Let's face it, buying, maintaining and fueling a car is a very expensive habit (especially these days).

I've spent the last couple of days contemplating putting the thing on e-bay and getting rid. Reckon I could save:


£6298* a year!!!

You know that is a reasonable estimate and it means that over a working lifetime, 35 years, a car will cost £220, 430 (and that is assuming costs stay the same... which, of course they wont)

Working that out has really frightened me into thinking that a car is just not worth having anymore. But could I live without it? I don't think so!

* Estimated annual costs of running the car:
£2000 Depreciation
£1920 fuel -based on £40 a week-
£1248 city center parking -based on £5.20 a day, 5 days a week for 48 weeks -
£750 Insurance
£180 tax
£200 repairs, MOT, tyres, oil, wipers ect

It would be very difficult to survive without my car, it is a 20 mile round trip to the nearest town!

Seriously, in most places in England it is fairly easy to live without a car. Loads of people never learn to drive. I should think once you are used to driving it would be difficult to give up but not impossible and like most other things, you would get used to not having a car. I think it would take a while to adjust though:)

Nooooo I couldn't live without a car! When I was "in between" cars, I learnt just how restricted I was without it, and how I couldn't do things on spec, like I always like to do. When I bought a new car, I got my freedom back! :clap:

This year, the little beast will probably cost me:

£1,188 in payments for the car (£99 a month)
£600 petrol (It only takes about £50 a month for what I use it for... Obviously this changes with the season in which I use it etc)
£900 secure parking (£75 a month)
£1,455 insurance
£100 tax (Its low band, yay)
£120 Its first service

(I've not counted depreciation, as I'm keeping it for 5 years at least!) - I know it lost a grand the minute I drove it out of the Showroom... But hey

So thats... £4,363... :o

My Insuarance goes down in January, when I get my 1st year of "No claims"... I did a dummy quote and it was just over £900... My BF contributes to my petrol, so overall I reckon its worth it! :clap:

I've got a 70 mile round trip to work so I'd be pretty hammered without mine.

Takes just under an hour each way in the motor, would take getting on for double that on the train.

No brainer really

I spend £25 of servicing and about £20 a year on depreciation. £0 on petrol

Yes you've guessed it, its a push bike. It is worth considering should you be close enough to amenities. Don't forget add about a third to include the tax for the amount it would take out of your gross wages.

Looking at some of your massive expenditures, its a wonder how you have any money for anything else.

So yes, even though i do own a car, its officially off the road. i can live easily without a car.

Shortly after I moved to Sheff my car died. I didn't replace it for three years (and that was only because we got given one for free). Not owning a car in the city of Sheffield is perfectly possible and very easy to adjust to. The public transport in the city is excellent and means that there's no real need to own a car. I'd quite happily live without a car again, a feeling I definitely felt last night when I drove from Crystal Peaks (work) to Hillsborough (home) for the first time (I normally tram it) and it took as long to drive as it does on the tram, but with extra stress, the inability to read a book and I couldn't have had a couple of beers.
If you're thinking of getting rid of your car, go for it. It's nice to have one less thing to worry about in life and the money saved cn be immense. Just bear in mind that it's currently summer - you'll need some stout shoes and a big coat in winter.

Been carless for about 2 years now.

Even when I worked in Leeds - 70 mile round trip each day - I was willing to take longer and use train / coach than stress out on the Motorway. I could have a nap in each direction and was much more human when I got home than I was when driving!

And it was cheaper - I was paying 8 quid a day just to park somewhere safe near the office, let alone fuel and such.

Now I'm working in Sheffield I walk from Walkley to the city centre quite often (the tummy needs removing!!) and the buses are adequate. The only times I miss the car are when I do the 'big' shop at the supermarket - so I get a taxi back with the shopping - visitis to the vets with cats (taxi again) and spontaneous days out and such.

You DO have to plan a little more, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm much less stressed out than I used to be when driving, am saving money and have warm fuzzy feelings about the environment. And I'm probably healthier!

So, at the moment, being carless works for me.

Joe

The answer to this question depends on the public transport facilities where you live, and if you're able to walk or cycle.

Before my little boy was born I used to go most places by bike, I can't do that anymore as I personally don'y think it is safe to cycle in Sheffield with a child on the back of the bike.

