How can anyone afford a car?

[PoisedGoldBiscuit]

So we've leased cars for the last 14 years or so. Have paid a non-refundable deposit of between £500 (for a regular hatchback) to around £900 for a SUV. I pay just under £300 p/m now for a Qashqai that includes maintenance (so services, MOTs, most repairs not covered by the warranty or caused by accidental damage). I also don't need to pay car tax.

I'm conscious of the fact that this is a debt that I'll essentially never pay off as I'm not gaining any equity in the car and just hand it back. I've looked at other options and they seem so far out of reach.

• buying cars second hand, friends who have done this seem to regularly spend £££ on maintenance issues, even for cars that are only a few years old.
• buying cars new but with a warranty, the monthly payments are huge and the car seems to drop so much in value that it's not worth the payments.

-taking out a PCP/ other scheme where you can hand the car back or pay a balloon payment, again, these seem to have huge monthly payments. Dealerships have never been able to get anywhere near the lease payments (and then have a huge balloon payment).

Am I missing something?

Don't pay much to maintain my old car

I have a very old but still decent second hand old but very very well maintained car . Regularly serviced . Oil topped up regularly and tyres etc .

How much do you drive ?

I am replacing it soon but can't work out the most logical way to fund it

For many it’s purely down to how much you want to “look like” you are doing well. Some would rather eat less etc. than get a cheaper car. Mad but true.

My 24 year old VW costs me far less in maintenance (usually about £600 a year) than my friends 10 year old Seat does her (well over a grand recently when it had a wiring issue - mostly labour costs too!).

The newer the car the more there is to go wrong and the more costly it is to put right.

Japanese cars are the most reliable apparently.

Next car I buy I will buy outright again and see if it lasts me 24 years like the VW has…

One thing to mention is never to buy a larger engine than you need (like a 2L hot hatch) - anything that a young person might have driven crazily is to be avoided.

Bought our last car for 7k sold it for 2.5k it lasted us 6 years, during that time the money you've spent on leases we saved 10k and bought our newest car for 13k, current car is 4 years old 3.5 when we bought it , so doesn't need any more work than your lease car would

Don't have new - you lose a fortune when you drive it off the forecourt

If you lease or PCP - you're paying two lots of profit, one to the car company and one to the finance company.

I buy 2yo good quality cars with mileage of about 18,000 for cash.. Choose something not trendy, not frequently stolen. Preferably a model that has been around a while so the manufacturer's design flaws have been corrected. Get an RAC inspection done before you buy from a reputable dealership. Service regularly. I generally keep them 10 years then sell for about £2k.

My current one is a Volvo V40 D3. Bought in 2021 for £14k, It needed nothing except servicing for the three years. This summer it has needed a pair of coil springs, brake pads, tyres and a new under-cover.

So £14k = £117 per month, plus servicing and parts. Servicing at ATS once the manufacturers warranty is expired is about £280 a year or £23 per month. I have spent about £2k on parts but don't expect to spend more for another three or four years. That's another £42 a month on parts. £5 a month for MOT. £16 car tax

Total per month is £203 during the life of the car, but then get £2k back when I sell (or £16 per month). So that works out at £187 a month over the 10 years I own the car.

The lease company is doing exactly the same as I am, but charging you an extra £115 a month for the privilege of driving the car. 50% markup is nice for them.

The advantage for you is you have a known, regular cost per month you can budget for. And that you can change your car every three or five years. You just have to decide if that is worth £115 per month to you.

Well OP is asking about affording it

If you're paying over 10k for the rental of that car over the 3 years, most of us would have paid for the car outright, including MOT and service but that car will last us at least 10 years say

On average, if I keep my car 10 years, and my plan is much longer than that (based on the performance of other Nissans), on average its probably costing me no more than around £600-700 a year, including the cost of buying it. That is an overestimate based on 10 year ownership.

The cost is a no brainer therefore compared to leasing a car. Which is what OP is asking.

Another here that saves up, buys second hand outright and drives them till they die.

Spend around 15k on a 3 yr old car, and run it for 10+ years. So that's 1500 a year say, and even with servicing, MOT and repairs, they've never cost us anything near 3600 a year. TBF none of them have ever needed a major repair. Had Mazda 10 yrs, Toyota 13 years and currently on an 8 yr old VW..

