uk vacation

[birdsboro]

Hello all. I am planning on bring the family to the uk for about a month of holiday next year, and i was wondering if anyone could help me with a few questions. now i was looking at the cost of a rental car for the time we are there and wow.. thats alot of money. also riding the rails is alittle pricey too, plus inconvenient to visit the beautiful countryside. what i want to know is could i buy a cheap beater car for say $400 or so maybe even 800, and then sell it or toss it or just plain give it away when i am done with it? what is the deal with mot, vat, etc? any other charges that i need to worry about? i am just trying to find out if its feasible. thanks in advance.......

 

[Chilly]

The car would need MOT, car tax, and insurance.

You wouldn't get a car for $400.

You might get one for $800 but it would be really small, UK cars are much samller then USA ones.

 

[Nero the dog]

I would try to plan some sort of itinerary. Then plan transport around that.
For example, if you spend a week in London, there is no point in paying for car hire, you can just use the underground and buses.
Then get trains to the next city, they can be very reasonable if you get a family rail card or britrail card for overseas visitors.
If you want to visit the more remote areas just hire cars for the time you need them.

If you buy a car the insurance will cripple your bank balance

 

[Pegasus928]

I wouldn't recommend buying a car. The chances of getting one for the price you are quoting that has an MOT and road tax is unlikey in the first place, but then when you start adding on insurance and breakdown cover (and you will need it for a car as old as one that you would get) you will be getting into the same ball park figure as hiring one.
When we come over to Florida we always hire a car, and even though it is also quite pricey we just accept it as part of the holiday. That said we are more than happy to pay your petrol prices - something else that will shock you if you do decide to drive when you come over here

 

[birdsboro]

The car would need MOT, car tax, and insurance.

You wouldn't get a car for $400.

You might get one for $800 but it would be really small, UK cars are much samller then USA ones.

well my keyboard doesn't have the pound sign so i really meant 400-800 pounds... can i rent a car and take it out of the country...? like to france and or spain? by the way..i live about 10 mins from Reading, PA...lol.

 

[Nero the dog]

I don't know about taking the car out of the country.

The Britrail card I mentoned gives unlimited rail travel throughout the UK for $1400 for a family of 4 (2 adults 2 children under 15) for 1 month.
Cheaper ones available for shorter travel periods.

There is a version that includes Eurostar, to go to Paris/Brussels.
Another includes car hire for a certain number of days, but limits how many rail journeys you can make.