In the UK, I have owned my car from new, it’s almost 13 years old

That breaks down to around £100 per month, add petrol/ insurance/ road tax/ maintenance/ repairs and I bet my car is costing something like £250-275 per month

For that, I get the car to go where I want and when I want and my wife has the convenience of taking herself to and from work

Having a car is not exactly a cheap commodity anymore (and will get worse as ultra low emission zones are expanded around the uk) and of course there’s the potential to add parking fees/ charges and fines

Now, imagine we have retired, and we are now settled in Thailand (most likely around Phuket but that’s still to be decided)

I expect having a car in Thailand will work out a lot cheaper than back in the UK BUT, and here’s the thing

If we want to go out once per week and explore areas an hour or two drive from here we live, would it work out cheaper and safer to hire a driver for the day as and when required as opposed to have a second hand car parked outside and hardly used? Especially if any shops/ restaurants and to some degree bars (won’t drink and drive) are all within a reasonable walking distance to our home