AIBU to spend £20k on our first car?

[starksausage]

I’ve never owned a car before. I’m in my late 20s now. Don’t own my own home but have enough for a deposit. Been with DP for 8 years.

We need a car for various reasons now and have found a used one we like for £20k. AIBU to spend this much money? We bring home roughly £10k a month and this would cost about £500 a month

Yes but engines are easily fixed and replaceable, batteries aren't. The eight year old EV will only ever be worth as much as someone has money to lose. Is it worth a £1500 gamble, will I go broke if the battery fails? So the value is just the risk premium. But the five year old kia will still have two years warranty left and is very very low risk. So the kia will be worth far more than the out of warranty EV.

Why would the battery fail though? There is no reason for it to

Get yourself a £5k car and save the rest for a house deposit. Also, as inexperienced drivers, your likely to have little dings that won’t matter so much on a car you’ve spent less on.

Personally Id go for something less than 3 years old with low mileage. Ours had its first MOT on Monday and has less than 12K miles. We paid £17K with our car traded in. I wouldnt go for finance unless it was a 0% deal you could pay off quickly. And look at insurance costs and maintenance costs before deciding

20k is fine to spend on a car. But you’re mad to buy it on finance, especially if you’re thinking about getting a mortgage in the next few years.

You earn a hefty amount between you, so wait a few months and just buy it outright.

If you apply for a mortgage it will be massively impacted by a car finance agreement.

Use savings if you don’t want to miss out on this particular car - and then repay your savings account not a car finance company. Better to borrow the money from your own pot.

I was about to say a £20k car was fine .... until I read you don't own your own home. I'd prioritise that over everything.

Not unreasonable at all, however 20k on a used car is a bit much. In saying that I don’t know what kind of car it is. Finance is always a take on, try for PCP, you can change your car in 4 years, the payments are lower and you won’t be paying back a car that has aged rapidly before you’re free from the payments. I don’t know where anyone is finding cars for 5-6k with low mileage atm 😵‍💫 believe me I’ve been looking for months

Have you ever owned an EV?

There are multiple reasons. A coolant leak. A knock from driving over a kerb. A minor crash. A voltage problem. They do fail. It's the risk of failure, not the reality of it that people don't like.

How often have you driven?

I think the first car should be a cheaper one because you are likely to scratch it / prang it.

If you’re an experienced driver then go for it.

Yes I’ve had 2, have one currently.

accidents happen and will be insured. But there is no reason a battery will reach end of life or failure in 8 years as suggested

F

You are getting nothing but a complete piece of shit for 5k these days.

Used car prices have increased dramatically.

Get a lease car. I pay £280 a month for a brand new Nissan Qashqai and I give it back after 3 years and get something else if I wish to.

Just looked on Big Motoring World and the lowest price point they had is £5500 and they had one car (Dacia with 50000 + miles)

Do you and your DH have plenty of driving experience? Because if not, you would be mad to spend that much on your first car.
Also have you added in the cost of car tax and insurance - likely to be quite high for a car of that value.

Borrowing to buy a car when you earn so much is insane. What's the interest rate and total cost?

Buy whatever you can afford with cash.

What's your essential outgoings each month? How much are you saving? You could probably save that amount in under 6 months.

Why not use any money you have saved for a house deposit, and if you earn so much money a month just save a bit harder for a few months and you'll have the 20k to buy your car instead of getting it in finance

As I said, it's the fear, people won't take the risk. And used EV prices reflect this.

Used EV prices reflect the rapid progress in technology over just a few years- ie my 26 plate is worlds different from my 23 plate of the same model.

its also because they are so prevalent in the lease market due to salary sacrifice options only available on EV- so that 3 year old used market is a bulge compared to ICE vehicles

the cost of second hand evs isn’t low (only low relative to their price new) because people are scared of the battery failing. That’s not a risk you accept as long as the car is a bit cheaper 😂

I think this is just a stealth boast, but if you take home £10k a month you need to look at why you need to take out credit @ £500 a month to afford a car.

@£10k a month, even with rent and bill you should have been able to buy a £20k car in 6 months.

That’s both of them. They take home say, £5k each. Great wage but not really boosting stuff

That’s £100 kpa or more!

If you have £10 k per month I would buy a car for 4k from one months money. Them save 4k per month for the next 5 months and change it.

Yeah, the point I'm making is that it's a hierarchy of needs isn't it? If you have stable accomodation that you won't be kicked out of and keep for life and are sensibly investing enough in a pension then you have the luxury to make a brand of car 'important'. If not and you are prioritising a particular type of car over being able to secure a mortgage or save for a rainy day/period of redundancy then you're making poor choices (imho). It's the difference between wants and needs. You need safe secure accomodation you don't need a particular brand of car.....

That’s a large monthly repayment for a £20k car… how long is the term?