That spending circa £25k on a 2nd hand car is not frivolous

Agree with this. I spent 15k on mine in 2020 and it was 4 yrs old. Same car 4 yrs old now is more like 25k at the same spec and mileage.

I voted YBU. I actually did sell my paid off 6 grand car for a 27 grand dream car. I bought the extra warranty too. It was my pride and joy until one night, parked outside a freindsz it was totalled by a drunk driver. No more car and a year of headache recouping the money in what should have been a closed case. Now, I am back to an old banger and my fancy car bubble has burst so much that I would never recommend paying a lot for a car again. Unless, I had money to burn, like won a few million, I might think about it. But otherwise my attitude to cars has changed that I just see them as expensive heaps of metal that go from a to b.

I spent 10k on a second hand vw 4 years ago. 65 plate. It made a massive dent in my savings and should it die, 10k on another car will clean me out. If you've got 25 to spare, go for it.

This is also why It makes me laugh when we're all supposed to be getting electric cats. I earn a fair bit above average wage, but have kids and mortgage. There's no way I can spend more than 10k on a car... and I expect that to last until it dies.

Mazdas are pretty good at least my 2009 wins has been amazing, still going strong and hardly any work on it, ex has it. My newer one is not as good build quality but doing fine. They tend to be more loaded as far as extras are concerned than cheaper cars.

My DH seems to think I should get a cheaper car around £16k again.

So you bought a car 10 years ago for £16k, and he thinks you should spend the same as ten years ago now?

Given that you've said your income has gone up in that time and you can afford it, how does he not understand inflation?

Does he have a say in it, if not, get what you want.
If it's a joint decision, ask him why he wants you to have a worse car than ten years ago.

I don't think it's silly, but what I would say is choose the car on mileage and number of owners, rather than year. And we always buy manufacturer approved and use the guarantee for any tweaks needed, and there are always a few when buying a used car. Get a Volvo out of the two you mentioned. We buy BMW as we've never had a problem with them. Older X5's are quite good value.

Car dealer here - I work for myself buying and selling second hand cars. (Name changed as I usually post about other stuff and don’t want to be outed)

i don’t know if £25k in and of itself is too expensive for your personal circumstances but what i will say is it’s not an unreasonable budget for what you want. But I can give you some car advice that might help.

However, scrap the Mazda idea because you’ll have problems.

Volvo xc40 is a lovely car that is reliable but Volvo is basically a premium brand nowadays meaning they are quite pricey.

For a budget-friendly, super reliable option please look at the Mitsubishi outlander. It has everything you wish for, is so reliable, affordable and has an economical hybrid engine. I’ve seen some with almost 200,000 miles on the clock and they still run amazingly. You may well get a low mileage, 20 plate one for 18/19k£

My favourite for your spec and budget is the Rav4 by Toyota. I love Toyotas. I literally bought one off a bloke today - a 2012 Yaris which still zips around as good as gold.

other bits of advice

• HPI check a car you want to buy - best £8 you’ll spend. Never buy a Cat car.
• there’s an app called “total car check”. Download it, put the reg and mileage in and it’ll bring up full MOT history and also other details about the car.
• ask for invoices of MOT advisories being done
• never buy anything that has a “corrosion” on an MOT at any point. It’s not worth the agro.
• Ask for a hybrid health check on any hybrid car you buy. FWIW, Mitsubishi and Toyotas always come back clean as a whistle.

hope that helps and you manage to get something good.

you’re right though. Cars are expensive now. I gave up a corporate job to work in cars because of how much it’s boomed.

I do think people need to get on cinch /auto trader and look at what £25k will get them nowadays

Having bought myself a "new" (secondhand) car just before Christmas, I have spent a couple of months on autotrader this Autumn.
Personally I spent about 1/4 of what you are planning to spend, so I'm with your dh.

However, we know nothing about your financial circumstances - in terms of income / job security / your ages / your outgoings / if you have dc / what you use your car for / etc /etc /etc so £25K for you might be a drop in the ocean. You could both be earning £1million a year, in which case - go for it.

But, presuming you are on slightly less than that, then I'd say any big purchase ought to be agreed by both halves of a couple, as that is a HUGE chunk of money to probably 85% of the populations.

My old car was also about £15k new, around 12 years ago now. I then got a brand new car for about £25k with all the ‘mod cons’!

The price of second hand cars has increased enormously. I recently bought one for a similar price. I had saved the money, I could afford it and, like you, I intend to keep it until it falls to pieces, by which time I will have been able to save up gradually for a replacement.
By my calculations it is not being frivolous at all, quite the opposite. I think it's the most economical way to motor around - no loans, PCP, interest charges, excess mileage and all that malarkey. It's my car, I do what I want in it and I owe no-one in this world a penny. This makes me happy and I sleep well at night (apart from the hot flushes).

It horses for courses . £25000 will get you a newer car, bigger car or car with less mileage. £16000 will get you an older car, smaller car or car with more mileage.

I was fed up about this when I realised that last year Lexus had reduced their new rrp car prices to just over £40k. Surely their marketing team could have told them they would sell more at just below £40k, as it impacts the 2nd hand market too.

If your car is only 12 years old why not keep it another few years before spending the 25k? I hope to get at least 15 years from our car (although appreciate you could do a high mileage and so it needs replacing)

2nd car prices have gone up. I am just replacing my 20-year-old Lexus. The model I wanted with the pack I wanted is fairly limited on the used market i.e. I do not want white or tan colour leather seats. I am looking at 25K for mine. It is an older model and more miles, but if that also does 20 years is pretty good value for money. I buy my cars outright so no financing to worry about.

Depends on your view of "nothing". I've just looked and I could get a few repeats of our car, 2 years old, around 30k miles on the clock for within £1k of £10k.

We paid about £6k for our car (2 years old, 30k miles on the clock) in 2013; it's still going strong with close on 140k miles on the clock. Very reliable (called Greenflag out twice in that time, and once was due to a garage error rather than it going wrong). Normally doesn't require any maintenance other than tyres outside MOT/service.

My 2nd hand car was 30k, I intend keeping it for years, I love it and I can afford it. I work hard and I don't think it's frivolous to reward myself with something useful that I'll enjoy

We just spent £15k on a 4 year old Ford Focus. I think some of you are out of date on 2nd hand car prices.

My car is 10 years old. I bought it last year for 4k. It will last at least another 5 to 10 years. I think 25k on a car is madness but its your money so frankly if it makes you happy its no one else's business.

we spent £40k on our car, no finance, but it is our only car. And we’ve had it for four years and will drive it until it falls apart. I wouldn’t spend as much as you plan to if you’re running two cars and if you need to use finance (?) and if you’re not both in agreement.

25k is on the higher end of expenditure, but if you can easily afford it don't see why there's any reason not to spend that.

Are you serious?! I bought a 10 year old VW golf for 5.5k 2 years ago, paid outright no finance. Very reliable car, if it does me another 5 years I'll be happy, I'll be keeping it until it's not financially sensible to repair. I can't understand people getting into £££ of debt just to drive a fancy shiny new car around

I paid £16k for a second hand Audi A3 TFSI eight years ago. Still going strong. The only issue I’ve ever had with it was the battery going flat during lockdown. It’s cheap to run and great to drive.

Neither of you are wrong. It's just different opinions. How you communicate and move forward is the important thing.

I wouldn't spend that much. We have the money but cars just aren't my thing. My current one cost me around £4k and I've had it since pre-covid. It's reliable and hasn't cost me much to maintain. Luckily my DH is on the same page as me.