Left handed driving on a left road

Um um er . . Yeah I think that's right.  

Question time.  Have any of you imported an American car and driven it around the UK?  How difficult is it? Can you take the driving test in it?  I don't worry too much about the theory test it's the backing around corners etc... Did you have to do anything to it before import?  Can you easily get repairs?  We have a 2002 Volkswagon Passat V6 Automatic.  I love my car.  I bought it wanting to keep it for years and years. Thoughts?  Ideas?  Is it even worth it?  We still owe about 2 years on it. :-/

There are some problems with driving a left hand steering car here in the UK,, mainly to do with parking, and passing other cars. It's hard to see around the car in front of you.  

That said,, if someone is set on a left hand steering car, it would probably be cheaper to just go to France to get one, and drive it back over the ferry I have known people who go to France to purchase a car because it is apparently cheaper, but they get it converted to right hand steering.  

If you are going to get an automatic, it's not so bad with the steering on the right side,, it's just getting to understand how the roads are here which is a challenge if you are trying to learn to drive on the left side of the road, sitting in the left side of the car to steer, plus learning to drive stick shift.  


I think you can take your practica test in it.

I saw a link somewhere about what to do and to expect if you bring an American car over with you, will try to find it

We live 30 minutes away from an American Air Force base, the base is in the same town where David grew up. And I swear to you, without fail, every accident I've ever seen in that town involves an American vehicle. It's actually give the US military a bad name around here since they cause so many accidents in their cars. It's just that the cars are, generally speaking, so much bigger than the roads were designed for. Passing other cars becomes dangerous. You also, like tebs said, can't see in front of the car in front of you very well, as you're on the wrong side of the road. Also - something my auto-industry-employed husband said - American cars don't generally come with the kind of suspension that UK cars do, since American cars are built to be driven over long flat stretches of land. UK cars know they need to do more bends and twists etc and so they have different land-appropriate builds to them... and I can not TELL you how many American cars I have seen over the side of the road in a ditch over the last 2.5 years... kajillions.

I brought my baby, my little red sportscar, a Mazda Miata. I have four main problems, but they are not insurmountable:
1) Going through the drive-through of a fast-food restaurant, entering a place that has controlled entry via a gate that you have to press a button to open, or anything involving having an assumption made about your driver's seat being on the right when you roll down your window...all that is awkward, but there are comical moments.
2) Passing a car ahead of you, being able to pull out to the right far enough to look for oncoming traffic, yet tuck back in quickly if a car is coming the other way
3) People at roundabouts tend to assume the passenger in your car is actually driving, so they look at that side of the car for an eye contact. If your passenger is not watching them, they assume they have enough time to pull out in the roundabout, even if it technically isn't their turn, and even if you, the driver, *were* looking at them.
4) Windshield wipers give more clean area to the driver. In the case of traffic driving on the left, the more important area to be looking for oncoming traffic is out the right area of the front windshield. But the top right corner on a left-hand drive gets the least clean...because of the location of the wipers.

As for taking your test in a left-hand drive car...DON'T. Trust me, take driving lessons and use the instructor's car for the test. If anything, you won't have to go out and buy additional insurance for the person giving you your test...it's automatically arranged in a driving instructor's car.

I have not had trouble getting insurance for my car, but I went through Norwich Union and this seems to be one of a very few companies that will insure a US car. Now that my car is 11 years old, it falls into a distinctly unpopular category and Norwich Union was the ONLY insurance company that would take me on, even though I have never ever had any claims/accidents/parking tickets.

As for resale, my particular car may still be worth $7-8 thousand dollars in the US, but it worthless here. I once tried to trade it in and the dealership was going to CHARGE me £500 to haul it away.

Would I bring it if I had it to do all over again? I'm on the fence here. I love having it here, but it's almost like a behemoth now that it's aging. Oh, it still looks and runs great, but sometimes parts are hard to come by. I'd be sorely tempted to get a new car to replace it, but...nothing wrong with it, it's paid for, why bother? So for now, I am running it until it can't breathe anymore.

Forgot to answer your other questions...
I didn't do anything before the import except run it out of gas (they have to be empty in transit). any modifications will be recommended once you get the car here and give it its first MOT (annual inspection). Parts and service may be easier for you than it was for me because your car is of German origin. Any parts for my car not available here have to be shipped from Japan.

Backing around corners, etc...not a problem. The only driving orientation I had to deal with was relearning the width of my car. I was used to watching the curb on the right, and now it's on the left.

Because your car is automatic, you may have to strike my answer about taking the test in the instructor's car if you are only planning on getting an automatic license.

Well I think that answers my question.  I'll just give it to dad as his little Mazda is old old old.  We will sell the paid for Toyota and use that to help pay the Passat.  

Sheldon will likely get a car with his job anyways as they travel quite a bit.  I just want an automatic.  I am schizo enough without having to worry about focusing on a stick shift!

I am schizo enough without having to worry about focusing on a stick shift!

Yep, I am the same. I have taken 20 lessons in stick shift, but it's had me so upset, that I have panic attacks when my intructor would show up for a lesson.  I just can't afford all the lessons I would require to be proficient in driving with stick.

I had a female instructor. Our lessons were more a gabfest. Great fun!

I think the problem with learning a stick for us is that we get frustrated because we KNOW how to drive. Beg/borrow/steal a car with a shift and find a vacant car park on a Sunday. Spend the day, by yourself and just do it. Scream, cry, punch all you want. No one will hear. Once you get over the hurdle, find an instructor who is willing to just teach you how to pass the test. Afterall, you already know how to drive. You don't need someone in your face telling you you don't.

cars are, generally speaking, so much bigger than the roads were designed for.

Indeed, Sara, the majority of the roads existed long before motorcars were invented (though the Roman roads are usually wonderfully straight - no problem driving a chariot in those days! [*Breaks off to sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"*])

There's a nice little poem about the craziness of English roads by GK Chesterton - we used to learn it as kids:

http://www.dur.ac.uk/martin.ward/gkc/books/rolling.html

Loved the photo of you in your pregnant beauty!
Howard

Interestingly, the narrow roads do present a plus for having a left-hand drive car. MUCH easier to see around the corners as these roads also tend to get very twisty with tall hedges as borders.

It shouldn't be a problem driving a left hooker on english roads.  afterall,  thousands of us brits quite happily drive our right hookers the length and breadth of europe. Just take a deep breath, put some loud rock & roll on and go man go.

You might also find this encouraging about driving over here:  whereas the mortality statistics for motor vehicle accidents are 14.9 per 100 000 of the population in the US, they are only 5.6 in the UK. (World Health Statistics Annual 1996)