I ceased owning a car about a year and a half ago. Can't say I've found myself missing it a great deal - I'm lucky enough to have friends who drive me most of the places I want to go riding, and I'm a named driver on both my housemate and my better half's car, so I can get around when I need to. I also get lifts to work pretty much whenever I need, though I really ought to start riding in.
In a few months (February, I think) it'll have been two years since I had a car, and I essentially lose my no claims bonus. So - should I buy myself a wee motor, making myself superskint but retaining the no claims, or should I just sack off having a car indefinitely since I clearly don't actually need it and be able to buy nice shiny things that I actually want like a new full sus frame that I can actually pedal up hills?
For reference - I checked on confused.com, and with my current no claims insurance would be just under £500, after the two years is up it'd be £750. That's on a 205 GTi.
So you want to buy car, tax it, MOT it, and inusure it at a cost of ??? so that you save £250 off a bill that you wouldn't have if you didn't buy the car in the first place? Sounds like madness to me.
Yeah. That was pretty much what I thought after writing that!
"Buy" your better half car and let them borrow it for a couple of years. Then swap back.
post of the day!
"Buy" your better half car and let them borrow it for a couple of years. Then swap back.
A work colleague does that - swaps the main driver between him and his wife every two years, so they both retain their NCD.
A work colleague does that - swaps the main driver between him and his wife every two years, so they both retain their NCD.
same here me and the wife do that
Cunning I'd never thought of doing the swap and now I have loads of NCD and my wife doesn't, but we share a car anyway so it's no big deal at the moment really. Might be worth doing at some point though.
If you don't need/want a car then don't worry about it - you can always hint for cheaper insurance if you do start driving again and in the meantime just enjoy the lack of motoring bills!