Discussion
Hey!
I've very little experience of LHD cars so I thought I'd ask the wider PH community for a bit of advice.
I've been offered a friends Merc ML today. It needs a few things sorting, but consequently could be an absolute billy bargain. The thing is, he lives in the Irish Republic and bought the car in Spain. When he moved back he brought the car with him.
I've only driven a LHD a couple of times, but fortunately was also on the wrong side of the road as well as the wrong side of the car. It seemed easy enough.
Does anyone have experience of driving an LHD daily? I'm just trying to work out if there's anything (other than car park barriers!) that I'll have to contend with and get used to.
All help gratefully received.
I've very little experience of LHD cars so I thought I'd ask the wider PH community for a bit of advice.
I've been offered a friends Merc ML today. It needs a few things sorting, but consequently could be an absolute billy bargain. The thing is, he lives in the Irish Republic and bought the car in Spain. When he moved back he brought the car with him.
I've only driven a LHD a couple of times, but fortunately was also on the wrong side of the road as well as the wrong side of the car. It seemed easy enough.
Does anyone have experience of driving an LHD daily? I'm just trying to work out if there's anything (other than car park barriers!) that I'll have to contend with and get used to.
All help gratefully received.
My old Citroen DS is LHD (the way they should be!) Ive only used at as a daily for around 6 months about a year and half ago and my commute wasn't that big but I have had no problems whatsoever, now it may be different with a modern car, luckily the DS has a lot of glass so you can see a lot around you, and with it being old i really don't have to worry about the one thing that will be scary on a modern car and that is overtaking.
Pulling away from being parked on the road is a bit of a nightmare but thats because I've only got the one wing mirror, a problem you won't have in a modern car.
I was really worried about it at first but its been no problem whatsoever, the biggest issue I have is Im always going to the passengers side in my other car to get in and drive only to realise the steering wheels not there :-)
Pulling away from being parked on the road is a bit of a nightmare but thats because I've only got the one wing mirror, a problem you won't have in a modern car.
I was really worried about it at first but its been no problem whatsoever, the biggest issue I have is Im always going to the passengers side in my other car to get in and drive only to realise the steering wheels not there :-)
Car parks and toll booths are slightly problematic unless you have a passenger- one of those long handles with a pince ron the end (like for picking up litter) works well otherwise.
Overtaking becomes much more difficult as you don't have the sight lines
If you plan on travelling in continental Europe, LHD suddenly becomes a real advantage. Incidentally, you'll probably also find that prices in the UK for LHD will be greater than for the RHD equivalent- thanks to cheaper 2nd hand prices vs the rest of Europe, plus there is always a demand and lack of choice for those actively seeking LHD (e.g. those with property abroad).
Overtaking becomes much more difficult as you don't have the sight lines
If you plan on travelling in continental Europe, LHD suddenly becomes a real advantage. Incidentally, you'll probably also find that prices in the UK for LHD will be greater than for the RHD equivalent- thanks to cheaper 2nd hand prices vs the rest of Europe, plus there is always a demand and lack of choice for those actively seeking LHD (e.g. those with property abroad).
radiodanno said:
Good news is I'm seeing him this weekend, so I can go give it a spin on the left hand side of the road.
Unless it's substantially under market value I'll abort, but he'll probably be just short of giving it to me.
Last time I looked, LHD mainstream cars were worth considerably more, like-for-like, than RHD ones in the UK. So even if you bought it at "market value", you'd probably not make a loss if you decided to sell it on. Unless it's substantially under market value I'll abort, but he'll probably be just short of giving it to me.
Overtaking is possibly the biggest inconvenience on a daily basis, but you do have the advantage of an elevated driving position, which counters that to some degree.
Get yourself one of those long armed grabber type things to deal with ticket machines.
You will also struggle to sell it, as the market for people wanting that sort of car is not huge and the LHD will put most of them off.
Get yourself one of those long armed grabber type things to deal with ticket machines.
You will also struggle to sell it, as the market for people wanting that sort of car is not huge and the LHD will put most of them off.
I had one for about 3 years and never really had any issues. I changed cars for other reasons, not that it was LHD. For overtaking just hang back a bit further than you normally would, it's a habit I still have now.
My OH really hated being in the "driver's" seat and having no controls though, he said that felt really odd.
My OH really hated being in the "driver's" seat and having no controls though, he said that felt really odd.
As of the beginning of June I'll have been driving a LHD car for five years on the UK roads (47,000 miles) and I have had no issues whatsoever.
But bear in mind:
a) I don't use multi story car parks at all (the spaces are barely big enough to get out of a 3 door focus comfortably so I haven't even bothered with trying in the Mustang).
b) My daily and leasure routes do not take me through any toll roads.
c) I don't have to use barriers of any type.
But those problems can be solved using a grabber if you do need any of that
But bear in mind:
a) I don't use multi story car parks at all (the spaces are barely big enough to get out of a 3 door focus comfortably so I haven't even bothered with trying in the Mustang).
b) My daily and leasure routes do not take me through any toll roads.
c) I don't have to use barriers of any type.
