British train fares are a complete rip-off. They were already a rip-off a few decades ago, and they are hiked up every year. They are utterly ridiculous when compared to fares in other European countries with a comparable area, population and GDP per capita: for example, Germany and France. Especially punishing is a price for a rail ticket bought on the day of travel, as opposed to booking several weeks in advance. When suddenly it is you who has to foot the bill, you wonder about owning a Car to avoid paying those fares. After some consideration, you conclude that this idea would only make sense for someone travelling regularly, so you sigh and pay that extortionate triple-digit sum demanded for a second-class ticket.

And yet you could be wrong, as Tom Church, a life hacker from Bristol had just Proven. As reported by LADBible, the 27-year-old co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk wanted to pay a friend and colleague in London a visit but discovered that making the mere hundred miles journey to the capital by train would cost him a hefty £218. Solution: buying a second hand car for just one trip. However silly this idea may sound, it did work. He bought a road legal car while still saving a few quid, and once more stumped his reputation on finding ways around the high cost of surviving in this ruthless modern world.

1997 road legal Honda Civic for £206 all inclusive

The savvy Mr Church found a suitable car on Gumtree.

As he recalled, the twenty-year-old Honda Civic was offered for a price of £80 for scrap, yet its MOT was still valid and the car was in a reasonably good condition and road worthy. He chose this particular make because of its small engine volume, which allowed him to pay the cheapest road tax rate. Together with tax and insurance, the car's total cost was £206.81, still considerably below the Bristol to London train fare close to the date of travel.

Sure, there are some other ways to get from A to B on this island: you can book a seat on a Megabus coach, buy a train ticket well in advance or off-peak, or use a railcard if you happened to own one. With some luck and persistence, you can find a suitable ride share online. But if you suddenly have to hit the road today or tomorrow, having an old small car at your disposal may look just like salvation.

Tom Church is determined to drive his new old Civic all the 115 miles to London and is hoping to sell it after some TLC for at least £200. Or perhaps (yet another life hack) he should offer the car to Honda's museum and get in return a brand new Civic, methinks.
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