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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think 8k for a second hand car is adequate?

26 replies

Rainer · 06/11/2019 14:30

DH is wanting to buy a new car. He currently doesn't have a pension. I think he should sort pension first and cut his cloth accordingly. He thinks 8k for a car in any case is fine to spend. Please help settle an argument!

OP posts:
AskMeHow · 06/11/2019 14:31

8k is fine for a car, but I agree with you.

Hurdygurdy24 · 06/11/2019 14:32

Depends how nice a car you want surely?

It’s like asking is £20 enough for a dress. It is for some people and not for others

Fleetheart · 06/11/2019 14:34

How old is he? If plenty of time to sort pension then ok. But do you mean a brand new car?

Butchyrestingface · 06/11/2019 14:34

I don’t really understand the thread title. Confused Do you think it’s too much?

Original poster
Rainer · 06/11/2019 14:38

He is 40.

I dont think it is too much per se but as he hasn't decided what to do with his pension I think that is more important than the car. Once he makes decisions around the pension we can then buy the car we can afford.

OP posts:
Original poster
Rainer · 06/11/2019 14:39

And no, not a brand new car.

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 06/11/2019 14:58

I'm also confused by the title.

But yes, if he doesn't have a pension, £8k is too much to pay for a car. Does he have £8k to buy a car, or is he looking at getting a loan?

In his circumstances, I would buy a car for about £1500-2000 max and also review the household budget to make sure that essential costs are as low as possible, there is room for savings for a pension and general irregular and unpredictable expenses like car repairs, future car replacement, insurance etc and make sure there is a sensible amount left for some fun money after everything else has been accounted for.

Singlebutmarried · 06/11/2019 15:09

Depends what you need the car for. If he’s client facing and needing to uphold an image then no it’s not too much.

If it’s a run around then yes it is too much.

Hop onto one of the pension provider sites and use their calculator to work out how much per month you need to put away for an adequate level of living at retirement age.

Then, figure out what you can spend on a car and go from there.

8k in one go. Perhaps not, 4K deposit, 4K pension or 4K on a car outright (or any split thereof) and perhaps a monthly
Payment for a car.

It all totally depends on your circumstances

Singlebutmarried · 06/11/2019 15:11

Max pension deposit per year is 40k. So factor that in with his contributions and his employee contributions

CAG12 · 06/11/2019 15:13

Totally depends on what type of car? What the condition is? What the mileage is? How old it is? Id spend £8k on a car.

GinDaddy · 06/11/2019 15:20

Cars are depreciating assets, so it depends what car he wants to buy and what he wants it to do.

If he's going to commute in it, and can accurately calculate his mileage, then I would suggest he puts down up to half of it on a PCP deal for a car which is economic, clean, big enough for what he needs it to do, and reliable (JD Power survey or HonestJohn can help here).

Then the monthly payments can kind of offset the depreciation if it's a good deal .

Or buy a "shed" for < or = £2000, make sure it's a reliable thing like an old school Toyota or Lexus, and just run it into the ground after years.

£8000 could get you any number of things, but the car could still be depreciating heavily, or it could cost a lot in repairs...hence these are my thoughts above hope helpful

ComtesseDeSpair · 06/11/2019 15:34

Yes, he should sort his pension first regardless. He could do that with a couple of thousand fo begin with. What do you need the car for? If you need it to be reliable, will be using it daily, and don’t want to be spending hundreds of pounds every MOT on components then something less than five years old is a sensible bet. Doesn’t necessarily mean £8K, plenty of decent models for less than that. I know everyone on MN claims to drive an “old banger” because they think spending money on cars is stupid, but ultimately you get what you pay for and the reality of older cheaper cars is that they’re more likely to start going wrong.

raspberryk · 06/11/2019 15:37

How does he not have a pension, I thought it was compulsory to pay a certain percentage into a pension?