When my little boy was born we lived near a main road that was served by several different bus services, all of which were easy access buses. Fantastic, we were out and about every day, going shopping in town, meeting friends for lunch etc.

Eight months later, we moved to an area that had a half hourly service (allegedly!) and the buses were old fashioned walk up the steps buses, I had problems with a bad back and it was really difficult to get on the bus carrying pushchair and my little boy, who by this time was quite hefty. And even when we did go into town, I could't buy anything as I couldn't physically carry everything onto the bus. My social life took a nose dive and I became quite lonely and felt isolated.
Plus the nuber of times I have waited, in the deapths of winter for more than an hour, baby waiting beside me in his pushchair at the bus stop when the bus didn't turn up. Not good for babies or Mummy's!

So I would say that when I had access to good public transport and before before my little boy was born, living without a car was a doddle, I do now have use of a car most day's and it makes a real difference.

If you can't live without it, you could almost certainly make it cheaper... If you don't like paying £2000 per year in depreciation, own a car worth a lot less! :) And that would probably save you lots in fuel too...

The bit that would scare me is parking - Deavon and caprice both pay huge amounts just for the privelige of dumping their cars in (presumably) a city centre. It never cost me anything to park my (push)bike in Sheffield! ;) You two also pay rather a lot in insurance - are you both young with expensive cars?

Cars are one thing I always thought people have as a financial blind-spot. Friends of mine used to be amazed at me spending over a thousand pounds on say my pushbike or hifi system, but wouldn't blink an eyelid at several times that on a car - every year! The problem is of course that plenty of people really do need them for various reasons, but I suspect a lot of them could do without! My personal story is that I've lived and worked in various parts of Sheffield and also in London, and always commuted by bike. The odd times I needed to use public transport were a right pain, although cars would probably have been just as bad for the traffic jams problems.

I have never owned a car - I'm 26, I plan to keep it this way. As a result I will always aim to live somewhere near to where I work, at most a train ride, at least a cycle ride. I think that a lot of people who have cars and use them do not need to.

The automobile was originally seen as the future - providing freedom for the individual to go where they like, when they like. I often wonder whilst cycling past people sitting in huge queues of traffic, whether that freedom exists any more.

I personally love driving and have been driving for 8 years, I just hate the fact that it is so constricting to your time. It is very rarely quicker to drive, for short journeys at least, and even if i did own a car I think i would keep my usage of it to an absolute minimum.

Have you thought of getting a little scooter or motorbike. Free parking all day in every surface pay and display. Much Much cheaper fuel consumption, and commuting takes 25% of the time it does in a car. In addition, a "cheap one" plus insurance and new riding gear can be bought for £500 - £2000.

Much less than the depreciation of your car. I used to have a ten year old commuter 125cc motorbike and it did 125 miles per gallon. I bought it for £140 rode it for two years and then sold it for £250....

Ooooh being without a car is soooo depressing. Ive been without a car since my accident and I absolutely hate it. Just the most simple of things get on my nerves, eg not being able to go to the shop in the middle of the night.

Yeah, I think scooters should be promoted more. They are a good solution to congestion and polution. Get you from A to B without use of legs, don't use much fuel, dont take up much space. Imagine how many scooters you could park in the space it takes to park a BMW X5.

Now, ill try my best not to start ranting about 4x4's used to drive precious children to school...

I've never had a car (never even been near a lorry), so yes I can live without a car. If Deavon's figure is anywhere near right - well, you can get a long way by public transport for £6298 a year!

You two also pay rather a lot in insurance - are you both young with expensive cars?

I'm 18 and drive an 05 plate Suzuki Alto. My insurance is fully comprehensive and its my first year of owning the car. (I only got it like 2 weeks ago lol) I have had 6 months of third party insurance on my old car, so by January, I shall have a year of no claims *touch wood*, pushing my premium down loads!

I had to get onto the fully comp bandwagon, third party is a dead end road (no pun intended) but it was the only way for me to get started. :rolleyes:

Easily, have my motorcycle :clap:

I could live without my car, but life would be much more difficult.

