Owning a car in central London

[Integroo]

bobtail4x4 said:

Reading this in Yorkshire, we have half a dozen cars here,
I cant imagine anyone willingly giving up car ornership.....

There are some benefits of living in London that make up for it!

[ZX10R NIN]

Integroo said:

I think that would be swiftly veto'd by my better half, but it's certainly tempting.

Also I should add that Greenwich is only an idea - open to suggestions - ideally would be walking distance to Canary Wharf as my hours will be long, but happy with a short commute by tube / DLR / bicycle in the summer / Vespa (can you even park one at CW? do you need a licence?)

Edited by Integroo on Monday 14th January 16:48

A commuter bike like the links below should keep the OH sweet whilst getting her the used of the idea of you having a bike & yes you can park your bike/scooter at Canary Wharf I'd say get a commuter bike as Scooter thefts are through the roof in London, make sure that if you do get a bike it's 2007 onwards so you can avoid the ULEZ charge.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[cib24]

Integroo said:

I think that would be swiftly veto'd by my better half, but it's certainly tempting.

Also I should add that Greenwich is only an idea - open to suggestions - ideally would be walking distance to Canary Wharf as my hours will be long, but happy with a short commute by tube / DLR / bicycle in the summer / Vespa (can you even park one at CW? do you need a licence?)

Edited by Integroo on Monday 14th January 16:48

Are you a new front office analyst at an investment bank in the Wharf? If so, perhaps hold off on a car until you make VP and get better hours. Your life is going to suck for the next 5 years as you will be living to work rather than working to live. The money will be nice at least but you won't have a lot of time to spend it...

[RJG46]

ZX10R NIN said:

A commuter bike like the links below should keep the OH sweet whilst getting her the used of the idea of you having a bike & yes you can park your bike/scooter at Canary Wharf I'd say get a commuter bike as Scooter thefts are through the roof in London, make sure that if you do get a bike it's 2007 onwards so you can avoid the ULEZ charge.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

High performance bikes don't make much sense with the ever increasing 20mph zones we now have.

If the OP likes cars I'm not sure why he'd buy a bike just because he'd moved to London. Not great for the weekly shop for one.

[Integroo]

cib24 said:

Are you a new front office analyst at an investment bank in the Wharf? If so, perhaps hold off on a car until you make VP and get better hours. Your life is going to suck for the next 5 years as you will be living to work rather than working to live. The money will be nice at least but you won't have a lot of time to spend it...

No, lawyer, couple of years qualified, so hours will be bad, but not as bad as an investment banker ... probably.

RJG46 said:

High performance bikes don't make much sense with the ever increasing 20mph zones we now have.

If the OP likes cars I'm not sure why he'd buy a bike just because he'd moved to London. Not great for the weekly shop for one.

Biggest problem is I can't take my girlfriend to Stonehenge on one!

[cib24]

Integroo said:

cib24 said:

Are you a new front office analyst at an investment bank in the Wharf? If so, perhaps hold off on a car until you make VP and get better hours. Your life is going to suck for the next 5 years as you will be living to work rather than working to live. The money will be nice at least but you won't have a lot of time to spend it...

No, lawyer, couple of years qualified, so hours will be bad, but not as bad as an investment banker ... probably.

Well, you have to wait for the bankers to come back to you with comments and suggestions so usually the lawyers work the latest unless you are a lawyer for a bank rather than a law firm!

Anyway, check out my post about living in Canary Wharf with a car for the past 7 years and using it primarily for weekends away and track days. It can work, but don't expect to drive it as much as you think you will when you first get it.

[Integroo]

cib24 said:

Well, you have to wait for the bankers to come back to you with comments and suggestions so usually the lawyers work the latest unless you are a lawyer for a bank rather than a law firm!

Anyway, check out my post about living in Canary Wharf with a car for the past 7 years and using it primarily for weekends away and track days. It can work, but don't expect to drive it as much as you think you will when you first get it.

Law firm, but luckily I am not a banking lawyer, who certainly work the hardest! (Though I am under no illusions my hours will be long).

Thanks for the comments, definitely will take them on board.

[vikingaero]

It really depends on your lifestyle. Loads of Londoners have friends, families and hobbies out of town. Do you ever plan to visit places outside of the M25? Zipcars and car clubs are fine up to a point, but then sometimes it becomes cheaper to rent from a normal place for the day/week.

[RJG46]

Blackheath and Greenwich are ideal. Easy access to Canary Wharf and the A2 and A20 provide fairly reliable routes in and out of town to the M25.

