Aibu to not buy a car

[ineedtoknow123]

Aibu to refuse to buy a car (second hand) due to the prices? We are a couple with young children. I (f) am the only one with a driving license as dp cant drive due to mental health reasons. We live in an area that we can walk to everything we need and can bus it to other places although the public transport isnt great and it is difficult with children. Our income is not stable and dp isnt reliable in his job which he changes frequently. Financially it could make things very difficult for us to get a car.

You’ve set out very logical reasoning and clearly a car is not required! Why do you feel it would be unreasonable?

"We live in an area that we can walk to everything we need"

That's the most important thing - you don't need a car. It's not just the expense of buying - insurance, repairs, fuel, tax, parking all add substantial costs on their own. They're supposed to be a convenience but they can be a hassle too; trying to find a parking space when you're already late, worrying about it being stolen or vandalised.

Don't waste money and headspace on what you don't need.

You might as well put AIBU not to get an elephant. If you don't need one don't buy one.

No, you absolutely must buy a car regardless of whether you need or can afford one.

Why is this a question you need to ask the internet?

I'm not sure why this made me laugh so hard, but thank you 🤣

I suppose because everyone else has one and maybe i worry im doing something wrong by having kids walk alot in all weather or worry that im making my life more difficult if it could be easier with a car.

😂

We had no car for nine years when our kids were young and it was fine. Depending on where you are, you might be able to use a service like Zipcar as and when you need one.

Since you are close enough to walk everywhere it sounds like you don't really need it, so good to save (it's a big expense) how much would you use it if you did have one? Walking is great for children so long as it's not massively far to get anywhere (doesn't sound like it is)

Why waste money on a depreciating asset you don't really need?

How much of a difference has it made to your lives now that you have one?

Yes was going to say this - Zipcar or similar is good - if you really are an infrequent car user it's quite economical compared to buying/insuring/maintaining your own. I don't think in general it's a bad thing to walk everywhere or make your kids walk or use public transport (in fact a good thing, healthier and better for the environment). 99% of the time that is of course fine.

There are just those odd times when it is really helpful to have access to a car - visit to a friend or family member's very inaccessible/rural property with heavy luggage/buggies, taking a bulky or oddly shaped item to the tip, picking up DIY supplies or garden stuff, needing to take a sick child or elderly relative to hospital in the evening/overnight, where public transport is just unnecessarily awkward or uncomfortable or unavailable, Uber/taxis can fill a gap but aren't always suitable or easy to get depending on your area, but a pool car can often do the job...

Was going to add, similar to this PP we didn't have a car for quite a long time (live in suburban outer London with excellent public transport and local amenities) but did get one when our kids were a little older - there were pros and cons tbh. It didn't hugely change our lives, we still made 95% of our journeys on foot/bus/tube, didn't use it for day to day things like commuting, school run, kids activities. But it did see use at the weekends and holidays as it opened up options for cheap/outdoorsy weekend activities as we could go a little further afield into the countryside or on a daytrip to somewhere without brilliant public transport links more easily and spontaneously (obviously most places you can get to on train from London but it is expensive for two adults and 3 kids if you haven't booked in advance, plus would often have to tube to central London to get a train back out again which is annoying), and taking UK based holidays became a lot easier to just pack everything up into the car and go, rather than only taking what we were able to carry on the train and having to fiddle around with buses/taxis on the other side. We did also use the car quite a lot when parents got a bit older/less mobility to run them around on errands and to appointmets when walking/public transport got challenging, could have used taxis for that I suppose if we hadn't had the car. It was just nice to know in an emergency we could have been at their house in 5 mins driving rather than the 20-25 it would have taken to walk/bus although again 24/7 taxis are a thing in London.

On the con side, once the kids knew a car was available they got a LOT more whiny about having to walk everywhere and were constantly whinging to go in the car instead, saying it was too rainy to walk, too tired to walk, too late to walk etc. And when they got to be teens the requests for lifts everywhere were relentless. DH was soft and used to give in way too much IMO which just was a vicious circle. Now bear in mind they were whiny kids/ at whiny ages anyway 😂, and before we got the car the whining was to be allowed to take the bus or to not have to go wherever it was or just general griping, so maybe it just changed the tone/content of the moan not the fact of the moaning itself but do prepare yourself that if they get the idea car is an option now you can drive for some complaints from them about it!

YANBU. As the cost of motoring rises and the CoL isn't getting any easier, I think more people are opting for public transport.

We live in a village, but my 17yo has opted for a mix of bus, walking and cycling. He can't justify the minimum £4k a year a car of any age/size would cost him.

In an emergency, you can always use an Uber or minicab.

Hard to say. We were pretty much forced to get one because of a change of circumstances that meant it wasn't feasible for us to get everywhere we needed to by bike or public transport. Until then I was commuting nine miles each way by cycle and was the fittest I've ever been!

If I didn't need to move heavy things around occasionally I'd happily go back to being car-free.