The Car
Posted by: aulelia on: July 9, 2008
Tight Fisted Miser has a brilliant post about living without a car. It is prescient for me because of late, all I can think about is getting as many lessons as possible so I can pass my driving test to buy a car.
Here is the problem. I am skint. I am in debt, as a student. I am trying to lift myself out of debt. Loads of my mates have been telling me that having a car in London will be manic and incredibly expensive, which of course they are right.
So here is how I have worked it out at how much it may *hypothetically* cost me if I tried to buy a car with no outside help or donations. Note: these figures are estimates after chatting many friends who are drivers :
–Second hand used car: £500*
–First-time driver car insurance: £800*
–Road tax: £101 – £170
Total: £1470
That is a wollop of quids needed to buy a car. I am more than sure that I would not be able to buy a car this year if it reached that much because I just don’t have the funds.
So technically, I can afford the driving lessons and I can technically afford to buy the car and still pay off my debt. The problem is that it is not ethical spending £500 on a car when I could be wiping my debt with that money.
Then again, it is what I would like to do.
I am in such a dilemma. Lol, I cannot even drive yet. Who knows I may fail. I have another driving lesson this week!
I am going to think about this long and hard before I make a serious decision. I know I do not want to get a loan to buy a car so that is out of the question.
8 Responses to "The Car"
Is public transportation an option? I’m not sure how old you are, but if it makes you feel better I didn’t learn to drive until I was 22!
@sdg1844, lol you are exactly right. i think i am just being lazy about the whole issue!
@Sandra, public transport is an option. I know that I really need to pull myself out of this debt so I think i should bury the car idea. i don’t know how i will convince myself of it though!
i think it is great for you to have a goal , this will make you work to acheive your dreams in a realistic way .!!!!! kudos to you aim for that car and make it happen !
hmm, maybe each month, you can set aside a small amount in an account or even a piggy bank (lol) for a car, while using the majority of the money to pay off previous expenses. perhaps something like that would psychologically satisfy you — like, you know you’re still on your way to getting a car, just not putting down a huge sum at once.
Thanks for linking to my post. It sounds like you have access to a much better public transportation system than I do. I’d recommend against getting the car but I certainly understand the appeal of having your own car.
I guess getting a driver’s license is a little more involved over there. Almost everyone here getes theirs’ at 16.
@byrdparker, thank you for the support! i think you are right that having a goal is good.
@mia, thank you for that piece of advice. i really like that idea. and i think you are right, it would psychologically help. i think i can be very impatient so yes, that is a brill idea.
@tight fisted miser, driving is so expensive in england it is unreal !! lol, i have been putting it off for ages because i do not want to shell out £25 for each lesson but now i just bit the bullet and went for it.
thanks for all your fab comments. it has helped me to put things in perspective. 
Where in London are you going to be? Honestly driving is so expensive. In certain areas you’ll have to have a parking permit just to park outside your own place.
Petrol of course, then you’ve also got service, MOT, and Car Tax. Second hand cars will have something go wrong with them so you need to take that into account.
I have a car and I do love it, but since I’ve not been able to drive because of illness I have noticed how much more money I seem to have.
1 | sdg1844
July 9, 2008 at 5:11 pm
hmmm…if the whole point is to get out of debt and you know this expenditure could be used for that purpse, what is there to think about?
Just a question that was floating through my head.