Owning a car in central London
Discussion
gavsdavs said:
If you are not committed to owning a car (i.e you're not, since your ownership is PCP), try to live without one and hire when you need one.
Cars in London parked on the road are at risk of being damaged (either intentionally or not) and unless you need to travel to somewhere which has an awkward public transport journey, you might use it once or twice a week.
Until you can get somewhere with offstreet parking I'd avoid.
Or you could do as I do, and just own something that you're not super-precious about. My London cars have all picked up various parking dings and some vandalism, and I just don't care. Life is too short.Cars in London parked on the road are at risk of being damaged (either intentionally or not) and unless you need to travel to somewhere which has an awkward public transport journey, you might use it once or twice a week.
Until you can get somewhere with offstreet parking I'd avoid.
When I lived in London (Highbury) I had a Jag XKR which I parked on the street. At one time I had two cars parked on the street which was nuts. I absolutely found it was worth having, though, and would have missed it had I gone without. I mean you absolutely do not need a car, but as someone with presumably at least a passing interest in automobiles I would encourage you to keep one. Once I sorted out my quickest route out of the city, it was easily possible for me to head out for an evening blast up to Hertfordshire and be back before bedtime. Also useful for going to the supermarket, the dump etc. (as cars tend to be)
Fair warning, the Jag was keyed once in two years parked on the street, and it’s no secret that London drivers can at times be a little careless, so probably something cheap and cheerful would be best.
Fair warning, the Jag was keyed once in two years parked on the street, and it’s no secret that London drivers can at times be a little careless, so probably something cheap and cheerful would be best.
Euro 4 is apparently 2005-06 onwards, so plenty of choice for a fun car for 10k. Driving round London isn't that bad on a Sunday IMO, I'd use the tube for most journeys but going out of London I'd certainly want a car (and that's for practical reasons not just the mad petrolhead thing)
james_gt3rs said:
Euro 4 is apparently 2005-06 onwards, so plenty of choice for a fun car for 10k. Driving round London isn't that bad on a Sunday IMO, I'd use the tube for most journeys but going out of London I'd certainly want a car (and that's for practical reasons not just the mad petrolhead thing)
Yeah just realised that. 2006 5.7l V8 Monaro is ULEZ compliant ... (though, man maths, I can easily afford the repayments, and if it wouldn't depreciate ...). It probably wouldn't make sense to take out a loan though, so my list is currently 350Z, Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 v6, Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 v6, Audi TT 3.2 v6. All available sub 5k and all ULEZ compliant.
EDIT: over 2k for me to insure a Monaro in Greenwich ... 1400 for the others ... could I afford it? Yes. Am I willing to spend over 100 quid a month insuring a car I'll barely drive? No. back to the drawing board ...
Edited by Integroo on Monday 14th January 12:18
I'm in Zone 2 in NW rather than SE London but find having a car handy. For me it's very easy to get out on the M4, M40, M1 and M11 so trips to see family in Oxfordshire or Norwich, for example, are easy enough. Or to, say, Stanstead or Luton Airport. Having said all that those are trips which involve taking the wife & kids which I guess you won't need to do.
Although my jobs takes me to the City I work for IT companies and they're usually got head quarter out of town somewhere and if the trains don't stack up I'll drive. In both those cases a Euro 5 5.5 Merc Estate does the job.
My wife has a petrol Clio which does all the bombing about round town.
If you're single and/or have no kids it's perfectly possible to live without a car in London, of course, and if you took the money you'll save on depreciation, insurance, tax, maintenance, parking permits, etc etc you can pay for a lot of Ubers, Zip cars/vans and hire cars.
And London is good for cycling - I do a lot of short trips on my bikes, I have commuted for 7 years by bike and there are all the Boris bikes and now Lime bikes & scooters appearing now.
I've had one petrol head mate who was happy to jack in car ownership but a lot of my mates take advantage of low annual mileages and buy something interesting. I've had nothing but V8 Mercs since 2013. My mates have all sorts - LR50, Alpina 5 Series, TR6, Citroen SM, Citroen DS, S/C RRS, XK8, XKR, XFR, various Merc 124's etc etc etc
Although my jobs takes me to the City I work for IT companies and they're usually got head quarter out of town somewhere and if the trains don't stack up I'll drive. In both those cases a Euro 5 5.5 Merc Estate does the job.
My wife has a petrol Clio which does all the bombing about round town.
If you're single and/or have no kids it's perfectly possible to live without a car in London, of course, and if you took the money you'll save on depreciation, insurance, tax, maintenance, parking permits, etc etc you can pay for a lot of Ubers, Zip cars/vans and hire cars.
And London is good for cycling - I do a lot of short trips on my bikes, I have commuted for 7 years by bike and there are all the Boris bikes and now Lime bikes & scooters appearing now.
