So long car ownership, I'd like to say it has been a delight, but...

[screenman]

I know insurance companies are risk based, but in the years when you don't claim, and assuming you have the maximum nbc the premiums do not still come down, so the company is effectively making a profit from you.
Then, when you do have a claim, or as the OP has several in quick succession although they pay out, they then start to recoup there losses so they are having it both ways by making money when no claims and recouping the money with higher premiums when they pay out.

I imagine that the cost of one claim can take out many years of premiums, the most expensive I was involved in cost well in excess of £30,000 in total.

Just had my insurance renewal through to day, at just under £8 a week it seems good value.

 

[I like Skol]

I know insurance companies are risk based, but in the years when you don't claim, and assuming you have the maximum nbc the premiums do not still come down, so the company is effectively making a profit from you.
Then, when you do have a claim, or as the OP has several in quick succession although they pay out, they then start to recoup there losses so they are having it both ways by making money when no claims and recouping the money with higher premiums when they pay out.

I don't think you really understand probabilities, averages and liabilities. Any claim at any point could easily wipe out a lifetime of premiums paid.

 

[Paulus]

I don't think you really understand probabilities, averages and liabilities. Any claim at any point could easily wipe out a lifetime of premiums paid.

I do .

 

[Drago]

I keep trying to go car free and people keep giving me free cars that are too good to turn down. Damn their generous souls to Hades!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

It can be difficult to go car-less so kudos to the OP for giving it a whirl. My reading of his post is that his wife has ditched her van and is now the main user of the car, so no chicanery.
I went car-less for three years and it was great, but things changed and I had to buy a van , which I still have. I'll ditch it when I can.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

30 years plus without a car. Would have to take driving lessons if I wanted to drive again. God knows what they would charge for insurance.
Mind that doesn't quite make me carless as I can always scroung a lift if desperate.

I was car free for over 30 years, though I did drive company vans and small lorries in the 1990's early 2000's, when I brought my first car in 2012 I got clobbered for insurance as I didn't have a checkable insurance history. These days going car less would cause problems, my Good Lady has mobility problems and without the car she would be restricted in how she could get around.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I can't imagine I'll want to go back to owning a car, but my opinion my change when we're doing the school run in sub-zero temperatures and horizontal sleet!

It is easier than you think: you'll be warm enough after the first hundred metres or so.

Also, remember the costs of car ownership and it becomes much more enjoyable...

 

[ColinJ]

I can't imagine I'll want to go back to owning a car, but my opinion my change when we're doing the school run in sub-zero temperatures and horizontal sleet!

Hmm...

The one and only time that I berated myself for not driving was on Christmas Eve, standing at a bus stop in Halifax in a blizzard, waiting for a very overdue bus. No taxis were available and I was weighed down with heavy, bulky Christmas presents including a portable TV and a whiteboard! By the time I got home, I was frozen and I'd put my back out!

 

[HMS_Dave]

Im not quite car-less but ive used my car a LOT less. It requires a different mindset. It is of course possible, but when you open the fridge and you realise that you have no milk, beers or food you can't simply pop in the car to Tesco at 10pm at night, unless you live very close or fancy gearing up for a night ride. That being said, it is a lot easier for you as you do have someone in the household who can drive. Give it a go i say. The worst that can happen is that you save some money...

 

[screenman]

I would need to move house, shut my businesses and change my lifestyle a lot to go car less so it is not for me at the moment. I can see a time when we only have the one car between us like the OP though.

 

[avecReynolds531]

The age of the car is swiftly passing. Future generations will think it barmy that towns and cities were re-designed and bulldozed for them.

+ 1
After decades, the idea of using bikes as everyday transport seems to be gaining credibility once more.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Went down from two to one car 12yrs ago, how I got right into my cycling. However since then , we are back to two this last 6yrs. It wasn’t easy by any stretch running one less with kids to take to various things but I sacrificed. I think if you live in the city and have excellent bus links etc it should be fairly easy. However if you were forced you would manage ! It is habit forming after all.

 

[Mo1959]

My battery will be going flat it is so long since I used it. Must give it a little run. I think I could probably do without it now to be honest, but there's always that odd time it's needed.

 

[Blue Hills]

My battery will be going flat it is so long since I used it. Must give it a little run. I think I could probably do without it now to be honest, but there's always that odd time it's needed.

If it's used that infrequently I would very seriously consider alternative solutions for these odd times its needed. These "solutions" may seem expensive on a "per incident" basis but not when plotted over a year. Sitting cars are just tin.

 

[Pale Rider]

Several posters in this thread, including the OP, seem to think 'car free' means only having one car per household.

Nothing wrong with that arrangement, but please don't kid yourself it is in any sense of the term 'car free'.