Amy Downs has been driving the car for 17 years, but said rising costs for taxes, gas and insurance forced her to sell the car.
“I feel like I’ve lost my independence, but the cost has been too high,” says Amy, a 39-year-old freelance writer who lives in Leeds with her husband and two children.
“I have been driving for almost 20 years and live far from my family. So it was easier to see them and it was nice to be able to take my kids anywhere.”
Key to this decision were insurance premiums, which rose by £121 this year, an increase of £48 a year. Added to this is a higher tax burden, which has risen from £165 to £216 since 2016.
“My husband and I were shocked when we received our insurance bill. That’s on top of £60 a month in fuel costs.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, car insurance premiums have risen by an average of 43 percent over the past twelve months. The average bill is currently £511 and the industry is blaming inflation and rising renovation costs for this rise, which is expected to continue. In August, motorists were also hit by one of the biggest monthly fuel price increases in almost a quarter of a century, with the price of petrol rising by 6.68 liters and the price of diesel rising by 8 cents, according to the RAC.
This has left some drivers with a difficult decision about whether owning a car makes financial sense.
Amy said she and her sons, aged seven and four, have found it much easier to spend £5 on return tickets rather than spend large sums on filling up the car. Her husband still has a car that he drives to work.
“My eldest has now gone to school, which is within walking distance. As a sole trader, I sometimes struggle to find income, which means unexpected expenses like renovations can be difficult to manage.”
However, she admits it was a difficult decision.
“It was an important decision, but it was no longer feasible. We were told the MOT would cost £300 to replace the tires and £325 to repair the clutch. There was a feeling that financially things were only going to get worse.”
Other costs that played a role in the decision to sell included the difficulty of cleaning the car due to lack of access to a garden hose at home and the cost of parking. The environmental impact of owning a gasoline car also influenced their decision.
Unfortunately, when the couple sold the car, they received much less than they expected. They bought a Peugeot 206 used in 2015 for £4,000.
However, last month they got just £260 for it on WeBuyAnyCar.com.
“This was very disappointing for us as we had hoped that we would be able to use the money from the sale for our other bills.”
While she hopes selling her car will improve her financial situation, Amy says it will leave her with much less freedom.
“The fact that I can’t just pack up and leave is difficult. I miss out on networking opportunities because I have a hard time getting there. There were casualties. But a car seemed like a luxury at a time when I’m not sure there should be so many of us.”
Source: I News
I’m Jeffery Bryant, and I’m an experienced author specializing in automobile news. For the past several years, I have been working as a writer in a well-known news website. During this time, I’ve written hundreds of articles covering automotive trends and developments both nationally and internationally.