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bringing car to uni - recommended??
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
ive got the option to bring my car down to cardiff with me when i go to uni in september but i dont know whether to bring it or not!!
there are points why i SHOULD bring it liike - handy to have if i need to get somewhere quick, can pick people up, go out whenever i want etc etc
but theen theres the bad points like - limited parking spaces on campus, possibility of getting it broken into if i go into city center, cost of petrol etc
to people who are at uni/have been, do you think it is necessary to bring a car? is it handy to have or is it not really needed?? at glamorgan uni where im going there IS a train station nearby which takes 10 minutes to get into cardiff but.. im still not sure!
opinions are appreciated thanks
there are points why i SHOULD bring it liike - handy to have if i need to get somewhere quick, can pick people up, go out whenever i want etc etc
but theen theres the bad points like - limited parking spaces on campus, possibility of getting it broken into if i go into city center, cost of petrol etc
to people who are at uni/have been, do you think it is necessary to bring a car? is it handy to have or is it not really needed?? at glamorgan uni where im going there IS a train station nearby which takes 10 minutes to get into cardiff but.. im still not sure!
opinions are appreciated thanks
Post edited by JustV on
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Comments
it's great for getting your shopping, or for rainy days, but i kinda wished i hadn't taken mine, cause i was always broke, it got broken into nearly every month, and everyone else had a laugh on the bus/walking to uni.
Useful for trips to Tesco and the beach, but you probably won't need one. It depends where you are going to live.
Bopz
and from what youve all said it sounds as if i shouldnt take it!! the idea ive had just now is that maybe i should go to uni for the first term and see how i get on without it and then if after that term ive found its quite hard without one ill bring mine down!
it doesnt help that my mum and dad have different opinions on the matter! my dad is adamant that he doesnt want me to take it and my mum wont stop going on about how i should! *sigh* confusing
To be honest though you probably won't need it. You don't have to end up as a taxi service, no one I know who brought a car did - everyone who brought cars had brought them for a specific purpose and only gave lifts when they were already intending on driving somewhere themselves, and everyone was cool with that. Bus services etc. around most universities tend to be quite good, or it won't be that expensive for you to share a taxi with people. If you're going out in the evening you might want to drink and stuff anyway in which case you won't be driving.
Also near the end of term at my uni there was something ridiculous like 6 break-ins in one week, so the security of the car park is something you might want to check out if you car is decent or has anything worth stealing in it.
Ultimately I would say take a car if you need it for a specific purpose (eg getting to work somewhere further away from uni), but otherwise don't bother - if you deicde you really need it after the first term you could always bring it back with you after one of the holidays.
i could have probably lived without it tho, petrol money was just another thing to worrry about.
good plan, batman :thumb:
if after a couple of weeks you find you're desperate for it, you could always go back and get it.
But I also wouldn't take it to uni. Certainly don't need it, or I haven't in Manchester. I mean this year I've been living a long way out, but buses are just as convenient and reliable here on the whole, I've been living with my brother who has a car, but think I only ever asked him to take me anywhere once in the whole year. Having a car 1st year would have meant being everyones personal taxi service but that ended up being one of my house mates instead Whats the point in going into town in a car or into uni and spending £4-5 quid on parking for the day and petrol money, when for the whole year I could have a bus pass for less than £150 that gave me unlimited travle on any stagecoach bus. Oh and with supermarkets doing home delivery now ya don't need to go there
A friend of mine at Staffs Uni took his car, but he's about the only Uni student I know that did.
I didn't think of supermarket home deliveries. I'll bear that in mind Kazbo!
aye, it's a fab idea.
it costs about a fiver, usually, for them to deliver, but if you club together with a few housemates or friends, it works out cheaper than bus fare
Fab idea. :thumb:
You may think that you will get used as a taxi service, but one you get to know the people your living with its good to offer communal shopping trips and day trips out (Alton Towers anyone?). Thats what I did and it worked out fine, plus we got to sing-a-long-an-iPod on the way to.
the only thing is if you are taking your car, is you really will be a "taxi" or other students... esp. if you are living off campus?! its not essential to take your car... but its handy if you do.
so those people who dont go to uni,what do they take their driving test for?
I just decided not to spend all that money when I wouldn't be getting much use out of it yet, although I may take my test at some time in the future.
IMHO it is completely unecessary. It just isn't economical. Add together Insurance, MOT, Tax, Petrol, maintenance......... and it really isn't worth it. My mate soon realised this and sold his car! You will also end up feeling obliged to take people places. Even if you reckon you could be stubborn over it, you would end up feeling guilty and carting your mates around.
Very well needed if you want to party away from campus.
To be honest though I only really used my car for work, going to Sainsburys and a few day trips with my mates.
South Wales is very pricey for car insurance. One of my course mates tried to avoid this by saying he had the car at his home address. He then had an accident in Cardiff and the insurance company found out he was not living at home (he still doesnt know how) and invalidated his claim and policy. The guy he drove into put in a whiplash claim and it cost his rents they had to settle it out of court, so if you take your car to Uni tell your insurance company!!
Anyone going to UWIC dont bother taking a car, the UWIC Bus and Cardiff Bus is dirt cheap compared to First, Stagecoach etc. and each campus has about 1 parking space per 1000 students with car. It can take longer to park your car at a UWIC campus than to get from one end of Cardiff to the other on foot!!