Giving up my car

Franbern don't write your 6yr old i10 off as worthless. I just sold my 11 Yr old automatic Corsa for £500. Could have probably got more for it as it had 20 months MOT. I actually bought a newer one as I am 69 and I think this one should last me for 6 or 7 years. I'd find it hard to do without it even though I live close to shops and bus routes.

I am 80. I've been driving since I was 22. I live in a city in Scotland. My daughter lives 3 miles away but to get to her house I would need to get 2 buses a nd it would take approx 1 hour. I can drive the distance in 15 minutes. I have to pay the usual road tax and insurance plus £60 per year just to park my car as I don't have a driveway. It is becoming an expense I can barely afford now but I would miss the freedom it gives me. As for the petrol crisis, I walked for a mile with my dogs this am , passed two large petrol stations, no queues and no closed notices. This has been stirred up by the media and if no one was panicking it wouldn't be a crisis.

If it is not an extra expense that you could do without, I would hang on to it for as long as you feel able and willing to drive.

I can't drive so it isn't an issue for me but my Mum was the driver in our family and, in later years, it gave her so much more freedom. That is, though, bearing in mind that her village bus service was quite limited. When she had to give up driving due to sight issues, her mental and physical wellbeing deteriorated noticeably and she felt more stranded and less independent.

As you say you have good public transport, this might not be an issue for you but having the ability to travel where and when you want - even if you don't travel far - using your car for shopping, etc - can be quite useful.

I live in London and public transport is very regular and interconnected and runs right into the night. So far as travel within London and its outskirts is concerned, that is OK. But when I did my weekly visits to my Mum, it meant a 3 hour journey one way, which could have been done in 1 hour by car. On cold winter nights, standing waiting for the bus in her village and then on the station platform was not much fun. It was then that I thought it would be useful to drive.

Yes, have made the decision to keep my car throughout the coming winter, but to use it as little as possible, and try to pretend it is not there.
Then, next spring, when the next insurance becomes due to make a final decision. Do not think my six year old small i10 would sell for much, However, I would obviously save on Car Insurance, Services and repairs (recent new tyre cost over £60), and RAC insurance. Reckon the total of those will cover quite a few short taxi fares!!

Suppose it is the convenience, and the fact that I have been used to having a car at my immediate disposal for the past fifty plus years, that is frightening me a little.

Not sure if I would be permitted to hire a car at my age if I needed to have one. Does anyone know if there are any age rules on hiring?

I really believe getting rid of your car would be an excellent idea. You chose your flat carefully with its excellent transport links. It’s time to ‘go green’, cut pollution and re-invent yourself as an eco-warrior. Good luck !

It depends how you define ‘occasionally’ though doesn’t it?

If a car is only used say once a month, the battery and tyres would be fine.

Only using a car occasionally is not really a good idea for safety reasons- as for anything else, regular practice is the key. And for us getting older, perhaps even more so.

Battery goes down too, and not good for tyres to be stationary either.

I would think long and hard before giving up the car.
Does it really matter if you only use it occasionally? I would value the reassurance that the car is there if I need it, and as others have said, no matter how good public transport is where you live, nothing is more convenient than having a car sitting on the drive.

You say your daughter takes you out some weekends to N.T properties which is lovely but there must be occasions when she is busy and you just fancy going somewhere. As you know very few NT places are accessible by public transport, so a car is essential to visit them.

Despite what you have said about how conveniently located your flat is, in your position I would definitely keep the car.
As long as you take it out for a little run every two or three weeks to keep the battery charged, it will be fine, and you will enjoy having the feeling of maintaining your independence.

I'm with Crazyhorse on this. Love my car. We both have our own. As Gelisajams suggested mothball it. See how you adapt.

Hetty58 - I live in the middle of nowhere. A trip to town and back would be at the very least £60; and minicabs are but a dream!

I am well served by public transport and have GP, library, shops etc.etc. within easy walking distance. I sold my car a few years ago. On the one hand my halo sprouted because I know it's environmentally good not to drive a car but on the other hand I have to admit I miss driving. I have a good waterproof coat, waterproof trainers,boots and a waterproof backpack so rainy days are no problem. I use a cab when I have heavy luggage and sometimes to return home late at night. Hope that helps.

Luckygirl - you must go out an awful lot to anticipate 'huge taxi bills' without a car. Have you worked out the cost of it? Minicabs here aren't very dear.

I'm 75 and don't intend to give my car up yet. I must say it's the door to door convenience that I like. I think if I had to stop driving I would definitely use taxis for shopping. A lot of outings I already use the train for and certainly any long journeys will be train from now on.

I've never had a car - so won't have to give up driving. It sounds like you only use it for the weekly shop and occasional long trip.

When you add up the true cost of keeping it, there seems to be no logic to do so. You could get a cab home with your shopping - or have it delivered.

The train journey will be much nicer than driving, too. You'll save a fortune!

