Long commute - car or train?

[Tamas]

Train but you will probably still need a car on the weekends.

That would be a bit silly financially, unless I buy something cheap for like a 4 years loan to keep the monthly payings low.

[The Larch]

A long commute by car in London sounds hellish, cars must be pretty expensive to mantain over there. Insurance, gas, congestion charge...not to speak about the loan repayments. It's pretty clear that you want to have a car over there, but I think it makes very little sense.

[Tamas]

It would not be IN London, but south of it.

The thing is, that apart from the actual price of the car it would not be more expensive than the train ticket.

[DGuller]

It would not be IN London, but south of it.

The thing is, that apart from the actual price of the car it would not be more expensive than the train ticket.

How confident are you that you have the costs of car ownership truly figured out?  Do you know how much you'll pay in insurance, taxes, parking, tolls, etc.?

[Tamas]

It would not be IN London, but south of it.

The thing is, that apart from the actual price of the car it would not be more expensive than the train ticket.

How confident are you that you have the costs of car ownership truly figured out?  Do you know how much you'll pay in insurance, taxes, parking, tolls, etc.?

I have a rough estimate only There are no tolls involved AFAIK, parking is free at home and at work. Costs are fuel, tax, and insurance. Can't realistically be more than the train ticket (around 240 pounds a month!) for sure.

[Martinus]

I am unable to give you a recommendation based on your description. I would normally err on the side of train, but the fact that the train commute is almost twice the time of the car one, and that this is in fact not in London, but out of London adds extra points to the car option. Plus a car can come in handy in other circumstances.

[Martinus]

Another question - how regular are your work hours? If it is 9 to 5-ish then the train commute is probably easier - but if you will frequently stay long hours or have an irregular schedule, then a car becomes preferable.

[Tamas]

It is fairly regular most of the time.

[Brazen]

Sign up for a car club like Zipcar or similar for quick car rental whenever you need it, even if it's just a monthly big grocery shop.

http://www.zipcar.co.uk/car-hire-offer

[DGuller]

It would not be IN London, but south of it.

The thing is, that apart from the actual price of the car it would not be more expensive than the train ticket.

How confident are you that you have the costs of car ownership truly figured out?  Do you know how much you'll pay in insurance, taxes, parking, tolls, etc.?

I have a rough estimate only There are no tolls involved AFAIK, parking is free at home and at work. Costs are fuel, tax, and insurance. Can't realistically be more than the train ticket (around 240 pounds a month!) for sure.

British insurance can be extremely expensive for people classified as high risks.  Just warning you.  I don't know the details, but it's conceivable that someone with no British driving experience could be considered a high risk.

[Barrister]

I'll soon be facing a rather long commute, at least significantly longer than I have ever had to do before.

It's about 1 hour 10 minutes on train, and around 40 minute-ish by car on average.

I don't yet have a car, but I could affor getting a decent used one.

My main pro train thought is that I'd be just sitting (if lucky!) and could read and such, while in the car I would have to actually drive.

Pro-car arguments are that I would be driving a car, I would NOT be on a train cramped with other people, and it would be cheaper as far as monthly costs go, but that does not account for purchase price (which may be on loan) and any repairs.

Present plan is to do the train for the first month to asses general financial situation after the move anyways, then probably switch to a car, but I would like to hear the opinions of those who have tried both for longer time periods.

So I flip-flop between the train, and driving, every one in a while.  I've done both.

For me the train makes the most sense because it is noticeably cheaper than driving (even before accounting for the price of the car), and it only takes a little bit more time (45-50 minutes driving, 60 minutes by train / bus).

But in your scenario (assuming you've figured everything out!) not only is the train more expensive, but it's markedly longer.

The time sitting on the train can be nice - it's my only time to read books, but the environment is such you're not really doing anything productive for work.

If you can really save an hour per day by driving, that's what I'd recommend.  That's a hell of a lot of time out of your day.

[Eddie Teach]

British insurance can be extremely expensive for people classified as high risks.  Just warning you.  I don't know the details, but it's conceivable that someone with no British driving experience could be considered a high risk.

British drivers are maniacs, all driving on the wrong side of the road.

[The Brain]

British insurance can be extremely expensive for people classified as high risks.  Just warning you.  I don't know the details, but it's conceivable that someone with no British driving experience could be considered a high risk.

British drivers are maniacs, all driving on the wrong side of the road.

They drive on the right side over there.

[Savonarola]

Take the train.  Trains are awesome!   



I would make my decision based on your fiancée's schedule.  You're going to be giving up five hours of your life every week if you take the train.  If you could spend that time with her instead then you should drive.

[MadImmortalMan]

All things being equal I'd always pick train. But in this case, the train is both incredibly expensive and takes an extra hour? I think I would drive.

Plus, you'd have a car "at" the weekends to go see stuff. Not at least having that option restricts your wanderings to a tiny tiny fraction of the Earth's surface, and wandering is fun.