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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder how anyone can afford cars?

141 replies

Pariba · 16/09/2014 22:04

I have a really small car and we need a bigger one. 5 seats and a big boot. I really love the Nissan quashquai (sp?) and similar. ..... but upon a quick look ok autotrader I can see any of the cars that we think match our criteria are like . 11k+ not even talking brand new.

since my current (08 plate) car is worth 3 k at the very very most, and we could maybe scrape together another 2k. . I can't see us getting much. I refuse to put a car on finance. .

aside from my personal circumstances, I just think a) who has that money! and b) it's such alot of money for a car! ...I do so much driving it almost makes sense but I can't really get my head around it.

OP posts:
HappyAsASandboy · 17/09/2014 10:22

We budget for it, so it's not a shock payment when we want a new car.

We saved hard for a £10k ish car before we had children. Then we looked at the difference in prices for that car depending on age and worked out that it depreciated by about £2k per year.

So we saved £2k per year while we drive that car, then when we needed/wanted a 'new' car, we sold the old one, added it to the several years x £2k an bought another one similar to the first in price. Repeat.

This system obviously only works if you're in a position to save for and buy the initial car. And have the money and discipline to save at least the depreciation costs in a car fund for the next one. How much you can spend initially and how much you can save to the car fund each month depend on your incomings and other outgoings - obviously you'll need more 'spare' money to afford a luxury car than a run around.

The big mistake is to buy a car outright and then think you're finished with car payments. If you do that, there'll be nothing in the pot to replace the car when you need/want to ...

JadeJ123 · 17/09/2014 10:32

I wouldn't touch a vw! I had a golf gti and it went wrong all the time and cost a small house to fix.

RufusTheReindeer · 17/09/2014 10:32

happy

That's a good idea. Might start saving now

I do think cars are expensive, we bought our seven seater 11 years ago when it was three years old. It was 10k cash

When I look at it that way it's been good value 1k a year and it's a good workhorse

But I do begrudge buying another one when it dies,

Tadla · 17/09/2014 10:33

I would look at 5 year old + ford/vauxhall/ Renault/ citroen cars. I regard anything like a Nissan/Volkswagon as mid tier and totally unaffordable as audi/ volvo/ bmw.

monkeyfacegrace · 17/09/2014 10:36

Surely it depends what brings you pleasure in life?

Some people want the biggest house they can possibly get. Some like numerous exotic holidays. Some choose to only eat organic meat, some (like myself) choose to drive awesome cars.

If you fall into the 'just a necessity to get from A to B' catagory, then yes, it's a lot of cash.

If you fall into the 'love cars and get huge pleasure from them' catagory, well, you need to quadruple your budget.

Different strokes for different folks.

ramrod757 · 17/09/2014 10:41

some (like myself) choose to drive awesome cars.

There's not much in the awesome category for £20k new or used TBH.

monkeyfacegrace · 17/09/2014 10:43

Where did you get 20k from Confused

monkeyfacegrace · 17/09/2014 10:44

Ah, just reread the op properly Blush
I thought her budget was 11k.

lavenderhoney · 17/09/2014 10:46

You have to do a lot of research, and go to a big car supermarket place and test drive lots you like. Armed with that info, you can look seriously and don't drive miles! If it goes wrong its a bugger to get there and back.

You'll have to compromise on age a bit, but cars these days do more than 100k before falling over.

You should be able to get the car you want for £5k, easily.

ramrod757 · 17/09/2014 10:47

Ah, just reread the op properly
I thought her budget was 11k

To be fair there's not much in the way of awesome to be had for £44k

angeltreats · 17/09/2014 10:47

We have never spent more than £2,500 on a car. At the moment I have an 06 plate Mazda 6 which I'm very happy with, and we also have a 2004 Almera which my husband drives. I would hate to have car finance hanging over me, I hate debt and try very hard to avoid having any other than the mortgage. Of course I'd love a brand new car but I'd rather know that I don't owe anyone for it.

We have saved thousands over the years by my husband doing a car maintenance class at the local college, buying a Readers Digest book, a decent torque wrench and a socket set. I really do mean thousands. I doubt we could afford to run two cars if we had to take them to a garage for run of the mill servicing and fairly straightforward repairs. There's been very little he hasn't been able to tackle himself.

WiseGuysHighRise · 17/09/2014 10:49

lavenderhoney
You have to do a lot of research, and go to a big car supermarket place and test drive lots you like. Armed with that info, you can look seriously and don't drive miles! If it goes wrong its a bugger to get there and back

Yes, to looking round and getting lots of info. I wouldn't necessarily buy from Carcraft those places though.

Quenelle · 17/09/2014 10:55

You can buy decent secondhand family cars cheaply. We sold a our old 99 Scenic last year for £500. The new owner got a bargain IMO.

I wish we had just spent £2-3k upgrading to a newer Scenic, instead we spent £4k on a secondhand Mercedes that is fine, but it has fewer mod cons, is harder to park and just not as lovely to drive as my old Scenic. I miss that car Sad

Lally112 · 17/09/2014 10:56

why do you need a new new car? I drive a 13 year old farm truck and its always done me fine. Its about buying within your means.

Asteria · 17/09/2014 10:57

Until I met DH (2.5 years ago) I never spent over £700 on a car and had nothing but joy from my little bangers!! When my last banger finally carked it we pooled our resources bought a totally gorgeous 10yo estate for £3k. We don't care how old it is as it will retain value (high end diesel) for a few more years and it is unbelievably comfortable. Even if we could afford to we would never spend a ridiculous amount on a car (£10k+) as there are other things we would rather have. Thankfully we live in the countryside and nobody seems to care so much! I would hate to live in a residential street where everyone lined their sparkly brand new cars up and judged each other for having something older than 3 years!

MrsBasterd · 17/09/2014 11:08

I would hate to live in a residential street where everyone lined their sparkly brand new cars up and judged each other for having something older than 3 years!

Yep I live in such a place. My tired old KA is a bit of a laughing point with our not so nice arsehole neighbours but I don't care, its a great little car, cheap to run and easy to park. I get the last laugh as our area has a problem with little shits knocking wingmirrors off cars - they always go for the sparkly new cars and have never ever touched my old KA. Karma. Grin

ramrod757 · 17/09/2014 11:09

bought a totally gorgeous 10yo estate for £3k. We don't care how old it is as it will retain value (high end diesel) for a few more years

The gamble with that is there's always a possibility of a bill which is higher than the car's value. If by high end you mean BMW, Audi or Mercedes then that will be sooner rather than later.

Madamecastafiore · 17/09/2014 11:13

Wow Mrs Bastard, did you ever think they just liked new sparkly cars and had enough cash to buy one?

iamusuallybeingunreasonable · 17/09/2014 11:13

You don't need a Quashqai for gods sake

They are not that big, for 5k you can get a decent family car

This is like saying handbags are expensive, i have £100 to spend but I want a mulberry not a M&S - you can't afford a Quashqai!!

WiseGuysHighRise · 17/09/2014 11:15

Lally112
why do you need a new new car

LOads of reasons...fuel economy tends to be better, improved safety features, knowing what you're buying and having a good warranty rather than hoping you're not buying a dud. Also, for very simplistic reasons - I work hard so like to have nice things to reward myself.

When I got my new car, maintenance was one of the key things. Husband's car was 9 years old and had 3 expesnive things go in consecutive months (suspension, gearbox, something electrical). I didn't want to have to factor in the cost of maintenance. I actually did a pretty detailed spreadsheet, estimating how much I'd pay on a new car over 3 years and a 2nd hand car over 3 years and the difference was so small -to me - that I didn't think it was worth the risk of going for an older second hand car.

MrsBasterd · 17/09/2014 11:18

Like sparkly cars, yes, enough cash, probably not madame, think they're all finance cars or loans, but that's down to them. Either way nobody mocks my shitty old banger within earshot of me, thats just mean and I'm protective of my lovely old banger . Makes me Angry is all.

Fudgeface123 · 17/09/2014 11:26

Have you thought about leasing. A guy at work has just leased a Nissan Juke for his wife, there's a down payment of £900 ish and then monthly payments of £160 over 2 years. If you want smaller monthly payments then you can do it over more years. After the 2 years they can swap the car for a new one and what they've paid in the monthly payments, covers the deposit for the new one.

Just ensure whatever car you get is serviced regularly, you can take out service plans so you don't have a big outlay when it's due. I pay £15/month for mine, it's a 10 plate Kia Sportage and that £15 also covers the MOT fee.

TheFairyCaravan · 17/09/2014 11:28

I've got a 14 plate Golf Bluemotion. We bought it outright because we had a windfall. It is fantastic to drive, safe and reliable. Its an automatic, as I am disabled, we all love to drive it and we'll drive it in to the ground.

We've, also got a Polo that DH uses to commute because it is excellent on fuel and a Clio that DS2 is going to use when he passes his test. DS1 is about to buy his first decentish car, which will be an 08/09 plate Clio/Corsa/Polo to get a bit more no claims before he buys a 1 series BMW. But he is 19, he has a job where he is paid a good wage and no commitments.

I've just done a nationwide search on Autotrader and Nissan Quashqais start at just over £4k so you should get one. I don't rate them personally, we were going to buy one, but found them small inside and had poor visibility. My Golf is bigger.

ramrod757 · 17/09/2014 11:38

I've got a 14 plate Golf Bluemotion. We bought it outright because we had a windfall. It is fantastic to drive, safe and reliable

I should hope it is reliable - it's only a few months old! Wait until you've had it for 5 or 6 years. Lots of nice complex and expensive things to go wrong. Also one of the dullest cars to drive that you can currently buy. If you plan to keep it long term you should've bought something Japanese.

TheFairyCaravan · 17/09/2014 11:49

What a load of old rot ramrod. It isn't dull to drive either, we needed an automatic and wanted one that didn't throw you backwards and forwards in your seat when it changed gear, like the Honda Civic!

We've got an 09 plate Polo, it's never given us a minutes trouble. FIL has had Honda after Honda after Honda, they've spent so much time in the garage he too has now bought a VW. BIL had a Mazda6, it was a 57 plate, he was advised to scrap it as it had so much wrong it wouldn't pass it's MOT!

Oh, and my Dad has been an independent car dealer for 45 years so knows what he is talking about when it comes to cars, hence we took his advice!