Best everyday drivers car for c.£500 pcm
Discussion
Hi all!
Just looking for some thoughts from the PH community on the best use-able drivers car on a budget of c.£500 pcm, either PCP or HP. I could probably put in up to £2k deposit.
It seems that you only get decent rates for PCP on new cars, so if it's used it would probably be HP and new would be PCP. So probably looking at around the £20-25k mark used or £25-30k new. Obviously like anyone never keen on taking the depreciation hit on a new car, but some manafacturers are offering some very attractive PCP rates and deposit contributions to sweeten the deal so could consider it.
I have a diesel wagon (08 Renault Laguna 2.0L, 180bhp) which I'll use for some longer journeys so I don't put silly miles on it (I do c.25k miles per year) so I can pick and choose when I use the car. My other half has a little hatch (Mazda 2 1.3) for nipping into town etc.
I've considered selling the Laguna and getting something like a used BMW 330d estate which would tick a lot of boxes but would take a big hit in depreciation as I'd have to put all the miles on it and let's be honest, as good as a car like that is, it's still a diesel wagon.
So really this is all about having something that I look forward to driving and puts a smile on my face every time I get in it, which ideally could be used for weekend trips away etc (though could be flexible on this having the Laguna too). My heart wants an M3, but for my budget I'm concerned about the running costs/risk of an M3 out of warranty. Also looked at M135i but feels a bit cheap inside - maybe I need to get over that for the driving experience!
No rush on buying it, happy to take my time and find what's right for me. Just figured it was worth getting some opinions on what people may have themselves that could be bought on that budget and how they find them etc.
Many thanks in advance!
Just looking for some thoughts from the PH community on the best use-able drivers car on a budget of c.£500 pcm, either PCP or HP. I could probably put in up to £2k deposit.
It seems that you only get decent rates for PCP on new cars, so if it's used it would probably be HP and new would be PCP. So probably looking at around the £20-25k mark used or £25-30k new. Obviously like anyone never keen on taking the depreciation hit on a new car, but some manafacturers are offering some very attractive PCP rates and deposit contributions to sweeten the deal so could consider it.
I have a diesel wagon (08 Renault Laguna 2.0L, 180bhp) which I'll use for some longer journeys so I don't put silly miles on it (I do c.25k miles per year) so I can pick and choose when I use the car. My other half has a little hatch (Mazda 2 1.3) for nipping into town etc.
I've considered selling the Laguna and getting something like a used BMW 330d estate which would tick a lot of boxes but would take a big hit in depreciation as I'd have to put all the miles on it and let's be honest, as good as a car like that is, it's still a diesel wagon.
So really this is all about having something that I look forward to driving and puts a smile on my face every time I get in it, which ideally could be used for weekend trips away etc (though could be flexible on this having the Laguna too). My heart wants an M3, but for my budget I'm concerned about the running costs/risk of an M3 out of warranty. Also looked at M135i but feels a bit cheap inside - maybe I need to get over that for the driving experience!
No rush on buying it, happy to take my time and find what's right for me. Just figured it was worth getting some opinions on what people may have themselves that could be bought on that budget and how they find them etc.
Many thanks in advance!
Do you need anything with as many seats as an M3 or M135i for your requirements? It sounds like it will mostly be a fun car, which can also be used to get you to work if you fancy it. If you really need something with all those seats, perhaps something like an IS-F might work? I believe they are generally regarded as cheaper to run than things like the B7 RS4, E90 M3 and W204 C63. If you don't need all of those seats, perhaps something like a Z4M?
New cars for up to £500/month PCP:
Golf R, Audi S3 (saloon), BMW M235i
Most of the above now come with service packs for around £500 which also reduces overall costs - can easily be negotiated in at time of purchase.
Used cars:
Just not sure really as the APR's are always so damn high. One reason I pay £600 per month over £500 is that it opens up so many more options especially if you lease - I previously had a C63 Coupe for 2 years on £600 per month with a £1800 deposit.
So it's going to be very much dependent on the dealer and the finance rate. The average rates are 10-13% APR which is pretty high and then consider the servicing requirements and additional warranty.
Golf R, Audi S3 (saloon), BMW M235i
Most of the above now come with service packs for around £500 which also reduces overall costs - can easily be negotiated in at time of purchase.
Used cars:
Just not sure really as the APR's are always so damn high. One reason I pay £600 per month over £500 is that it opens up so many more options especially if you lease - I previously had a C63 Coupe for 2 years on £600 per month with a £1800 deposit.
So it's going to be very much dependent on the dealer and the finance rate. The average rates are 10-13% APR which is pretty high and then consider the servicing requirements and additional warranty.
