To keep a "spare" car?

[poundshoplemonade]

Well, more of case of is DH BU....We have a car that we bought for one of the dc, but they rarely come back here these days so it hardly gets used.

We know the history of the car, it's got low mileage but we are debating whether to sell it, or just hang on to it as a spare car (DH and I share a car as both wfh). We don't need the money from selling it and are arguing amongst ourselves whether to get rid.

I think it's pointless paying to tax and insure a car that's sat on the drive most of the time, whereas he thinks it's handy to have in case we both need to use a car on the same day (this has only happened on average once a month or less and it was never a case of desperately needing a car, just handy/more convenient than walking)

WWYD?

Get rid

You don’t need to tax it if it’s not been kept or used on a public road

Sell it. We had the same argument- it was solved when on one of the rare occasions we needed the ‘spare car’, the battery was flat because we used it so infrequently.

Could you compare the cost of keeping it (depreciation / servicing / insurance / tax / MOT) with the cost of occasional taxis?

@MumsMetHer

Could you compare the cost of keeping it (depreciation / servicing / insurance / tax / MOT) with the cost of occasional taxis?

Wouldn't ever use taxis tbh

@TinLeaf

You don’t need to tax it if it’s not been kept or used on a public road

I know but if we kept it it would be used occasionally so would need taxing.

Is it still technically your offspring's car? You could always give them first refusal, and then sell it on if they definitely don't want it.

Would the price of a taxi trip once a month work out as more or less than what you are spending on keeping it each month.

It's not just tax and insurance - there's also the mot and servicing costs, and the difference in value between a car that is X years old vs a car that is X+1 years old, that should also be factored in. Unless you are so far from civilisation that a taxi would be more than £70 you are probably best off getting rid of it.

Cara degrade faster when they aren’t being used regularly so keeping one as a “spare” doesn’t really work.

You might need taxi occasionally if you got rid of it

@TinLeaf

You don’t need to tax it if it’s not been kept or used on a public road

Yes but if it is SORN you can't use it so defeats the argument.

Get rid op.

I'd sell it. It's a waste of money and if it's only being used once a month or so there's a very good chance when you do need it you're going to end up with a flat battery or similar.

It'll just get ruined through lack of use. They can't be stored without specific ongoing maintenance. I'd sell it and save the proceeds for if your situation ever changes and you need a second car in future.

@luxxlisbon

Cara degrade faster when they aren’t being used regularly so keeping one as a “spare” doesn’t really work.

Agree.

*cars degrade

We went down to 1 car. Saving hundreds.

Glad you all agree with me - it is the offspring's car but he won't be using one for the next three years at least. He's happy for us to sell it.

Agree re it going downhill more quickly with it regular use. Someone would probably love to buy it off you, or you might be able to donate it to a local charity if they could make use? For the irregular trips you do I wonders if there was a car club nearby?

We went down to one car for a time (3 years or so) when we both commuted by foot and train. Was great to not have so much hassle with MOTs, tax etc

We had a 'spare' car too. It was bought for DS to use after he dropped out of Uni (wrong course choice) and worked for a year. He then went back to Uni and the car just sat on the drive during term time and was rarely used in the holidays (except for Summer hols when he was home for 3 months so had a job). It had low mileage so we were reluctant to sell it. DS has now finished Uni and is back home. He had a temporary job and has just secured a full time job - He needs the car for both of those jobs as we live in a village with some (but not brilliant) public transport. So I'm glad we kept the car as 2nd hand cars have massively increased in price since Covid due to long delays in new car delivery.

So if your DC might need it in future then I'd be inclined to keep it. If they are unlikely to then I think having a spare car for very occasional use is probably not cost effective.

We've a "spare" car. It's 13 years old, only 30k on the clock. We keep dithering whether to keep it, exchange it or sell it. At the end of the day, it costs very little to keep it, just £150 or so road tax and £150 or so insurance, plus a couple of hundred per year for service and MOT. So, under £500 per year to keep it for the convenience of having a spare on the days we both need to use it and for our son to use when he's home from Uni. It's a no brainer really. It'd be inconvenient to not have it on the few days we need both. It'd be expensive to part exchange it for a newer model that may even have higher mileage and an unknown history. So, we're just keeping it for the time being.

Second hand car prices are sky high at the moment so if you are going to sell, now is a really good time.

We have a spare car. DH either works from home or gets the bus to work so very rarely drives. I work outside the home so am driving most days - I tend to alternate which car I drive so they both get used regularly. I'm reluctant to give up the extra car as it is handy on the odd occasion we need to drive the kids to different places at the same time, or if there is some kind of family emergency we need to travel for (we seemed to have a spate of these a few years back). For me the costs of running two cars is worth it for the lack of juggling needed when these things crop up.

Get an idea of value from 'webuyanycar.com'
They will give you a price to treat as a base line but if you go ahead they will knock off ££ for all sorts of reasons. They even charge if you want the money within 48hrs.
We used to have a second car but it was hardly used so sold it. Then we bought a bigger and more comfortable car. Deffo an improvement.