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

It took me until I was 35 to save for a deposit for a house 🤷🏻‍♀️. We’re all different.

The family members I know of with the 2nd and 3rd most expensive cars in our extended family have the use of them through a business associated with a high profile sport. They are not sporty nor famous.

Previously the female was driving a new “loan” vehicle as part of the business arrangement, but they both drive something flash and very new.

When you next see an expensive car for sale with “dealer miles” on the clock, it’s quite possible it wasn’t the car dealer but loaned to people like them.

the family member with the most expensive vehicle bought his outright because he could. Worked hard, didn’t inherit anything, made some good choices. When I was a kid he lived with us for a short time because he couldn’t afford to go elsewhere. it’s all been legit and he is about to upgrade again to a new model.

No, I paid that off at the age of 32 🙈

@Blossomtoes thanks, I didn't know there was a trade in value, the whole thing makes much more sense now!

Tbh Audi and BMW have very basic models and I wouldn't consider most of them "luxury car" nowadays.
Most brands mak some "budget version". Even Maserati

I think it’s most likely to be people with company cars. You have to change them regularly so I always have newish car.

Well… depends what you’re buying. I have a very nice Ford Focus. I bought (from a family friend, whose husband passed away) it at 5 years old, with only 27k miles on it. I seem to recall paying £6000 for it, or thereabouts. I have now had it for 6 years. I’ve paid about £2000 on servicing and repairs over that time. I also do a high mileage of about 15k a year.

If I was paying £400 pcm for a lease, in the 6 years I’ve had it, I’d have paid £28,800 in that time. I accept I would have gotten a new vehicle every 2-3 years, but I’d also be paying the mileage excess, and for a couple of dinks on the bodywork.

I intend to drive it until it becomes too expensive to maintain. I reckon it’s not done me badly. When it comes time to change it, I’d be looking for a similar kind of deal - or one at 3-5 years old which has been on a lease and returned. I’d rather own.

Did you not have a mortgage?

Because I can

Oh just seen this - so you don't care about it looks and that is your choice too and you dont want to fork out loads - so be it. What does it matter to you then what others have certain cars and choose to look after them. That is their choice.

@Stroganoffo , so, in answer to your question, my lovely dad died last year and left me a bequest to specifically buy a new-ish car in order to facilitate all of the UK beach holidays my girls and I take. I traded in my old car (with a failing clutch) for a ridiculous amount of money (like £2K more than it’s actual worth). My new-to-me car is apparently depreciating very slowly. It is the most expensive/showy car I have ever owned (and it makes me nervous driving it) but I have never bought a car on credit and I have always bought them outright. I also own my home outright and I never do credit. Ever.

You said you didnt want to fork out loads which is not the same as not being able to afford it. Maybe you just need to look at some of the new buying options.

So accidents only happen to PCP cars or lease cars and not to others?

I can't agree with you about cars being never the same again even with an accident - an accident can range from a small bump to something fairly major - if you are with a decent insurance company and you are not nipping off to Kev's Garage up Rosamund Street. My practically brand new car was rear ended by another which pushed me onto the car in front of me. There was 6000 pounds of repair on my car - no negative effects and I sold it about 6 months ago at 5 years old for over 1/2 of the price I paid for it originally.

I drive a Jaguar F Pace which I bought outright. I just have a good salary however I saved up for years & bought one a few years old

Yeah but it's not madness to someone who can afford it and wants a decent car. If you alternately pay out 35000 for a car that's 35K you don't have sitting somewhere earning interest for you. A decent car to me is not necessarily a big SUV but it does mean a reliable one so it could be a Toyota Ago at 200 pounds a month.

I think it is like the other thread that is running currently about wealth. There are a lot of jealous people out there. So many misunderstandings on this thread - people commenting about " on the tick", people living beyond their means, people showing off blah blah. Some seem to have no concept of the commercial auto world today and the options. Some people are happy to have an old banger to run about it and others like myself want to have a good car that does what I need it to do - long trips at certain times of the year and the rest of the time a bit of luxury for my retirement. I don't want the hassles of broken down cars - my brother can cope with all of that but no thanks, not for me.

It will be on tick for most people out there.

This must be where I'm either old-fashioned or a tightwad. Or maybe I'm an old-fashioned tightwad. I earn well above the average income with low overheads (kids grown up, low mortgage etc) and the idea of committing to anything like £400 pcm for a car seems like madness to me.

In my circle there seems to be a weird status in having a top end car. I had an old Jeep for years before it finally gave up on me and I had so many people negatively comment on it or even send me links to new cars to lease or buy on finance. One even refused a lift in it 😅

My younger step sister has a new BMW on lease but lives in a rented house and constantly complains about how hard it is for her generation to get on the property ladder. Her friends all have much nicer cars than we did at their age as well and all on finance or leased. I think it’s just more commonly known that you can get these finance deals now. I certainly wasn’t aware of any of them in my 20’s.

We do this too, for the same reason.

That's why you have insurance.

Surely you would do the same if it were a car you owned - get it touched up or would you not bother?