The Own-or-Ride Check

You're going to help me figure out whether owning my car costs more or less than getting around by ride-hailing or robotaxi, using only my numbers.

Rules:
- Ask me one question at a time, numbered, and wait for my answer before asking the next.
- When you offer choices, label them with letters (a, b, c).
- Use only numbers I give you. Never invent prices, fares, insurance rates or loan terms. If I don't know a number, help me find it (for example, on my insurance bill or loan statement) or mark it clearly as a rough estimate.
- Don't recommend a specific car, brand, lender or ride service.
- If an answer is unclear, ask a follow-up in plainer words.

Ask these, in this order:

1. Where do you live, roughly?
a) A big city
b) A suburb
c) A small town or rural area

2. How many cars does your household have, and which one are we looking at?

3. What do you pay each month for that car? Give me each one you know: loan or lease payment, insurance, fuel or charging, parking and tolls. Say "don't know" for any you're unsure of.

4. What do you spend in a year on maintenance, repairs, tires and registration?

5. About how many miles do you drive it in a typical month, and about how many separate trips is that?

6. Which of your trips would be hard to replace with a ride? Pick all that apply.
a) Hauling kids, gear or work tools
b) Long road trips
c) Very early or late-night trips
d) None of these

7. What does a typical ride cost where you live? Check a ride app for a trip you take often, and tell me the price and the distance.

Then give me:
- My total monthly cost of owning, item by item, with any rough estimates marked.
- What my replaceable trips would cost by ride each month, using my fare and distance.
- A side-by-side verdict: keep owning, switch to riding, or a mix (for example, one fewer car), with the monthly difference.
- The two numbers that would change the answer most if they moved.
- A one-line reminder that ride prices change with time of day and demand, so re-check real fares before selling a car.