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Original poster

How did you buy your car?

100 replies

lewiscapaldi · 10/03/2023 22:08

We're a family of three, almost 1yo baby. Driving one 2010 Focus which is increasingly unreliable.

Today the car battery packed in and I started thinking about other options. It's so cramped in there with the toddler car seat and it has no parking sensors, Bluetooth or anything like that.

My question is, how did you/do you fund your car purchase, what is it, and are you happy with it?

Husband is reluctant to consider financing anything and thinks we should continue running this into the ground. And he may well be right, but it's mainly my baby I'm thinking of now. I don't want anything fancy or new - at all - but would love something with parking sensors and potentially would be open to hybrid/or even electric.

It's just such a BIG purchase! Interested to hear about what your setup is!

OP posts:
Moomoola · 10/03/2023 22:12

Joining in if that’s ok! My Dh wants a new car, ours is knackered to be fair, but they are SO expensive!

Hohofortherobbers · 10/03/2023 22:23

We bought 3yr old family estate outright for 9k. I have friends who buy new cars on finance for £500 a month, no matter how they explain it to me I can't help but see it as throwing money away, renting a car.

Polis · 10/03/2023 22:25

When the battery packed up in my car, I bought a new battery, not a new car.

I paid cash.

hattie43 · 10/03/2023 22:25

I bought my new car outright from savings . Audi Q5.

Polis · 10/03/2023 22:26

For the car.

And battery.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 10/03/2023 22:28

I run cars till they die. I have a 2016 Aygo I bought outright for about 14k it has 22k on the clock and will probably last another 10 years

Margo34 · 10/03/2023 22:32

Polis · 10/03/2023 22:25

When the battery packed up in my car, I bought a new battery, not a new car.

I paid cash.

Same.

But prior to that the car cost me a curry (I bought it off a relative who had only clocked 8k miles in 10 years).

MissConductUS · 10/03/2023 22:34

The rule we use is to get rid of the car when it needs a repair that would cost more than it is worth. Then we buy new, paying cash.

DD has our 2012 Subaru Impreza at uni. It has 160k miles on it and is still going strong. We recently replaced the battery.

justasking111 · 10/03/2023 22:38

My mini cabriolet 2006 still going I love it and will hang on until it needs a lot of money spending on it.

JinglingGin · 10/03/2023 22:39

Hi OP,
used will always work out cheaper than new.
do you own your house and is your mortgage up for renewal anytime soon. The way we bought our used car was borrowed a bit more on the mortgage (when rates were super low) and used that to buy the car outright as mortgage rates were less than car finance deals. MSE has advice that might help. www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/car-leasing/

MyGrandmaLizzie · 10/03/2023 22:40

I wanted to run my small car (9 years old and only 30k miles) into the ground but can't now because it's not ULEZ compliant.

JinglingGin · 10/03/2023 22:42

www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/car-leasing/#alternatives
this is the link to advice around financing a car purchase.
we tend to run our cars into the ground and hope to get at least 10years out of them so cash purchase works best for us as we know it only a once in a decade spend.

Mumof3girlsandaboy · 10/03/2023 22:43

My car is on finance turned 1 year last month and I’m very happy with it and it gives me a peace of mind with no repairs to worry about it.
(1) 3yrs free service
(2) free M.O.T
optionals after 3/4 finance
(3) take it back after 3/4 years and get another new car
(4) take it back and walk away or
(5) pay balance and keep the car

Sparklynewname · 10/03/2023 22:46

My car catastrophically died a few months after we had had a new kitchen and done lots of other work on the house and we had cleared out all of our savings so we knew we would have to borrow to fund the next one.
Kids were both now adult size (plus plus!!) so I researched what we would all fit in which lead me to the Citroen c4 grand Picasso. I then found what I could and was unable to find an older used one so ended up with an 18 month old car so had to borrow £16k. But I got a bank loan at 2.9% for 4 years and now the car is all mine.
I wouldn’t normally have gone this route but used cars were surprisingly expensive, we had literally only a couple of hundred ££s built back up and we had to get a reliable car quickly as I was relying on colleagues to get me to and from work.

