To not want to empty the bank to buy a car?

[Shannny]

We have around £8k in our bank. By the end of the month this will go down to about £6k - then we’ll get paid and it will go back upto £9k before dwindling down again with mortgage, bills and groceries etc.

Generally we add around £500 a month to the “max balance” but sometimes we lose that and we’ll be same as month before or less.

Anyway, we both desperately need new cars. Both of our cars are over 10 years old and are starting to fail and cost a lot in repairs. We’ve only had them for around 4 years.

I’m starting to think it’s false economy buying these old cars. One of them has cost us more in repairs than we actually bought it for. We’re talking thousands.

So we need to replace at least one of them. Looking at Ford Kuga. DH says the max we can spend is £7k and it has to come out of bank. No credit. This will wipe out our bank account (that we’ve spent years building up) for another old car.

I think we should get one on zero interest credit and spend around £10k. This will get us a much newer car with less miles.

YABU - DH is right, use the money you have in bank even though it will wipe you out and leave you with no safety net

YANBU - get in on credit so you get a decent car for once.

My last car was 21 years old, that's what I class as old. It was still going fine and not costing money, I just wanted something more comfortable for longer commutes.

I've just upgraded to a newer car, which is 8 years old. When I hear a 10ish year old car, described as old and expensive to repair, it tells me you're driving the wrong type/make of cars.

I've always driven Hondas, I have friends that drive old Honda's with zero expensive repairs. Failing that, look at other Japanese brands, they make incredibly reliable cars.

At the moment, with decent interest rates for savings, 0% finance is the more financially efficient route to take I think.

In your situation, I'd do 0% on the car and then take a big chunk of the money in savings and lock it into a savings account for a year or two to get the best interest rate, leaving you with a reasonable float for emergencies.

You could get finance on just some of the cost of it; I bought an excellent used car. It's been ticking over just fine with minimal repair costs since about 2017. I put half down in cash and got finance for the other half. That way I didnt have a huge debt hanging over me but I didnt wipe out all my savings.

I think as long as you get a used car from an approved, reputable dealer then they are a really good deal. I would never buy a brand new car - absolute waste of money given the speed with which they depreciate.

I’d get a decent second hand car on credit. It’s precarious to not have those savings. Can you trial have one shared car? Might be cheaper even if you get some taxis. We have one shared car, means a bit of organising but works for us, and saves a lot of money.

I think you are right OP, I was brought up never to buy anything on credit but with cars they just cost so much when they are older in terms of maintenance and parts etc. Our current car was only 3 years old when we got it and its been a revelation tbh.

Surely a 10 year old car cang cost that much to maintain?

I've got a 18yr old car that cost me £550 last 2 Mot's passed with 2 advisories

Cant not cang

I would echo other posters about Japanese brands being the most reliable. I've driven Toyotas for 25 years- only need regular servicing, new tyres, and wipers. They just keep going and going.

DH usually goes for Fords or VWs. He is always at the garage getting something replaced. I finally convinced him to get a Honda. Happy days.

I would get a Japanese make on 0 percent finance if you can.

Why is your DH against the 0% credit? Get him to articulate what he thinks is bad about it, then you can discuss properly.

We’ve always gone with 0% finance and keeping some money in the bank. Life is unpredictable, it helps to have ready access to cash in case you cannot get credit at the moment you really need it.

I'd wait a bit longer and get your savings a bit higher. Also, have you factored in any value from selling your existing car?

Can you get 0% anywhere? I’ve been looking for new cars and only found it on one make ( an’t remember which one or I would tell you!)

I’m looking at a new car now and you can’t get a decent Ford kuga for £7,000 with reasonable mileage going to last. It would be wasting your money!

photo of the dog please so we can make an informed decision if YABU or not. Thanking you.

I would do the finance as you would also get extra protection if anything was to be wrong within the garage warranty but also look at things like mpg.

Why don't you just get a brand new lease car? DH and I get a new family car every 3 years and hand it back at the end of the deal. On average we pay £250-£300 a month. Brand new car so no maintenance to worry about. Keep your savings.

I grew up the era when the view was that it was madness to buy a car on credit because they are a depreciating asset. That's probably the attitude your DH was brought up on. But the market in the U.K. has completely changed and now something like 87% of people buy cars on PCP and similar deals. People think of it more like their mobile phone - "I pay £X per month for my car" and at the end of three or four years they hand it back and get a newer model. So in effect leasing not buying.

I think you should at least go to a second hand dealer and talk about what you might get on that basis and what the monthly payments would be, then you and DH crunch the numbers.

My dad has a Kia sportage and really rates it, he's not had any issues and he used to do pretty high mileage in his

People talk a lot about older cars costing money in repairs. What they don't talk about is newer cars losing a lot of money in depreciation.

My trusty Ford is old and costs about £250 a year in repairs (minus wear and tear) and is probably worth about 2K. But if I swapped it for a 10K car then that 10K car would probably lose 1K a year in depreciation down to where my one is now. Plus I don't think a 10K car would be free of repair costs.

The real problem is that the repairs are a PITA. Firstly you have to find a good mechanic that will do them. Then there is the fact that you don't have the car while it is repaired. This is all a bit easier if you are a two car family or have someone to drive you to the mechanic.

Finally, look at how much repairs cost. Fords are fairly reliable and the parts are cheap as chips. Most mechanics can repair them because cars like Fiestas and Focus are very popular. Stuff like Honda is more reliable, but costs more to repair. German stuff is just no if you are looking for cheap inexpensive motoring.

What sort of penalty are you going to pay if you try to hand back that brand new lease car with a back seat covered in dog hair and chewed accessories, plus the potential to have it covered in dog spit, vomit and crap ?

Another vote for finance, finance packages come with a warranty, and servicing plans/breakdown cover as optional extras.

There's no way I'd empty savings to buy a car and limit what car is available.
(My car is 9 years old, purchased less than a year ago on 5 year finance, 10k)

Can you do without a car? I totally get this isn’t what you are asking but if you live in a town or city cars often aren’t essential they are nice to haves.

gaspanic you clean it before you hand it back? We have kids who have vomited over every car we've owned. Everything is cleanable. Worse case you pay to get it valeted. Cheaper than £1000s in repair bills for a used car.

Totally depends on the car, the mileage and how well it's been looked after. Before I started using PCP deals I had rotten luck with cars that were 10 years old, one had a gearbox issue that cost well over a grand and the other had no end of issue (that caused some scary incidents including one where it went into limp mode on the motorway and another where something broke under the car and the wheel essentially fell off, both times I had baby DD in the back). After that I just stick to new cars.

@Shannny Sportage and Kuga aren’t the last word in what you need

Would you consider an estate car which are cheaper to run, better on fuel and there’s more options in your budget? Plus you get acres of room for your dog

Why does it have to be a fake 4X4?

Exactly this. Like I said in my other post my for cost £550. It's not going to go down in value as long as it still runs. Scrap value is around £420. So I wouldnt lose much if it had to be scrapped .

But understand some people like to keep up with the Jones's . That's never been me , and never will