What do you use your car for?

My family is about to relocate to the UK from New York and are planning to find a place in the St. John's Wood or Hampstead area.  We have pretty much decided to bring our one-year old SUV with us, given that we also have a one-year old daughter.  However, we are just not sure what we will be using the SUV for - grocery shopping, or weekend getaway?  It seems that the rail is a more efficient (cost-effective, maybe?) means of transport for travel within Europe,   Also, could you refer a few good auto insurance companies willing to insure American cars.  Much appreciated.

grocery shopping and  weekend things we  may do.. 
visiting people or places..

You'll be using your suv to drain your bank account.  Petrol is a lot higher priced in the UK and with a gas-guzzling suv, be prepared to spend a huge part of your budget for petrol.

And, if you decide that you want to sell it in England once you're there, there is a very low market for suvs in England.  You could wind up losing a lot of money on it.  (Unless it's a Land Rover or a diesel).

I'd perhaps give it some more thought and consider getting a more efficient vehicle, rather than shipping your suv.

Also parking will be a nightmare - I live in St Johns Wood & spend quite a bit of time in Hampstead.  The roads are VERY narrow, parking is not easy to find & doing so with an SUV is tough.  It's doable (and there are many an SUV in those parts of town).  The tough part will be when you are trying to park at Sainsbury's and you are on the wrong side to put your parking ticket in the machine (and people are NOT patient if you have to get out or move over to the other side of the car).  If you can either sell it or if you are planning on heading back to the US in 2 years or so have someone look after it, it might be worth it.  Then purchase a nice little vehicle over here...you truly do not need an SUV even with kids (which you will see over here). 

You could always use grocery deliver - it's £5 per delivery & soooo easy, thus not needing to go grocery shopping (I love it) & if you are in St Johns Wood there are two nice little grocery shops near the High Street...so you could walk when you need something small.  And yes, the rail service is amazing...plus flying places is cheap & reasonable.

Sorry I can't help you with Insurance stuff as I don't own a car (and am loving it...though I don't have a child).  If your hubby's company has other Americans working over here, they may be able to help with this question.

so right, onetiger.  SUVs are really not a necessity unless you live on a farm or do a lot of load-hauling for work.  they're not nearly so common here - b/c petrol is much more expensive than even the highest price in the US - and they're definitely not necessary if you have a family.  we have a 21-month-old daughter who rides well in our 5-door vauxhall astra. 

as onetiger pointed out, there is much less off-street parking here, as land is too valuable to be used for car parking, so you'll be doing a lot of parallel parking in tight spaces. 

furthermore, if you're staying for more than one year, you'll have to obtain a UK license, which will mean taking a practical (road) test in a British car. 

i'd sell the SUV, buy a normal-sized car when i got here, and get used to driving the British way in plenty of time to sit the practical. 

It depends what sort of place you end up living in really. I'm out in the country and although we do have decent bus and rail services, a car is a necessity. I use mine for every day errands as well as those long trips down to Cornwall to the BF, or to London to stay with relatives. Rail service is generally good in the UK, but I guess I'm an American at heart and need the convenience of being able to arrive and leave when I want. Besides the issue of all the luggage I haul around!

It depends what sort of place you end up living in really. I'm out in the country and although we do have decent bus and rail services, a car is a necessity. I use mine for every day errands as well as those long trips down to Cornwall to the BF, or to London to stay with relatives. Rail service is generally good in the UK, but I guess I'm an American at heart and need the convenience of being able to arrive and leave when I want. Besides the issue of all the luggage I haul around!

St. John's Wood/Hampstead is pretty urban. 

I live out in the suburbs and although there is public transportation-it's a huge hassle with kids if you don't have a car.  So I'd say you almost definately need one.  
The SUV thing is hugely debated here-the mayor wants SUV owners to pay higher taxes because they're such a drain on the environment.  Whether you want one is up to you I guess.  There are alot of people who drive them, especially in that area of London, so if you're the type of person who's going to be bothered about not having 'the right car' maybe that's something to consider.  But you should take on board what other posters have said about gas prices, narrow roads and parking.  
Good luck with your move and welcome to the forum.  

St. John's Wood/Hampstead is pretty urban.

lol ... I know that! I guess I just must have skipped over that part in newyork's intial post. Sorry!

