Going Car-less

Going Car-less

We just got rid of our car and are now preparing to live without one for the first time in our lives.

My husband has always had one or more vehicles to his name. I was fortunate to be given one vehicle after another and had been trained by my father—before “Car Talk” came along—to regularly maintain it and run it until it couldn’t be fixed anymore. When we were getting ready to move from Minnesota to Scotland in December 2003, we gave my husband’s car to a family member and we gave my car to a friend. They were, in fact, gifts and not junk; each was too old to sell, but they had been very well-serviced and were worth considerably more than their resale values. Thanks Dad.

After we moved to Glasgow in January 2004, we were without a car for about a month during which time my husband learned that to hail a bus in this city you have to hold out your arm to indicate to the bus driver to stop. Otherwise they pass you by, because there are several bus companies and the driver assumes you’re waiting for a different bus. Things they don’t tell a newcomer.

Once we had opened a bank account and done some research, we went—by local train—to  one of the major dealerships where we scanned the lot of “pre-owned vehicles” for something to suit our needs: a 4-door hatchback. We wanted four doors in order to transport visitors, and the hatchback would enable us to haul things. After being told by the salesperson that what we were seeking was a “5-door economy,” I spotted a sticker price that had been reduced by £1,000—because the car happened to be painted the unpopular color of “brown” (“maroon” to us Americans). We proceeded to turn down the useless, overpriced extras (some things are universal) and became the proud owners of a 2-year-old Fiat misnamed Stilo (“style” in Italian).

Or rather my husband was the owner. We decided for economic reasons to start our life in the United Kingdom with only one of us driving. I wasn’t employed at the time and my husband’s office was at home so we didn’t need two drivers much less two vehicles.  I haven’t sat in the driver’s seat for over 8 years now. I thought I would miss having my own means of transportation, but much to my surprise I love not driving.

Not having a car is another proposition. We do intend to save money. Apart from paying off (early) the bank loan for the car (about £10,000 or $16,000), our annual expenses for maintenance and repairs have ranged between £100 to £700 ($160 to $1,120), which are required in order to renew the registration that has steadily risen from £125 to £180 ($200 to $288). Insuring one driver has averaged £250 a year ($400). And our annual fuel costs (for unleaded gasoline) have wavered around £500 ($800). Our last tank of petrol cost £1.39 per liter (about $8.30 a gallon). Compared to the 15,000 to 20,000 miles we each drove annually in the USA, my husband has averaged only 4,000 miles a year here in the UK—he works close to home, and this is a small island. And the Fiat Stilo’s 1.2 liter engine got about 40 miles per gallon. (Interestingly we’ve found long-distance driving to be limited to 40 miles an hour.)

Our original plan was to get rid of the car at the end of 2013, when my husband turns 60 and gets his “bus pass” which will allow him to ride any bus anywhere in Scotland for free—as long as he sticks his arm out. But the decision got made for us when our trusty mechanic informed us this past January that in order to pass the maintenance inspection next January the airbag system would have to be replaced due to a faulty sensor, to the tune of £600 ($960) on top of any other repairs. We did the arithmetic and figured we could take an awful lot of buses, trains, and taxis for £1,500, the amount needed to operate our vehicle in the coming year alone.

Thus we decided to scrap the car this year after winter had passed. Only it hasn’t—we’ve had record-cold days this May in addition to the predictable precipitation. Finally, with no cooperation from the weather, we arranged for a “dismantler” (“Scrap Cars Wanted Dead or Alive”) to come and tow away the car (described as “red” by the tow-truck driver) for £170. That is, we got the cash. Which will pay for over 50 local train or bus rides. We’ll also receive a refund on this year’s registration and insurance. A pretty nice reward as we go from being one of 152,000 Glasgow households with at least one car, to one of 133,000 Glasgow households with no car [Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, “Glasgow Local Development Plan” for 2011-14].