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Yazza54
Original Poster
9,798 posts
51 months
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I already ride 90% of the time but that little 10% left for certain occasions is nice to have the car ready and waiting.
Just had my renewal through on my Focus, up by... Drumroll please...£600!!!
I was already pissed off paying what I was before, I'm not paying that. Could probably shop around but I'm at the point now where I've had enough, selling up. It's getting to the point where insurance is pricing me out of the market. I'd rather save 150 a month and ride everywhere!
This happened to anyone else, taken up the biking full time? The bike was supposed to be a toy, it's ended up my favourite, but now also going to by my only mode of transport.
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NSFW
1,402 posts
60 months
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My insurance is due for renewal at the end of the month and I'll be selling the Zafira then, we have the other car too but I can't justify the exta expense on the car insurance when I only use it to go to work and back... So if anyone wants a cheap Zafira 
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Hooli
21,483 posts
70 months
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Being 100% bike is great until it snows, or you need to go somewhere posh hundreds of miles away in the pouring rain lovely English summer.
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LoonR1
12,763 posts
47 months
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No. I use a car 90% of the time and always will.
Bloody AWBs clogging up the roads in summer with their massive panniers and fear of ice.
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VidalBaboon
8,914 posts
85 months
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You've got to weigh up whats more important. Money or bike.
Biking isn't cheap. I used to kid myself (and wife) into thinking it was cheaper than using a car. Have you looked at alternatives to you Focus? Like a lease hire deal? Skoda are doing city gos for £127 per month (not sure about free insurance) and Peugeot are doing the just add fuel thing for fixed price motoring....worth a though, perhaps.
I tried using a bike as my only transport for 18months and it was a ballache. We had a car if we had to go anywhere, but would have struggled without it. Unless you can afford the occasional taxi, live on a bus route, have access to or can at least rent a car, I probably wouldn't bother with a bike. When I used my bike every day, it took the shine off it when I would ordinarily want to go out for nice rides- I was less inclined to grab my keys and get out for some fun.
But that's just me.
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Moulder
367 posts
82 months
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Trying the following will probably give you a good idea about how to proceed. Next time the weather is awful, not just heavy rain but the sort of weather where after just putting the bin out you look as if you have been swimming in your clothes, put on your bike gear and go for a ride that lasts about the same as your commute and is similar roads.
If during and upon retuning you think, "actually that wan't too bad" then I would go for it.
If much like me in these situations yout think "I am hating every f**king minute of this and it is just making me miserable", then I would suggest hanging onto the car.
One aspect to consider is the cost of extra kit, my textiles, gloves and boots are ok 90% of the time, but really caught in the rain they don't stay waterproof, so if you are to ride 100% of the time you may need to spend money on new gear, which would offset some of the insurance saving. Also consider if there are places that you visit that you are happy to leave the car and not the bike, which with an extra £150 a month I know I would be, so you may need extra bike security.
Other costs of getting rid of the car could/would be train fares, van/car hire, Ocado, etc.
I have been an all weather rider myself, 5 days a week the 2 miles from Hampton Wick to Twickenham and back, whatever the weather. Hard as it is to believe with the recent weather there was actually only about once a month where the weather made it genuinely unpleasant.
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Biker's Nemesis
22,805 posts
78 months
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Get rid of the car! f  k that, I'd rather the bikes went before my cars.
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srob
6,666 posts
108 months
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My old man's run a bike as his only transport for the last 15 odd years. Well, more specifically - he's used it as his only paid means of transport! Even though he's as stubborn as a mule (and about as handsome) he still has to admit defeat and borrow my car from time to time. There's certain things you just can't do on a motorbike - big things to buy, big shops to do - plus the really bad weather when you have to be somewhere! I also stayed with my cousin in Australia and the only transport in his gaff was a Triumph Daytona. We had to get taxis to go shopping if we wanted loads of stuff (beer). I'd say that living with a bike as your only means of transport is entirely doable - if you have access/capability to call upon the use of a car when you need it. 
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3doorPete
6,971 posts
104 months
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Yazza54 said: Just had my renewal through on my Focus, up by... Drumroll please...£600!!! Opens renewal letter... 
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VidalBaboon
8,914 posts
85 months
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3doorPete said: Yazza54 said: Just had my renewal through on my Focus, up by... Drumroll please...£600!!! Opens renewal letter... 
