Giving up my car

Morning. I gave up my car ten years ago, for health reasons. I dont miss it now. But I did in the beginning. Shopping was difficult. Online shopping is the way forward. Give it up if you wish, you will wonder why you ever had a car. Good luck to you.

Franbern, I had to give up my car due to problems with my sight. I miss the freedom it gave me but, to be honest, I don’t miss the driving. I do my supermarket shopping onlin. Getting to places by bus isn’t so easy, I live on the edge of a large town and everywhere I want to go seems to involve a bus in to town and one out again. However when I sold my car I put the money into a separate account and I add the cost of tax, insurance, maintenance etc. to that annually so that I have quite a healthy taxi fund. Good luck whatever you decide.

You seem to have it all planned out for when you can no longer, or wish not to drive. Cars are convient until something goes wrong then it is a pain and can be costly.

I am like you, mine sits on the drive apart from two definite days ...shopping and social group. Every other weekend i use it to visit AC. Trouble is with my mobility issues i would be really stuck getting to town and the shops and also any social events without it. It would defo mean taxi's or using online shopping services and i would miss the interaction with others if i did that. Life is full of quandrys!!!!

I was unable to drive fir a while so was dependant on public transport and found that journeys took twice as long as with the car. Waiting at bus stops in the cold and wet is no fun especially when the half hourly service us unexpectedly cancelled and you are there fir an hour. I was so glad to get my licence back. Why not wait til after the winter before making this decision.

Like you I chose carefully when I moved. A small town but with all the facilities I need, shops, library, pool, even a minor injuries hospital. So I could manage without the car when the time came.

But I’d really miss the trips out to places that don’t have buses. The garden centre, the National trust and historic houses, open gardens and the out of town places like Dunhelm just to have a coffee and see what’s new.

I know there’s taxis but I can’t see myself calling for a taxi for that sort of stuff and then maybe having to wait till one is available to pick me up again.

I guess you could garage the car for a couple of months and see what it’s like. ?

Since it is on your mind and you seem to be in a somewhat strategically 'perfect' position for all your local needs maybe the time is becoming right for you. I'm in a similar position but not at all ready to release either the wheel or my consequent freedom. My concern is that I may lose my actual driving confidence if stopped. However, this is about you. The train services you have access to sound ideal. Let that driver take the strain and enjoy. The other 'positive' is that with the financial savings of no car you could take a taxi at any whim. Not so instant, I agree, but certainly an option. Very good luck with whatever you decide. It may be an initial wrench but not necessarily an irreversible one.

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

My mother gave her car up at about 81, after she became a lot more nervous after a minor accident.

However she was a bit agoraphobic anyway, and ended up staying in far more. We had urged her to take taxis, given all the money she’d be saving by not running a car (never mind the sale proceeds) but she just wouldn’t - in her head they were a great extravagance, only for the rarest emergencies.

If you’re still going to get out and about, and have the means to do so, I can’t see the objection. Train travel is more pleasant* for long journeys anyway, assuming you can rely on a taxi or a lift at both ends.
*outside rush hours, at least.

You should be able to get a bus pass which is my absolute saving grace

Thanks Bluebelle yes, I have bus pass and also my disabled railcard. I am fortunate in that the daughter who lives very close to me does take me out at weekends to national trust places, etc. Also putting my scooter into her car for these trips.
I have arranged for my son to collect me from the station when I arrive and to drop me back there for my return journey. Arranged the latter so I get back to local station after my daughter is back home from work, and my Son in Law will drop me to station for my outward journey. Station is less than a mile away.

My car is booked to have a service the week after next. My thought is to keep it during this coming winter - and try to use it even less than I do at present - so giving me the feel of what it would be not to have a car. I have also been told that now I am 80 years old, insurance companies will raise the amount they charge regardless of the fact that I have not made any such claim for nearly thirty years. That is due next April, and could be the final deciding factor for me.

You adapt-sounds like you have good transport links where you are-and think of the money you'll save each year

It sounds like a good plan to see how things go this winter to see how it feels not to have a car. You are lucky to have a child living close by to take you out on trips etc and also having a mobility scooter that fits in a car.

I think you might need to try online food deliveries as you might find it difficult walking even a short distance to and from the bus stop carrying heavy bags. I have limited mobility and cannot walk around shops without a lot of pain so order online then drive to collect it. At the moment I prefer this to having deliveries as I like driving and it gets me out of the house - very important to me during the lockdowns!

Can I ask what make of scooter you have as I am wondering if I need to get one but I’d want one that I can get into my car by myself - I live alone. I’d love to be able to go and visit places again that involve walking around, I miss window shopping along the high street or wandering around a park.

Can I just flag up for those of you who don't like online grocery shopping that Morrisons does an "order by phone" service which they brought in during the pandemic and is available for anyone needing some help with shopping. There is a delivery charge but it's not a lot. They deliver from your local store the next day if you call in the morning.

This has been the saving grace for my Mother-in-law who had a fall last year and was told to stop driving.
If she wants to do her own shopping she does - getting a taxi home - but this phone service has made all the "waiting in the rain" issues not a problem.
Thank you Morrisons.
I know they must make a profit from it but it's been a godsend for our family and has meant that she is still independent.

I am 75 and have no plans to give up my car. I still love driving even long distances and fortunately my sight is still good.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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…..?

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.

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.