Car or no car how much will it contribute to debt?

Curlyz

I have a scooter! I love it. 49cc. Cost £15 pa to tax, £120 pa to insure. A tankful of petrol cost £4 and lasts me ages. 5 years old, had to have very little done to it to keep it running (new tyre was £15).

Obviously not suitable for everyone - longer journeys probably not recommended, but great for nipping here and there and never have to pay parking charges - can always find a free corner to park. Shopping fits under the seat.

Highly recommended

illmonkey

jsut to add to my point.

I get the train to and from work every day. its a 20 minute train ride, and a 5 minute car journey (girlfriend drops me of at station).

The road i WOULD drive to work on runs parrell to the train line for a few miles and its always solid with traffic. I zoom past them on the train, listening to music and half asleep. Its so nice.

black-saturn

Curlyz wrote:

I have a scooter! I love it. 49cc. Cost £15 pa to tax, £120 pa to insure. A tankful of petrol cost £4 and lasts me ages. 5 years old, had to have very little done to it to keep it running (new tyre was £15).

Obviously not suitable for everyone - longer journeys probably not recommended, but great for nipping here and there and never have to pay parking charges - can always find a free corner to park. Shopping fits under the seat.

Highly recommended

Do you have to pass a test for that or have an MOT?

micheleen

If you passed your car test before Feb 2001 you should already have a full moped license (category P I think). After Feb 2001 I believe you need to do a moped riding course (whatever that is) before having full license entitlement.
MOT wise it's the same for all vehicles, over 3 years old and you need one, you can't get road tax without it anyway.

Bargain_Rzl

I have never had a car. I took some lessons just before I graduated, got 100% on theory test, failed the practical. Then decided against retaking because (1) I couldn't really afford it as I was about to move to London and needed an accommodation deposit and a month's rent, and (2) you don't need a car in London.

In fact, having a car when you live in any well-connected suburb of a major city and commute into town to work is likely to be a huge expense. I know very few people who drive to work - if I did, I'd have to pay parking (£6 a day minimum, outside my office) and congestion charge (£8 a day) on top of petrol, and my lifestyle would have to change because I would no longer be able to go out drinking in London in the evenings. On the other hand, if I had a car purely for shopping, getting about at weekends etc. I'd STILL need a public transport season ticket, so it would be very expensive.

My public transport costs are about £100 a month for London zones 1-4. If I were to move away from easy access to public transport (which would only happen if I completely relocated) I would make sure I passed my test and got a car. But at the moment I only really wish I had my own transport when I need to get home from my church in Central London on Christmas Day (when there's no public transport) and when in need of picking up something large like a piece of furniture or a Christmas tree. (I lug the Christmas tree home from the garden centre over my shoulder - it's a mile's walk - and if I ever need to buy heavy furniture etc. I can usually sweet-talk my boyfriend or dad while they happen to be in the vicinity!)

Mentalminis_2

hiya, just had a quick word to say regarding the mopeds, i am not sure if you are allowed to just ride one if you have car licence, as the P catagory is only a provisional entitlement. however i do know that if you don't already have a drivers licence you will have to take a small amount of training, it's called a CBT (Compulsary Basic Training) price for this varys dependant on your area and of course it's more expensive as the years go by, i think it's around £80 now, but back in 96 i paid £55. anyways the training can not be failed, unless of course you do something very very stupid it's just like taking your cycling proficency test except you don't have to pedal and do all the silly hand signals. check out your local driving agencys to and see what they can advise you if you already have your drivers licence.... either way i belive unless you have a full motorcycle licence (catagory A) you will need to display L plates at the front and the rear of the bike, make sure these are kept visible at all times as history tells me the plod are not too keen on those that don't and you get stopped for producers quite a lot.

the mot,tax and insurance are all required as with any motor vehicle but the prices are hugely reduced and insurance comes at a pitance to car insurance, i pay about a 1/3 of the price for my bike than i do on my car and my bike goes faster top end and gets there quicker, i have no protection around me other than the clothes and helmets i wear, work that one out.

also a safety note: anyone thinking of riding motorcycles, do not be tempted to buy a second hand helmet, always buy brand new and replace every 3yrs or after a pretty nasty knock, you can get a good BS stamped helmet for as little as £60 from the FM range and it's worth every penny when it's gonna save ya brain from turning to mush after the first little knock... you don't know what has happened to a second hand helmet so don't even risk it.

I would always recommend that everyone takes a CBT or a full bike licence as it makes you a better car driver also, you learn to look further ahead and plan your driving skills better.

If anyone would like any other further tips or specialised questions, please feel free to PM me as i want you to be as safe as possible.

ronaldmacdonald

chriz1000 wrote:

I’m seriously considering downgrading my car next year.

I’ve had the car just 3 months and so far maintenance and service costs that have fallen outside of the warrantee including a new turbo:
£2800 one of payment
Petrol £250 a month
Parking £80 a month
Insurance £2300 one of payment

Tax and MOT coming up in 4 months!
Oh and on the M25 yesterday, revving like it’s out of gear when accelerating, think the clutch and MAF are on the way out! £990 in labor according to Audi, plus whatever in parts!

Yes I can defiantly see savings on the horizon by using public transport or downgrading.

I say go for it, but then I’m pretty !!!!!! off right now with the hole in my pocket!

chriz, what is your car? is it an s-line audi?

fanlandcheese

I know that this may sound really bad especially to those considering selling their cars.
I have a scooter (125cc) for running round london, a bike (800cc)for longer journeys and a classic Mercedes (1600cc) to carry family and shopping. BUT it works out that my insurance is £400 for the bike and scooter and they cost £80 in road tax (bike £65 scooter £15) and the MOT s £23.95 or so each. On average I get 60+mpg from the scooter and 45mpg approx for the bike. The scooter cost me £1600 and the Bike £2700. (resale values half that)

On the other hand the Mercedes cost me £1000 to buy (is appreciating in value) and as it is classed as a classic vehicle it costs £180 a year to insure. The MOT is about £40 but there is no road tax as it is a classic. I am limited to 5000 miles a year but only average only do around 4500. As the car is 30 years old it weighs less than the equivalent new car and so still gives 40+ mpg.

If you hold onto your cars for longer the insurance companies class it better as you are not having to get used to a new vehicle. On average it costs me only £30 a week for all my petrol, as I use the vehicle most appropriate for the journey. I have a pay as you go oystercard too for emergency journeys round london, but the scooter wins hands down as you can nearly always plan how long it takes to get from one place to another.

Overall the parts for all are easy to get hold of and the servicing for the whole year comes to £400 including parts and labour.

The 3 vehicles are the best comprimise for me at the moment and as circumstances chance so will be the number and type of vehicle.

If you have a car or bike do your advanced test on average it can save up to 30 %.

:xmassign:

CheeseOnToast

My car costs me a staggering £464 a month to pay for, insure and run.

It breaks my heart but I'm tied in with the finance at the moment, it's on Ford options. I've got to keep paying £212 until May 2006, then I can re-finance the remaining £3000 which although I don't want to do as I know the interest/total amount added to my debt is more, I really need to reduce my outgoings before I default on something.

fanlandcheese

If you have acar and make journeys on a regular basis up and down th country why not try http://www.liftshare.org/. Find someone who wants to go where you want to and get them to help pay for your fuel.