Use my PVC instead of Car?

Kannon Fodda

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What are the pitfalls of using my PVC as the daily vehicle and giving up my car? Am I being silly running two vehicles for one person?

Since early retirement I find I'm using my car on average about 25 miles a week, basically a trip to supermarket and one small outing. It is convenient having it sitting there in case. For much of the summer it's unused while I'm enjoying some time away. Road tax, insurance, servicing, mot and such like, ignoring any depreciation and petrol probably cost £800pa.

My motorhome is only a 5.4m long PVC, but of course tall so won't fit anywhere with height barrier, and width is a very tight squeeze in most parking spaces. It's only 4 years old so a couple of thousand miles extra a year is nothing and would still be less than 8000 a year. Even so is extra wear and tear an issue?

The car is worth a decent amount to chop it in at one of the online type buyers. But I would stop insurance so probably loose no claims bonus if I ever needed a car again.

Please dissuade me that I don't need the car.
 
to be honest you probably dont, and its good for your van keeping it running. Plus if you do go the supermarket in the van and fancy a brew and a snooze, you can :)
Get rid, you can always get another motor if you get desperate, whcih sounds like you wont anway
 
If I were single, therefore the only driver, then that would be it!, sell the car as a 5.4mtr camper should be able to drive through towns/villages etc, then when parking at a supermarket or such like where parking places are tight, do the unthinkable for most!:eek:
Park further away from the entrance where the no mans land is.:giggle:
Get a brew going when you return to the van, and enjoy any yellow sticker buns/cakes that you have managed to secure at a bargain price....Pure Bliss.
LES
 
Can't stay too long at most supermarkets they have time limits stopping that brew up.

So car might be doing 55mpg on petrol. Van perhaps 25mpg around town, short trips on diesel. £800pa saving from car is a lot of fuel?
 
Do you go anywhere that the PVC would not be suitable/appropriate? If not, then get rid of car and enjoy.

Geoff
Accessibility has to be the concern. A weekly trip does involve a small car park so I might have to plan ahead and go earlier to get in before spaces are filled.

Local council will charge if I take stuff to household tip in the pvc as they classify it as van needing licence, and they won't accept some stuff at all, whilst car is still free. That's a pain as I need to do a lot of DIY (destroy it yourself).
 
You shouldnt dream of getting rid of your car and consider options like using your PVC or even getting some panniers for your Ebike just to save money which amounts to the value of the vehicle and a grand a year.

Sorry, thats the best argument i could come up with for keeping the car

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Ah So Kannon Fodda has an E bike also.
Just get a bike trailer on the bike for any tight parking places, and although it might mean a bit more assistance on the pedals, and making things smaller, take your DIY stuff to the tip also.:giggle::cool:
Peddling past the car queues at the weekend into the tip, Now that's worth seeing aint it.(y);)
LES
 
It's a fair way to the nearest tip, but would keep me fit. But, I think the council is stingy and try to charge for bringing stuff by trailer.
 
Accessibility has to be the concern. A weekly trip does involve a small car park so I might have to plan ahead and go earlier to get in before spaces are filled.

Local council will charge if I take stuff to household tip in the pvc as they classify it as van needing licence, and they won't accept some stuff at all, whilst car is still free. That's a pain as I need to do a lot of DIY (destroy it yourself).

I'm surprised that the tip classes you as a Van as I only have 2 Campervans (both are registered as 'Motor Caravans' on their V5's as I presume yours is?) One is a 1989 VW T25 California and the other, my Murvi as you know. So have no choice.

I have never been refused, or charged, at the tip but most of the time I do take the VW because the last time I went with the Murvi, I had to wait for them to raise the height barrier.

With regard to your question, get rid of the car! You have a very good electric bike (if I remember correctly) so park close by and use that for shopping. A pair of panniers perhaps?

