To Get a Car, Or Not to Get a Car...

...That is the question!

DH's company gives us a stipend to get a company car through his benefits scheme.  However, if we choose not to get it, we would get some extra dough in his paycheck---not a huge amount, probably a couple hundred dollars per month.

We will be living in London--most likely Fulham.  Any advice on if we NEED a car, would it be helpful, or more of a hassle than anything?  We would like to drive to other parts of the UK, etc. for weekend trips, and would then rent a car if we didn't have one...Are there car rentals as easily accessible as in the US?

Again, thanks so much in advance!  This board has made this relo 500 times easier than I thought it would!

If you do not have kids and will be living near shopping or are planning on doing online shopping, then no, you don't really need a car.  There are a few rental schemes in the UK where you can use a car for a few hours...or you can use normal rental cars for a few days.  Before I moved in with my husband, I really never needed a car (I live in NW London).

I guess it depends on how often you want to go on weekend trips (would you end up spending more on rentals than the extra money the company gives you for not having a car?). We don't have a car. Sometimes it would be nice, but we would use it very rarely. And I'm a bit nervous about driving in the UK, anyway! We also get our groceries delivered, which really cuts down on need for a car.

Our car died in April and since we are planning to move back to the states in the autumn we decided not to get another and surprisingly we don't miss it. My husband used to drive 13 miles to work and it took him 60-70 mins each way...now that he takes the train, its a big relief for him. I can walk to work (15 mins) so its not an issue for me. We get our groceries delivered so that is a huge plus! We also live about a mile for the town centre so anything we need is in easy reach. Considering you are in London, I would imagine that you would have the same conveniences.

On the weekends we take to train if we want to get out of town (most weekends). We do rent a car on occasion. I would suggest not getting one and seeing how you guys get on.

I do have a car in west London, but I chose that option because there is only one bus line that runs to my jobsite and no other options.

Because of my role, I sometimes have to work odd/long hours, and I did not feel safe waiting for the bus alone in the dark near a dodgy estate, especially since it could sometimes be 20-30 minutes between the buses.

If you have better public transport options, I agree with everyone else that you can do just fine without one! For every other aspect of my life, I was perfectly happy without.

When I first moved over here I bought a £ 400.00 car.  It lasted me two years with not much problems.  That might be an option is to buy an old car and use it till it drops. You can find some really nicely kept ones.

my thought is to not get a company car and keep the extra money....then if you get over here and find that you really do need a car then just buy a older used car (they're surprisingly cheap here) which will no doubt cost you less than if you were having money taken out of your husband's paycheck every month.

But I suspect that you won't need a car in London, especially if you live near good public transport links.

When I first moved over here I bought a £ 400.00 car.  It lasted me two years with not much problems.  That might be an option is to buy an old car and use it till it drops. You can find some really nicely kept ones.

That's a good idea.

You don't need a car in London, end of story.

(Assuming that you are working in London too).

Fulham is great for transport links, and car hire is widely available and not that pricey.  What you pay for a hire car or trains at the weekend will probably be a lot less than you'd pay for the congestion charge, tax and a parking permit.

Vicky

Agree that the transport links in London would negate the need for a car.

In a previous job i was offered the option of a company car, but instead i bought my own car and then claimed the mileage - the amount i claimed far exceeded the monthly car payment.

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Off topic:  CarolW ... yes, YUMMY is the word! 

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You don't need a car in London, end of story.

(Assuming that you are working in London too).

Fulham is great for transport links, and car hire is widely available and not that pricey.  What you pay for a hire car or trains at the weekend will probably be a lot less than you'd pay for the congestion charge, tax and a parking permit.

Vicky

Slightly off topic, but...
I'm looking forward to living in a walking city. It will be my first time, and I'm sure I will be sad to come back to Phoenix where if you don't have a car, you must have some kind of brain fungus that prevents you from having common sense. Our public transport is crap here.

I think if I were in London, I would probably not get a car. From what I understand, it sounds just as bad as owning one in NYC. No where to park that isn't expensive, a pain to get through traffic, and pointless to have if only to use it for weekend excursions when you can take a train or even rent a car. I would probably save the money. Besides, you could put that away each month and extend a little farther in your travels on occasion!

we're not going to have a car for the first bit and I'm worried about how it will be with hauling hte kids to daycare, etc.

One of the problems with having a car in London (apart from there being no room for them and it taking hours just to drive through the city) is that every time you leave the city in it, you will have to pay £8/$16 just to drive back in again. The Congestion charge was introduced about 5 years ago to discourage people from buying and owning cars in London and to reduce the traffic congestion.

Not everyone lives and works in the congestion zone though.