I've had one petrol head mate who was happy to jack in car ownership but a lot of my mates take advantage of low annual mileages and buy something interesting. I've had nothing but V8 Mercs since 2013. My mates have all sorts - LR50, Alpina 5 Series, TR6, Citroen SM, Citroen DS, S/C RRS, XK8, XKR, XFR, various Merc 124's etc etc etc
C70R said:
gavsdavs said:
If you are not committed to owning a car (i.e you're not, since your ownership is PCP), try to live without one and hire when you need one.
Cars in London parked on the road are at risk of being damaged (either intentionally or not) and unless you need to travel to somewhere which has an awkward public transport journey, you might use it once or twice a week.
Until you can get somewhere with offstreet parking I'd avoid.
Or you could do as I do, and just own something that you're not super-precious about. My London cars have all picked up various parking dings and some vandalism, and I just don't care. Life is too short.Cars in London parked on the road are at risk of being damaged (either intentionally or not) and unless you need to travel to somewhere which has an awkward public transport journey, you might use it once or twice a week.
Until you can get somewhere with offstreet parking I'd avoid.
- inflated insurance
- Parking permits and having to park on road
- risk of vehicle getting damaged
- You aint' going to use it much anyway
- Why pay tax/insurance/MOT/Servicing/purchase cost if you can rent when you need a car anyway.
Owning a classic within the 2021 ULEZ boundaries is a completely different conversation. If you are moving into the zone and aren't wedded to a particular car, don't bother keeping it until you recognise you need one.
gavsdavs said:
The point is, don't own a car in London if you don't *need* a car. Because
- inflated insurance
- Parking permits and having to park on road
- risk of vehicle getting damaged
- You aint' going to use it much anyway
- Why pay tax/insurance/MOT/Servicing/purchase cost if you can rent when you need a car anyway.
Owning a classic within the 2021 ULEZ boundaries is a completely different conversation. If you are moving into the zone and aren't wedded to a particular car, don't bother keeping it until you recognise you need one.
True, but there is a joy in owning an enthusiasts car which is what I will lose out on. There is an opportunity to own something interesting when one doesn't drive many miles and so things like mpg, reliability etc are less important. - inflated insurance
- Parking permits and having to park on road
- risk of vehicle getting damaged
- You aint' going to use it much anyway
- Why pay tax/insurance/MOT/Servicing/purchase cost if you can rent when you need a car anyway.
Owning a classic within the 2021 ULEZ boundaries is a completely different conversation. If you are moving into the zone and aren't wedded to a particular car, don't bother keeping it until you recognise you need one.
I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
Have lived in London (moved out now), and I had a car when I was there... It was used for only two things:
1. Visiting friends outside of London for the odd weekend away.
2. The weekly shopping trip.
Assuming that you use one of the many supermarket delivery services or you live within easy walking distance of a shop when you need to get bits and bobs, you don't need a car for (2) - this is the only thing I used my car for on a weekly basis. Only you can say how often you'd be doing something like (1) - depends where your friends live!
If I was still living in London, I would probably still have a car just because I've always had one, and it's handy to have. I'd also be aware that it would be used once in a blue moon, and that (honestly) I'd probably have make an effort to drive the car to keep everything in working condition. To put it another way - I'd buy a shed that would hopefully be reliable, but also cheap to fix / service / insure.
1. Visiting friends outside of London for the odd weekend away.
2. The weekly shopping trip.
Assuming that you use one of the many supermarket delivery services or you live within easy walking distance of a shop when you need to get bits and bobs, you don't need a car for (2) - this is the only thing I used my car for on a weekly basis. Only you can say how often you'd be doing something like (1) - depends where your friends live!
If I was still living in London, I would probably still have a car just because I've always had one, and it's handy to have. I'd also be aware that it would be used once in a blue moon, and that (honestly) I'd probably have make an effort to drive the car to keep everything in working condition. To put it another way - I'd buy a shed that would hopefully be reliable, but also cheap to fix / service / insure.
I'm in central London and wouldn't be without my car. I don't need it for commuting to work, but for everything else...
FWIW I've had 2x 6 series and my current Z4 parked on the streets of London; never been damaged. Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months. The thought of having to drag home several bags of groceries from the nearest supermarket 2 miles away in the wet and cold is enough for me, especially as there is no bus service that runs in that direction.
FWIW I've had 2x 6 series and my current Z4 parked on the streets of London; never been damaged. Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months. The thought of having to drag home several bags of groceries from the nearest supermarket 2 miles away in the wet and cold is enough for me, especially as there is no bus service that runs in that direction.
parabolica said:
I'm in central London and wouldn't be without my car. I don't need it for commuting to work, but for everything else...
FWIW I've had 2x 6 series and my current Z4 parked on the streets of London; never been damaged. Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months. The thought of having to drag home several bags of groceries from the nearest supermarket 2 miles away in the wet and cold is enough for me, especially as there is no bus service that runs in that direction.
I pay £220 odd quid for my parking permit at the moment! Insurance looks expensive for me but I am sure I can find something that's decent.FWIW I've had 2x 6 series and my current Z4 parked on the streets of London; never been damaged. Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months. The thought of having to drag home several bags of groceries from the nearest supermarket 2 miles away in the wet and cold is enough for me, especially as there is no bus service that runs in that direction.
