👋

Dear all,

After 2 month of waiting we finally got our brand new car (and I got so distracted with it that I forgot to send out an email). We didn’t buy it, we didn’t lease it, we subscribed it! Just like Netflix: as much as you can stream for 8€ month, but you have to pay for the popcorn.

In the case of this Auto-Abo only petrol isn’t included in the monthly fee of around 350€. The car is brand new and we will have it for the next 6 months. I already ordered and put seat covers on, since that seemed to be the biggest concern once we return it.

After running some number on a Google Sheet, this was, for us, the best and most care-free option. For example, a Peugeot 307 from 2007 would have costed us around 200 Euros a month (for a 3 year period), and I was not even including maintenance. Unless you are in the business of reselling Aston Martins form Bond movies, a car is possibly the worst possible investment, as practical as they may be.

Car Sharing was the solution of Germany’s major manufacturer to the “problem” that consumers were choosing more environmentally friendly mobility options in big cities and postponing or completely forfeiting buying a car. Their primary goal was actually to remind people how great is to drive a nice new Mini, Mercedes or BMW, and thus enticing them to acquire one.

Not sure how well that worked, but car sharing services are now an undeniable part of the urban traffic landscape. And now more and more subscription options are coming to the market.

I have been a heavy user of car sharing ever since they came into the market, so a subscription seemed to be the natural progression. Specially after countless times carrying child seats back and forth into MILES cars.

Abos are everywhere these days, from the films you stream and even the technology you own (grover.com), but my favourite one is definitely my monthly ETF Sparplan! And this is definitely the one with the biggest return on investment 😎

What subscriptions do you have?

Happy Abo everyone!

Take care!

Your André

PS - as always, spread the word and share the link love