HugeAckmansWife · 06/11/2019 15:39

My partner insists on never spending more than about 2k on a car and then invariably has to have work done, do it himself, buy parts etc. Total pain. My 8k 2nd car has done 10 years with me, 12 in total and has never once let mr down. I know its all anecdata and theres an element of luck involved but i do think below about 4k its likely you'll run into more maintenance issues.

spot102 · 06/11/2019 16:43

Never spent 8k on a car in my life. Be lucky if I've spent that on all the cars I've had in my life, but I do have a resident car maintenance bod. But seriously, as pp said, it depends on your circumstances and priorities. One could pick up a car for considerably less and take a chance on its reliability which would be my method, or you could buy something nicer and hopefully more reliable for 8k which would be my sister's method. I don't recall worrying too much about pension at 40, but probably should have! Never thought I'd get old enough to need it!
But yes you should really sort pension then buy car according to available resources. That would be sensible.

Sparklyring · 06/11/2019 17:29

Why a second hand one? I've just bought a brand new Hyundai for a little more. Would certainly last longer and need no work doing.

JoJoSM2 · 06/11/2019 17:35

It needs to be a part of your wider financial picture. It could be that you’re skint and need a loan to get that 8k car. Or it could be that you have large disposable income and savings but haven’t been paying much into pensions- in that case, 8k could be perfectly affordable and not get in the way of upping your pension contributions.

Scarlettpixie · 06/11/2019 17:35

Does he have £8k or will he have to borrow? Does this include or not a vehicle to part exchange? Will he still have savings?

It is difficult to comment on what is a good idea without more info.

£8k is a reasonable amount to pay for a car but if he has to borrow most of it and them cannot afford to pay into a pension while repaying the loan then he should go for something cheaper.

Original poster
Rainer · 06/11/2019 19:14

Hi thanks for all the responses.
He was in a work pension, a good one but they changed the terms and he was at the time in financial difficulty.

We arent anymore but obviously I am wary. The pension wont cost him anything to go into, if he goes back into work scheme.

The car will be a loan. I currently have a company car, he is wanting to use the money from part exchanging what was our car, an old banger to help towards the cost. We will probably get around 1k for this.

I think I am concerned because of previous issues with money. He is looking at 5-7yr old 'premium' cars as it was put today, so I dont feel is getting best value for money and is prioritising having a label rather than practicality.

OP posts:
Fleetheart · 07/11/2019 08:07

If you’re a partnership then you need to work on the finances together. It sounds like he wants a “status” car; is this reasonable; it’s obviously not sensible, but can you live with it if he starts up pension again? How is your pension?

andyoldlabour · 07/11/2019 08:38

5 to 7 year old premium cars for £8K - sounds like he wants a "show off" car, a badge.
I am down to earth and our current daily car is 14 years old. We bought it when it was 7 years old for £3K. It has never had any mechanical problems bar wear and tear items and now has 182K on the clock - we have done 90K of those miles.

WestSideSnorey · 07/11/2019 08:50

OP this is the sort of financial madness that can lead to serious hardship down the line.

I obviously don't know your circumstances but if at 40 he has no pension, unless you have significant other assets or are expecting/guaranteed a significant windfall then it really is not the right thing to do.

I just don't see how you can justify that kind of outlay and even worse, borrowing to fund it.

People can spend their money on whatever they like, we spend too much eating out, but our car cost £1,000 and my pension pot is small but growing.

How is he planning to pay for his retirement at the moment?

JoJoSM2 · 07/11/2019 10:57

Re-joining the work pension scheme should be a priority. It’s also worth pointing out that repairs and parts of premium cars are more expensive than cheaper brands.

Maybe you could agree some sort of a compromise, eg agree to but that 8k car once you’ve built a certain buffer of savings for example.

raspberryk · 07/11/2019 11:05

Oh good god no, a loan for 8k car is a very bad idea in my opinion.

Celebelly · 07/11/2019 11:13

I don't think 8k is that much for a fairly new second hand car if it's going to be used a decent amount. We paid 11k for our 2016 model recently and it's definitely not a 'premium' car or to show off. It's boringly practical tbh. But it's not really about the car, is it? It's about his lack of financial planning for the future.