My new employer actually offers a company car scheme but no doubt it is full of the same boring old four door German saloons.
Integroo said:
True, but there is a joy in owning an enthusiasts car which is what I will lose out on. There is an opportunity to own something interesting when one doesn't drive many miles and so things like mpg, reliability etc are less important.
I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
Of course, I'm not against owning a car in London, I'm just saying it's one of the few places you can avoid owning one and saving yourself some money. If you can get somewhere safe to park it and can get reasonable insurance, AND you get get something ulez compliant , do it I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
gavsdavs said:
Integroo said:
True, but there is a joy in owning an enthusiasts car which is what I will lose out on. There is an opportunity to own something interesting when one doesn't drive many miles and so things like mpg, reliability etc are less important.
I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
Of course, I'm not against owning a car in London, I'm just saying it's one of the few places you can avoid owning one and saving yourself some money. If you can get somewhere safe to park it and can get reasonable insurance, AND you get get something ulez compliant , do it I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
Integroo said:
gavsdavs said:
The point is, don't own a car in London if you don't *need* a car. Because
- inflated insurance
- Parking permits and having to park on road
- risk of vehicle getting damaged
- You aint' going to use it much anyway
- Why pay tax/insurance/MOT/Servicing/purchase cost if you can rent when you need a car anyway.
Owning a classic within the 2021 ULEZ boundaries is a completely different conversation. If you are moving into the zone and aren't wedded to a particular car, don't bother keeping it until you recognise you need one.
True, but there is a joy in owning an enthusiasts car which is what I will lose out on. There is an opportunity to own something interesting when one doesn't drive many miles and so things like mpg, reliability etc are less important. - inflated insurance
- Parking permits and having to park on road
- risk of vehicle getting damaged
- You aint' going to use it much anyway
- Why pay tax/insurance/MOT/Servicing/purchase cost if you can rent when you need a car anyway.
Owning a classic within the 2021 ULEZ boundaries is a completely different conversation. If you are moving into the zone and aren't wedded to a particular car, don't bother keeping it until you recognise you need one.
I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
gavsdavs said:
Integroo said:
True, but there is a joy in owning an enthusiasts car which is what I will lose out on. There is an opportunity to own something interesting when one doesn't drive many miles and so things like mpg, reliability etc are less important.
I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
Of course, I'm not against owning a car in London, I'm just saying it's one of the few places you can avoid owning one and saving yourself some money. If you can get somewhere safe to park it and can get reasonable insurance, AND you get get something ulez compliant , do it I didn't expect insurance on a 3.2 TT to be £1,500 though! That's a lot of wonga to spend insuring a car that's barely driven.
gavsdavs said:
C70R said:
gavsdavs said:
If you are not committed to owning a car (i.e you're not, since your ownership is PCP), try to live without one and hire when you need one.
Cars in London parked on the road are at risk of being damaged (either intentionally or not) and unless you need to travel to somewhere which has an awkward public transport journey, you might use it once or twice a week.
Until you can get somewhere with offstreet parking I'd avoid.
Or you could do as I do, and just own something that you're not super-precious about. My London cars have all picked up various parking dings and some vandalism, and I just don't care. Life is too short.Cars in London parked on the road are at risk of being damaged (either intentionally or not) and unless you need to travel to somewhere which has an awkward public transport journey, you might use it once or twice a week.
Until you can get somewhere with offstreet parking I'd avoid.
- inflated insurance
- Parking permits and having to park on road
- risk of vehicle getting damaged
- You aint' going to use it much anyway
- Why pay tax/insurance/MOT/Servicing/purchase cost if you can rent when you need a car anyway.
Owning a classic within the 2021 ULEZ boundaries is a completely different conversation. If you are moving into the zone and aren't wedded to a particular car, don't bother keeping it until you recognise you need one.
As for owning a classic in London, it's perfectly doable and I know many who do. They just accept that to keep it in the standard they wish, they need to have off-road parking.
C70R said:
Do they really offer a car scheme for London-based people to commute into town?
I seriously doubt it is for commuting - one would imagine that almost nobody commutes to Canary Wharf by car - but my contract does list a salary sacrifice car scheme as one of the benefits, through a company called Zenith. I imagine it will work out quite expensive for white goods motoring, but I don't know the details at the moment. parabolica said:
I'm in central London and wouldn't be without my car. I don't need it for commuting to work, but for everything else...
FWIW I've had 2x 6 series and my current Z4 parked on the streets of London; never been damaged. Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months. The thought of having to drag home several bags of groceries from the nearest supermarket 2 miles away in the wet and cold is enough for me, especially as there is no bus service that runs in that direction.
This is why I had a car when I lived in London... However, why not get that stuff delivered by Ocado or whoever?FWIW I've had 2x 6 series and my current Z4 parked on the streets of London; never been damaged. Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months. The thought of having to drag home several bags of groceries from the nearest supermarket 2 miles away in the wet and cold is enough for me, especially as there is no bus service that runs in that direction.
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