Thanks for the info so far - the Z4 is a good idea that I hadn't considered, which would be a possibility as I don't 'need' the 4 seats as such. I just didn't want to go down the road of something like an Elise etc as whilst fantastic to drive, bit miserable for any length of journey.
Wow 10-13% APR is very high, has that gone up recently? I'm sure BMW were giving in the region of 5-6% but I guess that's on new cars. My concern on PCP deals on a car out of warranty is not being able to get out if something goes wrong with the car (without having to stump up a wedge of equity).
I did think about the Golf R - have to say if I went down that route I'd be tempted to give the Laguna as a trade-in to bump up the deposit and bring down the payments, to off-set the loss when I have to pay excess mileage charges etc.
Anyone have any views on the IS-F as a driving experience when compared to M3?
Wow 10-13% APR is very high, has that gone up recently? I'm sure BMW were giving in the region of 5-6% but I guess that's on new cars. My concern on PCP deals on a car out of warranty is not being able to get out if something goes wrong with the car (without having to stump up a wedge of equity).
I did think about the Golf R - have to say if I went down that route I'd be tempted to give the Laguna as a trade-in to bump up the deposit and bring down the payments, to off-set the loss when I have to pay excess mileage charges etc.
Anyone have any views on the IS-F as a driving experience when compared to M3?
Funnily enough I actually had an infiniti M35h for about a year (sold it in Feb) - that had the 3.5 V6 hybrid with 360bhp - fantastic engine, but didn't do much as a driver's car. Great piece of engineering and amazing comfort/toys, but not something that puts a smile on your face every time you drive it. In fairness it isn't supposed to be, it's a big exec saloon and I'm after something different this time. In a way the thing that partly puts me off the 370Z if feeling like it's a step backwards. Ok it's not really as it's a completely different car. Reviews seem a bit luke warm about the Q50 as a drivers car, anyone owned one?
Ben66 said:
Funnily enough I actually had an infiniti M35h for about a year (sold it in Feb) - that had the 3.5 V6 hybrid with 360bhp - fantastic engine, but didn't do much as a driver's car. Great piece of engineering and amazing comfort/toys, but not something that puts a smile on your face every time you drive it. In fairness it isn't supposed to be, it's a big exec saloon and I'm after something different this time. In a way the thing that partly puts me off the 370Z if feeling like it's a step backwards. Ok it's not really as it's a completely different car. Reviews seem a bit luke warm about the Q50 as a drivers car, anyone owned one?
I bought one last week, 2.2d mind. The sport mode steering is very good, firm and plenty of feedback. Handles road bumps a little bit better than the equivalent m-sport suspensions do in my opinion. They're doing 48 hour test drives at the moment, so worth having another nosey.I would have thought it would need to be a hefty deposit to get into a boxster/cayman surely? And the issue I've found with used cars on PCP is the rates are much higher than on used cars so hard to get the monthly payments down. Also the issue about having a car out of warranty that you are locked into. Much as those would be a lot of fun!
Ben66 said:
I would have thought it would need to be a hefty deposit to get into a boxster/cayman surely? And the issue I've found with used cars on PCP is the rates are much higher than on used cars so hard to get the monthly payments down. Also the issue about having a car out of warranty that you are locked into. Much as those would be a lot of fun!
I got something like 7% APR on a PCP on a 5 year old cayman with £1,000 cash deposit plus £1,500 part ex - my payments were Around £400 with a final payment of £4,000.This was a couple of years ago though, it all depends on how old you're willing to go.
This is the finance example of a Brand new boxster - yes the deposit is high but the monthly isn't that high for a brand new car. It would be interesting to see what deals Porsche would give you on one that was a few years old, it would then have a warranty.
http://www.porsche.com/uk/models/boxster/boxster/f...
Nezquick said:
I know Bowker BMW (Preston and Blackburn) are doing M135i's for £299 per month with £3k down over 48 months and 8,000 miles per annum. That's on a PCP I think.
Thanks - good to know there are still some great deals on the M135i and there's not doubt it's a good car to drive with loads of punch. The thing that puts me off is the looks (let's face it, it is an ugly car) and the interior feel. Not ruling it out though as on this budget inevitably there has to be a compromise somewhere.Ben66 said:
So the deals available on Z4 seem bonkers at the moment, amazing discounts available at the moment. Anyone owned one??
Yes, I had an E89 Z4 with the 28i engine. It was a great car, very comfortable, quick enough to make you grin and really not that expensive to run (£140 or so RFL and 35-40mpg). It's more of a cruiser though than an out and out sports car. If you're expecting Boxster performance/handling you'll be disappointed but I enjoyed owning mine. I got an approved used pre-registered one on PCP and it worked out considerably less than your budget.
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