Major car concerns

Hi All,

As I mentioned before, I'm aiming to relocate to the UK next month, and at this point I've pretty much decided to take my beloved car with me (I'm slightly deranged about cars; they are far more than transportation for me   )

However, I had an alarming conversation with a Scottish buddy of mine yesterday, who told me that it was almost inevitable that my car would be destroyed by vandalism/theft etc. even in Maidenhead, unless I have it garaged. He said that every time he had a nice car there, it would become a target...drunk hooligans on the way back from a pub would do something, or a hit and run incident would occur, you name it...he painted a portrait which had much in common with the film 28 Days Later...not what I wanted to hear.   And my car's even more invidious than his were, especially with its bright red paintwork!

So, my main car questions are:

1. How hard is it to find a relatively simple (but comfortable) one bedroom flat (in Maidenhead or thereabouts) with a garage for my car, and how much would I pay approximately?

2. Urgent: Can anyone recommend a reputable international car shipping company that they (or a friend) had good experiences with? I think that word of mouth is absolutely critical in this case, because there is an overwhelming array of choices, but I know a lot of these bas___ds damage your car along the way!

Many Thanks,

THE SUN KING

Hi again Sun King.  Sorry again I cannot help in any way really.  But I had a thought.  I understand how much you love cars.  But with all you've been told, might it make sense to have a love affair with cars made in England?  They do have some interesting looking cars there! lol Just a thought.  Take care.

Flats with garages are going to be very rare, i would think.

Could you maybe move over and see about sending the car over once you've managed to find a place with a garage?  With all the public transport, chances are you won't really need it straight away anyhow.  Just a thought.  

Also I agree with thinking about selling it and getting an equally nice if not even better car in the UK.  They do have a ton of cool cars over there, so it may very well be worth your while to consider it.  I do understand your attachment.....whereas I can't really wait to get a different type of car, there are some things I have (books, dvds, cds, etc) that I wouldn't want to part with just now.

Yeah, for me, cars are a hobby/passion instead of just transportation. For one thing, I'm going to be recalcitrant and insist on driving an LHD car in the UK- and the chances of me finding the exact model I want in LHD form in London are very low indeed. The last time I looked for a car in the U.S.- where all cars are of course LHD- I searched for four months and still couldn't find what I wanted!    

But the funny thing is, I may decide to ship no furniture at all, especially since I'll be moving from a 3 bedroom house to a one-bedroom apartment! That leaves my beloved books, CD's, clothing etc...not much. I've talked to one car-shipping place who could give me my own container with additional space for various items- it would be convenient to ship everything with the car, so we'll see.

I sent off my application for a British passport this week...hopefully they won't pull any bureacratic tomfoolery on me!

Cheers,

Good luck to you Sun King.  Can you tell me what LHD stands for?  Sorry I apparently am not up on the lingo.  I drive a lowly Saturn.  But I like it.  For me a car is a car though.  Don't hold that against me!  lol  Have you been in a car in the UK?  Have you been driven on what they call lanes?  Yikes.  I wouldn't even drive my saturn on those "roads".  Calling it a road is a stretch in my opinion.  Just wanted to mention that incase you hadn't been on the roads yet or driven on them yourself.

LHD is Left-Hand Drive.  

I wouldn't even drive my saturn on those "roads".  

Though if you did, dear Kizmet, statistics show you would probably be much safer in the UK than in the US!  See my post at

http://www.uk-yankee.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=trav;action=display;num=1076637911

Thanks peedal.  I kept thinking I should be able to figure thouse abbreviations out.  But those things just escape me.

Howard thanks.  I read those posts too.  Glad you gave me the link I hadn't read those before.  I'd bet you are right about being safer.  But my car even the saturn would be too big for those lanes.  Those are scary!

I'm thinking I'm going to get temporary housing for a month when I first arrive, in order to give myself time to find a flat in Maidenhead that has a garage...without paying an arm and a leg for it.

Hopefully the roads aren't too filled with potholes? Yikes!

My latest worry is insurance now...I just posted a query in the Transportation section.

The things I do for my car....Sigh  

Kizmet, you mentioned you drive a Saturn- Did you have it shipped to the UK? If so, which company did you use, and were they egregious freaks or professional?

Thanks,

Le roi de soleil

Hi All,

2. Urgent: Can anyone recommend a reputable international car shipping company that they (or a friend) had good experiences with? I think that word of mouth is absolutely critical in this case, because there is an overwhelming array of choices, but I know a lot of these bas___ds damage your car along the way!

Bonjour Roi,

Sorry you have not yet obtained the information you're after. I would be interested to know when you find out. I too am in the early stages of the thought process of possibly shipping a car over and would like to know reputable companies and prices. Please do post when you find something out. Also, are any "special" taxes or surcharges imposed by England for bringing such vehicle into the country.

Hi All,

1. How hard is it to find a relatively simple (but comfortable) one bedroom flat (in Maidenhead or thereabouts) with a garage for my car, and how much would I pay approximately?


THE SUN KING

Hi again,

Remember that link I put on another thread for you? www.rightmove.co.uk? If I were in your position, I would go ahead and register on the site. Once you register with rightmove, your details go out to all of the estate agents in the Maidenhead area. In your details, you can specify exactly what you are looking for in your rental property.  They then will contact you (via email since that is what you have at the moment and probably better anyway since you wouldn't want 1,000 of them calling you). This way, you can see what's out there and what it will cost you. I am guessing for Berkshire and what you are looking for, you would pay a minimum of £700 a month.

Anyway, good luck to you.

Jenny

I drive a lowly Saturn.

A lowly Saturn! Blasphemy!!

I'm not a car person by any means but I LOVED my '92 Saturn! I sadly had to sell it to a good home with cats and dogs and children and lots of space to run around when I emigrated.   I still miss it  :'( ....although it would have been silly to bring it with me as it certainly wouldn't have fit on the small roads here, as you said.

Cars do get vandalised a lot up here too though. The most popular form being the wing mirrors kicked off by the drunks and miscreants on their stumble home. (Makes a change from kicking in the glass on the phone boxes, I guess.) We usually fold them in as we have to park on the street but this past Xmas morning someone bent it all the way out and put all their weight down on it breaking the plastic mount & the electronics that adjust it. Happy holidays, eh?   I wouldn't bother getting attached to a car in this country.

I moved a three-bedroom house along with my car. Used Pickfords and was quite satisfied. It took two cartons and six weeks.