Should we get a car?

Weird_Nev

Only buy a car once you have a job.

I had a car in London when we lived there. I worked out that for the use it got, it would have been far cheaper to simply hire a car when we needed one (holidays away, trips out, etc).

That said, it is nice to be able to drive out of the city when you facy it, do a spur of the moment weekend away...

Just get the job first so you know what you need and that you can pay for it.

Cycrow

another option would be a folding bike. Take the bike on public transport then cycle the rest of the way to the interview

Joe_Horner

If you do decide to get a car now (and it would certainly be more convenient by the sound of things) then it's a classic case for bangernomics. Obviously, it helps a lot if you know someone you trust to know their way around a car (assuming neither of you do) to go look with you.

Buy something really cheap - preferably in the sub-£500 range - which can be run on a shoestring to get you places. There are plenty of cars that fit that description out there and, contrary to popular myths, they don't all break down as soon as you look at them. Anything diesel with mechanical injection (so no electronics to fail) will tend to go on forever as long as it's not clattering or smoking heavily when you buy it.

They usually eventually die because the bodywork falls apart, which a new or recent MOT will give some protection against - a least in the structural areas that matter. For this, a private sale gives better confidence than a trader because a private seller is less likely to have a friendly MOT station than a professional dealer in bangers.

Then, when you get a job, you can decide whether or not to upgrade to something more suitable / representational. Choose well and you'll have no trouble selling the banger on for virtually what you paid for it at that point.


eta: depending on the cost of public transport round your way, this approach can even work out cheaper than getting the bus!