To ask how you afforded your car?

[letsgogogo]

Me and my partner aren't rich by any standard but we do ok. I wouldn't say we are poor.
Even so we can't afford to buy a new car or a decent second hand car. However, I see so many people driving around in new range rovers and Audi's, BMW and various other really expensive cars and I just wonder how can people afford them? AIBU to think that most of these cars were attained through finance? Or if you have a nice car that you didn't need credit for, how did you manage it?

We bought an 8 month old car from a non premium Japanese brand. It had 4,000 on the clock, by buying it 8 months old we got it for 75% of the price for a brand new one.

It cost £19k which we paid in cash. We afforded it by saving up for 5 years, during which time we were driving a much older car we had paid 4k for (also saved up), which we are still driving now. We are in the south east, have high incomes and live quite frugally relative to our earnings so we are able to save & buy bigger items without finance. We will also drive both cars into the ground - the older one is now 12 years old, the newer 3. When we replace the older one we will buy an 18m to 2 yr old car, it won't be a premium marque, it will be some thing like a Ford, Toyota or Mazda as they last well but are good value.

I have a 6 month old mini with 1k on the clock. I bought it for 16k instead of the 25k as new price

As to how I afforded it. Different people have different budgets don't they?

I saved to buy my car. I got a really good deal on a used Peugeot from a car hire company which was selling off some stock . It had surprisingly low mileage too.

It was still a little more than I was hoping to spend, but it has very low running costs and is very comfortable to drive, so I'm glad I did. I didn't buy anything for myself for about a year to afford it and I also put in an extra 3 or 4 hours of work a day.

My income is variable so I sleep better when I don't have to worry about making payments every month.

We buy cheap cars and dh does them up. I love my car and it cost under £500. Dh spent about £200 on parts but it’s still a bargain.
I won’t get into debt for a car.

Finance here too. I got interest free and have a 6k car allowance from work which covers my repayments plus insurance and wear and tear with a bit extra spare. If I was to lose my job or change jobs I'd have to pay the finance but we factored that in and can comfortably afford it so I don't worry.

Get hold of a book called the barefoot investor honestly it’ll change your life but specifically he explains how to buy a new car step by step. Without finance

91% of cars are bought on finance

uk.motor1.com/news/353737/91-percent-cars-financed-year/

My dad brought it for me, think it cost £50k+. DH had his on finance but paid it off when it was a more manageable amount, I think 11k. I personally don't understand all the negativity towards people with cars on finance.

My husband and I do not finance our cars. The minute we buy one, we start working out how much the other one will cost in 5 years and we divide the amount by years and then by paycheques. We each keep our cars 10 years, but buy a new one every 5 years and alternate.

My DH gets a £600 a month car allowance - he has to choose a car from a lease hire company and they trade it in every 3 years. Seems like such a waste of money and you'd think he'd get a Range Rover for that, not a VW Passat

A friend of mine has a top of the range Toyota - all bells and whistles. It's like driving round in a spaceship!

It's a company car so would normally be massive tax/cost implications but because it's a hybrid, it costs him

We have had new cars in the past on pcp, it worked very well for us financially and practically. Now we just have one vehicle, a LWB van converted to a large family vehicle. This was bought cash as less than £8k, then dh did the bits needed to it. It is a bit of a beast to park but economical and practical.

Last car was on finance. I paid if off early and saved a few hundred quid on interest.

Current car was paid for in cash (student loan).

My first car was paid for on an interest free credit card.

I bought a 2016 car 6 months ago. It was £8000 . I put a £2k deposit down and got a loan for the rest..currently paying back the loan at £115 per month

Mobility here too. Our brand new Quashqui had 3 miles in the clock when we picked it up, it cost us £45 down payment.

Saved up for our first car donkeys years ago, since then traded them in before they get too old and add a few grand in to get the next one. We always have savings running so take a few grand out of that every few years or so. We have 2 cars, so alternate which one we upgrade. Never ever had finance on anything, prefer to own what I have so as not worried about future payments. Plus then most of our salaries are ours, not owed to someone else.

"Mobility here too. Our brand new Quashqui had 3 miles in the clock when we picked it up, it cost us £45 down payment."
Question here....I presume that then means you forego the benefits?

I bought mine in cash nearly new, but it was one of the last of its kind so I see it as a bit of an investment.

We've always saved and paid cash. We bought a 15 year old Peugeot 4 years ago for £1500. It gave up on Christmas Eve. We bought a 10 year old Peugeot on New Year's Eve for £3000. We will run it into the ground.

This time was the first time ever we considered borrowing to get a newer car but we actually didn't like any of the more expensive ones enough to go into debt for.

TabbyMumz
Yes, you give up your mobility benefit for the car.
Some have no advance payment, my first one didn't, but my second was £700.
It's getting changed in May as it'll be three years and it depends what I choose, and can afford as to what the upfront payment is.

We save up a little bit each month and then pay cash for fairly old cars which are reliable makes (VW/Skoda etc). We aim to pay around £3k and then drive them until they're uneconomic to repair. In fact we're planning to buy a new car tomorrow using this method as we've got a fault on one of our cars which will cost more to fix than the car is worth.

Our other car is a VW which is 17 years old and still going strong I've got no interest in getting into debt and no interest in having a flash car so this approach works fine for us.

I do quite often find myself wondering how so many people can afford expensive cars so this thread has helped answer that for me!

Thanks @ihavebrillihair.....I guess you have to know you are going to get the full rate of pip for a few years longer than the lease? Ie you cant get one if the pip is due to be reassessed? I only ask as we looked into it but our pip is due to be reviewed .

2nd hand 1.5 k cash
I was a single parent at the time. And decided to learn to drive.. I saved so hard and learned to drive and got a car.
I still had some money left.
Then 10m.later I realised a 2 door car was a bad idea.. Had met now dh so spent 3k on another 2nd hand.. I loved it but when we expected dd I needed the 7 seater for pram/boot space so I had his and he got a work Runa round..
I still. Have that car.. Its now 14 yrs old. Touch wood the only repairs have been 2 tyres and a pressure switch.. No MOT or service costs as dh does it all.
His car again is same age and apart from a. Smashed light from a lorry going into him when stationary its been nr perfect.

I don't think I'd ever want a new or newish car.. He always says at work the most cars they repair are newer ones.. Old ones are only the odd small repair or mot advisory.. Not saying that's true all round but his garage that's the case.

I just bought my new skoda 14 years ago for 6k with saved up money. No idea what do now as hate the new cars as all very samie and over priced.

Saved for years and bought second hand.