Car in UK
 

We are going to be spending more time in the UK, possibly up to 3 months a year and i was wondering if anyone has done the calculations ownership vs hiring a car? I believe i saw a thread on this fairly recently, but can't find it now. We will have an address in the UK but won't be tax resident. Do insurance companies require a UK driving licence? Any other gotchers?
Thanks

Re: Car in UK
 

It was reported thirty years ago that (in the UK), it was cheaper to use public transport when "reasonably convenient" to do so, and use a taxi on all other occasions, including occasions such as having more groceries to carry home than you can carry on a bus, than to own a car.

Given the cost of cars, and insurance, and the widespread availability of Uber as well as taxis, I have no doubt this is still true today.

The only question is how good is public transport in the area you'll be visiting, and how good is the taxi and Uber coverage?

BTW I think car rentals are capped at 30 days, so you'd need to swap cars if renting for more than a month.

Maybe a hybrid approach would be worth considering - renting a car for a week or two here and there when you have a specific need, and using public transport and taxis/ Uber during other times? 🤔

Re: Car in UK
 

Yes, i would not be surprised if this is the case. However, it neglects the cost for convenience - whilst back in the UK we are likely to be going around visiting friends and family and would rather spend more time with them than waiting on station platforms, bus stops etc

Re: Car in UK
 

Avis does long term UK rentals up to 3 months. A 3 month rental for a small SUV is about £2,750. Seems pretty good to me and likely easier and not much more expensive than owning remotely and all the hassle that goes with that. https://www.avis.co.uk/drive-avis/ca...-term-car-hire. Likely the other major firms do something similar.

Insurance is included but likely only the legal minimum. The car insurance that comes with a credit card is typically only good for rentals from 21 days up to 6 weeks (card dependent) so you can’t rely on that. However there are U.K. insurance brokers who can organize additional excess insurance separate from Avis, at much better rates. A quick google search will bring up a lot of brokers.

Re: Car in UK
 

Interesting. Thanks Glasgow Girl!

Re: Car in UK
 

Hmmm. Cheapest 30 days rental with Avis for month of June is GBP4,300. That might swing the calculation back the other way....

Re: Car in UK
 

30 days is expensive, try 90 days.

Re: Car in UK
 

If you have a relative or good friend with an used car they don't use often, perhaps they would be willing to 'lease' it to you for your extended visit. Or perhaps look at unusual places for temporary car rentals/leases, i.e. auto garages, car dealerships who have used car stock from trade-ins, or out an out buy a used car and when you leave the UK house it in an enclosed garage or at a relative's home or sell it.

Re: Car in UK
 

I can see Jun 1 - Ju1 2 for £875 pay ahead, or about £975 pay at pick up. Are you using the link I provided versus the regular Avis site?

UPDATE: to get the good rates you need to rent 31 or more days. The web site linked won’t let you select less than 30 days.

Re: Car in UK
 

Something I didn't know until a visit a couple of years ago is that British insurance companies require a UK driving licence. My cousin in Birmingham had offered to lend me her car for a few days so I could drive up to my cottage in Scotland and do a few upgrades on the place. She tried to get me added as a named driver on her insurance but it was impossible. I passed my test in England but currently have a Croatia driving licence.

Re: Car in UK
 

I'd imagine this was insurance company specific - there used to be EU exemptions for this as they were treated as UK ones for a year or something - but I doubt that's still true.

Re: Car in UK
 

Interesting. Does anyone know if you need to retake your test to get a UK driving licence if you held one previously?

Glasgow Girl aha, got some decent rates now. As you say, needs to be 31 days or more. Many thanks

Re: Car in UK
 

We did not need to retake our test when we returned and exchanged our 29 year old licence for a new one.

We have faced a similar situation a couple of times to what you are asking about. In 2011 we rented a house in England for 7 months and we mostly got around using buses and trains, apart from a few occasions when we rented a car. Uber is now available in this area and is very convenient and affordable. We will be using it next weekend when 5 of us go away by train for a week.

In 2016 we tried splitting our time between the US and UK, rented a house for a year in England, becoming tax resident, and buying a 2nd hand car. When we travelled back to Texas my BIL would drive our car once a month to keep it healthy. The same went for our car in Texas, our son would run it for us every month. As it happens we loved being back in England so moved here permanently after less than a year.

Our daughter and/or her partner travel to Australia for several months each year. He owns an apartment there which his sister keeps an eye on and they use an old car his sister owns while they are there. This year he plans to buy his own car as our daughter retires this week and they plan to split their time more frequently. (Means my wife and I get to look after 2 extra houses, 2 gardens and a car while they are away - just as well we are retired)

Re: Car in UK
 

We had a similar conundrum - spending about 2-3 months a year in the UK - albeit across a number of stays.
At the end of Covid the car rental prices were just silly so we bought a car. We have a UK address, so insurance wasn't a problem (except you have to start off as new and since we had US cars they didn't accept NCD on that basis). Cost-wise, insurance is about 500UKP a year (cheaper than US with full NCD) and servicing (which is more thorough than US) is about the same. Road tax is about 200 UKP. We normally have to take public transport to/from the airport, but occasionally leave it at the airport if that is more cost effective when we're out of the UK for short periods.

Re: Car in UK
 

Thanks DurhamLad and CKUSA.
ckusa DurhamLad brings up a good point, did you have any arrangements for someone to occasionally drive the car when you were back in the USA? Must admit i thought the insurance would be a lot more expensive than that. The 30+ days rental prices make this almost a no-brainer, but i am not sure if we will be back for >30days each time