How do lots of people afford the brand new luxury cars ?

Same here salary sacrifice so not paying tax on it makes it financially even more savvy

Our electric jag is on lease or Landrover is owned outright
We never used to buy anything on credit/ or lease but we have a lease on salary sacrifice and the maths make sense for us in this situation. It was a good deal - no choice of colour or spec but includes insurance, maintenance/servicing, tires & breakdown cover. It also meant we can upgrade at the end of the lease which was important as electric car tech is changing so rapidly.

Lots of people are willing and able to spend £500 a month on leasing a luxury car, but couldn’t pay £50k outright or get the full loan. Finance and leasing are obvious. Not dumb at all.

We do our cars on pcp. We’ve been waiting for delivery of the next one for seven months now, latest projected delivery date is April. We’re getting so much trade in on the old one it exceeds the 35% allowable down payment on the new one and they’re giving us £2k back. It’s worked very well for us for over a decade.

My DH has a 50k car… company car. I drive a 5 yr old BMW which I own after paying it off (bank loan not car finance as lower interest) I will drive it until it dies…

Exactly this after a string of big mechanic bills I sold my car and leased from then on. All servicing and maintenance is included even brakes and tyres so it's hassle free and works for me. I DO NOT EVER want to own a car again

Sorry, should have elaborated. I don't think people with DC with SEN cannot have nice things, but one of these children will never be able to live independently. I would have put money aside for my DC care rather than spend it on a luxury brand car, as would most parents I believe.

Is there any car manufacturers near you? There is one near me and alot of people (myself included) use the staff leasing scheme. You lease directly from the manufacturer, it used to be for 12 months so a new car every year, theyve now changed it to 24 months. All your insurance, tax, services are included in the lease price. Each person can lease up to 3 cars. Thats why there is alot of that brand car near me.

I mean this is a silly question isn't it because the answers could be so varying.

I have two friends who earn in excess of £100k and both love cars, so they treat themselves to a new Mercedes every couple of years.

Another friend only earns about £50k but has used an inheritance to buy himself an £85k sports car "because you only live once." This is despite him having two young DC with SEN. arsehole

Agree there is a big increase in the number of people leasing cars as you can rent something you couldn't afford to buy, similar to houses.

I love my little 8 year old runaround, no interest in cars at all, but other people would balk at the huge % of my income I spend on holidays.

@pebbles3004 I reckon most of us who aren't taking out debt to own a fancy car, are buying second hand cars. That way we actually own something. completely agree.

I've got a 50k bought outright but I only paid 29 when it was 4 months old. Needed a ten k loan to pay 29k which I over paid off in a year, I will keep it forever til it dies.

Forgot to add, we returned our last car on PCP to the dealer and they gave us 6k back because of covid the price of used cars had shot through the roof, we used that money to buy another 2nd hand car as a runaround because we have a camper and it was all getting too expensive

I have always thought leasing a car was bonkers. We earn well (over £100k for the household) and would never even think of spending even £400 a month on a car. We have so much else we would rather do with £400! We both have good second hand cars (VW & Seat) and will most likely own them for years to come, until they are costing us money multiple times a year in repairs and upkeep. I don't understand pouring money into something that sits in the driveway or work car park most of the time.

Cash but mostly likely credit. apple.news/Ap7GpnwxeRjyZ_d-gKyBYXA

They lease them.

Or they are company cars and they get a decent car allowance. A few neighbours drive Tesla due to some tax thing for electric cars.

Or they and buy or lease a car through the business.

Or they just prioritise cars. I have a friend who is quite content living in a tiny flat as he'd rather spend his money on nice cars.

PCP, I've had some really great cars on PCP, expensive, high performance cars that I wouldn't be able to normally afford.
Put a deposit down, monthly payments, you can upgrade when a new car comes out and keep upgrading or pay the balance off and the cars yours

My DH has a new Tesla , it's a company car.
He is very senior in his company, I don't think it's that unusual for people in his position.

The rest of us aren't buying new cars though (well some people may be) but I reckon most of us who aren't taking out debt to own a fancy car, are buying second hand cars. That way we actually own something. After a lease, you walk away empty handed, thousands of pounds down.

I knew one guy who bought a Ferrari. It was on a 25 year loan. I figured he was insane, but the car and the "status" meant more to him than the ludicrous amount he was having to pay back. The car was probably in a hedge within a few weeks.

Actually it's not silly. For example someone like Cazoo will hand over a Range Rover or Jag in a 2000k deposit and affordable monthly payments even for average earners. Say £400 a month. But you don't own the car and after the three years contract ends you basically hand it back and start again. Just watch your mileage

Cross posted - also this ^^
We looked at leasing a car just at the end of the last lockdown and thank god we didn't. We were offered at the time "great deals" but even though our incomes have risen slightly, our outgoings have significantly risen and we'd struggle to make even a £400 repayment each month on top of everything else.

We lease. We get some absolute bargains.
Only a financial idiot would buy a depreciating asset like a new car outright.

They can't afford them.

That's one of the reasons there are so many middle income families really struggling right now because they are tied into leases that really are beyond their means even though they've been given credit.

Being given credit doesn't mean you can afford something. It means a credit company sees you as a prime opportunity to make money. The two things are separate issues and assuming that if you are given credit you can afford something is a fallacy that screws up a lot of people.

I agree - I have no idea where the money comes from. Both myself and DP have good incomes, but there's no way we could spend £1,000+ on cars per month, especially if we wouldn't even own them at the end of the day.
A few people I know get a car allowance from work, but that's £350ish a month maximum so they then stump up the further £200+ a month themselves for a car.
I only know one friend who is given a company car (a nice one, so a Mercedes saloon car etc) as part of his work package.

I have two friends who pay more than their rent each month for their cars (range rovers). It seems ludicrous to me - they'd be better driving a cheaper car and saving the money for a deposit on a house etc, but maybe I'm just old fashioned.

There's loads of those bariatric bumper car things round here at the moment. They look expensive!

I mean seriously- this kind've thing in urban environments is batshit;

https://www.toyota.co.uk/electric/bz?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvKyujJX3AIVwsvtCh0MLQ4eEAAYAiAAEgKe4vDD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds