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Car Ownership
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IWereAbsolutelyFuming


Posts: 531
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #1
28-04-2011 08:21 AM

[Split from SE23 Topics > Devonshire Road - residents parking]

Taking up the point about car ownership and affordability...depends on what use you want/need to make of a car.

Just to cover a UK holiday
To hire a Streetcar for just 2 weeks in August to cover a UK holiday within their mileage allowance would cost over £1,000. Add on another £130 to bring the insurance excess in line with a normal policy. A comparable car at a big name car hire firm would be in the region on £700 (and that's before any of those hidden extras). I know there is no up-front cost of buying a car etc, etc but the comparison isn't clear-cut enough for most people and doesn't offer the right level of flexibility and acceptable use.

There is a wider argument about whether a car is needed at all for stuff but that'd be diverting too much from the subject of the thread. Let's just say that even from a self-proclaimed (but largely failing) eco-enthusiast I can understand why a large number of people feel justified in having a car.

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andrewr


Posts: 296
Joined: May 2006
Post: #2
28-04-2011 10:00 AM

152047 - the point I was making is that although an 11-12 parking control isn't too bad for visitors and stops all day parking, it can only allow residents to park if they have some sort of permit. Surely, to issue this involves all the cost and complexity of a CPZ?

IWereAbsolutelyFuming - Streetcar pricing is definitely aimed at short term hire and isn't intended for long periods. I haven't looked at deals on hiring in the UK recently but find I can hire a car abroad for a one week period for around £250-£300 including 'extras'. (Holiday Autos is recommended). Don't go directly to the 'big names'! I've just taken a look at the Sixt rental site and it looks like they will rent you a car for about this price from a London location for a week too.

I accept that if you run an old car on which depreciation is negligible, annual fixed costs could be less than £1000 for insurance, maintenance and depreciation, but if your car is less than 5 years old, it is likely to be costing at least £1000 pa in depreciation alone.

Club cars are definitely not the answer for everyone (me included!) but their growing popularity is evidence that they do suit the needs of many.

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IWereAbsolutelyFuming


Posts: 531
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #3
28-04-2011 10:14 AM

I'd love to be able to get rid of our car and go the car club route but it'll be a while until I feel we could. We holiday mostly in the UK with a big tent and family aren't accessible easily on public transport so I'd reckon on at least 3 or 4 weeks car hire a year just to cover holidays and visits. I also do a lot of 'dirty work' with the car (chunks of wood on the roof, boot load of manure etc) which the other club members might not be to happy with.

That said, we could live without our car, we'd just have to live a lot differently to now, seeing family less, holidaying differently, being more efficient in organising other aspects of our life. But until multiple car households got rid of a car or two I wouldn't feel overly happy about ditching our one.

Doesn't help Devonshire Road much because of the nature of the street but things would improve to some degree if people actually used the drives and garages they have. I live in a street where half the residents seem allergic to theirs.

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andrewr


Posts: 296
Joined: May 2006
Post: #4
30-04-2011 05:09 PM

A bit of browsing and I find that it is now reckoned (if the DfT is to be believed) that each car club vehicle can take 24 cars off the road. At that rate two or three such vehicles in Devonshire Road might solve the parking problems altogether! See here for more details including Boris' predictable comment that "I welcome all extra support for these cracking clubs". Rolleyes

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