[inner_roadster]

Originally Posted by silverado

Well the sad part is if i decide to save money and not buy a car, do i get good public transport service?
In Mumbai BEST is on a downward spiral, Pune public transport service leaves a lot to be desired.

What options does someone have if he/she doesn't want to spend so much on car/bike ownership?

Yes, we all realize that we don't have many options, which is why the majority of us have already, whether consciously or unconsciously, anticipated the actual price of a car, including the hefty taxes. It's only apparent when you bifurcate the difference between the car's cost and the taxes. It is only then that we realize the machine's cost and the financial burden of possessing it legally. The same is true for fuel costs, which we have come to recognize as normal. We expected or were compelled to assume the cost of fuel, including all of these hefty taxes.

[manub22]

Originally Posted by xway

I remember paying tolls with small change kept in the car a decade back, and it never pinched the pocket. Gone are these days now toll cost is huge, consider Meerut Expressway is Rs. 168 one way. Sohna road toll is Rs. 125 for a 25 kms stretch, that is an absurd toll of Rs5/km for a single car single journey.

Another perspective... There are 8 tolls between Hyderabad and Bangalore (as of Jan 2021). The total toll amount is Rs. 760. The total distance is around 620 kms and can be covered in 8–9 hours. But as of today 2024 you easily pay over 1000 Rs on toll only !!!

[sunilrs]

High car taxation or tolls are not the problem in itself, the problem is the lack of an alternative, comfortable and efficient public transport infrastructure especially in cities and for commutes between cities. I live in Mumbai and the commute today road or public transport during peak hours is a punishment, the only difference is if you have a car, you are a little more comfortable while suffering the commute. The myopic urban transport planning which does not consider commute patterns or plan for future needs adds to the problem Even after the current planned metro lines in Mumbai are fully ready, it has not planned for an efficient commute for many parts of the cities E.g. If you live in Thane and want to go to the Mumbai Airport, you need to do 3 line changes Line 4 then Line 6 then Line 3, similarly there is no easy way to get to office hubs in Goregaon without 3 changes even after the complete metro network is built. In these situation, I believe car ownership and associated problems will not change even if taxes are higher, since those who can afford cars will keep buying them.

[horseblood]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

The only way I see out of this is to hold your existing car for as long as possible. This way you spread the cost over the period of years. Many of us sell their cars at the 5-8 years mark and thus begin the cycle of self-looting all over again.

Which is why the babus have come up with 10/15 year ban rule after collecting 15 year taxes!/ having a maintained vehicle.
How dare you not have a bitter taste in mouth!

[t3rm1n80r]

Originally Posted by RodRowdyBiker

To the person above complaining about speed cameras and a 40kmph limit, what do you expect? 40kmph is already above the speed it takes to kill a pedestrian. Going downhill is not an excuse to speed, stop doing it. If you don't even have the basic car control to limit your speed don't drive.

While I agree with your point, you should also consider the context. People are not supposed to be strolling on the road or parking their vehicles blocking a complete lane! Heck, we all are quick to point out signal cutting and lack of patience amongst motorists. But the pedestrians should also be held equally responsible for crossing roads while the signal is green. I'm not even saying they should use a zebra crossing as there aren't any at many places. But one has to follow rules with whatever infra is available. It's basic road etiquette. The solution is to fine pedestrians as well for not obeying rules.

Added to that there's a serious danger of personal safety on slopes if you alone go at 40kmph and rest all are going even at 60kmph. I need not explain more here. Just stay in left lane and be at reasonable speed as compared the actual speed limit and the speed of others on the road. Exterpolaring the situation to other types of roads well, there is less risk, but it's still there. The solution would to have a minimum speed limit as well on these roads and strictly enforcing it.

In all, the system is broken and it will be a lot of effort to change the mindset of people. People need to have perspective and empathy so that they understand others, but in a country like ours with huge population and cutthroat competition, that's not possible. What we can do is follow the rules the best as we can... I've a lot more to say, but maybe some other day. Till then stay safe.

