Car Sharing
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owning your own car seems to have become an expensive luxury, so it’s perhaps one of the things I could do away with to save money
Does anyone use the likes of Zipcar or Drive Now? What are your experiences?
A friend of the family bought a car for €300 and it works perfectly. Think it's a Volkwagen so definitely struck a great deal.
Cars don't have to be "expensive" or even "luxurious" as long as you make it work for the budget you have. Some people are too cheap or don't know how to drive and then have to unfortunately use public transport.
Good luck using public transport in some cities, cause in some cases buses only show up every few hours. London's TfL isn't like everywhere else where you can get a bus in bout 5-15 mins, or the train/metro.
tbh it's not the car that is expensive - it's the expenses attached to it! The tax, the insurance, the fuel, the parking...my first car was only £1k but I had to have almost double that amount to cover the insurance for the year. And when you do live in the city, it certainly makes no sense to drive when most of the time you are stuck in traffic, or cannot park for free
hspexy the insurance and all that can be relatively cheaper if it's in the name of someone much older that you know, like a father.
I personally prefer SEAT/VW cars than Renault ones but they're not that bad as long as it work as it should. A friend of the family said that new Mercedes cars now use Renault motors which I'm skeptical about but who knows, may be true.
Renault has pros and cons.
Rockman lol I remember back in the day, all you had to do was register your car to an address in the middle of nowhere, like in the countryside in Scotland, and the insurance would only be a fraction of what it is in London - all based on the level of risk
I'm not a fan of Renault myself. I tend to stick to the germans or Japanese
I've not used any myself, but I know people who regularly do, and it seems easy and straightforward. Insurance, fuel and parking is covered (for some, not all), so all you need to worry about is the membership fee and the cost of using it
thanks for the feedback. I quite like the cars on offer too, as you can get to drive all sorts of different models, provided you don't mind about the big company logos on them
Like everything else in life, people are always after the status symbols. If we were content with a car that did the job we could save money and the environment. I drive a Volkswagen Up! It is roomy, has an on-board satnav, Bluetooth etc, costs £20 per year in road tax, approximately £250 insurance and as I mostly use locally, only £20 per month fuel. The bus would cost far more! I appreciate family situations vary but cars like this are suitable for a family of 3 once kids are out of car seats etc, but even so the back is roomy enough.
wow your insurance is cheap. I think my dad, who has been driving all his life with no chains, is still being charged double what you are. I can imagine that there are areas where public transport is quite pricey and inconvenient also
Well I have maximum no claims, I am in my 60s so have been driving a long time with only a couple of scrapes to my name and I always make sure I shop around for insurance. Last year I was not happy with my quote so got another cheaper, went back to original and they matched it so I stayed with them. I haven't travelled by bus for years but friends tell me the cheapest for a couple of stops is £1.20 single. So, even doing 10 return trips per month would be same as what I spend on petrol. On the downside, parking is disgustingly high and I feel for families wanting to go out for the day, say cinema and meal. The parking can make a significant addition to the cost of the outing.
lynnibis yes parking fees are extortionate - back in the day, you only needed to feed coins into the meter to have 2 hours parking, but now you would perhaps need to balance a cheque book or going into your account overdraft to afford the charges for a night out in the cities. It's nt likely to change either
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