Motors Should i dump my car?

Hey guys, i'm in need of some advice here.
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At the moment i'm going to work by car, which i lease. The lease itself costs me about 200€ a month, i don't have to pay for gas or anything else.
The only problem is, driving in holland mostly involves looking at the brakelights of the tosser in front of you. On average i travel at 45km/h on the highway, for 3-4 hours a day. I really feel that it is robbing me from my life's blood, good mood and general will to live/faith in humankind.
I recently decided to do some calculations, and i found out i can save some 400€ a month, just by ditching the car and using public transport. And yes, that is after i pay for my trainticket and everything. I could play some games on the laptop while travelling, earning money in the process! I'd never have to feel like a moron for standing in line just to pass an intersection, and I would be travelling in a more active way, which saves me a little hop into the gym too. I'd even be able to get some stuff done, or at least distract myself while travelling, so i am not such a corpse when i arrive home. lastly (and maybe least too) i'll feel a little better knowing that greenpeace approves of my actions. It may sound a little woolly, but i really feel bad for driving a 4-person car alone for 180km each day, just to go to work.

On the flipside, it would dump me into the mess of public transport. I must say that i feel better in a delayed train then i feel in a traffic jam, so i'd still be on the up. Another really nasty point is that i lose the car for personal use. Giving up the free personal miles and the freedom of having a car might be a pain. I never missed it when i didn't have it before though. Maybe the biggest issue of them all will be the weather. In a car, you dont care much for rain, but on the way to the station it's a PITA. I work on a project-basis, each time for different clients. I may run into trouble if a certain client is hard to reach by public transport.

Despite all the obvious downsides, i think i'll be better off dumping my car and grabbing the cash. I'm seriously concidering it, and i'm giving myself a week from now to make up my mind.

So the question to you all is... should i do it?.

 

give it a shot for a week or two. If it really is better, then do it

 

Get a crappy runabout car insure it on a low millage insurance policy. Don't know how expensive insurance is over there but its an idea.

 

Excatly what those guys said. At least don't rush into anything.

If you did have a cheap runabout. You could use it if you were likely to have a problem visiting your clients. You'd also have it for the weekends. I did public transport for 15 years and I don't miss it one bit, but the way the world's going I may have to et a job closer to home!

Either way, a trial run won't hurt you to try. Let us know how you get on?

 

That's my opinion, the convenience of a car can be hard to pass up, but its not a daily thing, so you could live without a nice one. I'd definitely try your plan for a week or so, and then take all things into account.

 

I ditched my car a couple years ago, and I don't really miss it. Sure, it's nice to be able to go wherever I want, when I want, but I don't think it's worth the cost.

But then again, it's very easy for me to borrow a car when i rally need it, so...

 

3-4 Hours? Crikey, where do you work?
We used to drive from Schipol to Hengelo in 2H20, although that was mostly using the Highways.

I would agree with everyone here - try it.
I know public transport's a hell of a lot better over there than it is here in the UK, so you'll probably get on quite well.

 

Motorcycle?

 

3-4h is a round trip, so i'm still alive.

I go from Nijmegen to Utrecht and back. That means 45 minutes for the +\- 15km of A50, and 1h of A12 goodness.

 

Poor you, I can only imagine.
We used to take the A1, with a lunch stop around Apeldoorn.

I always thought it was great that lorries had to stay in the slow lane in peak hours. That would save so much trouble over here if it was implemented.


The motorcycle idea's not bad - it's lovely being able to get round traffic!

 

I take the train to work every day. Granted it's a very short trip but simply by not driving I've cut down my commuting stress by at least half. If trains are late then you just accept it and wait for the next one, nothing you can do about it so even that's less stressful than being sat in a jam

Plus if I'm late I can blame it on the trains

 

If you would really be saving money, then set some aside to rent a car if you really need one some time.

 

i always find commuting relaxing, be it on a train or a bus. Having time to read a book or catch up on some work is a nice way to start / end the day.
But then i always find sitting in a car relaxing too, especially being sat in traffic. Lift the clutch a bit and crawl forward. Press clutch crawl to stop... rinse wash repeat

 

Oh, i forgot to tell you... i'm 25, always been healthy... and now i've had a car for 5 months i am suddenly starting to develop a belly.
Cycling to the station and walking around will keep me in better shape than 2 hours of clutch-management
Speaking of which, my knees have particularly poor build quality, and could do with the excersize. They are getting completely pwned by the clutching.

Buying a cheap banger is not really an option for me, i'd be better off keeping things the way they are now. A motorcycle might be the answer though. Maybe i can use the money i save for lesssons and my first bike... Right now, i simply don't have the cash for it.

 

That's a great idea - do public transport for a bit, then buy a bike for commuting & pleasure.

 

It's actually cheaper / more convenient for me to drive to work!
Which is funny as the train station is a mere 250m from our front door, and the other station is ~400m from where I work; wargrave -> henley @£2.20 (peak time so no railcards ). I drive an old corsa and it's petrol tank seems to last forever!

 

pm to op:

your english is fantastic.

i know in comparison to the uk, car prices are a bit more hefty over here (currently in northern france) so buying an old banger would set you back around 2000 euro's or more for something which will actually start in the mornings. give it a whirl for a few weeks and decide if the freetime you spend on trains is worth the money you save from not driving.

 

Have you concidered the cost of repairing/maintaining the car now and then? Insurance, taxes? That is the reason an old banger is out of the question for me, because there are so many extra costs involved.

 

It's not really the extra free time and the money i save that make me concider this. It's the way i get home, and what i am worth the rest of the evening. Simply fail to put on a happy face or undertake anything else but sit behind my PC and game a bit. Girlfriend isn't best pleased either

I seriously need to change something soon, or i'll turn into a grumpy old man at the age of 25

 

The other option is swapping your car for something with an automatic gearbox - far less effort. I'd say you should buy yourself a cheap runabout and use the train though tbh.

It can't cost that much to find a half-decent runabout, I know I could find a reasonable one for £500 over here, no problem. Servicing etc doesn't add that much, if you buy an old car you could do a lot of it yourself!