If you had a budget for a nice car let's say Tesla would you still drive and old car?

[Haloween]

I am just wondering what people will do in this situation. I have saved up for a nice car but I am thinking of buying an old car probably over 10 years old and get more experience before buying the Tesla I have always dreamt of as I am a new driver. What do others do in this situation?

Not buy a Tesla as musk is a dick and I don’t want to give him my money. Buy a nicer older car that does what I need

Why would you buy a Tesla - nasty Elon!

in you case, and in my own as could afford a Range Rover but wha is the point, just a car innit?

I would buy a small Skoda honestly and save my money.

I will be only buying an used Tesla, not brand new as that's not my budget. I have just budgeted for a 3-4 year old nice car.

Yes, I've got lots of money and drive a Polo. Just not fussed about cars beyond them getting me from A to B.

I'd probably want them to sort out the "retracting door handles lead to drivers burning to death" thing before buying a Tesla.

Could you even get insurance on a tesla as a new driver?

I also wouldn't line musk's pockets

It is but I like the experience of it. How safe it is to drive etc plus electric.

I love my slightly battered 2013 Prius C. Not that interested in a fancy car, it would probably just get scratched or stolen.

I have enough in the bank to buy a new Tesla several times over yet I drive a beaten up 2008 mpv. I can't see the point in a new car when mine works great, it's just a tool to get me from A to B after all.

We could buy a brand new performance car if we wanted but drive a 20 year old car (him) 8 year old car (me) and a 16 year old motorcycle (plus a classic one that doesn’t even need road tax). Cars are money pits that depreciate, and check the tax carefully

If you're a new driver then buy a practical smaller electric car, drive for a year, then see whether Tesla is still your dream car. Your priorities might change. Definitely don't rule out Volvo.

I can think of better things to spend £15 grand+ on...

I could buy an amazing car if I wanted to - I don't - I have no interest in cars beyond being comfortable, safe and reliable. Would much rather spend my money on travel and my house.
Just my pov of course!

I wouldn’t buy a Tesla because of lack of Apple CarPlay integration - but I am saving for a similar spec/price car that we’ll probably buy ex demo when we have enough saved.

I don’t like to finance cars, so my plan is to save up c £30k over the next couple of years and use this for a car. I could finance / afford to save more for a bigger car but won’t.

We have a 61 plate Zafira, still going strong 👍

The fact that you lose money as soon as you drive off with a brand new car would always stop me buying brand new.
Also i just want to get from a -b cars don't interest me ,i prefer simpler and reliable, nothing on this earth could persuade me to buy a Tesla.

I could buy an amazing car if I wanted to - I don't - I have no interest in cars beyond being comfortable, safe and reliable. Would much rather spend my money on travel and my house.
Just my pov of course!

Like people spend on nice holidays, what's wrong with spending on nice car which I will use everyday for years?
Also, I think life is too short to keep driving crappy cars.

Where I live I wouldn’t get too flashy a car as then I’d be reluctant to drive it over the pot holes roads to the countryside car parks I like to use.
But if you are a new driver do also look at insurance.

My car is 11 years old and I'm perfectly happy with it. I can afford something 'flash', but I don't need, or want, anything like that.

Previous poster nailed it.
Volvo is where you should be putting your money. Better residuals, build quality leaps and bounds ahead of Tesla, people won’t think your a wanker and a better all round car.

I tend to buy a new used car,, I.e its been registered to the dealer and usually has less than 200 miles on, Ive had one with 5 miles on but its classed as used. I pay bank transfer and keep it for years, sell and repeat!

We had a large, automatic as our family car. It was no use at all for our 4 DC to learn to drive so we bought a 17 year old Yaris.

Family car sprung a serious computer problem so we disposed of it. We'd got as far as booking test drives in niceish cars (cheaper than Tesla, but could easily afford one), when we thought, why? We have a car that gets from A to B, and we very rarely have the whole family in the car, so don't need a 7 seater. That was 4 years ago. DC4 has passed so we are going to get a new car... at some point. The Yaris is so reliable, though, that we can't be bothered with the stress of car buying!

Long story short. We could easily afford a Tesla, but are completely happy with our 20 year old Yaris. And if some people look down on our car, well, doesn't impact us. Depreciation is down to nearly nothing, too.

Nothing "wrong" with it, but you did ask what people would do themselves. An awful lot will choose a practical car and spend spare money on something else - holiday, house, days out, pension, etc.

It's fine for you to spend money on your car if you want to.

I could afford a much nicer car than the one I drive, because cars don't really bother me.

If it would make you happy to have a particular car and you can afford it by all means get one. However personally as a new driver I wouldn't get an expensive dream car as your first car, on the basis of
a) statistically you are more likely to damage it when you are less experienced and
b) if you get a really nice car (ignoring all the debate about teslas as you clearly like them) as your first car then that will be your baseline, and you'll have to carry on getting at least equally nice or nicer cars for the rest of your life or feel disappointed/downgraded. Whereas you'll have something to look forward to if you aim to buy a decent car in a few years
c) the bigger and more expensive the car the higher the insurance will be, and it will already be higher as a new driver

I have the budget but drive a 9 year old Ford focus. Gets me from A to B reliably even though my commute is an 80 mile round trip. I have no interest in cars as status symbols.
I’ve never bought a car on finance and always kept cars until they die, normally 10-15 years from when I buy them. Would rather spend money on my house or holidays.