To be very confused over options for cars if you aren't 'liquid'?

[Seth]

My car (14 year old Golf) has done me proud but is now starting to cost me more than I ever paid for it. I don't have the cash sitting there to buy another one outright either. I do need a car but don't actually drive much (think less than 3000 miles a year). I have been looking at the options of HP/ Leasing and am finding it a bit of a minefield. I need a bigger car than the smallest and cheapest ones out there as I know there are some very good deals out there. Part of me wants to just get a nice compact SUV - mainly because in my 30 years of driving I have never come close to owning a remotely new or nice car and I like them - however this isn't essential. Can anyone who knows about this kind of thing advise my on the pros and cons or either leasing or getting car finance ?
I can afford a £500-1000 (max) deposit and can afford about £200 a month. Any ideas gratefully received.

BobbinThreadbare123 - yes I came across one yesterday and thought the same ... thanks!

Look at a company called smartlease ive used them in the past
You put down generally 3 times whatever the monthly payment is and a small admin fee
Don’t lease more than 3 years or whatever the warranty is as otherwise once it’s out of warranty if anything goes wrong your fucked

Placemarking as I'm in the same boat (or cat!)

sosayi

Thanks. I just had a look at Smartlease abs have requested a quote. Thanks for the recommendation..

Dacia are cheap and you can upgrade the spec. They're fairly cheap to buy in comparison to other makes.

Leasing isn’t the same as HP.

I didn’t say that, but the point still applies when / if you hand them back you are responsible for the costs of repairing any damages. You can pay a balloon payment to keep a car on HP, but the majority of people return or trade in the car.

No - you don’t give the car back in HP. You are describing leasing and PCP which are different. I am not trying to be an arse about it, just keep it accurate for the OP and others on thread.

Yes I think so. I paid off the hire purchase loan via bank transfer. I assume they would also accept a credit card payment but may be worth checking?

With mine you could do it within 2 weeks of the loan without penalty but you could do it at any time but incurred a month’s interest penalty (I think!)

Last few cars I've bought have been under 1k. The cars have earnt their way. If something needs fixing, check cost, if too much, scrap & buy something else.
No worries about monthly payments

Do the sums and check it is really worth replacing your old car, generally unless something really expensive breaks you are better running them late into the ground. I ran my last one to over 185,000 miles before it was written off (no fault of the car). It was a brand that is expensive to service but it still cost me much less than a PCP deal over the years. A vauxhall or ford or something would have been cheaper to service.

In your position I would read up on bangernomics, but if this is too risky for you (long commute, disability etc) then maybe look at buying a car that is over three years old with a bank loan or interest free credit card rather than dealer finance.

Your low annual mileage might be why the car is costing so much, cars are better in regular use and with longer runs. You can kill a newish car doing repeated short runs. Could a car club work for you? What about sharing with a family member?

I've got no real knowledge to share, but we are in a similar situation so am following this thread closely!

I get the point you’re trying to make but there is no way it’s worth paying £2400 a year to maintain a 14 year old car! The car won’t even be worth that!

The sale value of the car isn't really relevant is it? Why would paying £2400 in depreciation (which is effectively what leasing a new one is doing) be any more sensible use of £2400? At the end of the year there is at least the chance of having a viable car - at the end of the lease term you have nothing.

It's fine if you want a newer car or you feel they are more reliable but there's no simple argument about the spending.

badlydrawn why on earth would you want to pay more on maintaining a car, than the car is worth? You could buy an equivalent one for a lot less than that.

The difference between spending that amount on maintenance and leasing is that you get to drive a nice new reliable and comfortable car.

As I keep saying, leasing is not for everyone. There are cheaper ways to run a car, but it’s down to personal preference. Some people spend 30k on a handbag when a Asda 9p bag for life would do the job just fine.

why on earth would you want to pay more on maintaining a car, than the car is worth?

The question is why wouldn't you - the value you could get from selling it on the open market is utterly irrelevant. If the car's working and requires some attention to keep it viable, the resale value is utterly irrelevant. Why does what you could sell it for have any bearing on, say, the cost of some tyres? It doesn't.

