Owning cars in London
Finally about to start making some okay money after working for a couple of years out of school. Of all the things to buy, the one thing I want most is a car. Those of you who have cars in London? What do you own? What kind of comp would you say is worth it before likely dropping the £700+ a month I’d end up likely spending? How far out do you live? I live in Z2 walking distance from Canary so I’m really just buying the car for vibes and fun and aura. Not a super practical purchase I know.
would only consider a car if I was motability mafia - not worth it in Z2
as long as you are recognising it is a superflous purchase I think its cool to splurge. Just don't end up coping and pretending its a necessity though
Yup definitely not, but unfortunately the car is just calling me. I don’t tend to go out much or go on holiday much or buy many clothes–not even because i don’t have the time, I think this purchase is the only one that would be fun and interesting and add some adventure to my day to day life. Also helpful for going to see the parents who live in a village 3 hrs away. Will be very easy for me to start pretending it’s a necessity hahaha.
Go for it dude.
I lived in the EU before London. Another city where the public transport was good enough to get by without a car. Still, having a car enabled me to see so so so much more of the country. Every weekend I'd be out doing something different, somewhere different. It's the main thing I miss since I moved here.
The only annoying thing is that even with a car you'll have to put up with the Tube for 90% of your journeys given central London is legit undriveable. I'm leaving next year and one of my main priorities is finding a city where you can drive and park everywhere lol.
What makes central London undriveable
Undriveable was an overstatement. I more meant that central London (hell a lot of London) is often tedious to drive through. It's not built like a US city where you have veins of freeways that run through everything and connect everything up. Going between two points within the city is often much faster by public transport. Parking is often difficult to find and expensive, especially in Zones 1 and 2.
I live in zone 1 and bought a car last year when I categorically didn't need to but it's been so worth it. Loads of great weekend road trips, took a week off to drive all around Scotland in the super remote places and sometimes handy to drive to parents or for a big shop. But there are also periods where I don't touch the car for a few weeks (currently haven't used it for nearly 3 weeks, whilst during the summer used it nearly weekly).
You just have to see this is a complete luxury or lifestyle cost and be prepared for minimum £3k p.a. running costs: On street parking from the council = ~£200 p.a., annual road tax will vary massively but assume £200-300 p.a. unless you get an EV. Insurance will be at least £1k-2k p.a. (London insurance is £1.5k on avg. but your age massively impacts this) - I was getting quotes for a Jag XE and BMW 440i for £2.2k. And then on top off this don't forget fuel ;)
If your bank has a salary sacrifice scheme for leasing cars, worth looking into as you can get a new car (e.g. Tesla, Mercedes, BMW etc.) for around £450 per month but that includes absolutely everything.
I live in Zone 1 too with 2 cars and the breakdown above is pretty accurate. Parking permit for the second car is slightly more expensive but about 5k per year is accurate. Personally I prefer to take cabs, I like the nostalgia factor and I think it's quite classy to show up in a black cab versus an uber.
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