Rationalising the cars (at last!)

Things have not, for various reasons, gone to plan with our cars.  In the run up to retirement we reckoned we could drop down to just one car in the interests of being thrifty, saving the planet etc.  Instead we have been running THREE cars.

Please don’t get excited, none of the cars are exotic, fast or prestigious in anyway.  Instead they are everyday reliable, a tad boring and very cost effective.  We have two Honda Jazz cars (2003 and 2009) and a Toyota Avensis (2007).

One of the Honda’s has been kind of allocated to Hannah but she hasn’t necessarily enjoyed it and doesn’t really have much use for it any more.  The other Honda has nominally been Rachel’s car but it doesn’t get much use – just 2,000 miles this year.  Then the Toyota, which is kind of my car, and one we normally use for longer trips – we have clocked up over 10,000 miles since I bought it eight months ago.

So I gently suggested….

I floated the idea of getting rid of a car once or twice.  Trouble is, which one?  They all have their plus points, all super-low mileage, very reliable and in good condition.

This didn’t go down too well initially.  “What happens if…. depends on….” and so on.  I could see the arguments and I also thought it would be a shame to sell a car only to need to buy another.  Did you know I HATE having to buy a car?  Not a pleasurable experience at all.

So we decided on a middle ground position.  We have moth-balled the red Honda Jazz in Grandma’s garage.  I have been onto the DVLA website and completed the SORN declaration and we should get a rebate on the unused tax.  Next I need to cancel the insurance.

So we will be saving quite a lot of money on a car which is mostly unused.  I need to remember to run the engine periodically to keep the battery charged and the air conditioning circulating alright.  It’s actually quite a nice feeling knowing we have a spare car tucked away, just in case we need to bring it out.

Flip, I’m feeling sentimental about a boring little car

Even though it hasn’t been used much, I have liked that little car.  We bought it when it had a mere 11,000 miles on the clock and we have had it serviced very regularly by our friend Iain.  It is now on 79,000 miles.  The interior design is very clever with the unusual way of folding the back seats and it’s been used to lug some huge things around (which wouldn’t fit in the bigger Toyota) and we average well over 50mpg.  It has never failed to start first time and it has always passed the MOT test with flying colours.

A really good little car.  I think I miss it on the driveway already.