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?

@MyDcAreMarvel

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

You're familiar with the idea of urban density, right? Most inner cities of any size, the homes will not have drives. Many people will also be in flats.

I live in zone 1 and managed without a car when I was childless and until DS was 5. Couldn’t cope after that. It gets used a lot. Switching to electric as no c charge, no charge for residents permit, on street chargers outside my home, and pay for first 10 mins parking in C London. I think owning a petrol car will become prohibitive in the coming years.

I'm a born and bred Londoner, I've had a car all my adult life, would seriously not cope without it. It's expensive in terms of insurance/congestion etc but vital for our family life.
We are very lucky to have two allocated car parking spaces within our complex grounds, but to whoever asked above NO drives/off street parking is a very rare and limited thing. We were offered £4k per year for the use of one of our spaces! Local councils profit hugely from parking permits and it can be very costly .

I manage perfectly well without one. We have one between us, and I very rarely drive it.

Living close to a tube station is a major factor in that, but then we chose our house primarily for the transport links.
Dh commutes by tube as well, only drives when he has a meeting somewhere awkward. All pre Covid, of course...

I've never had a car and always wondered why so many people in London do. Costs a fortune, traffic is horrendous. There is a huge push to reduce car use because the air is so toxic, so have a look whether you'd be in the newly extended congestion charge zone and whether there are any LTNs planned in your area.

I've never had any issues from not having a car so I'm always puzzled when people say they can't live without one (barring disabilities and so on).

I'd look into car clubs in your situation.

Car clubs are the best option I think.

If you can get the car for free why not get it and see how much you use it. You can always sell it on in 6 months and give the relative the money.

If it’s an old car you’ve got the opportunity to own, have a look at whether it would be affected by the ulez and where you live in relation the the extended congestion charging zone.

It’d almost certainly be cheaper to use a car club or hire a car but it totally changes the psychology of using the car - if a day trip is going to cost you £50 in fees, you’re less likely to do it than if you’ve already spent that money on MOT/insurance etc.

Personally I found owning a car came into its own when we bought a flat that needed some work - it’s the trips to the tip, DIY shops, IKEA etc that all add up.

And having kids it is makes a huge difference.

But I’m also really conscious of air pollution and the wider environmental impact so try not to use the car for short journeys, school run etc unless essential. We cycle where possible.

Have always had a car and lived in zones 1-3. I wouldn’t be without it, I feel it gives me more freedom, easy to visit people out of town, go for nice country walks that are far from stations, not to mention food/DIY trips etc.

We are in zone 2 and have a car. It's great to be able to drive out of London. Traffic isn't that bad and we wouldn't drive it into the city.

Zone 2 and outside - always had a car - used for commuting depending on location of job, going to supermarket etc and to socialise. Definitely worth having a car.

Now live in zone 1. Was car free for 6 years. Inherited a car recently decided to keep it and not sell as thought it would be useful to go on holiday etc. It's actually a total pain in the arse probably especially so due to covid - it's expensive (especially as I had to essentially restart my no-claims bonus for insurance), I have to purposefully take it out as I"m not doing any of my usual socialising / travel where it might have been useful and actually the combination of the train and my Brompton bike is probably more convenient.

It also takes fucking hours to drive back into London from anywhere.

I'm already thinking of getting rid of it and going back to zipcar for my odd jaunt to ikea!

@MyDcAreMarvel

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

Houses are densely packed in London, even in the suburbs. You either have to be very wealthy or live in zones 4+ to find houses with driveways. When my husband and I bought our first flat we usually had to park about three streets away!

Lots of drives in my part of zone 2 irritatingly. Put in before the community sought conservation status meaning there's no where to park on the street.

@kirinm

Lots of drives in my part of zone 2 irritatingly. Put in before the community sought conservation status meaning there's no where to park on the street.

That must be really annoying! Presumably the housing density has increased since that time?

How much would you really use it? My city dwelling DC don't bother with personal cars. The costs of parking, insurance etc mean that the odd car rental for a day or weekend, taxis for ad hoc awkward journeys work out a lot cheaper than a car's annual running costs and depreciation.

When I lived in zone 2 I had a car, golf polo. Still caught the bus/walked to work but the car was handy for full shopping runs on the weekend and weekend day trips. My flat had assigned parking so no issue there.

I think I’m veering towards the car club side of life. We prefer to get shopping delivered, walk a lot and I think we would only use it a couple if times a month. However, I think we will take the free car and test the waters a bit, could do with some driving practice. It’s been awhile.

Regarding driveways in London, they are practically non-existent. We live in a rather wealthy part of London and people park on the street, even large detached houses have no driveways for some reason.

Do it. Think of all the day trips you can do this summer. Not much to lose if you have parking and a free car.

We sold our car a year ago because we barely used it. We walk to work, get shopping delivered and no longer have to ferry DS to far flung footy matches

We haven’t been travelling around as much as usual due to lockdowns, but for the most part we walk or cycle, or if it’s a lot further, get buses/trains/tubes. If we need a car, Zipcar works well for shorter periods and a proper hire car (though we are going to try a peer to peer scheme called Hiya next) for longer than 24hours. And obvs get an Uber or whatever if necessary,

Most cars on our road barely ever move. People need to change their outlook/dependency on having a car just incase!

We live in Zone 2 btw!

Why not work out roughly what it would cost as per @BrilliantBetty above, and compare it to how much you’d spend on hiring a car/clubs/Uber? I’d definitely get some insurance quotes first, particularly if it’s an older car and you don’t have off street parking. People always think about doing late night hospital dashes, but often cars just sit there costing you money.

I’m pretty sure you can get short-term car insurance now can’t you? From an hour to about a month. Just insure it for when you plan a day out or U.K. holiday etc. It’s worth a look into that since your getting the car as a gift. Better than paying monthly for it to be sitting there.

www.money.co.uk/car-insurance/one-month-car-insurance.html

www.money.co.uk/car-insurance/one-month-car-insurance.htm

Sorry, here’s the correct link

There is a huge push to reduce car use because the air is so toxic

But why not contribute to potentially fatal childhood asthma while you still can, eh?

www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/pollution-and-air-quality/mayors-ultra-low-emission-zone-london

Will you car be compatible with the new ULEZ? I’d imagine many Londoners will have to get rid of their cars.