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!

We have two premium cars as a legacy benefit through my husband's employer (vehicle manufacturer). I think he pays under £600 a month for them both from an £80K salary. This covers everything except fuel.
We used to be able to have a 'normal' car but the reciprocal arrangement with another manufacturer ceased. It was, however, very handy when my children were learning to drive as they were added to the insurance at no extra cost.
I've suggested my husband buys me a smaller car outright, as easier to park, but I regularly get punctures so he likes the convenience of just going to Kwik Fit and not having to pay. Cars used to be changed every 6 months/ 6000 miles but with the issues manufacturers have had getting parts this has now increased. Adult children can still drive them.

22 reg luxury EV on a package including servicing etc - just under £1000 a month. I do it this way for convenience and having any issues quickly dealt with, it is my first foray into EV. And I like nice cars.

Earn around £170k

@ZeldaWillTellYourFortune I know what you are saying, but if you choose wisely not all second-hand but high quality cars depreciate at the same rate as say brand new ones. My FIL just sold his Volvo for the same as he bought it 8 years ago, I've no idea how! Also, flats/houses can depreciate, there's millions in negative equity and likely more to come, an individual property can suddenly need repairs, there's a glut in the market of a particular type, or the government can change the tax rules to make sure you pay hugely in capital gains, that's why lots of landlords are getting out of the market.

In general, I agree with your point and if I had no housing assets I would not buy a flash car, but it's not quite as simple as drive a shit car and be rich in property, it is quite complicated.

If you work for a car company head office or financial services devision you get offered a car + a second one for friends and family.
BMW and Porsche are in Reading, Mercedes and VW Group are in Milton Keynes.
1000 of brand new cars being driving by employees and then sold on ex demos in the retailer after 9 months - 12 months

The best thing to do is buy second hand fairly new. I bought an Audi for only a few thousand more quid than a VW, both only three years old. The Audi was around £12K cheaper than full price and only 20k miles! I used a bank loan for 4 years, with the intention to have the car until it dies (hopefully in about 10 years). The difference in cost meant a few more months of the loan, so it didn’t feel back breaking to spend that little bit extra (esp as they’re both so expensive already)! I wouldn’t have been able to buy any kind of car without the loan.
I know very few people who have bought a house in their 20s without significant help from “bank of mum and dad”. DH and I didn’t have that, saved really hard for a few years and jumped on the 5% mortgage offers last year. It’s really tough economically at the moment - Sending him all the best!!

We bought ours outright - a Tesla and a BMW. But we are not 22

This!
The values I teach my children are: Live within your means
Don't judge people by what they have or drive.

@HappyOnion whats your and your husband job? Just curious 😃

Our two cars cost £7,000 the pair. One was 130mph out of the factory, the other a 4x4 workhorse. Each 150,000+ miles on the clock and old.

I earn £3k per week and love cars but haven't forgotten the lemon that blew an engine and cleaned me out in 2010. Comfort and reliability rather than flash for me.

I’m not really convinced it’s as simple as that @NSA2103 - I owned my previous few (used) cars outright, it’s a bit cheaper yes, then when they start to age they can become a money pit. And you have an older car without new developments for comfort/safety etc…if that bothers you. And you have invested in a depreciating asset. I think there are pros and cons both ways!

At age 44, I’ve been thinking the same thing. And from reading this thread, it turns out everyone except me is absolutely loaded!

We bought one outright with savings (we tend to keep cars for years until they no longer work for us) and the other one is on a very good salary sacrifice lease deal (didn't get to choose much about the car, black or black, no options, but it meant we have a car we couldn't otherwise afford)
We also have a good income and are in our 40's and not overstretched financially
When we were in our 20s although we were both professionals with no kids we drove a focus & a Yaris (both good cars for us at the time) and it took us a few more years to get to premium brands

Wow, how do you even get approved for a Tesla on minimum wage? The cheapest model is already over £40k.

Company car

I drive a brand new Mercedes on lease for £275 per month

In this area people are always having their top of the range cars stolen or the catalytic converters are stolen. I’m tired of reading their wining every morning on Whats Ap.

I don't consider it a luxury car but I paid cash for a six month old ex-demo Merc C300 AMG line with 100 miles on the clock from a dealer 100's of miles away. Before that it was a real luxury car, a Merc E350 with all the add ons, so I've downsized. No mortgage, self employed O&G consultant on £180K, now retired and financially secure.

Petrolhead DS, thinks it's a fool's game to spend cash on a depreciating asset. He owns a vintage Ferrari, a Caterham and a Toyota GT86. He earns a lot but he is 50.

We only bought Toyotas during the years when we had a mortgage, and dc still in education.

OP your ds needs to get his priorities right.

We wonder the same as your DS regularly OP! Lots of friends and acquaintances with very ordinary jobs/lives but new cars, and one car per adult too - some households with 3-4 cars!

We have ordinary lives too but share a car, no way to afford 2. The most we’ve ever spent on buying a car is £3,800 and that was a fuckton of cash for us.

My friend who is a nurse drives a Volkswagen and I know it cost over £16k, and her husband has a Hyundai SUV -as well!!

My DH has a decent hybrid car because his company give him money every month to pay for a lease car. I have a second hand 5 year old small car that we own. He's mid 50s and has worked his way up in his company. At 22 he had a 10 year old car that he inherited from his godmother which broke down when the engine blew up.

Honestly at 22 (fucking 22!) he's doing brilliantly if he can afford to save for a house.

Car allowance - and don’t have to spend it all on a car, I receive it in cash so can take as income, which many do once car is paid off . Also have option of having car on lease through the business instead, with hire payments deducted from car allowance

Yep feeling the same.

To answer an earlier question, You don’t need to use your car allowance on a car - I had a £10k (+?) car allowance as part of my salary package for years and didn’t own a car at all, didn’t even have a driving license.

there might be other schemes out there that have different stipulations, but in my industry a ‘car allowance’ is a way of enhancing the pay package without the employer incurring additional obligations re pension, life insurance, etc. I always just banked the money.

In theory I could have an extremely flash car now, but with two young children my car is generally a shitpit of random detritus, used tissues and half eaten apples. I drive a Skoda, bought outright- it will hopefully last 10 years, at which point I might actually feel ready to invest in a nicer vehicle.

Buy ours outright. Borrowing money on high interest rates on a depreciating asset is madness. Always buy 3-6 months old when the first hit of depreciation has kicked in. Generally trade them in when they hit about 4 years old before their value really falls off a cliff.

Company cars probably. DH’s is. Not flash but a new hyBrid .

DH was a building inspector on around £50,000 including car allowance and drives a 21 plate Golf Club Sport. Due to a back injury he now drives HGVs on a night trunk run and still earns around £50,000 but now pays the car himself. I don’t drive.