Cost of owning car vs using taxi

TrickyWicky · 26 December 2011 at 11:36PM

Until 4 years ago I'd been reliant on my legs/feet and public transport all of my life. It's something you get used to, busses here and there, taxis to other places.. all costing money that you'll never see anything back for.

When I finally passed my driving test and got a car a whole new world of convenience opened up to me. I coud go anywhere I wanted at any time of day or night, not need to depend on anyone else and I could apply for better jobs which might not be accessible via public transport.

I guess the only thing I can say really is that living without a car is like living without the internet. You can't see whats out there, you can't go to anything you want and you're pretty restricted. If you don't have much money, go and get a loan, even if you have to eek it out over 10 years to afford it, get a loan, your licence, pass the test (theory is easy) get a car and start getting yourself mobile. At that point you're more attractive to employers too once you have a car so you may find better work to help with the loan repayments.

One piece of advice I will give you is about something which held back my family for years. The "What if I fail the test?" thought. Don't worry about it. The theory is easy, you've clearly got access to a computer if you've posted here so get yourself a theory DVD set which will seriously help you to pass. The theory test is a set of multiple choice questions on a computer screen and some videos to time your hazard perception reaction time. If you've got the DVDs and practiced at home then the theory test will be so easy you'll wonder why you ever worried about it. Also the practical test makes a lot of people worry. Many people fail the first test. I did, my OH failed the first two (and yes we both took it personally) but each time you retake it. Eventually you'll pass even if you have to annoy the hell out of the driving examiner to do so. I took my second test and went into chat overdrive whilst playing a club anthems CD on the car stereo (yes, you're the driver you can do as you wish with the stereo). I also gave the bloke a running commentary on everything I was doing from gear changes to blind spot checking so he knew what I was thinking as a driver. Looking back he should of failed me, I forgot to indicate on a roundabout or two, hit a kerb, stalled a couple of times, my braking was so sharp the car could stand on its front end etc. We got back to the test centre, the bloke passed me and couldn't wait to escape from the car. I guess what I'm saying is you might not pass the first time but you WILL pass. It's not like studying for a PHD in rocket science where there is a risk of you and your classmates dropping out. That fear of failing the driving test and loosing loads of money on it held back my family for years. The reality is you rebook and take the test again in another 2-3 weeks. As long as you've borrowed enough money (and not spent it elsewhere) you'll be fine.

The only downside to having a car is the maintenance, insurance and ever increasing fuel costs. What you have to remember is that you're paying for all of that plus profit every time you use a taxi so in reality, which is cheaper and better for you personally? With your own car you also have something that you can call yours for the money you spent.

Honestly, once you've got your own car you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

HappyMJ · 26 December 2011 at 11:53PM

thescouselander wrote: »

Not sure what its like round your way but round here taxis work out at about £4 per mile. My car doesn't cost me anything like that to run.

yeeesh. That's a lot. It's only about £1.50 a mile here http://www.harrystaxisburton.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9

Anyway the fixed costs of my car would be about £2,000 per year for insurance, tax, mot and the variable costs such as petrol, tyres, brakes and extra servicing are about 25 pence per mile so the break even point for me is about 1,600 miles as the average taxi journey for me is 3 miles that's about 533 taxi trips or about 2 per day.