A bit of lateral thinking is never a bad idea, even if does not workout in the end. I expect that much of what you expect to save is built into the price, no? On the other hand it is definitely less hassle...
I think though you'd want to run the costs out for say a five year period or so. A few more things that might be worth considering would be do you need the car all the time, over holidays for instance, might you get a discount for a long term commitment, or could public transport play a role for long distance travel.