Having horses without a car

[alexomahony]

Does anyone manage with this? With the horses now turned out for winter, I will now only be going up on a weekend and they'll be getting checked/watered through the week for me.

To help save money, I've decided to only going to use my car on a weekend to go to the yard, though my car is being quite temperamental atm and I'm tempted to sell it as a project for someone to either break or prepare for MOT in Feb,
or run it into the ground as a farm car - as I don't feel comfortable towing with it anymore I'm debating on what the point is owning it as it's a big Kia Sorento.

I'm thinking I could either get a really cheap run-around or moped for a few months till I want a towing car in spring, or alternatively get rid and get a bus to the yard instead on a weekend/borrow my mum's car when available. Cost wise, I wouldn't be saving HUGE amounts on the unexpected costs (tax, ins, fuel), but with a car or moped comes unexpected costs for tyres, faults etc

So do I:

- run my current car til feb (if it goes til then) and see what MOT says
- sell current car for about £400 and get a cheap run-around to run till March/April - of course this has no guarantees of running all that time and might also cost me in fixes
- sell current car and get buses/borrow mum's car until April/saved enough to buy another towing car

My concerns with the last are getting to the yard over Christmas and if the weather gets bad it may become very unreliable.


I guess I'm asking - what would you do?

Thanks in advance x

 

[flying_high]

Keep the car until the MOT expires. What if horse had an abscess / cut etc.
Or is yard within cycling distance.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

- run my current car til feb (if it goes til then) and see what MOT says

I'd opt to keep the current car as quoted. A cheap runabout might end up costing more to keep on the road. In my experience cars always go wrong in the first few months anyway so better the devil you know.

 

[alexomahony]

Thanks both - this is what I'm swaying towards as no, yard isn't within cycling distance so I would, on occasion need to get there quickly. I think as i've now had three unrelated issues this last month I just currently look at my car with a bit of hatred!

 

[Tiddlypom]

I don’t recommend using a moped or small motorbike in winter. I used one to visit the horse on diy en route to and from work, and still have the scars where I came off on an icy road.

 

[Peter7917]

Keep your car.

 

[Nasicus]

I rode a moped (and then motorcycle) for 5 years from when I was 16 to when I passed my driving test at 21. It was my only form of transport and commuting, come rain, shine or hurricane.
And it was miserable in the winter. The rain, the cold, the slippery roads, being blown hither and tither by the strong winds, hit a patch of mud once and threw my beloved MZ ETZ 150 up a bank (mercifully it zipped out fromunder me and left me stood in the middle of the lane, slightly dumbfounded). Plus there was the issue of carrying stuff around, even with a topbox or underseat storage, there's not much room. Plus at minimum you'd need to pass your CBT (or whatever the equivalent is now) if you haven't got a valid full motorcycle license and that costs around £100 last I checked (admittedly a few years ago now!)

So I would say limp it along until MOT, if it passes, great, limp it along some more or sell it. If it fails, either keep it as a farm car until it dies, or sell it. But would not want to be sans car with horses in the winter. Far too valuable for carting bedding/feed/hay around.

 

[Red-1]

If it is being temperamental I would sell as a project and get a cheap runabout. Less £ on petrol.

If it is generally sound I would go for the best the devil you know approach.

 

[Gloi]

I had a moped from being 16 to 22, went to work (12 miles each way) on it and to the horse. Very cold at times and hairy in the snow and ice, though I actually found it less scary on ice than the car provided I went slow and kept my feet down. Wouldn't like to have to do it now but it was certainly very cheap to run.