[V6Alfisti]

Depends on your area, availability of services like zipcars and lifestyle frankly.

My wife and myself both have cars and we live in West London, but also both work over 90% of the time in London. When I do have to pop out to somewhere for work outside the M25, it is a no thought process.

Some factors for this (as well as just sheer convenience !)

1) Residents parking is only about £140 / car
2) Insurance isn't extortionate, about £350 ish on the MX5
3) We have family in/outside London and so very convenient to just jump in your own car
4) Zipcar e.t.c are available on two of the neighbouring streets but thats £74 per day (or about £54 if you pay £6p/m) so a simple weekend is £150 + fuel on the basic package. Compare that to a £2k interesting car (mx5/alfa gt e.t.c), insurance and tax.
5) I rarely shop in London, as I find shopping in store tedious, so having a car to return large parcels instead of walking 15 minutes with a large box to the post office is a nice benefit

A negative, if you have a 4 seater you can end up being the taxi.

In terms of ULEZ, yes this is a factor. Even modern big engined diesel stuff like a 640D is euro 5 and thus subject to the fee. Personally my wife has the MX5 and I have the practical car i.e rear seats (911). My old Alfa GT was imo a great city car, practical, pretty, not awful on fuel and modern enough to cover most needs, perhaps a V6 version of those if not subject to ULEZ could be worth investigating.

[ZX10R NIN]

RJG46 said:

ZX10R NIN said:

A commuter bike like the links below should keep the OH sweet whilst getting her the used of the idea of you having a bike & yes you can park your bike/scooter at Canary Wharf I'd say get a commuter bike as Scooter thefts are through the roof in London, make sure that if you do get a bike it's 2007 onwards so you can avoid the ULEZ charge.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

High performance bikes don't make much sense with the ever increasing 20mph zones we now have.

If the OP likes cars I'm not sure why he'd buy a bike just because he'd moved to London. Not great for the weekly shop for one.

Did you actually look at the bikes I linked too? They were 300-650cc commuter bikes.

If you live in Greenwich/Lewisham etc you can get your weekly shop delivered or carry it back as you can walk to the shops which is what the OP would be doing if he had no car at all.

[ZX10R NIN]

Integroo said:

Biggest problem is I can't take my girlfriend to Stonehenge on one!

If you're not planning on having a car to begin with how will you get her to Stonehenge?

As I said I have fun just commuting in, you could always sign up to a car club for those kind of trips.

You could easily take the OH on a bike to (stopping of at some nice B&B's along the way) Stonehenge I've taken my OH to Le Mans on an MV F4 of all things (first bike in the photo's previous) even I had to doff my cap to her on that one.

[RJG46]

C70R said:

RJG46 said:

C70R said:

DanL said:

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?

Yeah. I have quite a few friends who don't own cars because it's impractical for their situation (e.g. very central living, lots of travel). They either take Uber or Zipcar on the rare occasions that they don't get their groceries delivered home. For a short run like the supermarket to home, an Uber is going to be a fiver or so - hardly a fortune if you're only doing that for your 'big shops'.

From Greenwich you can be in Whitstable in less than an hour. How much would that cost in a cab?

It's currently 1hr20 according to Google Maps, or 1hr45 on the train (£27 for an off-peak return if I buy on the same day). Not a super-compelling argument.

Edited by C70R on Monday 14th January 16:17

But loads of people have cars in London. I woudn't to rely on Taxis only.

[Killboy]

Some sound advice here, but some misleading too. I firmly believe you need to factor in whether you want a car or not before you move to London! You need to factor it in when choosing a place to rent/buy. If you love cars and want an out of the ordinary one, you going to have to find a place with a garage/underground parking. Even if you just want a car, you need to ensure that where you live will be eligible for a parking permit (i.e. some councils like Wandsworth are not giving street parking permits to blocks of flats and developments, and in these cases if the flat better have it's own - e.g. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200457/parking_p...

There is no point moving into a place and then deciding you want a car but now cannot have one. Moaning about that would just be silly.

Some areas are also easier than others - Chelsea is difficult to find an open spot, and you can park miles from your place, and other areas there is more space. When viewing a place, try take a drive around peak hours to see if you find spots. I live in an area with loads of space.

As to if its worth it, to me personally yes. My car's insurance is £650 a year (I dont think its bad for the kind of car it is), and my permit is around £180. A lot of money for something driven once or twice a week, but I get out of London with it (Wales, Le Mans, etc) and I'm happy to spend it. And I like it.

You will manage perfectly fine however not having one if you live anywhere in Zone 1 or 2, and the further you go out it just depends on the location.

