Amy Downes had been driving a car for 17 years but said the increasing costs of tax, petrol and insurance has forced her to sell up.
“I feel like I’ve lost my independence, but the costs were too high,” says Amy, a 39-year-old freelance writer who lives in Leeds with her husband and two children.
“I’ve been driving for nearly 20 years and live far from my family so it made seeing them easier and it was good to be able to take my children everywhere.”
What made the decision was the insurance premium, which went up £121 this year – a rise of 48 per. Then there was the bigger tax bill, which has risen from £165 to £216 since 2016.
“My husband and I were shocked when we received the insurance bill. This alongside paying £60 for fuel each month.”
On average, car insurance has soared by 43 per cent on average in the last 12 months alone, according to the Office for National Statistics. The average bill is now £511, and the industry blames inflation and increased repair costs for the steep increases, which are expected to continue. August also saw drivers hit by one of the biggest monthly fuel price rises in nearly a quarter of a century, the RAC said, as the price of petrol rose by 6.68p a litre while diesel shot up by 8p.
This has left some motorists with difficult choices about whether owning a car is now financially feasible.
Amy said it started to become much easier to spend £5 for her and her sons, ages seven and four, to get return bus tickets when heading out for the day as opposed to spending larger sums on filling up her car with petrol. Her husband has still kept his car, which he uses to commute to work.
“My eldest has now started school which is in walking distance. As I am self employed, there are also times I am struggling for income which means unexpected costs, like repairs, can be difficult to manage.”
However, she admits it was a difficult decision to make.
“It was a massive decision but it was just not viable anymore. We were told replacing our tyres in the MOT would cost £300 while to repair the clutch it would cost £325. It felt like it was only going to get worse financially.”
Other costs that factored into the decision to sell included the fact it was a struggle to clean the vehicle as they have no access to a hose at home and the expense of parking. The environmental impact of owning a petrol car also swayed her decision.
Unfortunately, when the couple did sell the car, they got far less than expected. They had bought the Peugeot 206 in 2015, second hand, for £4,000.
However, they only got £260 for it on WeBuyAnyCar.com last month.
“This was very disappointing as we were hoping to use the money from the sale to go towards our other bills.”
Even though she hopes that by selling her car, she will now be more comfortable financially, Amy said it has left her with much less freedom.
“The fact I can’t just pack up and go is difficult. I am missing out on networking opportunities as I can’t easily get there. There has been a fair bit of sacrifice. But the car felt like a luxury at a time I’m not convinced we should have so many.”
