how much to give up your car?

entwisi · 22-04-2008, 20:59

Most of you know I commute a long way to work (over 100 miles a day round trip) and I car share where possible with a lad from Padiham and another from Rawtenstall. Last night whilst stuck in the Q's on the M6 over Thelwall we got to discussing just how much teh goverment would have to put up fuel and taxes etc that would have an effect on us.

I drive a relatively old car ( 97 Volvo ) which IO converted to LPG when I bought it nearly 3 years and approaching 100K miles ago. It cost me just over £5K all in back then and I tend to work on if I get 1 year for each £1K then I'm doing alright due to the mileage I do. It costs me about £12 a day in LPG and just short of £200 in road tax. Tyres I reckon on £1/day and its usually ~£400 a year for insurance.

We got to talking about road tax and the new £1000 4x4 tax that is coming in. I argues that if you're paying >£40K for a X5/Range Rover/Q7 etc then that £1K isn't that much and even if it was every year it wouldn't stop people buying them new. However, would you consider buying one second hand if they had that amount of road tax no matter what age they were? I put forward that untill they reach the sub £5K then depreciation is far more costly than the actual running costs of the car in the majority of cases.

Again with fuel, just how much would it take fuel to go up before you considered buying a smaller more economical(less fun/prestigous) car than what you drive now? My thoughts were that it would push me more into looking into other things, working from home more often, car sharing more than we do already etc.

any thoughts or views?

emzy · 22-04-2008, 21:06

Eventhough im not working at the moment (so do around 6k miles a year) I would be completely lost without my car. I cannot get my double pram on a bus. I struggle paying the insurance etc but that is something that I accept being on benefits. I driver a 1.4td skoda so its not a gas guzzler or anything like that but recently I am finding it difficult to keep fuel in it due to the rises in the price of fuel, its getting silly. But back to the point, I think it would take a lot for me to give up my car, and by doing this it would meant that I would be confined to accy for the next few years of my life while these two are in a pram

shillelagh · 22-04-2008, 21:08

Wouldnt bother me anyway my transport belongs to rossendale transport or lancs united!!!

I did have a micra though when i was driving so i couldnt go much smaller than that could i?

MargaretR · 22-04-2008, 21:28

My car is a 1000cc Seat.
I only use it for short local journeys of 2 miles or less.
I get a bus free for longer journeys.
I bought it new 6 years ago and have not yet reach 10,000 miles.
When it was new I was fitter and did some long trips then.
Now I rarely drive more than 6 miles a week.
It may seem a waste having a car, but not to me.
It costs me £5.50 a week to keep legal and roadworthy.
A taxi fare, one way, to the nearest bus stop is £3.
If I moved to live near a bus stop (and not at the top of a hill), I might consider selling it
- but not otherwise.

Commuting is such a waste of time which could be better spent.
I feel sad for anyone who needs to do it in order to get a decent wage to survive on,
but realise that is the reason why - no one commutes by choice - do they

Neil · 22-04-2008, 21:38

I am only playing at it Ian, besides I enjoy my 75 mile round trip to work

entwisi · 22-04-2008, 21:40

In my case Margaret there are very few jobs for what I do round here so I can earn a lot more by being prepared to work so far away. I go in extra early leaving home at ~6am and I'm usually home by 5:15. I also do a 9 day fortnight to spend time with Siobhan.

Why don't I move closer? few reasons, my elderly mum lives in Spring Hill and as my sisters both live overseas I can't move away without taking here with us which she wouldn't want to do. Julie is very close to her family and Grandma helps with childcare during the week. I'm also happy to live here. I have a lovely home in a lovely area and if I tried to move to Knutsford where I work I would be lucky to buy a house with what ours is worth. I also like to point out to my workmates that Accrington is ideally placed. Its 30 mins from M/C city centre, 40 mins from teh seaside, 1 hour from the Lakes, I can be in any of a dozen different towns for shopping etc within 30 mins. We have the Ribble Valley on our doorstep and house prices are still one of teh lowest in the North West.

Lilly · 22-04-2008, 21:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by entwisi

In my case Margaret there are very few jobs for what I do round here so I can earn a lot more by being prepared to work so far away. I go in extra early leaving home at ~6am and I'm usually home by 5:15. I also do a 9 day fortnight to spend time with Siobhan.

Why don't I move closer? few reasons, my elderly mum lives in Spring Hill and as my sisters both live overseas I can't move away without taking here with us which she wouldn't want to do. Julie is very close to her family and Grandma helps with childcare during the week. I'm also happy to live here. I have a lovely home in a lovely area and if I tried to move to Knutsford where I work I would be lucky to buy a house with what ours is worth. I also like to point out to my workmates that Accrington is ideally placed. Its 30 mins from M/C city centre, 40 mins from teh seaside, 1 hour from the Lakes, I can be in any of a dozen different towns for shopping etc within 30 mins. We have the Ribble Valley on our doorstep and house prices are still one of teh lowest in the North West.

It's good to see someone pointing out the good things about this area for a change.

It's easy to get caught up in complaining. Karma sent.

Retlaw · 22-04-2008, 21:56

Couldn't give up mine, unless I become more disabled than what I am.

Margaret, mines a Seat, 1.9 deisel, bought it new 10 years ago, still in good order, best milage I ever got was 60.1 mpg whilst on holiday in Scotland. I keep a log of all fuel used and jouneys, habit from when I was in the Fire Brigade, had to keep records of all fuel, oil and journeys, even of fuel used in other than fire engines.

Be lost now only use it for shopping and trips to Accy library, our dog Eedie even has her own seat belt, I'm not allowed to go out without her, she even knows I'm going out before I do.

Retlaw.

keetah992000 · 22-04-2008, 22:43

i dont have a car -but then again my trip to work is probably around a 200 step round trip
having a car would help in picking the children up at weekend as one is in manchester and one is in haslingden - a long trip on the bus for my partner at the weekends
it would also be usful for cutting down on delivery costs for diy deliveries etc because public transport and kitchen cupboards/tongue and grooving/carpets do not make for a good partnership.

it would save money on nights out because i dont mind not drinking so would save on taxi fares

so if i did get a car - then for my needs it would probably only be a run around anyway
hopefully i wouldnt get lazy and start driving it to work lol but one never knows

cashman · 22-04-2008, 23:04

will give ours up when we sod off to spain, at the moment son lives down the smoke, sis lives midlands, daughter lives out in sticks so not practical to give it up.

lindsay ormerod · 22-04-2008, 23:34

I don't drive so I won't bother answering .

shillelagh · 22-04-2008, 23:41

By the way when i bought the Micra i paid £1500 for it. When i sold it 3 years later i got £1200 for it.

garinda · 22-04-2008, 23:47

I'm lucky that I can afford to run my car.

It's only small, and has only just done four thousand miles in four years, so the running costs are kept to a minimum, because of how little petrol I use, and I'm on the lowest mileage tariff for the insurance.

I'll have to give up my car when the D.V.L.A. tell me I'm no loneger fit to drive, but happily that won't be for at least another three years, as they've recently renewed my licence for that amount of time.

SamF · 23-04-2008, 00:00

The rises are working - I'd say the vast majority of the people at my college who are over 17 dont drive - simply because cannot afford to buy/run/insure. My girlfriend's step dad bought the car and her mum pays the insurance and yet she still struggles to afford the petrol.

garinda · 23-04-2008, 00:04

I past my test aged seventeen, but all the time I lived in London I never had a car. I couldn't have driven to work in it because there was nowhere to park, besides it was quicker on the Tube, and keeping a car just to drive up here every month or so would have been uneconomical.