Buy or rent a car?

nzhang6666

I just got my drive license. I work in central London so I won't drive to work. I may occasionally drive during weekends. I live close to Gatwick airport so it's easy to reach car rental companies. So should I buy a car (used ) or rent a car when I need it? What's the yearly cost for running a car? As I am a new driver,is the insurance alone can cost me a lot of money? So if I rent cars for a couple of years (assume current situation maintains, then I will get a much cheaper insurance after that? Opinions?

Edit: I forgot to mention I have a non EU driving licence since 2009. And I have used that to rent cars here couple of times. But I can't buy a car with it. And I have been told the years on that licence can't be used to reduce insurance since it's non EU.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

nzhang6666 wrote: »

I just got my drive license. I work in central London so I won't drive to work. I may occasionally drive during weekends. I live close to Gatwick airport so it's easy to reach car rental companies. So should I buy a car (used ) or rent a car when I need it? What's the yearly cost for running a car? As I am a new driver,is the insurance alone can cost me a lot of money? So if I rent cars for a couple of years (assume current situation maintains, then I will get a much cheaper insurance after that? Opinions?

Youll be hard pressed to find a rental company renting you a vehicle, this is due to your driving experience, they want you to have at least 12-21 months of holding a full uk license before letting you rent one their vehicles.


Depending on your AGE, AREA, VEHICLE Model and vehicle Age, insurance quotes can differ greatly in costs.


Get a quote on some cars to gather insurance costs likely to you.


again maintenance costs depends on the make and model and engine.


to gather some insight into maintenance gather a list of cars your interested in, then go to eurocarparts website, and search the oil filter air filter fuel filter oil spark plugs discs and pads and compare them with other models on your list of possible cars you want to buy.


if you can do this sort of stuff DIY then that's the costs but if you require a garage to do it then factor in 5%-10% ontop of the parts prices you've gathered then add labor £49.-£65.00 an hour is seems to be the norm in city area's then add that plus 20% vat ontop and that will give you an rough estimate of maintenance costs.

forgotmyname

The yearly cost will vary on the actual vehicle and your annual mileage and down to costs that only you can find out.

If your young and living in London then £4000+ for your first years insurance maybe a bargain.
Thats more than it cost to buy my last car and run it for just over 5 years, inc insurance, tax, MOTs and servicing.

Insurance will get cheaper as you get older, But without building up your no claims it wont be that cheap. Even with the no claims you may still find insurance costs more than taking a taxi everywhere if your mileage is low.

nzhang6666

forgotmyname wrote: »

The yearly cost will vary on the actual vehicle and your annual mileage and down to costs that only you can find out.

If your young and living in London then £4000+ for your first years insurance maybe a bargain.
Thats more than it cost to buy my last car and run it for just over 5 years, inc insurance, tax, MOTs and servicing.

Insurance will get cheaper as you get older, But without building up your no claims it wont be that cheap. Even with the no claims you may still find insurance costs more than taking a taxi everywhere if your mileage is low.

So if I rent cars for couple of years the mileage will be 0 (since I don't have a car) and the insurance will be almost the same as now (assuming we are talking a same model same condition etc)? And I am 37 BTW.

nzhang6666

I edited the original post since I forgot to mention I have a non EU driving licence.

agrinnall

nzhang6666 wrote: »

Edit: I forgot to mention I have a non EU driving licence since 2009. And I have used that to rent cars here couple of times. But I can't buy a car with it. And I have been told the years on that licence can't be used to reduce insurance since it's non EU.

A driving licence is not required to buy a car.

Have you looked into joining a car club to rent from them at all, it's possible that they may have less strict requirements on length of time licence has been held?

pendragon_arther

I use Zipcar. The annual fee is £60 pa, plus a typical rent is £7 per hour with free petrol for 20 miles. It suits me. You'd have to find out if your license is applicable.

forgotmyname

Wont a non EU licence need to be exchanged or become invalid after 12 months?

I always forget what the rules are from different countries.

missile

I just got my drive license.

&

Edit: I forgot to mention I have a non EU driving licence since 2009.

I presume OP means, I have recently obtained my UK license?

If not, depending on where the license was issued, OP will need to get UK driving license - https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence

If OP only needs a car for occasional weekend, then it is a no-brainer. Hiring is the obvious choice

parking_question_chap

Refer to the bangernomics thread and when selecting a car, consider one that will still have a decent value if you ever need to sell it for parts.

nzhang6666

missile wrote: »

& I presume OP means, I have recently obtained my UK license?


If OP only needs a car for occasional weekend, then it is a no-brainer. Hiring is the obvious choice

Yes, I have a non EU license and just got a UK drive license recently.