"I get the point you’re trying to make but there is no way it’s worth paying £2400 a year to maintain a 14 year old car! The car won’t even be worth that!"

If you spend £2400 a year on your old car you drive a car for £2400 a year. If you spend £2400 a year on a new car you drive a car for £2400 a year.

If you spend less than £2400 a year maintaining your old car you drive a car for less than you will spend if you commit to £2400 a year to pay for the new one.

It's likely, but not guaranteed, that the newer one will be less likely to break down. I had a 23 year old car that broke down once in my 12 years of ownership (accelerator cable snapped).

Of course if you want to drive a newer car then that's another issue, but it may well come at a price.

The question is why wouldn't you - the value you could get from selling it on the open market is utterly irrelevant

I’m not talking about selling it on.

My point is that you could buy an equivalent car for a lot less than what you would spend on maintaining it. Why would you spend £2400 fixing something when you could buy another for £1500 (for example).

Of course if you want to drive a newer
car then that's another issue, but it may well come at a price.

EXACTLY.

Some people like to have nice things and are prepared to pay more, this applies to most items and not just cars.

I could buy all my shoes and clothes from Primark, they are functional and do the job, but I generally don’t. I prefer to spend more to get ones that I like.

Why would you spend £2400 fixing something when you could buy another for £1500 (for example).

That's a fair point - I misunderstood the bit where you said why on earth would you want to pay more on maintaining a car, than the car is worth?

In the case of weighing the value of spending £2400 vs £1500 on a different one that's really tricky - how would I know I am not buying something much worse than what I have?

In any case as someone else pointed out it's not really £2400 a year - it's a gamble based on the question -

Do I want to commit to spending £2400 a year knowing I will almost certainly not have to spend on maintenance or repairs but will have no car at the end of the lease, vs do I think I can keep my current car roadworthy and reliable for £2400 or less a year.

badlydrawn yes but there is also a gamble that the amount in question would be enough to keep the car on the road.

As I keep saying your approach is the best if your sole purpose is to run a car as cheaply as possible, but to others they prefer to spend more and drive a new, comfortable car with mod cons, and not have to deal with the hassle of having it repaired or worrying about it breaking down etc

This is why I said leasing works for some, and not for others.

I personally have leased in the past, because I got a good deal, and at the time it worked for me. Now I own my car outright as after doing the sums, that was a better solution for me based on how much I wanted to spend and the model / age of the car that I chose.

It just gets my goat when people like to shout about how terrible and what a waste of money leasing is. Agains, this May be the case for some people, but for others, it makes sense.

It just gets my goat when people like to shout about how terrible and what a waste of money leasing is
I agree - and that isn't what I was doing.

I was pointing out that spending "more than the car is worth" on repairs/maintenance is an irrelevant comparison.

I was also pointing out that there's no car at the end of the lease.

Leasing is fine for some people some times and I have no quarrel with that - the OP asked for options - there is a lot of confusion and incorrect "information" being posted here.

Thanks for all of your responses. Lots of different ways and opinions it seems. I still need to digest when I have more time later but

badlydrawnperson

I agree with you on the financial gamble aspect - though another angle is also 'do I feel safe driving out of London to see family (ie a 3 hour drive) without bricking it that my car will break down... so there is a non quantifiable element there too.

Ironically I am the least likely person to be looking at a new car ever. That said the arguments about buying cheap/old and running the into the ground might sound all fine on paper..but there is no peace of mind when doing longer journeys (not that they happen often but they do) but that's kind of the position I am in now -I'd almost be selling my car and buying an exact replacement (or in the same position as I am now in a year's time.

sorry that last response was for 19lottie82

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Thanks waveysnail

Personally I keep my ear to the ground for old lady/gentleman cars where the driver has died or given up driving. Currently have a smashing Fiesta that had less than 35K on the clock - it was basically used to visit son and family 20 miles away and to go to the supermarket, that's it. He died and she wouldn't drive it. Came with full service history, serviced every year - but was 9 years old when I got it, not a mark on it just old. Has sailed through every MOT. Till we got it I don't think the back seats had been sat on! Cost me £1200. Probably could still sell it for half that, yet had it 4 years, all I've done is service, MOT, new tyres, new wiper blades and a light bulb.