What would you do? Car leasing coming to end

NinjaSavingKat

WTBF... get rid of the car! Large supermarkets deliver... Approved Foods deliver.. this unnecessary noose around your neck has to go. Even buying a banger will be more trouble than its worth.. cut loose, use the bus, sell it if you can but don't renew this.. get debt free... then buy a nice car. You clearly don't "need" the vehicle and your little head is already saying get rid.. you know what needs doing...

Good luck with whatever you choose, interested to know if you can sell it though...

x

tenbob84

my mrs is going on maternity soon so i have have just bought her, off ebay a 2000 plate astra with 70k on the clock for 750.00 this means her car payments are now zero. there are bargains to be had if you keep your eyes open

fracturedsun

I don't have a car - never had (Don't have a licence in fact). It does save a lot of money, and if you live somewhere with good public transport links you can certainly get by without.

A few words of warning: there is a lot less freedom relying on public transport. I don't know where you live but I live in a city (Leeds in fact) and the public transport is excellent, buses every 10 minutes but it takes a lot longer to get anywhere (a 20 minute car journey to work takes me an hour and a half on the bus). If you live in a more rural area getting around via public transport can be a complete nightmare. When I visit my Mum I can get to her house by train but then going anywhere in the local area takes half the day unless someone drives me.

Also worth considering how close you are to your local supermarket.... I specifically pick to live within walking distance, shopping online is all very well but when you just want a couple of bits it's not practical.

Going to places you travel to occasionally such as visiting friends is often frankly a pain and there are some places it's just not worth the trouble going to unless you can get a lift... most industrial estates and outlet complexes are a pig to get to unless you are travelling by car, trips to the countryside even worse.

Those are the negatives, now for the positives you can live without a car.... I really only started being frustrated by not being able to drive in the last couple of years (and I'm in my 30s). But it really depends how much you have to be able to get round. If you only tend to travel relatively short distances on a daily basis and all the conveniences are available in the local area then go for it.

I would suggest challenging yourself to not use the car for a week or so and see how you do, it'll give you a chance to see if there are any more irregular journeys you do that are difficult by bus and how much of an inconvenience it's likely to be.


Oh and another thing... it's only small but it's something that's caught me out in a couple of places I've lived, think about where your local delivery depots for royal mail and other carriers are... If I get a parcel from anyone other than royal mail and I'm not in to collect it, it involves 2 hours on buses and 30 minutes on foot each way to collect it.

zeon999

Wow that certainly seems a very expensive deal for such a car to be honest.

As to whats best for you well it depends your saying your thinking of not having a car, well of course if this is something you can do then thats the cheapest option.

Me personally I would be lost without a car and tend to have vehicles on lease deals so I can renew every few years without the hassle and risk associated with purchasing. I know exactly how much its going to cost me right up to the end of contract at which point I get a replacement.

An I always use Total Fleet Services now, they have been brilliant.
http://www.lease-hire.co.uk

Thing is you need to work out what suites you best an don't let emotions get in the way of sound decisions.

DS4215

If you do not use your car much, what are you spending £200 a month on petrol to do? At £7/gallon and 30mpg that comes out at over 850 miles of driving every month.

That is a long way on the bus or bicycle!