"Spend around 15k on a 3 yr old car, and run it for 10+ years. So that's 1500 a year say, and even with servicing, MOT and repairs, they've never cost us anything near 3600 a year. TBF none of them have ever needed a major repair. Had Mazda 10 yrs, Toyota 13 years and currently on an 8 yr old VW.."

This. If you get a 3 years old car from Toyota and buy a service plan then they extend the warranty up to another 7 years or until it gets to 100k miles

First car was bought cash, back when 2nd hand cars were cheap as chips.
That became deposit towards second car, which was brand new, but on a reasonable finance. Paid the finance off and had the car around another further year before I then put that as a deposit towards a 2nd hand car, again on finance.
Had that about 3 years then put that & a sum of cash as a deposit towards a bigger 2nd hand car which is again on finance, and i intend to keep it as long as i can as its a good family car.

I dont see the point in leasing unless its for work. I want to know il own the car at the end of the payments. I've never been stuck with costly repairs on any of my second hand repairs, with the earlier ones when they were getting old and knackered I just upgraded them.
I dont go for too old or too new to try and strike a balance between cost and reliability.
Also having a decent deposit really pulls your monthly payments down.

I bought an 18 month old Aygo for 8k in 2016. I still have it. Never spent a penny on maintenance. 99.00 to re gas the Aircon one time is all I've spent. Free road tax under z200 a year for insurance very economical. The loan was from Sainsbury's at 1.75 interest. I would never get a car I didn't buy outright.

Agree and because its “cheap” I think people end up having a much more expensive car than they can actually afford.

I bought my current car for £12k, outright, I save up to buy cars and other big ticket items. Apart from normal wear and tear items (tyres, brakes) nothings gone wrong yet, it’s now 8 years old, bought it 3 years old. I wouldn’t touch pcp, too many conditions

We have a mix here, one on lease (company car/allowance) and one Honda bought for £17k and DH will run for 10 years +!

The company lease is a first time for me. I like the all in price and have a very nice electric car I couldn’t afford outright. It’s also my first electric, so wanted to try the technology without long term commitment too.

In 4 years time, I want to do the costs on buying a nearly new electric, ideally 2-3 years old and a manufacturer with 5 year warranty. Also a better time to buy electric, as technology is constantly developing.

Previously, I’ve always bought outright and had for a number of years. Now second hand cars prices have increased the difference may be less, but still better value I think.

@LevelUpDown

im a Mazda fan, not had one go wrong, totalled by another driver, sold due to intercontinental move and last car is still at 16 years old being driven by exh (I think) I’m on a car i bought 3 years old, no costs apart from standard tyres etc for 5 years

Don’t dealerships make more money from finance plans than from profit on selling cars? That tells you where the money goes!

I budget £4k per year for my car. Includes tax, service, MOT and an accumulating pot of money towards the next one. So I’m saving to buy rather than borrowing to buy. Currently on a 7 yr old Golf that I’ll swap in about 3-5 years.

I’ve had 5 cars in 33 years. Always buy something 2-3 years old and always from Car Giant. Average prices but huge stock, all checked and basic warranty. Can buy on a debit card and drive away with a 7 day insurance plan. Other giant dealerships are available! They have a lot of slightly high mileage fleet cars or ones that people have traded in when their deals are up. Suits me.

To get out of this cycle OP can save part of the money and get a low interest loan towards the rest then buy a sensible used car and be disciplined about putting monthly money aside until loan is paid off and car is owned. You do need to accept that you’ll often be driving an older car though.

I always buy cars outright never lease or pcp etc. Infact I have 2 cars right now. One was 3.5k and other was 4.5k and I drive them both. Both Mini’s. I find it less stressful running 2 cars and I’m hoping to always have 2 cars from now on. They are both in the lower tax bracket of £20 and £30 annually. Both fairly economical and insurance isn’t bad. One is a hard top and other a soft top so best of both worlds.

Disclaimer: I don't even have a driving licence.

My employer started a "salary sacrifice" scheme to lease electric vehicles from a specialist partner. After the scheme was put to employees many people complained, saying they were only leasing the premium models. The employer looked into it and it was obvious they didn't do due diligence on the kind of vehicles their contractor tended to lease. The scheme was launched in May and although there was a lot of initial interest many people decided not to go forward because they only wanted a basic model that got them to work & home again. I did look on there and some cars were being quoted at £500+ per month! I can easily get to work by bus or ebike so I don't need a car, but I can imagine people who live much further away think they can get a better deal elsewhere.

