Should i get a motorcycle to combat costs?

mattuk · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:21

I have full driving license as it stands. I have a 1.2 corsa that costs me £1500 on the insurance and £200 on tax every year. Im putting in £20-£25 every week on petrol. I travel 30 minutes everyday for work and a extra 30 minutes 4 days a week going to the gym.

Im thinking about buying a motorcycle to use for work travels and other small journeys. Will i save money overtime getting a bike? Or is it pointless the money i save because it will go into insuring and MOT a bike anyway?

haz_pro · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:22

You may save money but this may be negated by initial costs of swapping to a bike (motorcycle, license, helmet, other gear).

Kosmiche · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:23

Does your workplace have a carpool scheme?

cm1179 · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:23

pointless. stick with the car and drive slower.

Glaucus · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:27

I swapped to bike, I allready had full bike license though you do save a fair bit.

It doesn't really cost much to swap as you sale the car(depending what car costs), you then save hundreds a year.

Sold car for 300, got bike for 600, kit i shhopped around and spent about £120.
Car insurance was £550 it's now £100
Tax was ~220 now ~£75
Fuel was 26 to the gallon now 46

If your talking about buying bike and keeping car, it's will almost certainly cost you more a year.

Jono8 · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:48

You are 23 and it costs you £1500 to insure a 1.2 Corsa?? Surely it should be at LEAST a third of that if not a fair bit less. I would have thought £300-£400 max for that car.

mattuk · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:59

Jono8 said:
You are 23 and it costs you £1500 to insure a 1.2 Corsa?? Surely it should be at LEAST a third of that if not a fair bit less. I would have thought £300-£400 max for that car.

The prices are ridiculous for young drivers. I past my test 2 years ago and it cost me £2000. And that was the cheapest, im paying the price for boy racers.

Narj · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:02

I worked out that given how little I use my car (once a fortnight or so), I could get a taxi everywhere I normally drive to and save a big wedge of cash over the course of a year.

Unfortunately I need to be able to drive into work when I'm on call (I'd rather not rely on a taxi at 3am!) so the convenience is a sadly necessary expense.

Once you add up VED, insurance, servicing, consumables and fuel, it can be quite annoying to think what you could have bought with that cash!

Terrier_Jimlad · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:08

If you're 23 then you could do a CBT (approx £100) and get a 125cc, something 4 stroke based on the mileage you're going to do, something like a CBR, NSR, YBR etc. Tax is £16 a year, MPG is between 100-140 etc and insurance should only be a couple of hundred quid tops. Costs involved would be getting the bike itself, and some kit (helmet, textiles, boots, gloves etc)

Having done many years of commute on a bike through all seasons, I will tell you that riding in winter is not very pleasant at all and a car is the safer more comfortable option.

Skillmister · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:09

Jono8 said:
You are 23 and it costs you £1500 to insure a 1.2 Corsa?? Surely it should be at LEAST a third of that if not a fair bit less. I would have thought £300-£400 max for that car.

Not sure if serious?!

Jono8 · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:11

Fluttershy said:
Not sure if serious?!

I did ommit to think about how long he had his licence for to be fair, but still, he has been driving 2 years and drives a 1.2 Corsa. £1500 still seems a lot.

Skillmister · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:11

Not really. I wouldn't expect it to be any cheaper than that.

Jono8 · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:12

Fluttershy said:
Not really. I wouldn't expect it to be any cheaper than that.

I would!

ci_newman · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:14

Fluttershy said:
Not sure if serious?!

At age 23, he should be able to insure a 1.2 Corsa for less than £1500 unless he lives in a high-risk area. At 23, I was insuring an MR2 Turbo for almost a third of that, and this was 4 years ago.

scottomus0 · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:19

that was 4 years ago though, insurance has been going up ever since!

Skillmister · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:22

ci_newman said:
At age 23, he should be able to insure a 1.2 Corsa for less than £1500 unless he lives in a high-risk area. At 23, I was insuring an MR2 Turbo for almost a third of that, and this was 4 years ago.

Probably why my views are skewed then, i'm in an F postcode.

MikeHunt79 · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:31

Get pedalling, that way you'll save on gym membership too.

Yaayuh! · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:34

Glaucus said:
kit i shhopped around and spent about £120.

Wait....what?!
£120 on a helmet, jacket, trousers, boots and gloves?.... They'll dissolve in the rain right?
I spend around £120 on gloves alone and they're not fancy.

Souleh · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:42

I have car and bike and would ride to work everyday on a sports 600. MPG is ~40-50 and you can filter/use bus lanes etc.

In terms of lifestyle there are side affects like passengers, carrying stuff (the GF!) and the likes, this is why I have the car.
However in terms of commuting, its my much preferred option in an urban area.

Craig321 · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:42

This is one of the big reasons why I have only ever had bikes. I'm 21 and have just insured my Hornet 600cc for £250, taxed for £55. I've just done a quick quote on GoCompare and a Corsa 1.2 is £1200 and a lot less fun.

Getting started on a bike can be expensive, especially if you want to ride something bigger than a 125cc, but definitely worth it IMO.

I'm not sure on the MPG yet (only just got the bike), but it should be about 50, which is easily affordable. If you went for something like a Honda CBF 125 you'll get >90MPG and insurance will be even cheaper.