AIBU to spend £20k on our first car?

Yes I’ve had 2, have one currently.

accidents happen and will be insured. But there is no reason a battery will reach end of life or failure in 8 years as suggested

How often have you driven?

I think the first car should be a cheaper one because you are likely to scratch it / prang it.

If you’re an experienced driver then go for it.

Have you ever owned an EV?

There are multiple reasons. A coolant leak. A knock from driving over a kerb. A minor crash. A voltage problem. They do fail. It's the risk of failure, not the reality of it that people don't like.

Not unreasonable at all, however 20k on a used car is a bit much. In saying that I don’t know what kind of car it is. Finance is always a take on, try for PCP, you can change your car in 4 years, the payments are lower and you won’t be paying back a car that has aged rapidly before you’re free from the payments. I don’t know where anyone is finding cars for 5-6k with low mileage atm 😵‍💫 believe me I’ve been looking for months

I was about to say a £20k car was fine .... until I read you don't own your own home. I'd prioritise that over everything.

20k is fine to spend on a car. But you’re mad to buy it on finance, especially if you’re thinking about getting a mortgage in the next few years.

You earn a hefty amount between you, so wait a few months and just buy it outright.

If you apply for a mortgage it will be massively impacted by a car finance agreement.

Use savings if you don’t want to miss out on this particular car - and then repay your savings account not a car finance company. Better to borrow the money from your own pot.

Personally Id go for something less than 3 years old with low mileage. Ours had its first MOT on Monday and has less than 12K miles. We paid £17K with our car traded in. I wouldnt go for finance unless it was a 0% deal you could pay off quickly. And look at insurance costs and maintenance costs before deciding

Get yourself a £5k car and save the rest for a house deposit. Also, as inexperienced drivers, your likely to have little dings that won’t matter so much on a car you’ve spent less on.

Why would the battery fail though? There is no reason for it to

Yes but engines are easily fixed and replaceable, batteries aren't. The eight year old EV will only ever be worth as much as someone has money to lose. Is it worth a £1500 gamble, will I go broke if the battery fails? So the value is just the risk premium. But the five year old kia will still have two years warranty left and is very very low risk. So the kia will be worth far more than the out of warranty EV.

You have a good income and you don’t mention any kids. It doesn’t seem like something you should have to get finance on. Also, it’s your first car…

OK, OK, 8 years ago I bought a used Skoda Yeti for 10k and its still going strong at over 100,000 miles. So to me that was a great deal at the time but I get that costs of everything have gone up since.

I also have a used Skoda Karoq bought 2 years ago for approx 15k, low mileage. Excellent car.

Sub 10k perhaps not, but sub 20k absolutely there are deals to be had. Quick look on my local used dealership has Karoqs for 16k / 17k and Fabias for 10-12k range.

I bought a bog standard Skoda in November, 2 years old approved used - 23k. It was 43k new.

That's just what a decent second hand car costs. I don't know where these fantasy 10k cars are that will last more than a couple of years.

Out of interest I’ve just looked at Skoda used cars. They have 5,063 approved used cars. 74 are £10k or less.

the vast majority of them are £38-40k

Sec hand cars are v expensive nowadays. I’ve seen loads at the £20k price point when looking for one just a couple of months ago. When we last bought a decade ago that would have been a new and quite fancy car (relatively!). Our new car now is double what it was 12 years ago. Not same model but same kind of thing we were looking for. I wouldn’t buy on finance, though.

I voted you are being unreasonable as I’d prioritise a house over a car. Increase your house deposit and buy a car for £10k.
When you dent, scratch and scrape the car as expected especially in your first car you’ll feel awful. Also having a “cheap” first car is almost like a right of passage.
Obviously newer cars require less maintenance / cheaper to insure sometimes but it’s better to upgrade once you’re more confident on the road.
Congrats on passing your test!

The most important thing is reliability - not whether you like the design / how it looks etc. 20k is a lot to spend. You could spend half of that and get yourself a really good car. I have always gotten approved-used Skodas. They are built like tanks, super reliable and have never given me any grief. They just run and run, for many years with no hassle.

If it is your first car, you are highly likely to dent it or scrape the paint or smash a light at some point. That is just life.

A PCP or leased car will be a pain and very expensive to keep pristine, which you need to do to if you want to swap it at the end of the contract.
The newer the car, the more expensive it will be for fully-comp insurance.

Pay outright for an old banger for the first couple of years on the road, then think about a nicer car.

DH has the sporty Yaris.

It was not available used when he bought it and it cost him £33,000 new.

I think some posters have lost sight of what a débecte small used car costs nowadays. I know his is at the higher end but you are really not talking about anything crazy for £20,000.

On 10k pm presumably they've built up the house deposit quite quickly. I'd spend some of the savings, rather than take credit, and then save (at least the £500 pm payment) to replace it, but I don't think spending £20k on a newish modest car is a stupid financial decision.

Only if that’s a problem. They may not need to go to maximum borrowing capacity so makes no difference.

If this becomes a big enough problem they can just sell it again and probably recoup most of the money.

Used cars are expensive now so it’s a false economy to by a “cheap” one that’s still going to be at least 5k which will be scrap in a few years.

You can have a better car for a few years then sell it and the cost per year will be about the same.

You need to consider the impact that this car or any debt will have on you buying a house if you are wanting to buy within the timeframe of the loan.

Is having the car or the house a priority?

I'd love to know where you're buying your cars. I just looked and if you want a 3yo Toyota bigger than a Yaris, not practical for most, you do need to spend close to £20k.

For me, cheaper/older is a false economy. If I'm spending a large sum on a car, which it us whatever you buy, I want a few years from it. Most cars need money spending from about 5yo and become uneliable from 8/10 years, unless you're very lucky.

Obviously you have to buy what you can afford, but why would you choose to have an unreliable scruffy car, any more than you'd choose an unreliable washing machine or scruffy shoes?

You are assuming that people dont want prestige brands cars and any old car will do - after all it just gets you from A to B. I like a premium car and buy via PCP so I get a new car every 3 years. I like that flexibility. I dont need to get it through a MOT. There are no unexpected bills. I just dont need to really worry about it. When I was younger I had old bangers and never knew from day to day whether it was going to start, need costly repairs etc.

If you follow this way of thinking what about just buying a 'house' doesnt really matter what it is. For some people cars are important. For others they are just a means to an end.