Long commute - car or train?

[mongers]

My weapon car of choice when I lived in London, was a Avenger estate 'customised with a different coloured hood, tailgate and red drivers door, that along with it having the fenders/bumpers removed, seemed to give other drivers the impression they should get outta the way asap.

You aren't doing anything to alter my perception of you as Richard Briers.

Though a Felicity Kendal would be nice into the bargain.

[Zanza]

No idea about the tax laws etc. in Britain but leasing in Germany only makes financial sense for company cars.

[Josquius]

Cars are cheap. Get something crap second hand like a ford and it will be less than 1000 quid easily. It's insurance,  mot s, etc... where all the cost comes. 

[MadImmortalMan]

Cars are cheap. Get something crap second hand like a ford and it will be less than 1000 quid easily. It's insurance,  mot s, etc... where all the cost comes.

It sounds like he's commuting across London, which seems to be a bit of a different animal than the average car commute though. All that talk about car fees under red Ken and everything.

[Tamas]

Cars are cheap. Get something crap second hand like a ford and it will be less than 1000 quid easily. It's insurance,  mot s, etc... where all the cost comes.

It sounds like he's commuting across London, which seems to be a bit of a different animal than the average car commute though. All that talk about car fees under red Ken and everything.

Not through London, luckily, the motorway around it actually goes around the whole (extended) city. No way I would drive a car into London proper. I value my sanity. Well, what's left of it anyways.

[Gups]

Don't lease, it's a waste of money unless you can write off the cost against your tax income (i.e. worth it if you are self-employed not otherwise). Buy a reliable second hand car for c.£5K and run it into the ground.

If you are using the M25, factor in the likelihood of chronic traffic jams every now and then.

Driving in central London is easy as long as you watch out for cyclists. Far easier than Paris or Rome.

[mongers]

Don't lease, it's a waste of money unless you can write off the cost against your tax income (i.e. worth it if you are self-employed not otherwise). Buy a reliable second hand car for c.£5K and run it into the ground.

If you are using the M25, factor in the likelihood of chronic traffic jams every now and then.

Driving in central London is easy as long as you watch out for cyclists. Far easier than Paris or Rome.

Yeah, I don't understood the fear of London driving, often from people who do a lot; within a few days of passing my driving test I was up the motorway and driving around central London, along with a non-driving mate in the navigator role. 

I've never really had a problem driving in London, either for work or personal life, sure there are certain bottlenecks, you will get stuck on the North circular a fair bit, the south circular can be problematic, even on a Sunday etc, but all places in the SE of England will also have their own rush hours and congested areas.

Though I can see what Gups says about cyclists in London sometime being an issue, as plenty I've seen and encountered in town have acted with recklessness and stupidity.