> You could say the say about renting vs buying houses, and yet many people still buy
Cars and houses are excludable. And both are, within reasonable bounds, rival [1] when in use.
But people customise their houses in ways that are difficult to transmit. That makes houses more rival when out of use than a car. That is to say, people are less comfortable staying in others' houses than being in others' cars. Similarly, people are generally more okay with others being in their car than in their house. A rough estimate of this delta can be gleaned from comparing ride-sharing and Airbnb adoption rates.
Cars and houses are excludable. And both are, within reasonable bounds, rival [1] when in use.
But people customise their houses in ways that are difficult to transmit. That makes houses more rival when out of use than a car. That is to say, people are less comfortable staying in others' houses than being in others' cars. Similarly, people are generally more okay with others being in their car than in their house. A rough estimate of this delta can be gleaned from comparing ride-sharing and Airbnb adoption rates.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivalry_(economics)