Buying (shhh!) a used car

[Grahamm]

So, in your position, I'd work out the annual costs of car ownership including depreciation/write off and compare it to the cost of car rental for those weekends when you'll be hanging ten.

I've looked at that, but the cost of rental would rapidly approach or exceed the cost of ownership if I start making semi-regular trips.

Plus it's not going to simply be weekends, if there's a reasonable chance of a swell running, I wake up early, check the webcams and, if it looks reasonable, jump on the bike, head down to East Wittering, rent a board, surf and be back home by 1pm.

If I had to faff around with booking a rental, then getting to the pickup place, driving back home, picking up the board, then going surfing before repeating the process in reverse, it would just start being a nuisance.

Additionally, if I were to get a some form of camper, that would increase the opportunities for overnight trips (a sundowner and a dawnie, for example) in places further afield.

I'd hope to get something that will last me for a few years before it falls apart (or I fall apart, being 57 now...!) without costing too much to run/ repair along the way.