Sometimes I think the worst decision I made was to buy a car. And am on my 3rd one in 10yrs. Yes, it gives you comfort and covenience but looking back its a big liability.

Kitambo before the car all I needed to get to work and back was 100 bob using a mat. But now I need a minimum of 600bob for the fuel and 140 bob for the parking. So that's 740 bob a day, or 3700 a week or 14800 a month or 177,000 bob pa. Weekend errands at 1500 a weekend give 78,000 pa. Insurance at 42000pa. Servicing at 6000 x 3 times giving 18000. Tyres 15000 x 4 = 60000 bob running for 2 years (thus 30,000 for tyres per year). Depreciation 150,000 per yr. Thus total cost of running the car is 495,000 pa. A matatu would have cost me 150bob daily to get to work or 750bob a week or 39000 per yr, meaning i'd have saved 456,000 bob per yr or 4,560,000 for the 10yrs I have been driving. Add another 1,000,000 for the car purchase and the set back is 5,560,000 Bob. Enough money to buy an apartment at Nyayo Embakasi.

And car ownership comes with other hidden expenses like more phombe (coz you know you will still get home even at 3am), more female company that thinks you are loaded and thus should foot all the pub bills etc (and of course more landings). So if you were taking 4 tuskers (800bob) and then catching a mat to get home, now you will most likely be taking double that i.e 1600 coz you have wheels to get you home. Add the usual female company or the 'mboys' etc doubles that amount to 3200 bob for just one day of phombe. Throw in some nyam chom at 600 bob and you are at 3800. That's an extra 3000 bob 'attributable to the car'. If you drink twice in a week thats 6000 bob 'car induced damage' or 24,000 a month or 288,000 bob a year extra for your pub bill.

A car will also make you to move house since you don't want to park your newly imported 1m corolla in some parts of Eastlando or in Uthiru etc where it might be stolen in no time. Thus instead of paying 20,000 rent in some 'perceived car unsafe area' areas, you will end up paying 40,000 in a 'car safe neighbourhood'. That's a total of 240,000 bob additional rent per year due to the car.

Summing up the above figures, a car will add 456,000 bob to your annual transport cost, 288,000 to your phombe/entertainment bill and 240,000 to your housing bill. That's a total of 984,000 bob a year. Imagine if this amount was used to invest in income generating assets instead of the car?

I know if i keep looking at wazua for long, someone will advise against eating as it consumes cash that you can save.

Say 500 a day for 365 days wasted on food amounts to Sh 182,500 that could have otherwise been invested in shares or a plot

Nditto!

Lol@ jaggernaut, youre blaming your car for everything! I was waiting for you to blame it for the high bride price you paid for Mrs. Do this, take 2 weeks off and jav to work. Use it on weekends only. Tell us how it goes

You actually contradict yourself by citing vintage cars that appreciate in value
Anyone with economic sense would get a loan to purchase the car and invest the hard cash in something that will bring returns.