[Azalactone]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

The only way I see out of this is to hold your existing car for as long as possible. This way you spread the cost over the period of years. Many of us sell their cars at the 5-8 years mark and thus begin the cycle of self-looting all over again.

My Swift VXi which is more 11 yrs old and is still working fine cost us less than 6.00 lacs on-road. I plan to keep it till end of the decade or even more.

In the past 38 years my family has had only 3 cars. The last car purchase was in 2013.

There is absolutely no need to change a car every 5-6 years unless one really needs it due to unforeseen circumstances.

Rising inflation, ever increasing car prices and too much of govt taxes is causing a headache to buyers.

In 2012, i remember Honda had launched the entry level Honda City Corporate Edition for Rs 6.99 lacs (Ex-showroom). One could get a Honda City for under Rs 10 lacs on-road .

The entry level Honda City now costs more than 14.00 lacs (as of 2024).

Although i am personally not a fan of used cars but if one needs to buy a car in 2024 the best financial decision is to buy a 2-3 years old used car whose value has already depreciated compared to a brand new car.

Maybe i am wrong in this but i feel new cars have zero emotional value are just not worth the asking price.

[RodRowdyBiker]

Originally Posted by t3rm1n80r

While I agree with your point, you should also consider the context. People are not supposed to be strolling on the road or parking their vehicles blocking a complete lane! Heck, we all are quick to point out signal cutting and lack of patience amongst motorists. But the pedestrians should also be held equally responsible for crossing roads while the signal is green. I'm not even saying they should use a zebra crossing as there aren't any at many places. But one has to follow rules with whatever infra is available. It's basic road etiquette. The solution is to fine pedestrians as well for not obeying rules.

I think this is a car-centric view of the world. While I can't fault it being in a car forum, the actual priority on the roads should go like this. Pedestrian - Bicycle - Small scooter/Moped - Motorcycles - Buses - Small goods vehicles and at the very very last Cars. In our twisted system we give the most importance to cars and least to pedestrians. The problem comes from having extremely wide roads (4 lane or more) in the middle of a city. This creates dangerous situations where pedestrians walking across can cause issues due to the higher speeds the wider roads encourage. Roads should be artificially narrowed so that the natural driving speeds of the cars is lowered. Once the speeds get low enough, pedestrians crossing the streets anywhere is no longer an issue. Fining pedestrians for "jaywalking" was actually an American auto industry conspiracy but I won't go into that here.

There is, in relative terms, no responsibility on pedestrians. The people in cars are the ones with the responsibility since they are the ones with the 2 tonne death machines. A slightly unfair analogy is when a security personnel carries a gun, they are entirely responsible for it. They can not claim that the gun accidentally went off because someone bumped into them or stole it from them. The burden on responsibility sits squarely on their shoulders alone and for that they need to be completely prepared and on high alert all the time with lots of training to anticipate and prevent such situations.

It baffles me that a person who can get a driving license in a MG Comet is also allowed to drive a MG Hector. The skill set required is an order of magnitude higher. The same can be said about my Kawasaki Z900, the license which I acquired on a Platina. The blind spots on these massive SUVs are so massive, it should be illegal to drive these without a commercial driving license (HGV). 5-star safety rating only protects those inside, everyone outside have a negative 5-star safety.

While I agree with your general sentiment, I think the perspective of the problem is also very important. Changing it from "I am a car owner/driver" to "I live in a city and would like to move around it quickly and efficiently while making it a better place to live" changes the solutions quite a bit. Cars are no longer sustainable in dense cities and it is time we move away from them. I love cars, grew up with idolizing Clarkson saying POWERRR and Ferrari posters in my room but this can not go on.

Taxing them heavily and making the use of cars a very unattractive proposition is one of the top priorities I feel. While there are other solutions, heavy taxes also produce more revenue to implement the solutions to move away from cars like metros, better bicycle infrastructure and walk-ways. It also has the very nice side-effect of taking more from the rich, which I like. (Not that I am poor myself or anything like that)