But those problems can be solved using a grabber if you do need any of that
chrispmartha said:
Oh and just another thing to remember, you will need a passenger with you if you go into a multi-storey car park and if you fancy a drive thru McDonalds!
Reverse through... 
Joking apart (and I'm not really joking about the drive thru!), just hang quite a bit further back at all times and visibility forward (even round parked buses and lorries) is fine
.On faster roads, it's possible to look down the left of the vehicle in front in some circumstances and get prior warning of overtaking opportunities as opposed to just hanging back until the road is dead straight
.Oh, and if you get in the wrong door - just make out you're looking in the glovebox for something
.aw51 121565 said:
Reverse through...
Joking apart (and I'm not really joking about the drive thru!), just hang quite a bit further back at all times and visibility forward (even round parked buses and lorries) is fine .
On faster roads, it's possible to look down the left of the vehicle in front in some circumstances and get prior warning of overtaking opportunities as opposed to just hanging back until the road is dead straight .
Oh, and if you get in the wrong door - just make out you're looking in the glovebox for something .
Sound advice.Joking apart (and I'm not really joking about the drive thru!), just hang quite a bit further back at all times and visibility forward (even round parked buses and lorries) is fine
.On faster roads, it's possible to look down the left of the vehicle in front in some circumstances and get prior warning of overtaking opportunities as opposed to just hanging back until the road is dead straight
.Oh, and if you get in the wrong door - just make out you're looking in the glovebox for something
.I would also add that if/when you get pulled over by the police and exit what appears to be the passenger side be prepared.
I was stopped as upon opening the door I only got as far as swinging my feet out before being told to "get back in the car, we want to speak to the driver" Quite who he thought was driving when I was the only person in the car is another matter...
It's also worth mentioning for all of those who talk about lack of vision that since the majority of cars are only occupied by a driver you can look through the rear window over the passenger seat and see what is coming. Usually only vans pose a problem.
Drove a LHD Miata in the UK for years and years. Never really an issue. Made parking nice and easy as you're next to the kerb.
Drive thru? Just put the roof down.
Car parks were a bit of a pain.
Overtaking was just different, you needed to do a jink to thre left to get a line of sight first. Having said that sometimes you could overtake round gentle left handers as you got to see what was ahead before anyone in a RHD would have done.
The biggest problem I has was tight left handers on narrow country lanes - you literally can't see round the corner at all so have to tip-toe round.
Drive thru? Just put the roof down.
Car parks were a bit of a pain.
Overtaking was just different, you needed to do a jink to thre left to get a line of sight first. Having said that sometimes you could overtake round gentle left handers as you got to see what was ahead before anyone in a RHD would have done.
The biggest problem I has was tight left handers on narrow country lanes - you literally can't see round the corner at all so have to tip-toe round.
I'm confused. Irish Republic charges huge import duty on personally imported cars. If he's already paid that tax in Ireland it would make no sense to sell the car to someone in UK - it's worth more in Ireland.
Or is the situation that he's still got it on Spanish plates and is keen to get rid? In which case it's a buyer's market!
Or is the situation that he's still got it on Spanish plates and is keen to get rid? In which case it's a buyer's market!
radiodanno said:
Hey!
I've very little experience of LHD cars so I thought I'd ask the wider PH community for a bit of advice.
I've been offered a friends Merc ML today. It needs a few things sorting, but consequently could be an absolute billy bargain. The thing is, he lives in the Irish Republic and bought the car in Spain. When he moved back he brought the car with him.
I've only driven a LHD a couple of times, but fortunately was also on the wrong side of the road as well as the wrong side of the car. It seemed easy enough.
Does anyone have experience of driving an LHD daily? I'm just trying to work out if there's anything (other than car park barriers!) that I'll have to contend with and get used to.
If you want to swap with my RHD ML give me a shout.
All help gratefully received.
I've very little experience of LHD cars so I thought I'd ask the wider PH community for a bit of advice.
I've been offered a friends Merc ML today. It needs a few things sorting, but consequently could be an absolute billy bargain. The thing is, he lives in the Irish Republic and bought the car in Spain. When he moved back he brought the car with him.
I've only driven a LHD a couple of times, but fortunately was also on the wrong side of the road as well as the wrong side of the car. It seemed easy enough.
Does anyone have experience of driving an LHD daily? I'm just trying to work out if there's anything (other than car park barriers!) that I'll have to contend with and get used to.
If you want to swap with my RHD ML give me a shout.
All help gratefully received.
Riccardino said:
oyster said:
The biggest problem I has was tight left handers on narrow country lanes - you literally can't see round the corner at all so have to tip-toe round.
This is indeed an issue
chrispmartha said:
Oh and just another thing to remember, you will need a passenger with you if you go into a multi-storey car park and if you fancy a drive thru McDonalds!
You can reverse through McDs, which sorts this problem. Only did it the once in my barchetta, but you do get some strange looks.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff