Is it stupid to have a car in London?

[OReli]

I’m aware that most people with no kids in London don’t bother driving especially if they are in a central part. However, my partner and I live in zone 3 so are thinking about getting a car now for ease, we’ve never had one so are unaware of the costs. We like going on country walks, beaches etc (prepandemic) and although we manage with trains (even with our dog sometimes) it can be a pain to only rely on public transport all the time. For example we really regretted not having one a few months ago when our dog needed emergency vet care in the middle of the night, we ended up having to get an Uber which was fine but not very secure as they could have turned us away! To be honest we probably only need a car for weekends to go on drives outside London etc., my partner currently gets a bus to work which is quite long but it’s also cost effective so he puts up with it. I walk to work but will be looking for a new job in the coming months where I may need to commute to the outskirts of London so yeah a car would be handy if that happens. Just wondering if anyone else has advice on whether it is worth the cost of buying and up keeping a car in London?

When I lived in London I had a car and couldn’t have been without it. Just a little Clio but it made life so much easier

I think once you have one you incorporate it into your lifestyle and it’s then hard to go back. We live in zone 2 and drive. I know we could do without the car but we end up using most days to minimise inconvenience.

We are on the edge of South London and have always had a car, but with kids I think it becomes more if a requirement.

Have you got anywhere to keep a car? Off street parking is ideal. Residents parking permits can be costly and don't normally guarantee you a space anyway.

I had one when I lived in Zone 3. I would get the tube into central and drive anywhere local or outside London. It worked out to be cost efficient that way even with getting a parking permit.

I live in central London and I have a car. We don’t use it much but it’s very useful to have on the odd occasion we need, or want, to get somewhere easily. We’ve had it nearly 6 years and done less than 10,000 miles so it really isn’t used much. We have a 4 seater smart car and it costs us around £500 per year to service, insure and tax so it’s not expensive, and it’s an amount we’re comfortable spending on a luxury. And it is a luxury in my mind as we could happily manage without it, we just choose not to.

In the past we did consider getting rid of it and relying on hire cars or joining a car club, but decided to keep it for the ease of not having to plan and for the what-if dash to possibly ill or dying parents in the middle of the night.

We live in zone 1, I have a car, its a money pit, the insurance is costly, I also had to buy a parking space which was expensive, I use it maybe once a month. I only keep it as I really love cars.

Car gets used about once a week. A few day trips in spring/ summer.

It's pretty silly when I think about the cost of buying and running a car. MOT and repairs, tax, insurance.

I dread to think how much each journey actually costs me. It would definitely be cheaper to get an Uber, that's for sure.

I'm in zone 2 and I've always had a car since being here. It gets used regularly on week ends - especially post covid. If you can easily afford it I would buy a low emission small car. Low emission means lower permit costs, lower insurance costs and you'll meet the soon to be introduced ULEZ requirements.

I wouldn't recommend a hybrid car as catalytic theft rates are ridiculously high.

I’m in zone 1/2 and honestly a car is an absolute inconvenience. We have a cargo bike which is much better and much faster than driving.

We have a classic car, and honestly it costs a fortune to maintain and run. Parking is a nightmare and costs like £350 a year. We don’t use it enough and often have flat batteries.

We have three kids and a dog.

I would firstly check with the council re: parking as some councils were issuing new parking permits as they had way to many cars. Look at parking around you to see if you’ll ever get a spot. There is nothing worst than having a car which is always parked so far away that it is quicker to walk to the tube.

Due to our location it’s often quicker to take the train somewhere than drive. It depends where you are and how long it takes you to get out of London.

I'd look at car clubs before buying if you only want occasional weekend use. Likely to be cheaper and you won't have to worry about parking, insurance, damage.

I always had a car in London. We used it for the weekly shop, tip runs etc. Also essential for weekends away, weddings and visiting family outside London (we have several family members that live not too far apart but no public transport directly between them). We could have got hire cars but total cost would have been more than we paid annually for the car. Lived in Zone 2, parking permit was £10 a month and could always park within metres of our front door.

For example. Over the last year:
Depreciated in value of car £500
MOT and a small repair £130
Insurance £580
Yearly mini service £125
Vehicle tax £140

So that's approx £1480. Not including petrol or any major issues.

If I use the car 60 times this year (doubt it!!) it'd work out roughly £24.50 per journey.

It's usually to Sainsbury's or my Mum's house. And could easily be done on the bus / delivery / or less than a tenner in an Uber.

Wow. I might have to re think having my car!! And perhaps rent something for summer day trips.

I would add that zone 3 is very different from zone 1-2 where many of these posters live. I would never have got a car when I lived in zone 2 just outside Zone 1, but when I moved to Zone 3 the balance completely changed, permits were much more affordable and there were more daily use cases.

Definitely look at car clubs, easy access to a car when you want one without the hassle of actually owning one.

If you can afford one without any real impact on your other household budgetary decisions, and if you like heading out to the country, then definitely get one. You will (well I do) really appreciate the ability to head out at short notice and explore parts of the countryside that are not within a mile of a railway station. If you think you will only use it once every couple of months then just hire one from time to time.

In zone 3, it's definitely worth thinking about owning a car. Check where you would park it and the cost of a residents permit, if applicable. Get a small, unexciting car that isn't very appealing to thieves and your insurance shouldn't be too costly. Having a car really opens up day trips from London that are only an hour or so in the car but a nightmare on public transport.

Thanks for all the replies.
Looks like it really just depends on our needs and lifestyle. I’m thinking renting one every now and again would make more sense, @TheSmallAssassin do you recommend any car clubs? We love walking so don’t want to get into the habit of driving everywhere, we also live across from a train station which is quite well connected and rarely has any delays (it’s not southern rail). The reason the car idea came up is because a family friend is giving a car away, it’s quite old so may be expensive to insure. I’ll just need to way up the odds of taking it on, we don’t have a huge disposable income so renting one may be better.

Oh and forgot to mention that we have free parking in our current flat but it’s a rental and we may move from here in the next year

When I looked into car clubs, couldn’t find any that would work for us as we have a lab sized dog and I think most said dog would need to be in a crate/container. I mean, we could have bought a crate I guess but it would be hard knowing what size or having to hire a car big enough to fit such a big crate.

are drives not a thing in London? Why the necessity for permits and parking your car not by your home?

Well if you have a parking space and you are being offered a free car it's the ideal time to try it and find out, surely?

We had a car in London and used it frequently, we travelled out of London frequently be it to see family or to nearby countryside, shopping. and for the nursery run. I would actually say we drove more in London than we did in a village because in the village everything was on our doorstep and walkable. Perhaps if we didn't have toddlers when we were in London we may used public transport more. I used the tube for work though and whenever we into town of course. We did only have one car though and now out of London we have 2.

Having osp makes a big difference - knowing that you've relinquished a good parking space really takes the shine off a day trip!

It is a money drain - huge cost of parking (London terrace, no drives!), insurance, services etc - but without the car there are are couple of regular kids activities that would take 1-2 hours each way on public transport, instead of 30 minutes each way in the car. Add on trips to the dump, getting to friends who live outside London, UK holidays and collecting eBay buys, and it becomes worth it for the convenience.

@MyDcAreMarvel

are drives not a thing in London? Why the necessity for permits and parking your car not by your home?

Where would drives even go in London? Flats don’t have front gardens and neither do most houses unless you live far out into outer London.