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Original poster

AIBU Husband wants new car

123 replies

beaniebutter · 11/10/2023 14:34

Want to make sure i'm not being scrooge here...

Husband texted me just now, 'brother said he can sell me his range rover, going to have a call later to discuss', and sent me some photos.

Ummm...what?!

I asked where he's magically going to find £30K,40k (i have no idea how much it would cost?) for this shiny 22 plate(!) range rover. He said that he and his brother and would work something out.

I feel like i'm living on a different planet right now. We literally just bought a house, which used up 90% of our savings.

We have under 10K(!!) left for emergency savings, and are building on this every month. I meticulously track our savings, and record our outgoings. Our savings are currently in my bank accounts.

This is the best bit...he can't drive yet (is having lessons), and has somehow decided discussing to buy a range rover was an entirely logical and sensible idea?

We have a nice Ford, few years old, no problems, nice reliable car. I bought it outright.

Lastly, he has some debt which he is paying off, so is literally in NO position to even be thinking about this or some kind of loan, which i would obviously object to.

He is a high-ish earner so could probably get one quite easily, but I hate loans and would rather make sure we have a comfortable nest egg before any big purchases.

AIBU? I'm in disbelief.

He's gone quiet now, but no doubt he will be pushing for it later when he comes home.

He's a lovely guy, but often lives in lalaland when it comes to finances. Sometimes it makes me feel like scrooge.

OP posts:
Pineapples198 · 12/10/2023 07:32

He’s being a bit ridiculous, carried away in the moment I suspect. Once he can drive he can buy a car, why on Earth would he need one beforehand? Secondly the insurance on a Range Rover would be enormous, especially for a first time driver. He could be spending £3k a year on insurance.
I wouldn’t say no outright and put his back up but I’d maybe say something like yeah that might be an idea once you pass your test and discuss it nearer the time. Buying a car for someone who can’t drive is the biggest waste of money ever.

Gummybear75 · 12/10/2023 07:45

Unless your driving mainly on motorways diesels are rubbish on fuel.
I switched from petrol to diesel 2 years ago, just as the price of fuel shot through the roof and I massively regret it.
They just tank fuel on town driving.

ReturnOfTheRainMac · 12/10/2023 08:12

ValerieDoonican · 11/10/2023 23:04

I remember being with a friend in her range rover when it needed filling up , many years ago. I could not believe that she was putting £60 into it, about three times what it cost to fill my little Citroen. I had no idea you could spend that much in a garage in one go, so lord knows what it would cost now.

You know that's just because the fuel tank is bigger, right? It will always cost more to fill something that's bigger...

rainbowstardrops · 12/10/2023 08:14

His brother was clearly trying to pull a fast one but is your DH usually this delusional and dazzled by shiny carrots dangled in front of him?!

Hooplahooping · 12/10/2023 08:18

Cotswoldbee · 11/10/2023 15:08

Newestname002

The thing is, it's not really a "man toy" is it?
Where we are it appears that every third vehicle is a RR of some type and I would say the 70% are driven by women with the remainder driven by hubby who has a matching vehicle!
The carpark of our our local (private) school is like a JLR showroom at the beginning and end of the day!

Ha our boys school car park too. JLR
show room + the occasional custom paint super car. There is a particularly rogue powder blue Lamborghini.

I take a perverse pleasure in rolling up in my mums 12 year old Yaris. Keep em guessing…

ReturnOfTheRainMac · 12/10/2023 08:18

If he works for JLR he will have got a massive discount. Usually, they also take them back after so why are they not taking this one? Unless he can make more money from your DH?! I say this as I also have family working for JLR (and take advantage of this massive discount)

Evoque is a girls car that your husband shouldn't even consider. DM has one being delivered soon and insurance has gone from 400 to 1300 due to 1. Everyone's insurance has gone up 2. They're shit and can be stolen easier than candy from a baby.

Just tell him it's a girls car and that should be enough.

Hibiscrubbed · 12/10/2023 08:32

“LOL. You can’t drive, mate.”

Tekk him to check the insurance, tyre cost, servicing cost and get back to you. 😂 he’s ridiculous.

Takeitonthechin · 12/10/2023 08:37

Get the number plate and check if there's anything major that needs doing on the Mot.
Also, there's 1001 things that can go wrong with a Range Rover.
Has your husband looked at how much they cost to service, they're very expensive and they guzzle fuel... u less you have plenty of money to run these sort of vehicles, I'd stay well away from them.

ReturnOfTheRainMac · 12/10/2023 08:58

Takeitonthechin · 12/10/2023 08:37

Get the number plate and check if there's anything major that needs doing on the Mot.
Also, there's 1001 things that can go wrong with a Range Rover.
Has your husband looked at how much they cost to service, they're very expensive and they guzzle fuel... u less you have plenty of money to run these sort of vehicles, I'd stay well away from them.

Normally a great idea but this is a 22 plate car so no MOT will have been done. Being JLR, there is likely a fault with it 😂

PositanoBay · 12/10/2023 09:57

Bloke down the road has a Range Rover - they couldnt afford the heating last year. It sits on their drive now with weeds around the wheels so clearly they can't afford the petrol either

Anderson2018 · 12/10/2023 10:07

There is a reason BIL is getting rid of and brand new Range Rover, my dad is getting rid of his because of the price of petrol/diesel, it costs a lot of money to run. I would let him work all of that out for himself, if he doesn’t drive he’s likely no idea about the costs of running a normal car never mind a big car like that.

