Deciding on what kind of vehicle you want to get around in is a very important choice. No matter what you choose, if you want a reliable vehicle it is going to cost quite a bit of money so it’s essential you are careful with the decision.
This vehicle needs to serve the purpose of getting you where you need to go while also offering you a certain amount of longevity. Everybody’s financial situation is different, but for the most part we all want a new vehicle to last for a couple of years at least.
You need to factor these things into your decision. A car that you can actually afford, that is going to fulfill whatever purpose you need it to fulfill and that is going to last you for as long as is necessary.
Assuming, because you clicked on this article, that you are not looking to purchase an SUV or a sports car, and instead something cheaper and more accessible, some of the easiest choices out there are two-wheelers, buggies and then relatively simple cars.
Don’t let the term ‘simple car’ warp your opinion too much, I don’t mean to say that there is anything particularly wrong with the kind of cars we’ll discuss, just that they’re not going to do anything fancier than plain old transportation.
So if it’s one of these smaller, more simplistic kinds of vehicles you want, how do you decide which one? Let’s have a look at each of them:
Two-Wheeler
It’s pretty self-explanatory, but the term ‘two-wheeler’ doesn’t refer to one specific vehicle, but instead to any vehicle really which runs on just two wheels. Not including simple bicycles of course, there are many different kinds.
You have all the different varieties of motorcycles, which include standard, touring, cruisers, sports and dual-sports. There are also a few off-road two-wheelers which would be commonly referred to as dirt bikes, and then there are scooters and mopeds
There are advantages to choosing a two-wheeler over a four-wheeler. First and foremost, they are significantly smaller. So if space is something that you need to think about when making your decision then you should consider a bike of some sort.
They are also, by extension, quite a bit less expensive. A motorcycle is going to cost you probably somewhere in the range of $10,000 to $20,000 whereas new cars at their cheapest are going to be twice or three times that.
Insurance is also going to be less expensive for a motorcycle. The cost of repairs is naturally a lot lower for a smaller vehicle so insurance doesn’t need to be as high. Off-road two-wheelers are sort of more recreational.
They’re not good for long journeys at all, are difficult to get insured and you are often restricted when it comes to where you can drive them. Scooters and mopeds are a bit different, and it’s also easy to learn how to ride them, but they aren’t particularly powerful or durable.
The trade-off to the more manageable price when it comes to two-wheelers is that they are quite a bit more dangerous. And though mopeds aren’t too difficult to ride, actual motorcycles can be very tough to master and use safely.
Even if you are a very skilled motorcycle user, you are at risk out there because it’s more difficult for other drivers to see you, and an accident on a motorcycle is going to be far more devastating than one in a car.
So, you should weigh up the advantages and disadvantages there before deciding whether or not you want a two-wheeler as your primary mode of transportation.
Buggy
The term buggy is not really one that we associate with vehicles these days. A long time ago, if you were talking about a buggy you were talking about a type of cart that was pulled around by horses.
Now it’s a word that people in the United Kingdom use to refer to strollers for babies. When it comes to actual vehicles, you may have heard it used to describe a small vehicle that has off-road capabilities.
For the most part, they haven’t really used much anymore because they tend to be a bit slower and a bit less reliable and it can be difficult to get them insured. The more common kinds would be dune buggies for use in public sandy areas or swamp buggies for navigating a more marshy terrain.
As far as actual buggies that you can use as a means of standard transportation, your options have been quite limited in recent times, but a couple of years ago Volkswagen brought out a brand new version.
The idea behind this Volkswagen Buggy is that it’s an electrical concept. With electric cars on the rise nowadays anyway, the VW Buggy is a modernized version of the old-fashioned style with new technology and optimized design.
This will bring you the advantages of speed, comfort, up to date technology and a more environmentally friendly vehicle. As far as the practicalities are concerned, this buggy does make for a good choice, but it will be expensive to buy and insure.
Simple Car
While two-wheelers and buggies are interesting and unique and each come with their own advantages, you might be better suited to just pick out a small, easy to use car and have that as your main method of transportation.
The thing to remember is that because a standard car is the most common and popular kind of vehicle, there are some inherent advantages. There are a lot of options, the process of getting insurance is usually pretty straightforward, and they are more safe than two-wheelers.
If you pick a smaller car, then you may be sacrificing a certain amount of power and speed, but you will typically be spending a lot less and they also tend to be much easier to service and repair if you need to.
Some of the best choices for small, simple cars would be things like the VW Polo, the Ford Fiesta, any kind of Mini and the Toyota Yaris. As long as you do the right kind of research and think carefully about the decision, a simple car is always going to be a reliable choice.
A lot of this decision is ultimately going to come down to your personal preference, but as you can see, you do need to keep in mind a variety of different things here including price, insurance, safety and how limited your options are.
