The last few days for some weird reason, my mom has actually been pestering me to buy a car since that I’m going to stay in UK for 3 years of studies. Reason: I can bring the car home without paying any taxes! Apparently I can get an Approved Permit (AP) to bring a car back to Malaysia without any taxes after staying abroad for 1 or 2 years. The good thing about UK is that the cars are right-hand drive which is the same for Malaysia. My uncle and aunt who were here a few days back also supported the idea. They are staying in Czech Republic now and they said they can’t bring their Hyundai back because it is a left-hand drive. It would not suit Malaysia’s roads as it would bring lots of trouble especially when paying tolls. Recalibrating it would be costly. They are sad that they can’t bring back their car. They are back to stay in Penang already. Only my uncle is going back to Czech Republic for another month to clear things up and I’m going to visit him for my early Euro trip before university. 
I don’t mind getting a car in UK. After all, a weekend car for me? That would be great! But parking’s gonna be really expensive. I told my mom where shall I park the car?!?! And petrol’s really expensive there. Perhaps hybrid cars would be good but close to RM7 per liter of petrol is just insane man. I don’t think I can even afford driving in London. Gulps! And not to mention the congestion charges in London.
So what car shall it be? A prius? It seems pretty nice. Or no car at all? I think it’s gonna be a no car for me. Besides I don’t see the point of getting a car in London. It’s just dumb. If I had been in the US, I would have definitely bought myself an old car for ease of travel. But London with its extensive train coverage? Nah….no need for a car. Perhaps might just rent one for a Euro trip later with some friends! Guess I would just sit back and enjoy looking at car pictures before I finally get my own car 3 years from now.
I’m excited to go London! And am more excited to go conquer the whole Europe and if possible north Africa too!
Hi, I'm Bobby Ong and I'm 21 years old. I'm currently studying Economics at University College London. I lead the typical, interesting college life and am having the time of my life touring Europe every holiday. Pardon me for the not-so-frequent update here. I'm just too absorbed having fun to even spend time in front of the computer. Read more about me 
September 25th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Unfortunately, getting a car is not that easy ( or rather cheap) because of insurance. Because of our age group, we pay way more compared to someone who is 23, or those who are 28 and above.
Otherwise, cars are much cheaper here. Importing would be cheap with an AP otherwise you have to stay here for 4-8 years unless the regulations have been revised.
Good luck!