to ask how you afford your posh car?

[SteveHarringtonsChestHair]

My DS (22) is becoming increasingly frustrated by the disparity between the life he aspires to and the one he thinks is possible!

As a car enthusiast on a good wage, he is constantly surprised by the number of brand new premium brand cars (BMW, Mercedes, Volvo etc) that he sees on the roads, which he feels he has no hope of ever affording.

He’s asked my to ask you all, if you drive a premium brand car, paying presumably £400-500 a month to buy or lease, what type of job do you and (if it’s not too rude to ask, what sort of salary are you on?) And if your spouse also drives a similar car, what do they do/earn?!

I know there are lots of factors here including whether you’re paying a bit mortgage, is it a company car etc? But just a snapshot of who is driving these expensive new cars might help him put it all in perspective. TIA

btw I earn NMW and drive a 10 year old car so I’m no help here!

I know lots of people with them. They are all on finance & yes, they spend 100s a month. Jobs like law, finance, GPs. Finance plans do make them quite accessible to middle incomes. What are you calling a "good wage"? I'd expect a lot of the people driving those cars are on a minimum of 50k. Lots will buy them 1 or 2 year old for quite a bit less too.

I’ve always thought the same!
always had older second hand cars that we bought in cash
however I am self employed and have finally got a new electric hybrid car - mainly as it’s tax efficient through the business. I wouldn’t be paying £500 a month out of my own money tbh!
I have family members who pay £3-400 a month from their wages which I think is crazy and I wouldn’t do.

I think a lot get company cars from work or prioritise keeping up with the Joneses v affordability.

We bought a 50k electric Audi when my DH retired.

we are the cliché joint income over £200,000 and drive a 5 year old Renault Megane. We could buy an expensive car but what’s the point? Why? Seems a total waste of money. This one fits all our stuff nicely and has lasted well.

I thought most flashy cars were bought by either those actually very well paid, or those on moderate salary who cannot afford to buy a car outright as they have no savings so buy on finance.

I have a 90k Audi e-tron on an NHS salary sacrifice scheme that costs 600 a month inc tyres and servicing and insurance.

Earn 100k

DH and I share a Discovery and a Golf. Both bought with cash. We‘re both high earners, household income £600k+.

I think there are just lots of people who earn enough to drive expensive cars. For some it’s also a Q of priorities.

I have a Mercedes and DH BMW. We own them both outright and have traded up over the years...we use savings to pay the difference.

Aside from those who can truly afford it, I know of some who live in crappy houses because they spend all their money on a car.

We drive basic everyday cars (mines 10yo) but put more of our money into our house...you know, the place we sleep and spend much of our daily lives. And doesn't lose value the second you buy it 🙄
And pre kids, an annual (not fancy) holiday somewhere warm within a few hours flight. Despite being reasonable earners we don't have the money for all 3 (house, fancy cars and holidays abroad). And even family who have the money don't throw it at cars (depreciation makes it an odd place to pour so much money imo)

Well first of all he's 22 so plenty of time for these things!
I was 26 (thought that was young) when I brought my first Merc. It was 5 years old, C class coupe - beautiful, one of their best cars to this day! I got it slightly cheaper as it was a manual and Merc drivers don't tend to like manuals.
We are currently in a situation where prices are rocketing both new and second hand. My current car lease ends in summer and would now cost me another £250 a month more it's ridiculous.
So I am looking at a green lease through my employer as it's cheapest way to get a new one at present. Would this be an option for him?

My STBXH and I bought outright brand new every 3 years. Now I’m separated I still have my car, but now it’s 4 years old. Won’t be replacing it until divorce settlement. It’s big and expensive to run but it’s my only large financial asset so to speak for the time being until divorce so keeping it.

DH drives a Porche and robs banks

I'm not sure if it's a 'flashy' car but we have recently bought a 40k electric car. But I got it through my work so very tax efficient. Net payment is still around £400 p/m though. DH and I each earn £75k a year. Before this car our previous ones were around £300 p/m. I would never buy a BMW, Audi or LandRover to be honest as I see them as quite pretentious vehicles but that could just be the people I know who own them!

@BMW6 love it.

Most of the people I've known with them are young people on graduate schemes who live at home for free so have loads of disposable income. You can easily spend £500+ on a car each month when you don't have to spend it on anything else. They were always kitted out in designer gear too.

Does he have any jobs going? Could do with a career change.

What I can say is with a joint income of around £110k, we can’t afford two new premium brand cars. I live in a subarban area with 4 and 5 bedroom detached houses and none of the neighbours have that either. So I suspect your answer will be closer to much higher than ours.

My DH has always loved cars, but your DS needs to remember he’s only 22. At 22, my DH had a old Vauxhall corsa as we had just bought our first house. But once he’s saved up, he bought a BMW (old model) and has worked his way up to an Audi S3.

I think it’s important to remember his age, wouldn’t it be better to try and save for a deposit for a house and then save for a nicer car?

I know a few young men with expensive cars and not particularly well paid jobs/careers - one makes minimum wage as a carer, one works in Tesco and one works for a hotel - but what they do have in common is they live with their parents, pay minimal/no rent, have no dependents and so have all their earnings to spend on whatever they want.

I work in IT. Used to get a car allowance of £600 pm when I was on 50k per year. I then spent £300 on my car monthly.
I drive on the motorway regularly for work, have two young DC and live surrounded by forest and woods. It's important to me to have a reliable robust car. I've had issues before and the direct line from car to Mercedes has been brilliant. When they assessed I was in the car with an infant they sent roadside assistance quickly. Yesterday when driving in horrendous conditions, I was one of few people on the roads who's car was able to cope. I currently earn £170k.

Not a flashy car but I'm about to order a new electric car, approx £36K...but it's a company car and will cost me under £80 a month. There's probably more company cars out there than people realise.

Actually some of the posts reminded me that I have seen the adult children living at home have them. Not them parents.

Through a work car scheme. I drive a lovely car but pay a fraction of the price. I certainly wouldn’t pay for it myself.

I have one of the AMG Mercs - a 2020-model C63. New price was (I think) somewhere north of £70k, but I bought it outright at just over a year old for £45k. The only way this was possible for me was a life-changing inheritance, although I do have a fairly senior professional job.

I have been exceedingly fortunate.

Company car.

I'm afraid the family wagon is an eleven year old Citroën grande.

Why not aim for a job with a company car?

That's how I get a new Audi or BMW every few years