To be puzzled by neighbours financial priorities.

[SirGawain]

First let me say that this is in no way a criticism of anyone, just idle curiosity.
We live on a development of about 200 two and three bedroom homes built about thirty years ago. A pleasant place to live but most people are not particularly well off. Lady Gawain and I are comfortable but by no means wealthy. We have a good but modest car and are mortgage free.
Many of the houses have been bought up as buy to let or housing association properties. What puzzles me is that, bearing in mind that some cannot be very well off, they seem to prioritise expensive cars. There are many people with Audi’s, BMW’s and Range Rover’s. What is theirs thinking in focusing on a depreciating car rather than an appreciating house.

@Pelo22 you are exempt from my judgey reign of terror 😂

See, two working adults should be able to get together the £18k deposit in a couple of years to buy that house if they weren’t spunking £600 between them on car payments every month.

But no one on this thread wants to hear that. Housing is always ‘unaffordable’, and relatively low earners with expensive cars are all driving company cars.

1. every deal I've ever seen, to get the monthly amount that low you'd have to put down a fairly high deposit first
2. £300 x 36 months is £10800. If you had that in a H2B isa and got the additional 25% thats £13500. If there are 2 of you, £27k is actually a very good deposit for a first time buyer property outside of the SE.

I don't agree with OP's puzzlement that other people have different financial priorities to her but I hate this prevailing 'nobody under 40 in the UK can ever afford to buy a house' assumption. I'm 34 and out of everyone I know well enough to know about their housing situation (work colleagues from current and previous jobs, old school friends, uni friends, ex partners, friends from clubs, younger siblings, their friends) I can think of 2 people who "can't afford" to own and still rent. Everyone else has bought, most are on their 2nd or even 3rd houses, and all in very normal, not high flier, jobs.

@latetothefisting but they’d still have to buy a car????? So say they spent £5k on a car - there would then be ongoing maintenance etc and it would depreciate and be worth a lot less after 36 months. So there wouldn’t be a whole lot of difference in the bottom line after 36 months

Having had a look at car finance: leasing, pcp, this morning, it starts to make less sense if you drive more than 8,000 miles a year.

They’re renting and OP is mortgage free. So they’re unlikely to be ‘wealthier’, no.

Renting a house doesn't mean they don't own another house or have other assets. There are very popular financial approaches that suggest renting a house. In short, renting isn't an indicator of wealth.

I said “unlikely” not “definitely not”.

Generally speaking, people who rent the house they live in don’t own several properties.

Some people just like cars...?

It's not the atarbucks and netflix. It's the bloody Audi

(And it absolutely is not that peope need reliable cars due to unreliable public transport especially if they would like to keep making living😁)

Awa bile yer heid min.

No you're not being unreasonable, people lease these cars at great expense. Usually to show off like people do on social media, heaven forbid they drive an old banger whilst they save up to buy one outright or save up for a mortgage. The government have them by the balls as it's a sure way to keep people working in a dead end job to pay for the rent n lease on a flashy car. Every one wants everything NOW, they also set their children up for a life they cannot sustain......that's why millennials still live at home yet walk around with plumped up lips, long nails n expensive hair extensions whilst driving the latest car and eye phone. They are not willing to give up the social media lifestyle which they couldn't possibly sustain if they had to pay rent. Hence why young nurses need more money.....it's time to leave home. Trouble is, if one lost their job or had an accident they'd probably loose it all. I pity these people the type that put their kids in nursery so they can work all day just to keep the lifestyle going.

This is the biggest load of bollocks I’ve ever read on here, and that’s saying something 😂

Sounds like you need to read more often then cupcake!

I said read on here. On a forum with frequent bullshit posts, yours stands out. Cupcake.

Whenever someone on here says something puzzles them I imagine them sitting with a furrowed brow and stroking their chin!

It's this guy:

🤔

Your home is paid for. I suppose you could buy a fancy car if you wanted to.

Some people earn a lot and live in older cheaper areas for that reason.

Do you knock on neighbours doors and ask them if their car is a company lease, bought outright, on a loan, personal lease? How very odd.

If you don’t, then you cannot possibly know that all your neighbours have prioritised buying nice cars.

I own a ten year old Fiesta myself, but even I know that cars are holding their value at unprecedented rates.

I think the only answer for you is that they are all in disgusting levels of debt and will suffer heavily for their mistakes. That should make you feel better OP.

The brand new Audi parked outside my house is a company car, the company gives a new one every 3 years. The 4x4 is necessary because we live rurally in a lane that floods.

You can't judge anyone or their circumstances by the car outside their house.