To ask what car you drive and if any payment?

[Carsearch]

I’ll start:

BMW X1 2022
Year left on PCP, paying £350 a month

Need inspiration for what to do next, tempted to buy a used outright!

2019 BMW440I MSport Converible - Bought used - personal loan
2016 Mini Cooper Paceman - Low Mileage, Cat N - Bought used - Cash

A 2018 Hyundai i10 .. six years old when I bought it last year and it had less than 30k miles on the clock.. and I'll be paying for it for the next few years via a separate loan

2017 Ford Focus Ecoboom. Saved up and bought it outright when it was six years old.

Fancy cars then. My astral has no software stuff ( or even a screen to the disappointment of dgs)
55k in 3 years? That doesn't sound very high. I've had mine for 3 years and done nearly 80k

Corsa, own outright, only 70k miles and will keep driving in until it’s in the ground. Feels nice not to have a monthly payment, been driving minus a monthly payment for over two years now.

2019 Hyundai i10 purchased outright over 2 years ago. My three previous vehicles were also pre owned and purchased outright. I'm a low mileage driver so buying new vehicles makes no economic sense for me whichever way I buy them and I certainly wouldn't rent.

Previous cars were fancy. Wouldn't think my current Hyundai is fancy, but as cars get more modern with more electronics, software updates would become the norm. The Hyundai has a larger centre screen than the Mercedes, and the dash is a screen, whereas the Mercedes wasn't (it was an option at the time). It gets worrying when these electronics go wrong, hence the reassurance of always having a car in warranty. And getting rid of it before anything does.

Average mileage tends to be between 7,000 miles a year (Average Mileage Per Year UK: 7,100 Miles (2026) ).

Doing 55,000 miles in 3 years, is over 2.5x the average, so I would regard that as high.

Which is obviously a lot higher than the average UK motorist.

I'm also in the market for a Renault 5 and I want a green one with a black roof.

However one of the reasons I'm dithering is because when I start looking, inevitably that will be only available in a model I don't want, isn't available for months or adds thousands to the cost.

That’s ridiculous. We’ve always had old cars and run them into the ground. Never replaced a cam bent or taken a day off work for a car or wasted time at garages. I think you’re trying to reassure yourself that the huge amount of money you’re wasting on car finance is worth it- it isn’t.

Always bought used outright. Would never buy brand new, and unlikely to ever do finance either.

Last purchase was about 3 years ago, 2015 VW Golf Estate, about 70K on the clock? Paid about £7,500 for it if I remember correctly?

2025 Toyota Yaris cross bought outright. Always get a Toyota similar model ( Corolla/ Yaris) every 5 years. So reliable, never had any issues.

Same here but we buy new or nearly new and keep them for average 10-15 years. I just don’t recognise losing a days work wasting time at a garage or expensive repairs. We’ve bought the last few cars new and kept for many years and needed nothing other than routine servicing to schedule, tyres and brake pads, with the odd new battery usually after about 10 years. No breakdowns, no gearboxes nor clutches nor exhausts nor expensive suspension parts. Not even the one that got to 195 k miles nor one of our current ones that’s now 18 years old that’s just sailed through its mot with not even an advisory, we keep a spreadsheet of costs and its cost us less than £100 per month over its life inc full purchase cost, servicing, repairs, mot etc. and still got plenty of life left in it.

We’ve always researched prior to buying and have avoided the brands/models known to be unreliable or problematic, ie dodged a bullet by avoiding a near purchase when we discovered it had a wet belt!

Well funnily enough my DS is looking at them and he went for green (the free colour on the basic model) and it’s looking like Feb for that, so he may aswell wait until March for the new registrations. If he pays the extra cost for yellow then he can get it in November. The next model up the free colour is black and he can also get that in November.

Practically all cars depreciate which is what the monthly lease payment is realistically paying for.

Also, £250 a month is not a huge amount.

It's a couple of days work at the London Living Wage.

This is what I’ve done since having my first (original) Mini in 1973; never had a car on finance.

It's not just the depreciation, it's the finance company's interest and charges, the dealership profits, etc. Leasing a new car every 3 years means you suffer the higher depreciation constantly (cars depreciate more in the first few years) and constantly paying interest, and dealership profits/lease firm charges every 3 years.

Buying new and keeping for 9 years would cost a lot less in total than changing to new leases every 3 years.

If you want to pay for the vanity/novelty of a new car every 3 years, that's fine, you should admit it, but don't pretend it's cheaper than buying a new car and keeping it for longer.

How do you find it? An thinking of one of these next

My user name gives it away.
Bought in 2004, a certain deposit, the rest financed through the house bank and paid off in full in 2007.
Still looks good, goes like a bomb, passed its MOT in June without issues, has enough electronic stuff to be useful, but not enough to be annoying. Will drive until either it or I cannot any longer.
Insurance cheap as chips as we are both long in the tooth.
I frequently get asked if I want to sell - over my dead body or maybe only then?

Carsearch I’ve just got a Fiat panda, it’s the 6th one I’ve had! Just love them, doesn’t do my street cred much good but hey ho. No finance.

My 1st and 2nd cars were Fiat pandas and I loved them
I have been looking at the new electric ones for DD

Best ask her first lol

Jaguar fx bought outright with inheritance money, wouldn't recommend to anyone to buy one though jags are not made like they used to be, lots of little problems when we got it became a money pit till sorted, now ok but being stuck in Paignton Devon with a dead car when you live in Yorkshire was no fun

Second hand Skoda Fabia estate, 68 plate, paid £12k cash from savings with 18k miles. It's excellent and I'll drive it into the ground.

As I've previously said, servicing costs are cheaper for the first few years of its life.

Especially if it's only 2 routine oil and filter changes required.

With almost a year gap during the last year of ownership, and a year free in the first year of ownership.

It's always in warranty.

No new tyres and brakes required.

Those who say they've had their cars for years and nothing goes wrong with it are just lucky.

Serious problems can arise in any car years down the line.

The broker buys the cars in bulk and passes on the savings. They will have access to preferential dealers and various finance companies, none of which is available to the private buyer.

The total cost of the lease over the term, is less than the depreciation if I bought the car outright and dealing with the hassle of selling it on.

I'm not admitting anything.

A small Hyundai isn't flash, neither is it novel.

I used to clock up 35,000 miles a year on my MX5. It was a daily 90 mile round trip to work for most of the time I had it. I also went out and about to visit clients in it.

No MOT fails either although I did go through a lot of tyres and windscreens