This regular use will keep PVC, bike and you in good condition. :giggle:

PS. With regard to your NCB, why not investigate having both vehicles on a joint policy and then suspend your car insurance?
I think I'm right in saying, that way you could keep your NCB and, if you have a longer NCB on the car, see if you can use that greater benefit (I presume) company policy?

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Last edited:
Accessibility has to be the concern. A weekly trip does involve a small car park so I might have to plan ahead and go earlier to get in before spaces are filled.

Local council will charge if I take stuff to household tip in the pvc as they classify it as van needing licence, and they won't accept some stuff at all, whilst car is still free. That's a pain as I need to do a lot of DIY (destroy it yourself).
Depends on your council. In Stockport you can get a permit that allows 18 tips a year if you have a van. But can only tip household rubbish.
 
You can ask your van insurance to use and keep your NCB running on the van 👍
 
Accessibility has to be the concern. A weekly trip does involve a small car park so I might have to plan ahead and go earlier to get in before spaces are filled.

Local council will charge if I take stuff to household tip in the pvc as they classify it as van needing licence, and they won't accept some stuff at all, whilst car is still free. That's a pain as I need to do a lot of DIY (destroy it yourself).
Here is a thought, get a e-bike for town if not an e bike how about a Renault Twizzy small costs little to run or maybe an old nissan leaf for the Tip and occasional run to town
 
I use mine as daily vehicle, I got rid of my Nissan Pathfinder in lockdown. No pitfalls in using van in fact it’s great not having to look for public toilets, loads of space for shopping, if we want to travel into Manchester, Leeds or Bradford we get the train, other than that, I have saved around £1500 per year in tax and Insurance and if you factor repairs it’s probably more.
The only difficulty has been hospital parking for Dees appointments and I just drop her off and go and find a quiet park up til she is ready for pick-up, which means I don’t have to sit in the waiting rooms with no Internet access and sick people all around 🤪
 
I would be tempted to get rid of the car in the same situation. We went down to one car and that is now doing less than 1000 miles a year. For going into the main towns near us we use the bus, cheaper (free) and easier than the car. Not practical to get rid of the car as the van is too big.

I wouldn't worry about the mileage on the van as it would still be low we do more than that in our Motorhome.

As for the tip are you sure they don't do a permit for a van our one does and I had to get one for my trailer.

Only downside is rammed car parks & height barriers. New Lidl's have German size parking spaces they are quite a bit wider, vans don't have any trouble parking in them.

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We‘re in a similar situation mine is a decent ex company BMW, but I don’t need anything that nice. So will get something cheap and put the money into an ISA.
 
The VW T4 camper was viable as a car replacement and actually fitted a standard 2.4m x 4.8m parking bay without overhanging. It would also limbo under a 2m height barrier. I got rid of my car. The downside was the eventual loss of more than 9 years NCB.

The 5.4m Ducato is usable as a daily driver, but on a more restricted basis. My LA also would require a van permit to use the tip.

Duxette refuses to drive the Ducato so we need a car for her use.
 
Would you be happy to leave your PVC everywhere that you leave your car?

A PVC left unattended in a public place for long periods would be much more attractive to theft than a car.
 
We got rid of the car years ago. But I do live in the city centre, so I can walk or ride most places. I thought I'd need to hire a car a few times per year, but I've done it twice in 5 years, and once was to get to a site for work. Food delivery is convenient and not that expensive.

We take the motorhome to the tip. There's only one in the area that doesn't have a height barrier. And, after carefully reading their T&C's, we book in as a car. Their wording is split between residential use and commercial use. They assume all residential tipping is cars. We booked in once as a van and they wanted to see business details. Only downside is, if you turn up in a motorhome, they suspect you're travellers and check to make sure you're not dumping dodgy stuff or scavenging from the "free to a good home" area.
 
get rid.
Peddling past the car queues at the weekend into the tip, Now that's worth seeing aint it.(y);)
many do not allow walkers. vehicles only
It's a fair way to the nearest tip, but would keep me fit. But, I think the council is stingy and try to charge for bringing stuff by trailer.
It is a motorhome not a van. If they refuse tell them to collect it or you'll drop it off at there offices.