I think it's a no brainer Franbern
You have a lovely flat, services on hand including rail and bus links, an electric scooter, family nearby.
Why would you want to own or run a car?

But I feel empathy with taking that big step. Suddenly you/we feel old.

Like you I have driven "all my life", a safe driver, ferrying family and, friends, driving huge distances across Europe and now that freedom and independence is severely threatened.

When DH was alive, we always shared the driving. Now on my own, I no longer enjoy car journeys. I have the car for occasional use but I have my bus pass and senior railcard.

In some countries with great, reliable, integrated and cheap (comparatively to running a car)- it is much easier to give up a car than in the UK, especialls in rural areas where public transport provision is disastrous.

BlueBelle

I’ve never driven never had a car, nor did my parents
Most, not all, but most of my friends have stopped driving around the 75/78 age group and personally that seems wise to me My dad gave his trusty cycle up at 83 when he wisely said he wasn’t feeling as safe as he should I m still cycling but not so far now mostly a couple of miles I will give up as soon as I feel unsafe or a bit wobbly probably not as long as Dad

I have to say, unless there are specific health reasons, that seems quite early to give up driving. I know very few people who have relinquished their car at that age.
Yes, some of them may no longer feel comfortable undertaking long journeys. But most people in their late seventies would be perfectly capable of doing ordinary, every day driving I would have thought.

My biggest fear is not being able to drive. I love the freedom of being able to just spontaneously jumping into the car and going anywhere I want. My children, live within a 5 to 7 mile radius. But it still means I have to change buses. So my car is handy. Yes, I would save hundreds of pounds, if I didn’t keep a car, but I think at our age, saving money shouldn’t be a priority. Convenience is more important. And ofcourse, I am lazy…..?

Why not ‘mothball’ your car until your current insurance runs out then assess how you have coped without it. All our situations are different so you need to see for yourself how you would cope without it. Do use taxis though as you can have a taxi fund from the sale and saving of running the car.

Humptydumpty anyone who has been following my posts on House and Home will know that I moved to a flat in Weston super Mare nearly two years ago. My flat is very close to the town centre, so have virtually everything on my doorstep - Park, Beach, High Street, theatre, library.
I am much closer to everything here than I was when I was living in a London suburb. As I have mobility problems, I do need to use my pavement sized mobility scooter to get around. This is also kept in my garage and charged there. I use this most days. As the flats are sideways on to a main road, there is a bus stop (two routes) right ouside the flats and one opposite. WsM train station is about half a mile away, with trains going via Bristol to London Paddington. Also in the other direction to Exeter and Plymouth. The town has several bus routes, which i have not yet had a prpoper chance to sort out, as they are in the process of changng as a new bus station is being built. I am looking forward to using these buses just to see exactly where I can go on them (I have a bus pass).
I was extremely careful when I was looking for somewhere t move to. No 'Escape to the Country' type of scenario for me. The North Somerset villages they show on this sort of show with the obligatory pub and church, but little else, is probably not (well at least for me) good for elderly living. But towns like Weston s Mare, Clevedon, Worle, Taunton, etc. re really worth looking at.

Franbern not directly to do with your post but I wondered if you would be willing to say where you moved to? I ask because I'm thinking about retiring to North Somerset but was worried about lack of access to everything - but your post is very reassuring!

Cheeky request but it would be really helpful!

I need to drive - the nearest shop is a couple of miles away; and the surgery is 30-40 minutes drive away - no other way of getting ther3e except by car along country lanes. There is a bus from the village to town once a week. So I need to keep driving as long as I can.

There are some options for when that day comes - I already shop online; and there is a community transport system that I could cue in to to get to the surgery; and there is a collection system for drug collection from the practice, which is dispensing.

But I go to lots of concerts, visit gardens, go to choral society practices etc and would clock up huge taxi bills for these. But if it came to it, then I would have to bite the bullet and dip into savings.

I am not an enthusiastic driver; and I hate driving at night. I mostly drive routes that I know well. So when I can stand it no longer it will be goodbye car!

Like you Franbern I tried to prepare for the fateful day. When I downsized I deliberately moved to somewhere with good bus and train links, near a GP surgery and quite a few shops including a supermarket. It was pure luck that I'm near several taxi firms and an outdoor market.
A close friend of similar age downsized to a small village with one shop and an erratic bus service.

Well, you've taken a first step. My advice would be to spend the next month or so behaving as if you didn't have a car, and see how you get on.

The next step would be to SORN your car, but keep it in the garage / covered on your drive (if you park on-road, you may have to find somewhere to store it). If, after a few months you are happy about it, then you could finally get rid of it.

I would caution however, that you look carefully at public transport links - where I live, over 10 years we have gone from an excellent service to very poor. And depending on where you are, taxis are not always available.

My weekly shop is the least of my concerns if I do not have a car. Buses stop outsidde my flats and take me to my chosen store (Sainsburys). Then I would get a taxi to bring me and shopping back home. I really enjoy my weekly stroll round the supermarket and have no intention of changing that to on-line for as long as possible.