What is excellent is Zip Car's Flex scheme, pick up and drop off cars anywhere in the zone (which is massive). https://www.zipcar.co.uk/flex. This will be the cheapest way of fairly freely driving around a good portion of London.

[parabolica]

C70R said:

parabolica said:

I'm in central London ... Parking Permit in my neck of the woods is £35 for 12 months.

Where the hell is that?

Slight poetic license here - I'm currently down Barnes/Mortlake area; but I was in Shepherd's Bush and Notting Hill for 3-4 years during which i had my 6 series. Permits for over there were around £170 iirc. That said with a resident's permit you could park anywhere in RBKC which was a nice bonus. Current permit is only £35 quid in SW because restrictions are 10am-noon only.

[coldel]

parabolica said:

Slight poetic license here - I'm currently down Barnes/Mortlake area; but I was in Shepherd's Bush and Notting Hill for 3-4 years during which i had my 6 series. Permits for over there were around £170 iirc. That said with a resident's permit you could park anywhere in RBKC which was a nice bonus. Current permit is only £35 quid in SW because restrictions are 10am-noon only.

I live in Richmond just down the road, I am on a road that is 24hr residents permits which is much better than the limited time ones. You get all the non permit holders dumping their cars on your road outside of the permit hours. Something I don't have to worry about. As for having a garage if you want a nice car, partly true, I have owned a VX220 350z R33 and a GT-Four now all cars stick out a mile but not had any problems parking on the road. I live down a cul-de-sac so no passing pedestrian traffic of note which really helps - obviously a garage is nice, but its not a must have.

[ZX10R NIN]

RJG46 said:

Blackheath and Greenwich are ideal. Easy access to Canary Wharf and the A2 and A20 provide fairly reliable routes in and out of town to the M25.

I'd say Lewisham is one of the best areas because you can either drive or jump on a trains (they're every minute in the rush hour) as well as the DLR & great Bus Links too.

[RJG46]

Integroo said:

Biggest problem is I can't take my girlfriend to Stonehenge on one!

You could always take her up The Oxo Tower.



It's been too long.

[RSbandit]

Live in Canary Wharf and have two cars, crazy I know ! One is family SUV which becomes a necessity with kids tbh, fairly boring to drive tho so I had to have something special that I use mostly at weekends and the occasional track day. Easy enough to get to Essex (A13/A12/M11) or Kent (A2) for some fun roads from although the Blackwall tunnel can be a right pain coming back in if there’s a broken down vehicle or accident. Always lived in a complex with secure underground parking so think that helps with my insurance ,wouldn’t have the second car if it had to be parked on the street tbh. For me having a car means absolute freedom jump in and off u go, of course family life curtails my adventures a bit these days but if young and single no excuses!

[kingston12]

Integroo said:

Is it worth it?

I am moving to London in March (not sure where yet, somewhere near Canary Wharf, maybe Greenwich, so not quite central London I suppose). I currently have a Fiat 124 Spider on PCP, but I will probably sell it before I move, as I cba driving it to London, making sure I find a flat with parking, etc. etc. After a few months, if I think I need/want a car, I think I'll buy a toy - something relatively cheap in cash probably with two seats and a big engine.

Is there any point though? Or will it just sit outside my flat doing very little as nobody in London needs to drive anywhere? Can you get in and out of the city on a weekend to things worth seeing without too much hassle? Or is it easier just to get the train and hire a car on the rare occasion I need one.

I’d definitely wait and see where you actually move to. One of the people that has replied here lives in central London, but two miles from the nearest supermarket. I’m unsure where that would be, but could certainly be a bit of a hassle without a car!

I live right on the edge of the London suburbs, but half a mile from the mainline station into town, and only a few minutes walk from local supermarkets, shops, bars, restaurants etc.

I do have a car, but I only use it once or twice a month, because most of my journeys are either a few minutes walk from home, or into central London where I’d rather be on the Tube anyway.

I keep the car because I like it, it is old (so low depreciation), cheap to run and I have a garage to keep it in. If any of those factors changed, I’d probably not have one, financially it doesn’t make sense as it is.

It took me a while to get used to it. I grew up a bit further out into the sticks, passed my test as soon as I turned 17 and always drove everywhere. Once I moved here, I just lost interest for day to day trips, and that makes me enjoy driving more when I do longer journeys.

One of my old neighbours used to drive to the railway station and pay to park for the day even though it is a leisurely 8 minute walk away from her house, so everyone thinks differently!

Edited by kingston12 on Tuesday 15th January 01:15