FenTiger

I'm at the point I'm thinking of replacing my car. I'm still living in UK but expecting to be living in Hungary within the next two years if all goes to plan. The question is .... do I wait until I'm in Hungary and buy a LHD car or buy RHD in UK and bring it over? I've driven a LHD car in Hungary and thought I did pretty well having driven a RHD in France twice. Obviously if I opted for a LHD in Hungary it would take me some getting used to driving a LHD on a more regular basis at busy times, etc.. If a RHD I'd just have to remember to drive on the other side of the road.

BritInParis

Buy LHD in Hungary. I can't see any advantage in the cost and hassle of importing a RHD car.

wolfi

It's up to you of course - where will you drive usually, more on the continent or in the UK?

A bit OT:
A friend of mine (brought up in one of the few countries in Asia where RHD is the norm) bought a used RHD car in Bp relatively cheap because no one else wanted it ...

And he says the danger of someone stealing that car is much less, because your typical thief would have problems driving it ...

Of course that goes not for a break in - so he's still very careful (not) leaving things in the car ...

FenTiger

Wolfi - once I'm in Hungary ..... all the time .... doubt I would be driving to UK, no "family" ties. My Hungarian wife isn't keen taking a road trip either way.

wolfi

In that case you're better off with a LHD car - but look for a brand that is common in Hungary like Suzuki or Opel.
I'm very happy with our "village garage" - don't need to go to the brand service in the town, can just walk over or back and they really know their business.

I remember once I needed a new mirror and the guy showed me on his computer three types:
The original Opel - very expensive, a cheap one and a branded one with a middle price - this he ordered and it was brought by the UNIX wholesaler's car the same day ...

PaulinEger

It depends on your budget and how much driving you'll be doing.
I know of 2 Brits who've saved thousands by buying relatively new cars in the UK and bringing them over her. On the other hand, if you're looking for a slightly older car, buying in Hungary is a better option.
Remember, if you bring a rhd drive car over the resale value will be much less than the equivalent lhd when it comes to selling it.

scrubbedexpat0105

Ideally, I'd say neither. Buy an LHD car in the UK, and bring it over.

Check out the tax implications of doing that, specifically whether you can get round paying import tax if you've owned the car beforehand, and if so, for how long you need to have owned the car.

Szeged

One thing to consider is the danger of driving on the wrong side of the road. Meaning: Overtaking. If you are on the pavement side of a road (i.e. in a rhd car overtaking on a lhd road - overtaking on the left side) you will not have full visibility......

wolfi

Rather OT:
I still remember that from my regular shopping trips from Germany to London by car in the 70s and 80s - before there was an M2 or M20!
You really had to be very careful on these small roads - driving in London on the other hand was easy peasy for me!

The ferries had those special half price offers - if you stayed no more than 36 or 48 hours.
I often took the midnight boat from Oostende so I could sleep a few hours on a seat (I was much younger then obviously) and then drove into London to park near Shaftsbury Av where the Forbidden Planet Science Fiction bookshop was ...
Sometimes I'd drive back in the evening to Dover and take again the midnight ferry home, later I'd stay overnight with friends that worked in the shop - always had lots of cans of German beer with me for them ...
We had great parties!

Those were the days!

Peter_in_Hungary

And of course check out the tax implications post Brexit should you want to import the car after march 2019 - good luck with that !!!!

Either way if you are living here permanently then get a LHD.

BTW when we moved here Hungary was not in the EU so we purchased a car in the UK for delivery in Hungary - so export outside the EU = no tax or VAT and because we were coming in to Hungary as settlers there was no tax or AFA on any of our possessions in Hungary. So we got a tax free car. It saved us lot and lots. But I can't see that happening again.

FenTiger

Off the point but I recall visiting Oostende with an ex-girlfriend for the weekend. It was a spur of the moment thing. We just booked the ferry. Got train from London Victoria. Can't remember the station/port we boarded the ferry from. Got to Oostende around 6am .... was surprised to see people still in the pubs. We trudged around Oostende until we found a B&B. Godddd.... the bed was so lumpy and we rolled into the middle.... Suffice to say despite having a good time the journey home was a nightmare because it was Easter Sunday so no trains back to London. A kind train depot worker let us sleep in one of the carriages. My poor girlfriend wasn't used to this kind of thing so was weepy all night and even called her Daddy to ask if he could pick us up! He said it was so late in the night he thought it better we got the train back to London the next day.

GBA77

OP. 2 years is way to much time to worry about left or right hand drive cars. I would be thinking of that closer to the time.
You going to buy a left hand drive car now and store it here in Hungary or use it now in the UK? The opposite for a right hand drive car?
Having pretty much lived in Hungary for the last year I have not had any problems with driving a right hand drive car here. I had 2 of them here. Just be sensible. Regarding driving on the left or right side of the road I would say it depends on how adaptable you are. Some folk find it easier than others. I have driven left hand drive vehicles on left and right sides of the roads and frankly, I prefer a right hand drive car on both left and right hand drive sides of the road. Maybe I didnt drive the left hand drive vehicles for long enough but even after a month I still seemed at odds with the clutch and the right hand gear change. Maybe its an age thing?

I am not sure of costs viz a viz Hungarian insurance/tax etc but it just seemed easier to keep the cars registered in the UK. MOT - well I am there often enough so its not a problem. UK insurance urmmm well!.

Regarding not being able to see for overtaking purposes just increase the following distance. Drive tight against the vehicle to be overtaken and you will have problems (with or without a right hand drive car but more particularly with a right hand drive car on left hand drive roads) Increasing the following distance will increase the sight angle. I have not had a problem yet and I don't normally hang about on the roads.

As regards the so called brexit who is to say? All I can say is that it appears as though the russians are targeting the wrong people.

FenTiger

From a safety point of view I think I would be better off with RHD .... with LHD ....I'm going to be one or two seconds slower to react to avoid an accident or get out of a sticky spot. I'm no longer into driving fast and overtaking slow vehicles. I'm happy enough to chug along behind a slow moving vehicle until it's 110% safe to overtake.

Peter_in_Hungary

It is safer with a LHD car over here.
Over the years I have driven probably all combinations of vehicles, 3 or 4 gears on the column, floor change, LHD, RHD and all manner of motorbikes with gears on either the left or right foot. I have never found a problem changing types - even when driving 3 or 4 types concurrently. OK for the first couple of weeks you may open the window a couple of times when you want to change gear - but that is only for a couple of weeks and then all the advantages of a LHD kick in.

You don't say if the car will be new. If it is new then any guarantee work will be a pain if you buy in the UK and then move here. Also spares for a RHD will be an issue here. Anything particular to RHD (there is a surprising amount under the bonnet that is 'handed') will be a special order = time and expense. Oh and the lights will need changing and best to change the speedo

scrubbedexpat0105

If you don't think you can adjust to sitting on the left and changing gear with your right hand, I wonder how easily you'd adjust to the differences in rules and driving etiquette.

As a compromise, you could opt for an automatic.