PauliesWalnuts · 10/03/2023 22:48

I bought a 2 year old Focus in 2018 with 11,000 miles on the clock. Put down £1500 deposit and got a personal loan from Admiral for £9,000 over four years - the interest rate was miles lower than car finance. Finished paying it off last November, the car is still in good nick and I’ll probably keep it for another 4 years at least.

whatyoulookingfor · 10/03/2023 22:50

I put it on my credit card and bounced it to a 0% one. It was £7500. Worked out to be the cheapest way after my car got written off and insurance paid out pittance.

Anklespraying · 10/03/2023 22:53

Lease car deals are very expensive. You will pay thousands more than getting a personal loan from your bank.

FlyerHere · 10/03/2023 22:58

We always ran cars to the ground - until we had a baby. Luckily was able to save and bought a 5 year old car outright

DoneAdulting · 10/03/2023 23:00

We got our one year old car from Cazoo on a 4 year PCP. We pay £375 a month.

Carsarelife · 10/03/2023 23:00

I always buy from savings. Never had a car on finance. Have 2x cars. One was 6k and other was £650 and is 16 years old. Running like a dream

BornAgainCountryBumpkin1 · 10/03/2023 23:03

Was pregnant when my last car died. I did run that into the ground.
Won't do that again. Always worried something could go wrong & then stuck.

Got a bank loan on new 1 rather than finance so if I over pay/pay off early my interest is lower. Was only £4K though. Hatchback. 2011. Fine for me with 2 small kids & 2 seats. No parking sensors. I got used to it.

ricecrispieroll · 10/03/2023 23:05

Anklespraying · 10/03/2023 22:53

Lease car deals are very expensive. You will pay thousands more than getting a personal loan from your bank.

Depends what your goal is.

I pay a lease - it's just under £500 a month so over the three years I'll have paid just under £18k and then will give the car back.

The car was worth £50k if I'd bought it brand new. At three years old it's worth about £35k. I've lost out a bit more than if I'd bought it and then sold it, but I've not had to pay for servicing or tyres etc and I've had a brand new car for three years.

Crucially, I can afford it. But I don't have £50k in the bank, I don't want a £50k car loan, and I don't want to own the car. I'm happy with the lease set up.

IForgotOurSong · 10/03/2023 23:05

I lease a fairly inexpensive small car at less than £200 per month and I like it. I can’t afford to buy a car outright, so I’d be taking a loan to buy a used car which for that sort of price I think would be fairly old, possibly unreliable and won’t be worth much at the end. While I’ll never own the car I lease, I’ll never own any of the problems with it either. I know there are arguments for doing it another way but I’m happy with leasing.

TheBirdintheCave · 10/03/2023 23:07

Savings and loan for our previous car then it developed engine failure in the first three months 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️ We're still waiting to get our £5.5k back from the dealer a year later.

In the mean time my parents gave us money for another car (which is far newer and nicer than the one we chose).

Anklespraying · 11/03/2023 08:39

ricecrispieroll · 10/03/2023 23:05

Depends what your goal is.

I pay a lease - it's just under £500 a month so over the three years I'll have paid just under £18k and then will give the car back.

The car was worth £50k if I'd bought it brand new. At three years old it's worth about £35k. I've lost out a bit more than if I'd bought it and then sold it, but I've not had to pay for servicing or tyres etc and I've had a brand new car for three years.

Crucially, I can afford it. But I don't have £50k in the bank, I don't want a £50k car loan, and I don't want to own the car. I'm happy with the lease set up.

Show quote history

I agree it's what your goal is.

Spending 18k on the use of someone else's car for three years is not mine. I would rather spend 18 k and have a car for 10 years.

That's 1.8k a year, whereas you have spent 6k.

I'm happy to buy the nearly new car for cash after you have paid all the depreciation.