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?

@QueefofSheena Luckily for me, I got a 9 month old BMW iX3 with £23,000 off what would have been the new price. I’m more than happy with that deal. Not going Chinese in our house. What Car only rates the Polestar 3. The others all have flaws. I’d take my BMW over them any day of the week, month or year.

I'm committed to my trusty 2015 Touareg (no field too muddy, no hedge too scratchy) but my head may get turned when the electric Land Cruiser comes out :-)

The thing about a Tesla is that they are neither expensive or luxury cars. The Model 3 is sub £40k new, and is popular because it’s cheap. It’s the 21st century equivalent of a Ford Mondeo. Competent, capable, boring. Second hand they are even better value. Are they for those that enjoy driving? No. Are they for those that like comfort and a bit of luxury? No. But as as competent mid market car they are good value, and cheap to run. If that’s what matters to you then they are unbeatable at the moment as there are so many around and they are cheap. They are however difficult to sell second hand - but if you are buying that’s good news. You’ll get a newer Tesla for your money than one of the premium brands. But that was always the case for fleet cars. 3 year old Ford / 5 year old BMW/Merc is now 3 year old Tesla versus older ‘premium’ car.

I’d prefer a newer car but a “nice car” is subjective.

I have a Tesla - 3 years old. I bought it second hand. It is lovely - handles like a dream, smooth as silk, and I love how it looks. Musk is a knob, but then so is Dyson, Tim Martin, Zuckerberg, etc. etc. CEOs are often wankers. If we were purists about the morals of our captains of industry we’d be living in forests foraging for roots.

@MayaPinion Luckkly, as far as I know, I don’t buy their products either. There are plenty of alternatives to a Musk. I can assure you a Musk is one of many decent cars that are smooth and well made and the others aren’t headed up by someone so overtly awful and anti British.

I got in my colleagues model Y yesterday. I thought about ordering it but the range wasn’t enough for me so I got a 330e. The Tesla is nice and it has a lot of quirky features. It drives like it floats and I like that the screen shows you nearby cars. My car is so much stronger built. The quality of the dash, the seats, the door handles isn’t comparable really. I don’t know how much the Y is but I don’t think it was too much less.

I wouldn’t buy an electric car because the ranges are increasing so much and quite quickly that older models become obsolete unless for someone who simply tootles. You don’t want to sink money into that. Just get a fast old car and have fun with it.

Not a Tesla. I like small sporty hot hatch type cars. I also love Audi TTs. I’d love a top of the range Abarth but wouldn’t get one on my current budget as I think they’re over priced.

Oh I suppose ICE cars are risk free then 🙄🤦‍♂️😆

We have a Tesla and would 💯 recommend. If you want one,get one 👍

Honestly, save your money. Not because it's Tesla and Musk is a grade-A twat these days, but because you're a new driver, and new drivers always come a cropper one way or another in their first few years behind the wheel.

Personally, I've got no interest in cars beyond getting me from A to B. I've been driving 23 years, and currently have a 7yo Vauxhall Corsa that was secondhand when I got it. Cars depreciate at a terrible rate as well.

I have a Tesla, I love driving it
DH could afford a nice car but has kept his old crappy one so DS can learn to drive in it and DD can scrape the bumper on it to her hearts content when she is home from Uni.

@AutumnLover1989 Did you try anything else? Musk is not the only car available? Other cars are just as good or better. A Musk Y is £46,000 new.

Mazda? Stylish? Not really.

Buy whatever car you want and love it!

I passed my test a bit older than most at about 26. I had a decent income and could afford to PCP a nice new Smart ForFour (I loved it at the time).
Cars don't bother me but I saw it as a treat for myself which I never do.

Sometimes life is too sort to drive something you don't like - I did the economical option last car and it has bugged me for 3 years! Get a new one in a months time which is more me :) My car is literally my only treat so I don't see any issue with it.

I just don't value expensive cars. I'm not interested. So we share a 12 year old Kia Picanto. It does everything we need. It's fuel usage is quite good. It cost £5 k when we bought it in 2020.

So, to answer the OP, we could afford a new car, but it's just not something I care about. I rather like rocking up to school and squeezing my picanto between the range rovers and BMWs.

For me I prefer to spend money on a fairly good annual holiday abroad. Other people don't care about that, so they spend their money on what they wish. I had a colleague who has a maserati which is worth about the same as their house. He says that no-one sees his house, but lots of people see his car. That's his priority, and that's fine. Horses for courses!

I would do something in between - not 10+ years as repair costs start outstripping the car's value (my situation at the moment) but not a fancy 3 year old car for a new driver.

I'd go for something solid like a 5-6 year old Skoda or Volvo, go for a higher spec if you spend a lot of time driving (heated seats or whatever you really will make use of) but don't go too big if it's just for you - a smaller model will save on purchase price, tax, insurance, fuel, tyres, etc.

I drive a 11 year old small fiat, I could afford a brand new top of the range car, but just don’t see the point, particularly as they depreciate in value so quickly.
As a matter of principle, I would never buy a Tesla.

Old doesn't mean crappy though. I have a 66 plate Focus estate. It has almost 130k miles on the click. It's cheap to run and insure, a joy to drive and utterly reliable. I wouldn't be seen dead in a Tesla.

Yes. Our newest car is 7 years old and the oldest is 30. Have the budget to buy newer, but bought cars for character / style / performance reasons rather than being new.
Would be unlikely to buy a new car anyway, would rather let someone else bear the first 2-3 years of depreciation!

I don’t have loads of money. But I’d be genuinely embarrassed to be seen driving a Tesla.

Id rather have a newish comfy car than an older car with a posh badge (not that I’m considering Tesla a posh badge any more!).

We're fortunate to be in a position to make these choices, I don't need a flash car, but I live rurally and want to be as certain as possible that I will be able to get from A-B, and that I will have no hiccups in my 30-45 min commute.

I wanted to try an electric car so have leased one. It's worked out really well, have had no maintenance costs other than the annual service (which cost pennies) and some new tyres, and will most likely take out a new lease early next year on another electric car. Have chosen not to buy electric because: 3 years ago, prices of electric cars were stupidly high; technology and availability have improved immensely in that time; didn't want to be lumbered with a car that would be difficult to resell as tech had significantly moved on.

So, I lease my car, DH owns his outright (and before electric cars, I used to own mine too). We've tended to buy ex-demonstrators and kept for approx 7 years, which has served us well. We may go back to buying both cars outright again, but for now I can't pretend that I don't love having something shiny and new for 3 years and then do it all again.

I test drove Teslas and really liked them, but I'd like to see a new version now - feels like the Model 3 is a bit dated in style.

@CatarinabellaYou really have not done much homework on residual values have you? Of course not All cars depreciate like mad! You will find higher running costs on a 3 year old car. Tyres and various other wear and tear repairs will cost you. It’s a case of buying wisely.