Car costs are astronomical

[BlueEyedGreeness]

Been looking into the costs of buying a new car (not brand new) and it all just seems so unrealistic and out of reach!
Aibu or is there some secret I'm missing? Lol

What do you mean? We’re you looking at Range Rovers?

There was a thread about this recently. Most people with new cars have them on finance.

Depends how you're going to finance it. What car do you want and what budget do you have?

Our car is newish and financed. Before, the older car which we owned was costing us a fortune in repairs so it wasn't worth it.

I get it. Especially if you've not had a car before. When I got my first car I lived in an area which had high insurance costs so it was over £120 a month just to insure a Yaris (and yep that was the cheapest deal I could get and believe me I searched everywhere!!). So as much as you can get a cheap car for a few £k the insurance can be sky high for a little while until you build up No claims discount.

it was over £120 a month just to insure a Yaris

Wow! That’s very expensive. I think I paid £400/ year with no discounts for a comprehensive cover on a much more expensive car.

It's too expensive, it's terrible for the environment and driving turns almost everyone into an entitled dick so just don't get one.

I think the problem with "new" car prices is that the actual total list price is ridiculously high to create a baseline for these finance deals, because few people ever pay that.

So if you asked what a new Focus costs, decent spec, and someone says £27000 OTR, it sounds ridiculous for that class of car.

If the same salesman says £200 a month including 2 free services, then suddenly the costs become easier to swallow.

Like previous posters said, this is really all about how you want to pay for it.

Cars range from £100 to over a million

Im sure theres something in your budget there

Just bought a car for 600 quid.
12 months mot
Cost 30 quid for a full years tax
With insurance, less than 1000
I have zero interest in fancy cars and never seen the point in paying a fortune for one

@Jojosm2 honestly I could have cried! We decided to just take the hit and do it as we were in a position where we could pay it and at a point in life where we had no mortgage/kids etc so knew it would be worth it in the end. Now we're down to £30 a month having moved and built up NCD but it was a really big chunk of our beer money every month

A new (ish) car costs around £400/month including fuel and insurance. You can have it a bit less but generally approximately half the cost is capital expense the rest ongoing.

Due to the cost of fuel and insurance older cars quickly become uneconomical if you drive a fair bit (8,000+ miles/year). If you drive less and have a good no claims bonus then older cars can be economical.

Its amazing how much cars cost to run, yet they are the things that people don't want to give up! We have a car and I log the costs.

Bought brand new 7 years ago for £11,500

Insurance is £300 per year
Servicing: Been budgeting £400 per year but was £500 this year!
MOT: £40
Roadtax £200
Residents Parking: £100 per year

So that is £100 per month before petrol and not including depreciation!

Keeping it 12 years would be £1000 per year depreciation

So total cost in that scenario is £2200 per year (not including petrol).

That is for a relatively cheap car!

I'd like it to last 20 years, will will lower the annual cost to £1700. Still a lot.

Which makes it all the more amazing that people don't cycle more.

I'm even considering an e-bike instead of my Scooter. I'd save loads on the servicing, MOT, insurance and breakdown.

I had an old car but it's broken down again and it would cost more to fix it than it's worth!
I was tempted to get something for £500 but with two young children, I just don't want to break down and face waiting for aa with them in the winter!
£200 a month max would be my absolute budget for car finance so it doesn't allow for much. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I bought a two year old Ford Focus Titanium last winter. The interest rates the car companies were offering were stupid, so I got a loan from Admiral at something like 1.97% . I looked on a loan comparison site and picked one with a reputable company. I got a good deal on the car because the new model was coming out, but it was a staff car at the garage and had only done 11000 miles. I pay £203per month over four years, so a smaller loan (not car finance) may be do-able?

@BlueEyedGreeness

£200 a month is loads!! I bought an £11k 2nd hand car and pay £175 a month

Do you need a car right away? Saving £200 a month would soon add up.

I've been without a car for over 2 years now and am only just getting bored of walking everywhere! We have bicycles (cheap from Gumtree), hire a van for our summer camping holiday and joined a local car club for local but longer journeys. And an unlimited bus card around us is only £60 a month if walking/cycling isn't for you.

I pay less than £200 a month for a 2 year old kuga. Shop around.

Cars are another of the things that Mumsnet is weirdly competitive about

“I drive a 42 year old tin can on wheels, I pay £1 a month for it and I’ll drive it for the rest of my life. Anything above that and you’re all mugs”

See also: handbags and undereating

£200 a month is loads!

You can get a £10k car for that. There are loads within your budget

I've been looking for a car today and found this which is within your budget too and look at how little miles it has. You need to look a round a bit.

I've got a 66 plate Ibiza and it's waaaayyy less then £200 a month!

You could get a little car (Hyundai i10, Toyota Aygo etc) for ~£100 a month on hire purchase - my first car was an i10 and I paid £108 a month for it, so money left over from your £200 budget to insure!

Also (I'm not a Hyundai salesperson, honest), the i10 has 5 doors which would be a godsend with kids :)

You may well be better off getting a loan from the bank and buying in cash. The interest rate on car finance is usually very high.