Going back to my parents generation (1970s onwards) my dad would buy a quality second hand car and run it for years until the value of repairs was more than the value of the car, or he'd find a decent runner on Auto Trader for a few hundred quid. We had some ugly cars, but they kept going for years. I think we have additional concerns now with engines compliant with LEZs and congestion charging schemes now, but it's still possible to find a car for a couple of thousand quid.

This is a joke surely? You can pick up a car for a few hundred quid. You mean a car that suits your image? That’s more accurate.

Those days are gone. Or if you do get one for that price, you'll end paying a small fortune to keep it running. Not to mention the stress of finding out the next thing that needs to be fixed.

I understand the idea of leasing from the point of view of the maintaince being taken care of by someone else. But finiancially it is a luxury.

Owning cars is expensive and it really bloody varies as the car ages. Pot luck as well. My first car cost me very little to maintain (10 year old golf, sold when it reached 16). Second is a money pit (Ford fiesta).

I usually buy Japanese cars that are about 2-3 yrs old and keep them for at least 10 years and with a yearly service, they cost me very little to run in terms of repairs. I usually budget for around £500 for maintenance and repairs and use a local small garage.

My previous car was a 2006 Honda CRV that I bought in 2009 for £12k and only traded it in 2023 for another Japanese brand. The Honda was still running great but I needed a bigger boot. I always buy good quality new tyres like Michelin and replace them earlier than required as you should never skimp on tyres.

Buying a brand new car on finance just seems like a complete waste of money to me.

Perhaps not a couple of hundred pounds although I do still see them around

But I do regularly scan autotrader, and a quick search this morning, of cars less than 5k, within 100 miles of me, tax under 200 quid, brings up 1500 or so cars, thats with an automatic gearbox which lowers the pool of cars.

Pricing high to low, there are some Peugots, Skodas, Polos, DS 3, an i10, a Corsa, fiat 500, a couple of electric which I wouldnt touch. Thats the first page.

Most are high mileage, around 12-15 years old. I like to see high mileage it means the car has been reliably on the road and well used.

I wouldnt have a problem with any of these.

And forgot to say I need ULEZ as well so that adds on another factor

We have never paid more than 1k for a car. The last two were 20 and 22 years old and built like tanks, yes we got laughed at but genuinely they rarely went wrong- usual little things and mots until they just reached the end. We now only have one which again cost less than a grand, is 15 years old and absolutely fine. We need new tyres soon but that's it at the moment
It seems to me, looking at what people drive, that it's all about looking good, looking well off when actually paying huge amounts every month for status!
Maybe I'm unusual, but if something gets me from a to be I don't really care what it is and paying hundreds every month seems madness.

This. I saved up for several years to get my first car, and then put regular savings into an ISA to get a replacement when needed. First car lasted 12 years, so by putting away £200 ish a month over that time gave me quite a good sum to replace when it was needed.

I got a bank loan for a car that at the time was 5 years old- it had a decent service history and reasonable mileage but is far from fancy, practical though and does the job. I used to have cars i really loved and wanted but it was expensive doing that, so shifted my mind to reliable, safe and cheapish to run.

Repayments were around £150, tax is low (£20 a year), insurance isnt too bad, a fair bit of maintenance ive been able to do myself (change battery, change the media system, change a fuse etc), decent fuel economy, touch wood....its been fine on MoTs etc. Most of my friends and family buy second hand cars and only 1 or 2 have had an absolute shocker in terms of unexpected fixes being needed not long into buying it, for most its fine (not that the car industry wants you to know that).

Like anything, if you accept you need to make compromises and perhaps not go for the model you really want or a brand new car every few years then its more affordable.

Brought mine for cash £5 6 years ago. Thats Works out at £70 a month So I now have £5K plus sold price. . I then save this money for my next car. Depends when i sell it, which I can a premium back for, I have the cash for a newer car.

Low tax, economical on petrol.

Service £200 approx each year plus usual tires.

Cant see the point forking out £300 plus a month.

Yes, second hand! And bought outright. I'm lucky DH was a vehicle technician,so he does the serving and repairs. Is very choosy about make and model. I had a 17 year old diesel astra estate,2 border collies, gardening main hobby, which finally went to the great scrapyard in the sky this year. It was given to my oldest DS a couple of years ago when DH retired, and after much looking, reading up, chatting to owners we got a Kia Sportage, second hand. He wouldn't have a British made car if you paid him.