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off_again
8,989 posts
104 months
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I sold my car before getting my bike so I guess it makes me a full time biker. But in reality my wife has a car and if I really need it, I can use it. The problem is that I am going to be stuck if / when I get a car again! Currently the wifes car is insured through Direct Line so I do get NCD if I insure with them, but no one else. So come the end of July I will have no NCD and clearly bike insurance doesnt count..... yet they will penalise you if you have had ANY form of accident!
So I guess it depends on what the car is worth to you? I am lucky and I realise that, as I can still use a car, but its a pain to not have a car at all, so maybe £600 over the year is worth it if / when you need to re-insure again in the future?
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MJDM
595 posts
49 months
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OP, do you mean your insurance is now £600, or has gone up by £600? The latter seems insane, maybe worth using some comparison sites and phoning around to get a more realistic quote. Personally I could not be without my van (or a car). I hate getting wet, have lots of kit I need to move around, and am completely OCD about keeping the bike spotless!
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Yazza54
Original Poster
9,798 posts
51 months
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Biker's Nemesis said: Get rid of the car! f k that, I'd rather the bikes went before my cars. I live in much different surroundings to you up in Royston vasey, the bike is perfect for almost all my travelling. I've done 3000 miles in the car in the last year. 52 mp3 focus with 37k and new belts anyone?? 
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Yazza54
Original Poster
9,798 posts
51 months
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MJDM said: OP, do you mean your insurance is now £600, or has gone up by £600? The latter seems insane, maybe worth using some comparison sites and phoning around to get a more realistic quote. Personally I could not be without my van (or a car). I hate getting wet, have lots of kit I need to move around, and am completely OCD about keeping the bike spotless! It has increased by £600! Insane indeed.
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Yazza54
Original Poster
9,798 posts
51 months
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VidalBaboon said: 3doorPete said: Yazza54 said: Just had my renewal through on my Focus, up by... Drumroll please...£600!!! Opens renewal letter... Haha
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Yazza54
Original Poster
9,798 posts
51 months
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Moulder said: Trying the following will probably give you a good idea about how to proceed. Next time the weather is awful, not just heavy rain but the sort of weather where after just putting the bin out you look as if you have been swimming in your clothes, put on your bike gear and go for a ride that lasts about the same as your commute and is similar roads.
If during and upon retuning you think, "actually that wan't too bad" then I would go for it.
If much like me in these situations yout think "I am hating every f**king minute of this and it is just making me miserable", then I would suggest hanging onto the car.
One aspect to consider is the cost of extra kit, my textiles, gloves and boots are ok 90% of the time, but really caught in the rain they don't stay waterproof, so if you are to ride 100% of the time you may need to spend money on new gear, which would offset some of the insurance saving. Also consider if there are places that you visit that you are happy to leave the car and not the bike, which with an extra £150 a month I know I would be, so you may need extra bike security.
Other costs of getting rid of the car could/would be train fares, van/car hire, Ocado, etc.
I have been an all weather rider myself, 5 days a week the 2 miles from Hampton Wick to Twickenham and back, whatever the weather. Hard as it is to believe with the recent weather there was actually only about once a month where the weather made it genuinely unpleasant. I've already ridden in ice, torrential rain and terrible wind which wasn't the end of the world. It's more simple stuff that can get on my tits, for example going to my birds house for dinner dressed as a power ranger.
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Biker's Nemesis
22,805 posts
78 months
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3doorPete said: Yazza54 said: Just had my renewal through on my Focus, up by... Drumroll please...£600!!! Opens renewal letter...
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Battlecat
856 posts
108 months
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I would do a quick "Go Compare" or similar search to see what you're actually talking about for the insurance, because at the moment you're basing a decision on what is likely to be an inflated figure.
Also, near where you live do you have any of those "Car Hire Club" or "Street Car" car's to hire on an hourly basis? In London they cost about £5 per hour i believe. These might prove useful as and when you need a car.
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Biker's Nemesis
22,805 posts
78 months
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Yazza54 said: I live in much different surroundings to you up in Royston vasey, the bike is perfect for almost all my travelling. I've done 3000 miles in the car in the last year. 52 mp3 focus with 37k and new belts anyone?? Local roads for local people.
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srob
6,666 posts
108 months
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Or buy a snotter (ie Metro!) to keep your no claims going and to use if/when you have to?
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