I use mine daily usually around 25k/year .Mind ,it is far easier here.

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I'm surprised that the tip classes you as a Van as I only have 2 Campervans (both are registered as 'Motor Caravans' on their V5's as I presume yours is?) One is a 1989 VW T25 California and the other, my Murvi as you know. So have no choice.

I have never been refused, or charged, at the tip but most of the time I do take the VW because the last time I went with the Murvi, I had to wait for them to raise the height barrier.

With regard to your question, get rid of the car! You have a very good electric bike (if I remember correctly) so park close by and use that for shopping. A pair of panniers perhaps?

This regular use will keep PVC, bike and you in good condition. :giggle:

PS. With regard to your NCB, why not investigate having both vehicles on a joint policy and then suspend your car insurance?
I think I'm right in saying, that way you could keep your NCB and, if you have a longer NCB on the car, see if you can use that greater benefit (I presume) company policy?
I have checked and the restrictive council classes any campervan as vans and puts on restrictions. There is an annual fee allowing you 12 visits a year. You'll get charged for certain "construction waste" even if it's from DIY, and if it isn't chargeable construction waste you can't even bring it. Chargeable is basically rubble, soil, plaster and suchlike, non chargeable would be timber. This for me is going to be the greatest hassle if I finally get my act together and sort out my house, especially as insurance for the van requires I keep it on the drive (read hardstanding that was the frontage garden), and that doesn't leave space for a skip.
 
I think the best suggestion is to actively try it for a month or so. Most supermarkets have two hour parking so time to shop and have a brew. I would have thought that other than obvious peak periods like Friday or Saturday afternoon there would be room to park easily in an out of the way bit of the car park. Certainly is round here For Sainsbury’s and Aldi. Asda and Morrisons would be more difficult.
Only you know how you use your car and as you clearly have you need to analyse that usage.
I know it’s not as convenient but have you investigated the council collection of waste service. I know it is aimed at old sofas etc but I think they collect pretty much anything within reason. There is usually a cost but if you can store some of the waste up and off set the cost against savings from not having a car. That is obviously if further investigation doesn’t let you take your pvc to the tip.
I‘d try and make it work. Much less hassle and cost all round to have only one vehicle.
 
Your No Claims would remain valid for two years after you cancel the policy, so if you did decide it wasn’t working, would not loose out on no claims entitlement On a further car purchase.

You can ask your van insurance to use and keep your NCB running on the van 👍
MH insurance is currently with Comfort and wouldn't change that until summer. Of course they group insure so there isn't really a no claims system applying. That worked as when I first got the van standard insurers weren't crediting no claims when that was still applying to the insured car.

If the NCB is likely to hold for a couple of years, if I find I make a mistake and do need a runaround car as well as the van, this gives me breathing space to try out the van only idea.
 
Would you be happy to leave your PVC everywhere that you leave your car?

A PVC left unattended in a public place for long periods would be much more attractive to theft than a car.
I'm more nervous about leaving the ebike unattended, even with a very decent lock I always want to have it in my eyeline. We know the scroats with portable angle grinders will have it in the back of a transit in only a few seconds.

The van has been left outside my house for weeks, so highly visible to anyone who wanted to give it a try, but the Vanbitz alarm, coupled with non starter even if they did ignore the alarm, offers good protection.
 
I will be in this position fairly soon as i will lose access to my ex partners car.

For those that have gone down this route, what has been the impact on your motorhome insurance? Most policies I have seen ask if you have access to another vehicle which I have always assumed is down to the company thinking you'll use that car for day to day things. That (in their eyes) will reduce the risks of small bumps / scrapes in supermarket car parks, on road parking etc.

have you been quoted increased premiums when you dont have another car to use?

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