Can I afford to run these cars?

Can I afford to run these cars?

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 29th July 2016
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Depends on use and mileage. But what you want after doing some homework with specialists and dedicated forums rather than asking here?

DamnKraut

456 posts

98 months

Friday 29th July 2016
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Ranchitup said:
Shnozz said:
They have niggles. But then you have included a Maserati on your maybe baby list too.

Find one with a rebuild (and ideally with transferable warranty) and cross your fingers.
The Maserati Granturismo apparently is quite reliable; only going to the garage every two years for services. It APPARENTLY has improved a lot from its predecessors.
And apparently that improvement was from 100% guaranteed to break down ending in financial disaster to 98% guaranteed to do so hehe

StottyEvo

6,860 posts

162 months

Friday 29th July 2016
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Impasse said:
Too much pontificating, not enough buying going on here. OP, purchase whatever you like but do it this weekend.
yes

Talkers and doers.

Get something bought thumbup

Oilchange

8,421 posts

259 months

Friday 29th July 2016
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I reckon a new Elise is the ideal choice. The others are for when you're older and possibly more able to tolerate their idiosynchrasies.
Or possibly an Evora as they can be had as a 2+2 or 2seater and won'cripple you quite like the others

Shnozz

27,422 posts

270 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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Oilchange said:
I reckon a new Elise is the ideal choice. The others are for when you're older and possibly more able to tolerate their idiosynchrasies.
Or possibly an Evora as they can be had as a 2+2 or 2seater and won'cripple you quite like the others
Still £3.5k for a clutch, £1200 for discs and pads etc etc. As I say, last service on mine (without either of the aforementioned or anything big needed) was £1600 at silver stone lotus.

Rarely such a thing as any £60k+ new car that comes with running costs of a £30k ish car.

The Elise and Exige are far less.

Oilchange

8,421 posts

259 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
quotequote all
Over a year with £1500 a month to spend? Might be affordable if half went on repayments and the rest was put aside for the big service
Or get the IPS...

Shnozz

27,422 posts

270 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
quotequote all
Oilchange said:
Over a year with £1500 a month to spend? Might be affordable if half went on repayments and the rest was put aside for the big service
Or get the IPS...
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'd say £1500pcm was plenty to run an Evora (with ease).

My point was an Evora is probably no different to run than the OP's original choices.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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IN your shoes I get a 4.0 TVR Chimaera. Then with the money saved it would be in the bank, then in a year or so, I'd get a DB7 Volante to run alongside.....

Basically, only you can decide if you can swallow a potentially small car sized bill.... But in your shoes I'd not risk it..

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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Mmm I like the lotus idea.

Or a late (2009) S2000.

CountZero23

1,288 posts

177 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
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Quoted from an old thread but feels appropriate...

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
In 2007 I had a fairly good job earning around 50k.

I bought a Porsche 911 costing 30k on finance. I put down 3k and financed the rest over 4 years @ £650 a month.

I wouldn't have been bothered if it had cost £1650 a month. I wanted a Porsche 911 and that was that. Screw earning ratios and all that crap.

I got made redundant from that job a year later, but I hung onto my Porsche and scraped by earning what I could here and there to pay for it each month.

I had many memorable drives in the car, did lots of runs and events including PH tunnel runs, met some great people with it - and heck, although she's not materialistic and wouldn't admit it - I'm sure it helped me to pull my current Girlfriend!

But I also suffered some fairly big problems with it, the biggest being a horrendously unreliable gearbox, and in 3 years or so had to spend around £5k in repairs and maintenance.
I sold it in 2010 to a well-known Porsche dealer, after being mucked around by some idiotic private buyers. However, selling to a dealer in a recession meant I received £18,000 less than I had paid.

The privilege of driving round in a 911 cost me around £8,400 a year, plus petrol on top. It had to use V power, and I so for the mileage I covered I also spent around £7,500 in fuel. So the final bill of ownership, including depreciation, repairs and finance interest, plus fuel, is around £32,000, or £10,700 a year. yikes Bloody hell, I've just scared myself with that figure - never added it up before, lol!


But do I regret it? Not one bit. This is Pistonheads, right? Where we all give an arm and a leg for nice cars! Plus, I could get run over by a bus tomorrow - so yeah, forget car spend to salary ratios, and just buy what you really want, ok?! biggrin
Reading with interest as earn similar to OP and have been looking into Evoras. Interesting that shnozz reckons running costs are in the same league as your choices, had them pegged a bit lower, though the R8 has a reputation for reliability. That said a decent Evora can be had for 30k so it would be less of a stretch for you, worth taking a look.

I'll only consider buying one if I have a decent slush fund (4k+), absolutely no debts and have saved enough of a deposit so finance payments aren't crippling (maybe £350 a month).

As others have said, not point having a car if you end up resenting the costs and compromising your life style.


hal

15 posts

282 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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Hi,
I would suggest a sorted classic.
No roadtax, cheap insurance, easy maintenance and more importantly, no depreciation!
Loads of tasty older cars out there

Shnozz

27,422 posts

270 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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Every once in a while PH throws a curve ball.

Tonker meets Four Lions.

rampageturke

2,622 posts

161 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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boobles said:
If you have to ask then no.
Saying this is stupid, stop parroting it

Zippee

13,442 posts

233 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
If there's one place you don't want to be a bear it's Brighton smile

StuTheGrouch

5,714 posts

161 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
I'm looking at these for my next car (coupe though, not convertible). Assume a mixture of A/B roads and motorways (50:50), what would the real world mpg actually be? Mid-high 20s?

I currently drive a 330, which returns about 30 mpg on the journey I mentioned.

Rangeroverover

1,522 posts

110 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
quotequote all
On the "wrong image thing" I had a 996 worth about £10-12k, I would be asked how I could afford it, usually by people with new £20-30k cars on lease or finance. When I explained that it doesn't depreciate they would nod their head and not understand.

There is an expression "Council House Wealthy", this means flash car on lease/finance, no other assets, no savings, fake vuitton, fake rolex, living hand to mouth.

I'm not aying that is you but the people you work with will probably think so, Bentley bad idea, R8 OKish.


supercommuter

2,169 posts

101 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
To be honest this is the best suggestion.

I don't think if I was earning £42k a year I would be looking at a car much over this budget. That is a hell of a lot of car for £12k!

StuTheGrouch

5,714 posts

161 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thanks. A drop from 30 mpg down to 26 mpg works out at £5 per week extra for my daily commute to work. I think I can cope with that!!

Sorry for the thread hijack.

Trabi601

4,865 posts

94 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
quotequote all
supercommuter said:
To be honest this is the best suggestion.

I don't think if I was earning £42k a year I would be looking at a car much over this budget. That is a hell of a lot of car for £12k!
Depreciation will still be savage, though.

Look how low the 8-series dropped before the badly pimped ones were scrapped and prices started to pick up.

boobles

15,241 posts

214 months

Wednesday 3rd August 2016
quotequote all
rampageturke said:
boobles said:
If you have to ask then no.
Saying this is stupid, stop parroting it
Care to explain why it's "stupid" ?

Surely if you have to ask if something is affordable then perhaps you can't afford it?
Just a thought.... Sorry if you find my question "annoying"