23rd February 2021, 17:22	#81
pavanmadhini BHPian Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 233 Thanked: 672 Times	Re: Buying a shared car with friends \| Good idea or bad? There are 2 types of vehicles I'd prefer shared ownership of: 1. Off-road weekend fun. (Thar or a V-Cross) 2. Purebred racetrack motorcycle for weekend track days. Can be stored and maintained at IndiMotard in Bangalore. As long as the shared ownership cost is not so high as to affect the friendship, I think this model will work fine.
	() Thanks