Honey- I sold the BMW
Nine years ago I landed my first proper job after university flying a desk in Aberdeen. In the first few months, I splurged on a new TV, mattress (ex-display) and the small matter of a BMW. A decade on I finally got around to selling the car. This article will dig into the underlying reasons for my purchase, the costs of ownership both financial and mental, before throwing it forward and trying to estimate gains from going carless.
I
The Dealership
My first port of call was the more modest Ford dealership- my old man has always driven them and still talks fondly of his Focus. The sensible course of action would have been to make like father like son and pickup a Focus or a Mondeo with a couple of previous owners and 40k miles on the clock. Instead, like a lamb to the slaughter, I headed off, handily just across the road to the BMW garage where a Sparkling Graphite 1 series caught my eye. I’d always liked the design and had of course been exposed to many advertising campaigns which market German cars as luxury items- befitting a young professional.
Anyway, I gave the car a quick test drive and in short-order agreed to the £10,000 price tag, buying the optional service pack but stopping short of any additional body protection, wax packages. (I would just have to take my chances with stone chips.)
Since this is a finance blog let’s pause and consider how much that 10 g’s might be worth (actually there is no might about with it) Running the numbers if I’d socked it away in Vanguard’s FTSE Dev World and it compounded away I’d have had tripled my money adding £30k to my freedom fund. (face-palm)
Instead, I endured several years of breakdowns, the nagging stress of potentially breaking down. Punctuated by hefty maintenance costs to fix x,y,z doohicky. Accompanied by the standard ‘that’ll cost you £150 just to plug in and diagnose the fault-codes son’.
Turns out even DIY’ing it is a nightmare which requires stripping out half the engine bay just to change the spark plugs.
II
Buying a badge
The mistake I’d made was equating the brand with my identity or more precisely by choosing the BMW I was consciously or not trying to signal success. It wasn’t long before I realised that nearly every other car in the Granite City was an Audi, Range or Beamer- and higher-spec models than my 1.6i!
In his excellent book Set for Life Scott Trench talks about how this attitude runs deep in our western society. He recalls pulling up to a stop light on his bicycle while a driver in an F150 truck roars up next to him, winds down the window and bellows ‘sucks to be poor!’
The irony of is the truck was probably rented. It speaks to a culture where we have been conditioned to see cycling as trivial almost a juvenile mode of transport and one where car ownership is rarely questioned.
There are some positive signs that this is begging to shift with the under thirties who, especially if you live in London or another city with a serviceable public transport system. Can do without a car. The ball and chain of car ownership in 2021 makes little sense.
III
The joy of cycling
The fiscal, physical and life enjoyment benefits are well documented and clear to anyone who regularly ventures out on two wheels. ‘Active transport' as it has become known or getting off your bum and using your body for what it was made for- will make you happier richer and give you great legs. Three things we all want.
The benefits of High-Intensity Training (HIT) have been proven in the lab. But you’d needn’t fork out for an expensive gym membership, racing between stop lights and dodging wing mirrors is good for your cardiovascular system.
Then there are the mental benefits, It is hard to dwell on the petty challenges and hassle of the office when you are focused on not being flattened by a bus. You are out in all elements and, experiencing life at a different pace. In a word: Mindfulness.
Bikes take very little cash to upkeep, sure there is the initial outlay with the sweet spot for a commuter bike being around £500. You’ll pay a bit more for a good road bike, but I was lucky to find one for £600 which had languished in a garage for two years and never been ridden. There are the services which unless you are handy with a torque wrench might set you back £50 or so but that is just a tank of unleaded.
IV
Going Carless
Back to the motor. In total I’ve added 17,000 miles to the car- that’s not a typo and works out at about 1,700 miles a year. I haven’t kept a full record of service, tyre and fuel costs. Largely because these are mentally accounted for as essentials, let’s call it £5000.
They say sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. This being a case of the latter my plan now is to use a rental for occasional out-of-town trips to the hills. It’s an electric MG which is conveniently plugged in just across the street, a nine-iron chip from my door.
At £5 an hour or £70 a weekend it makes a lot more sense than replacing my car with a newer model. It will also add more friction to the decision to drive. I won’t just be able to hop into a vehicle to make an impromptu purchase. I’ll likely chain visits to the supermarket, garden centre or Toolstation together. Better for my bank balance, better for the planet.
I’ll report back. But as Dave says:
