so...seriously considering getting rid of my car...wwyd?

[Badvoc]

I have a 5 yr old car, very low mileage and well looked after. I reckon I could get £3-4k for it (was £12k new).

I have worked out its costing me approx £120 per month (and thats an average month) in petrol, car ins and tax etc

I use it for the school run 3 x per week, popping to the shops and for going into the local town maybe twice per month.

I see the car as a luxury atm. The school is a fair distance, but other people walk further. It will also mean in Sept I will be going 3 times per day as ds2 will be at pre-school 5 x per week.

My dh's car is a company one that I can drive, so if I ever needed a car we could arrange it so I had his.

I think we could put some money into savings (we have none) pay off half of the cc bill and I would be over £100 per month better off.

wwyd?

I'd keep it. Can you imagine walking the school run in the rain, ice and snow? It's not nice. You could always join a car sharing scheme, which would be a lot cheaper. Getting food home from the supermarket is an absolute PITA as well.

Try living without the car for 2 weeks and see how it goes.

go for it. you will save £s and the walking will do you good. We run our household with one car and it's never been an issue - the amount you save will make it more than worthwhile esp with petrol / diesel skyrocketing.

what LadySybilde said. tbh, I think weather is too nice for the test run, though, better to do it in mid January!

When we lived at our old house we walked every day, rain, shine, snow etc and it wasnt nice sometimes.

I know I would miss it, but I feel guiuilty everytime I use it atm

Dh has said - rightly - that I am having a knee jerk reaction. This year is going to be really tough for us money wise and I am desperately trying to think of ways to raise some money/cut down costs and am not doing very well tbh...have saved £40 per month on getting new ins quotes BUT the utility bills then went up £30 per month...sigh.

We also had to pay out a deposit for a holiday we can no longer go on (long story) and lots of things have gone wrong with the house (boiler, roof, appliances, you name it!) and I am worrying we have no savings left

I will try to cut down on using it and cut my petrol costs that way.

I don't have a car. I wish I did sometimes. Remember to add on extra time to get the children out of the house.

I'd say go for it too, it's not like you'd be completely stuck if you can arrange to borrow DH's, and with what you'll save you can easily afford the odd taxi if ever you are. However, a dry run is a damn good suggestion.

I spend £120 a WEEK getting ds to school (it is 16 miles away though). You need to work out how much public transport would cost you, it's just not practical to walk everywhere, all the time.

Public transport round here is pretty dire tbh (village) so I wouldnt rely on that.

Dh thinks I would be lucky to get £2k for the car - and if thats the case then its probably not worth getting rid of...sigh.

Have you tried getting energy quotes from other companies to see if they are cheaper? I'm in a city centre so public transport isn't dire, it's just expensive (not London!)

What kind of car is it? Look online - I would be amazed if you only got two grand for a five year old car, used as a second car so presumably low mileage too. Your dh just doesn't want you to sell it!
How much would the alternatives cost eg taxi, bus, maybe occasional car hire?

What kind of car is it? Look online - I would be amazed if you only got two grand for a five year old car, used as a second car so presumably low mileage too. Your dh just doesn't want you to sell it!
How much would the alternatives cost eg taxi, bus, maybe occasional car hire?

How far is the school and how long to walk there?

Agree with merci cars are fetching very low prices atm...and a five year old car even with low mileage wont fetch 2 or 3 grand.

You might consider trying to arrange a car pool? Sharing costs with another family at school? We have no car atm and I can tell you...school run is a MARE! buses, walking, bikes, cadging a lift now and then...it's so draining when you have 2 at different ages.

I don't drive and while it's a complete pain in the arse at times and I wish I could, you do just get on with it - we walk, we cycle, we public transport - it's fine. And you do have access to your DH's car if necessary, so that's going to help.

Don't see it in terms of the £2/3K you'll get for it - you'll also effectively be getting £120 a month for it.

I think the idea of just not using it for a couple of weeks and seeing how you cope is a good one. You'll end up either completely converted to carlessness or completely desperate to have it back - either way you'll know what to do.

Badvoc - if it's not worth getting rid of can you use it to make some money? Some delivery companies round here are trying to recruit SAHMs with cars to do small deliveries - I think the hours are pretty flexible which might work if your youngest is going to preschool 5 days in Sept. I don't know how well it pays over and above what you'd spend on petrol but if it gave you enough to start paying off the CC, it might be worth a try?

columbo will look into that, thanks.

For what you describe a car really isn't necessary. You also have to bear in mind that a 5 year old car starts to cost in terms of repairs as well. It's definitely a luxury & with some of that £120 saved you could get a taxi on really bad days. I think you will also find other mums might offer lifts!!!

In fact atm I only do the school run 3 x per week!

Its the ongoing costs that are getting to me too..MOT, tax, ins, breakdown cover...all adds up. Also my dc love buses and trains Might mean a few more trips on public transport!

Def going to talk to dh about it some more!