Tempted to ditch the car for the Summer?

So you have an electric bike or a normal bike. You use it a few weekends and evenings over the summer to get out and about and explore places. However, have you thought about replacing your car for a few months?

Of course you could go to the shops on it a bit more or even travel to work occasionally. But what if you just stopped using the car for 6 months , declared it off road, paused the insurance ? ( most insurance companies are happy with driving gaps of up to one year and will retain your NCB but check with yours first ) Then cycled all the time ...

Don't laugh, it can be done, we have plenty of customers who don't run cars , just their LifeCyle electric bike. There may be many reasons, they can't drive, they don't want to drive, they can't afford to drive, a medical condition but they manage, some clocking up huge annual mileages on their commutes.

Sometimes we think (and I am guilty of this too) that without the car we are lost but the bike is a wonderful thing, especially an electric one, it can take you to places fairly quickly , can carry more weight and will help you on your way.

So 6 months cost to run an average car will be 6 months car tax, 6 months insurance, all that precious fuel, steep parking charges, the chance of a parking fine or other offence, general running costs including repairs etc . Depreciation of your car is an interesting one, your car will generally always depreciate month on month whether you are using it or not but it will be a bit less if parked up as the mileage will not be increasing and this is a large factor in determining the future value of your vehicle. All this can obviously vary depending on your own circumstances, the type of car etc so for a much better calculation of the cost of running your own car use this calculator .

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1633412/Calculator-True-cost-running-car.html

You may be surprised, imagine that money in your pocket after 6 months. Of course there will be times when it's raining or you get a puncture when you may be cursing your bike but think big picture and how much fitter and healthier you are getting.

If this article inspires just one person to ditch their car for a trial period then that's a great result. If you haven't got an electric bike pop into the shop for a test ride so you can determine yourself if swapping your car for a bike is a feasible route to take.