ReturnOfTheRainMac · 12/10/2023 10:16

It's really important to remember this is not a Range Rover as such. It's an evoque. They are not the same level, do not have the same status and he may as well get an x3 because he will equally not have a Range Rover but it won't break as much.

SquirrelFeeder · 12/10/2023 10:43

Yep, insurance increases when you become a newly qualified driver

SquirrelFeeder · 12/10/2023 10:45

ohdamnitjanet · 11/10/2023 16:24

Oh my God his brother is a twat.
Oh my God your DH is a bigger twat.
What a stupid penis extending car.
I’d rather this non driver spend 35k on taxis.
I think I’d have to stab them both.
I’d almost be praying he failed his test so I could laugh my socks off.

Wow you don't even try to hide your jealousy do you?!

P2210 · 12/10/2023 12:55

People are getting rid of range rovers because the insurance is crazy, couldn’t even imagine what it would be for a new driver!

Islandgirl68 · 12/10/2023 12:59

Yep would need to check insurance, my DD had a wee 09 polo, when she first passed her test and it cost 1k for first year insurance for an old car worth 1.5k and 1.4litre, Something like a range rover would cost a fortune to insure.

Thirdchapterdilemma · 12/10/2023 14:18

PPs have covered the expense/ theft/ unreliability etc. issues to death, but I’m going to have a little rant about the “reverse TARDIS” nature of all of these ridiculous SUVs - the Evoque specifically has the usable internal space of a Ford Focus and is heavier and bigger.
We own a Golf estate and for a recent family holiday in Europe we drove to the airport with our 4 suitcases in the boot. No seats folded. No suitcase on top of any other. Got to the other end and (because you have to rent a bloody SUV if you want a “family” car these days) there was a Tiguan waiting for us.
The VW Tiguan is bigger in every external dimension than the Golf Estate. It’s heavier and less fuel efficient. Could we fit our 4 suitcases in the boot without putting the seats down? Could we buggery.
Family of 4 touring round Eastern Europe for 2 weeks with one of the back seats folded down. Makes me ranty just thinking about it, but especially because VW is discontinuing the Golf!
And all because people/ morons like to buy massive heavy cars to destroy the road surfaces with. Road wear by weight over the axle operates on a “power of 4” basis on relative weight.
https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-much-damage-do-heavy-trucks-do-our-roads
Rant over. As you were.

How Much Damage Do Heavy Trucks Do to Our Roads?

(Inside Science) -- It may be obvious that heavy semitrucks stress and damage roads more than the average commuter sedan does. But by how much? Since the 1960s, the Generalized Fourth Power Law has been used as a rule of thumb when considering the rela...

https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-much-damage-do-heavy-trucks-do-our-roads

floofbag · 12/10/2023 14:30

If he can't drive yet he will kill himself in a Range Rover . They are very powerful and dangerous on the wrong hands .
He needs something cheap to learn to drive after his test like you do at 17!

Nothankyou22 · 12/10/2023 14:32

everyone I know whose had one at some point has got rid of it due to costs to repair.
plus I’d he hasn’t passed yet, getting insurance on a RR is going to be stupid money let alone buying it off his brother

Pleaseme · 12/10/2023 17:46

floofbag · 12/10/2023 14:30

If he can't drive yet he will kill himself in a Range Rover . They are very powerful and dangerous on the wrong hands .
He needs something cheap to learn to drive after his test like you do at 17!

I don’t disagree with you about needing something cheap, new drivers tend to kill their first car! I drive an evoque at work a lot and they are super easy to drive. Cameras everywhere and it warns you if you are getting too close. I wouldn’t think they are inherently more dangerous, to the driver, than any other car. I definitely feel safer in a Land Rover than I do in my car.

floofbag · 12/10/2023 18:26

@Pleaseme I meant in terms of being powerful . You wouldn't give a 17 year old such a powerful car so why have one has your first .

It will be a weapon in one of them if he is learning late in life and will no doubt think he is Lewis Hamilton if he wants to go straight to such a car !

FerretFarago · 12/10/2023 18:37

Now you are wise to the fact that your BIL thinks your brother is a mug financially, and will not hesitate to use him to recoup financial losses/make a profit off.

Eskimal · 12/10/2023 18:44

He does live in lala land. The only reason why you have savings etc seems to be your hard work in planning it all.
my husband is like this. He has ADHD. Not saying your’s does but it’s a thought.

Wakemeup17 · 12/10/2023 19:14

user1486915549 · 11/10/2023 15:38

And don’t let his brother expect full second hand price. He will have got a big discount on it as an employee of JLR

Employee discount is 20%

Duckingella · 12/10/2023 19:37

Basically he'll put it on finance;JL sell these by the dozen on finance and have done for years;the downside of having an évoque is actually having such a common vehicle can increase insurance premiums;I use to work in car insurance and I'm not joking when I say on the two months of the year when the new registrations landed every other call I use to get about insuring someone's new car said car would be an évoque;my colleagues and I would have a comp going to see how many évoqués we'd insure on each shift during this time.

It's absolutely nuts that he wants to buy a car he can't even drive;do we abit of keeping up with the Jones going on?

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