I would worry about driving an SUV in the UK. Don't get me wrong, plenty of people do, but if you're just starting to get the hang of driving over here, it might be very difficult. Urban streets or country lanes -- take your pick. They're all narrow! And the petrol issue that people have raised is a big thing, too. If it were me, I'd bag the SUV and invest in something smaller and more economical.

We live in suburbia with good public transport links -- no kids, no car.  So far, we've been alright without one, but we're considering buying one before the end of the year.  I've always said I won't have a kid unless I have a car -- I'm not one for trying to get the buggy on and off the bus and using the lifts at the Metro stations, etc.  Overall, a car isn't a necessity -- our groceries are delivered, etc., so we've never felt at a loss because we don't drive.  We're hoping to buy a house in the next year or so, and that might really influence whether or not we buy a car -- we don't want to be limited to houses near a bus stop, etc.

At this point, if we got a car now, we'd only use it on the weekends if we were travelling and for those occasions when we want to buy something heavy and don't want to have to arrange a delivery.  Otherwise, it's pointless -- a bus or Metro pass is much cheaper than petrol!

I recommend buying a car in the UK.
Firstly, as many have pointed out, you'll be at the verge of bankruptcy with an SUV.
Secondly, maneuvering with a left-side drive can be a pain if you're driving solo--turning and roundabouts aren't fun when you can't see traffic coming from the right clearly!
Thirdly, I had a foreign, left-side drive car in England for a year, and got a lot of abuse from fellow drivers on the road for being a '*bleep*ing foreigner' (know for a fact my driving abilities weren't to blame, got absolutely no attention when driving an English rental). Also, my car was broken into several times (nothing worth stealing in it) and I ended up getting parking tickets when nobody else did.  My car was an aging Japanese 4-door, so I can only imagine the attention an expensive SUV will get!

I'd say if you can afford to ship a car to the UK, you can afford to buy one there. It'll be much easier.

Personally, our family of four, including a 6' 3" 16 year old, get along just fine in my husband's Nissan Sunny.  I don't understand the "we have a child who is less than 3 feet tall so we need an SUV" argument" - not you personally, Newyork, but that seems to be the general mentality.

Anyway, I personally wouldn't spend the money or time to move an SUV over from the US to the UK - especially if you're moving to London.  I agree with Coffeebean.

We are out in the country in a small village in Lincs., no bus service, no public transportation so a car is a necessity.
I've got a Honda CRV, which is a small SUV (don't throw bricks at me!). I LOVE it. Drives like a dream, room for people, dogs and anything else, but yet small enough to manuever on British country lanes.
I can't imagine having a larger American SUV over here--I think that would be a nightmare to manuever. I would seriously look into selling that car and getting something over here --just having the driver on the right will make life much easier for you.

Out here in the sticks of rural Norfolk a car is just about essential for everything.  There is a very limited bus service, but my nearest stop is a mile away and the route doesn't go to half the places you need.  The ones it does reach take three times as long as by car as it goes via every village on the way.   But as others have said, London is very different and parking is a nightmare. 

If you do bring your SUV over, you'll find that many of the regular big insurance companies just don't want to know you as soon as you give them an American make/model.   The places that offer more specialized insurance such as motorhomes, classic cars, and so on are generally the best bet for insurance on U.S. vehicles.

You might try Adrian Flux for a start (although rates for a 1-yr-old vehicle in London aren't going to be cheap):

http://www.adrianflux.co.uk/

Personally, I wouldn't let having a LHD vehicle in Britain put you off.  Admittedly I grew up on British roads, but I've had LHD cars here for years and never found it to be anything like the big problem that some people believe.

furthermore, if you're staying for more than one year, you'll have to obtain a UK license, which will mean taking a practical (road) test in a British car. 

I'm not aware of anything which says you can't take your test in a American vehicle.  The only requirement is to turn up in a vehicle which is roadworthy and of the appropriate class for the test (in this case, PLG, or "Private-Light goods").

Personally, I wouldn't let having a LHD vehicle in Britain put you off.  Admittedly I grew up on British roads, but I've had LHD cars here for years and never found it to be anything like the big problem that some people believe.

Exactly, LHD vehicles can be a pain to drive, but I see many people who do it here.  All cars bought on the continent are LHD, and I am sure those Europeans who move here, bring their vehicle.

bvamin