For a start, this week and for the next 6 i'm working in Felixstowe. I came down on the train this week as I thought it would be easier.
I'm not having to get lifts too and from the office, which means I have to arrive and leave when someone else wants too.
It also means that I have to leave on Friday at a time the trains dictate.

When i'm home I use the car to visit my parents (it's at least a weekly journey), I could do it by tram and bus, it would take at least 2 hrs each way, by car it takes <30 mins.
My base office (if I ever went there) is in Rotherham. It would take again 1 tram and 1 bus and take >1 hr to get there. Even in rush hour I can do it in 50 mins in the car, and if I time it right it only takes 30 mins.
I go to training once or twice a week at the Goodwin sports centre. Time is tight, so a 30 min walk to get there isn't an option, going on the bus would be ridiculous as i'd have to go into and out of the centre. In the car it takes 5 mins and if it's raining or cold I'm not.
I also go to ponds forge, I do sometimes get the tram to do this, but I have to leave 15 mins earlier to arrive on time, and that's travelling at rush hour. Outside rush hour the car would have an even bigger advantage.

As to cost, i'm lucky in that I get a travel allowance based on milegage. This is paid at the inland revenue specified rates of 40p/mile <10000 miles and then 25p/mile >10k miles.
So far this year i've just about hit the 10k mark (that's since april). This pays for the fuel and leaves enough left over to pay for the depreciation, tax, insurance and maintenance.
About the only real cost to me is for personal mileage which amounts to £10 a week maybe.
Most of our offices have parking, and if not then I could claim the cost back anyway, so I rarely pay for parking myself.

Costs are going to go up somewhat when I upgrade the car, depreciation will be higher, as will insurance, so I'll end up paying for those out of my pocket as the mileage allowance won't change. But if a car is more than a device to get from A to B then it's worth the cost to you to have a nice one. Obviously that's a personal decision everyone makes though.

Is this a question of could or should?

I think the recent congestion charges in london are an excellent idea and should be applied more widely. I'm amazed, particularly around christmas, that people still consider driving their cars across town during rush hour. They sit for hours in a queue.

I live in hillsborough and was vastly annoyed by the fact that it took me (in my housemates car) about 30 minutes to LEAVE hillsborough due to all the people driving down to the shops on a sat. I have no idea where they all park.

so ignoring the fact that there are times when a car is necessary for short journeys - when carrying large items for example - but driving short journeys to places such as the cinema, the town centre, the gym strikes me as crazy. Does it really save you any time, given parking time etc. And does that matter? Should we not be hindered from doing this to reduce congestion/pollution?

I think we should be made to live without our cars much more. And I think that public transport should be improved. Though I think sheffield PT is pretty good on the whole.

And I think that everyone should get on their bikes!

I don;t bother with the car for work any longer as it was just getting impossible with all the traffic and parking was a nightmare, and I wouldn't consider taking the car to somewhere like London or York as it's so easy to get there by train. This year I also for the first time went on holiday without the car and it was much less stressful - the Yorkshire coast is parking hell.

But, I wouldn't want to be without the car, for one thing I could not cope with the shopping. Heeley hasn't got a decent supermarket so I have to trek out of the area to get to a decent one and cart back the heavy stuff. Online shopping has proved to be dodgy, taxis are unreliable and the bus simply isn't an option.

I also like to get out of town and in this case the car is vital - there are only buses out to the most touristy places and if I want to get out to somewhere quiet then the car is needed. So the car can be a total bind around busy cities and is basically useless for work, but I'd never be without it or I'd be stuck.

Anyway, I never really work out what it costs in terms of tax and so on, it's not that much really, and I just have an old car, which is cheaper in the first place, as I couldn;t care less about spending all my cash on something thats only going to depreciate anyway.

Originally posted by Mathom


But, I wouldn't want to be without the car, for one thing I could not cope with the shopping. Heeley hasn't got a decent supermarket so I have to trek out of the area to get to a decent one and cart back the heavy stuff. Online shopping has proved to be dodgy, taxis are unreliable and the bus simply isn't an option.


What about the tesco bus and a big shopping bag on wheels?

I'm planning on going car less this winter - just to see - shopping will be a problem - taxi will do it coming back...the missus now works local to where we live and I'm retired...so lets see how it goes...:thumbsup: