Can I afford to run these cars?
Discussion
Alex_225 said:
If the maths works out mate, then do it.
The only thing I wouldn't do is a lease as I wouldn't like to be spending money per month for something that I wouldn't own at the end. But if I was paying something off at £1-1.5k a month, I'd definitely be buying a dream car of some sort.
Yeah leasing doesn’t appeal to me for precisely the same reason. I would rather get a loan or get the car on finance.The only thing I wouldn't do is a lease as I wouldn't like to be spending money per month for something that I wouldn't own at the end. But if I was paying something off at £1-1.5k a month, I'd definitely be buying a dream car of some sort.
X5TUU said:
Yes that budget will allow, I ran an R8 on £1200 a month including finance costs with no issues ... Out of them I would go for the Conti
Well the dealer I visited re: the Maserati who did a credit check came up with a figure of £650 a month on finance. I thought that was REALLY reasonable seeing as I don’t have many outgoings (elucidated below).My insurance quotes for these cars are SUPER cheap for what these cars are imo- max £750 odd for the year, fully comp. I have 8+ years of no claims
Guvernator said:
We need to know a bit more about your circumstances.
1) Is that £1.5k per month purely budget set aside for a car or is that your total income? Do you have other outgoings that might eat into that money?
2) How old are you?
3) Single, married, children?
3) What other cars have you had experience of i.e. will this be your first performance car or have you had others.
4) How mechanically minded are you? Will you be able to do some bits yourself or at least self diagnose or will you pay someone else lots of money to do it when it needs fixing or servicing?
Only you can really decided if you can afford one but the answers to the above might give some pointers.
As an example if you are a 21 year old living at home, have zero mechanical knowledge and you are upgrading from a Fiesta, it might not be the most sensible idea even if you think you can afford one.
1) I earn £42k a year (before taxes)1) Is that £1.5k per month purely budget set aside for a car or is that your total income? Do you have other outgoings that might eat into that money?
2) How old are you?
3) Single, married, children?
3) What other cars have you had experience of i.e. will this be your first performance car or have you had others.
4) How mechanically minded are you? Will you be able to do some bits yourself or at least self diagnose or will you pay someone else lots of money to do it when it needs fixing or servicing?
Only you can really decided if you can afford one but the answers to the above might give some pointers.
As an example if you are a 21 year old living at home, have zero mechanical knowledge and you are upgrading from a Fiesta, it might not be the most sensible idea even if you think you can afford one.
2) Turning 31 soon
3) I currently drive a 2.5L BMW E46
4) Not very mechanically minded and therefore, unable to work on the car myself. I have acquaintances that are more so than me and can possibly help with diagnosing problems but not someone who can work on the cars unfortunately
_Neal_ said:
I think you can safely ignore the post above.
If it's £1.5k/month free and clear of any other outgoings i.e. just a car loan repayment/maintenance budget of £18k a year, I say get a personal loan (i.e. not tied to the car) do your research on running costs, buy something that shouldn't depreciate too much, and go for it.
Run it for a year then keep it if you like it and it's not killing your wallet, sell it and either replace it or repay the loan (with perhaps a small top-up for depreciation) if you don't.
Doesn't seem like walking a fine line to me - you're allowing c.£9k/year on insurance/maintenance, which would cover the vast majority of exotic/prestige stuff. Aston V8 Vantages start at about £30k, which seems strong value for the prestige/driving experience...
Edited by _Neal_ on Thursday 28th July 15:58
Edited by _Neal_ on Thursday 28th July 16:01
The £1.5k a month isn’t available PURELY for the car. I would say I have £1k a month to spend on the car (finance/loan payments/petrol/maintenance etc). Finance on the Maserati was working out to be £650 odd. Could be reduced if the length was increased in years. Plus I could always sell the car no?
VladD said:
OP, I bought a BMW 750i a few years ago for £8k. It cost £13k in maintenance and repairs over 18 months. Fortunately for me, most of it was covered by warranty and insurance. Obviously I was particularly unlucky, but it's just an idea of what could happen with a luxury car. As long as you're prepared for the potential big bills, then it may be worth the risk.
Ouch! What warranty did you get out of interest? It wasn’t the official BMW warranty was it?Guvernator said:
Not sure where you are getting your info from but a 911 is probably one of the cheapest junior supercars to run, unless you are unlucky and have an engine failure of course but for £40k you would be in 997 gen 2 territory where the engine issues where sorted. The R8 might be similar costs. I'd reckon on a Maserati or Conti GT costing you more to run than those two though.
The other cost to factor in which is sometimes overlooked and probably the most important one is depreciation. How long do you plan to keep this car for? A badly depreciating car could loose you £10k over a couple of years and make any running cost concerns look silly in comparison.
To be honest, the idea that the costs of Porsche ownership were high was based on hearsay (my friend really). I usually tend to keep my cars for 5 years and I imagine cars such as this, I’d do the same. The other cost to factor in which is sometimes overlooked and probably the most important one is depreciation. How long do you plan to keep this car for? A badly depreciating car could loose you £10k over a couple of years and make any running cost concerns look silly in comparison.
As bad as it sounds, depreciation doesn’t bother me that much. I mean, say for instance the R8 is driven for 5 years and doesn’t have any major issues/damage/accidents, then I cant see it being sold for as low as £20k.
I really need to read up on Porsches and their various models. I admittedly oblivious about them and the different variants but some look really nice and others look really plain for the price.
I comfortably ran my Aston V8 Vantage on less than £1,200 a month, that's including £30k of finance, insurance, 1 annual service & MOT , tax, 5k miles worth of petrol, and 1 set of tyres & brakes every other year.
The £300 left over every month would likely cover most unplanned repair costs.
The £300 left over every month would likely cover most unplanned repair costs.
Guvernator said:
Not sure where you are getting your info from but a 911 is probably one of the cheapest junior supercars to run, unless you are unlucky and have an engine failure of course but for £40k you would be in 997 gen 2 territory where the engine issues where sorted. The R8 might be similar costs. I'd reckon on a Maserati or Conti GT costing you more to run than those two though.
The other cost to factor in which is sometimes overlooked and probably the most important one is depreciation. How long do you plan to keep this car for? A badly depreciating car could loose you £10k over a couple of years and make any running cost concerns look silly in comparison.
Very good points here. Another consideration is a first gen 997 with a rebuild engine. These do usually come with a warranty (be it by Porsche, or the other company that did the work - Hartech appears to be a popular company for this). Value wise, I think this gen 911 are doing quite well considering early ones must be about 12 years old now.The other cost to factor in which is sometimes overlooked and probably the most important one is depreciation. How long do you plan to keep this car for? A badly depreciating car could loose you £10k over a couple of years and make any running cost concerns look silly in comparison.
I can only speculate, but perhaps ones with rebuilt engines won't depreciate as much as original cars - or maybe even appreciate a little in value?
Either way, I think you're getting a lot of car for £25k here http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
t?
Really?Spending £1500 a month on a car payment is all well and great, but what would you do if something were to break? Lets take the Maser as an example. I can't imagine a new exhaust is cheap (be it aftermarket or standard), nor is servicing, nor will insurance, nor fuel etc.
During months when the tax, MOT, insurance and service is due you'll still have to pay out x amount a month on the car payment.
If the payment is say, £1000. Can you spare £3-500 a month to put aside for any work that needs doing then great, do it. But if not, then I would be looking to either bump up my deposit massively, until it gets to a point where you can, or looking at other options.
Rather than going "right I have £1500 a month spare, lets spend it all on a car payment" (not saying you have) sit down and have a think. Find out how much a big service at a main dealer is, find out how much insurance is, find out how much tax is etc, how much you would be spending in fuel etc.. and work from that. No point having a glorious car sat on the drive doing nothing, because you can't afford to put fuel in it.
During months when the tax, MOT, insurance and service is due you'll still have to pay out x amount a month on the car payment.
If the payment is say, £1000. Can you spare £3-500 a month to put aside for any work that needs doing then great, do it. But if not, then I would be looking to either bump up my deposit massively, until it gets to a point where you can, or looking at other options.
Rather than going "right I have £1500 a month spare, lets spend it all on a car payment" (not saying you have) sit down and have a think. Find out how much a big service at a main dealer is, find out how much insurance is, find out how much tax is etc, how much you would be spending in fuel etc.. and work from that. No point having a glorious car sat on the drive doing nothing, because you can't afford to put fuel in it.
Having driven all 3 I would pick the Maserati, I've seen the invoices for repairs on the r8 and Maserati and they were not cheap. You might pay more but a main dealer might give you a better warranty than something aftermarket and if you only intend to keep the car for a short time the risks should be minimal.
However I would rather a v8 Aston or a jaguar, f/xk or possibly xfr. I didn't like the r8 but ours was a v8 with the rtronic, the Maserati was the 4.7 and would be a great gt car but with firm seats. You could possibly look towards a f type v6 and have the benefit of a manufactures warranty although they are not in quite the same league I would pick one over the r8 any day.
However I would rather a v8 Aston or a jaguar, f/xk or possibly xfr. I didn't like the r8 but ours was a v8 with the rtronic, the Maserati was the 4.7 and would be a great gt car but with firm seats. You could possibly look towards a f type v6 and have the benefit of a manufactures warranty although they are not in quite the same league I would pick one over the r8 any day.
Audemars said:
£1.5k per month will barely cover a ford fiesta. I wouldn't buy any of tbe cars you mentioned with £5k per month spending money
So you need to make what, 150k a year minimum or 100k with no outgoings, to run an R8?
Sorry, but that is ridiculous.
In regards to the car, i'd probably go for the Maserati, it's got the best looks, sound and is in middle ground here costs wise.
The Audi is an excellent everyday 'supercar' but doesn't match the Maserati on looks/sound but will be cheaper to run imo.
The Bentleys are rocketship fast, are a lovely place to be and drive really well for their weight but that fuel consumption!!
ETA - Out of them i'd have an Aston Vantage V8
Edited by R8Steve on Thursday 28th July 16:52
_Neal_ said:
Absolutely, so buy carefully - also hedging your bets by paying off the capital on a monthly basis (which you will be doing, as any loan should be fairly low interest) and putting some cash in as well (i.e. not funding the whole price by way of loan) will mitigate against that.
If I had to guess I'd say if you're paying off £600/month in terms of capital, and put a couple of grand in up front, you should stay in "positive equity" against any car on your list.
If I had to guess I'd say if you're paying off £600/month in terms of capital, and put a couple of grand in up front, you should stay in "positive equity" against any car on your list.
That’s precisely the plan; £600/month plus £2k (or a little bit more if necessary). I could always sell the car if it gets a bit unmanageable.
abarber said:
Get a cheap load / CC and a nice Mk2 XK8 for 17k. Less brash and more class. They make a lovely muted noise too.
Or watch out for a crazy lease deal, like those insanely cheap S8s.
Ah I’m not a fan of the XK8 to be honest. The S8 is too conservative looking for what I’m looking for, fi that makes sense. I do take your point about the subtle and more classy look though.Or watch out for a crazy lease deal, like those insanely cheap S8s.
matrignano said:
I comfortably ran my Aston V8 Vantage on less than £1,200 a month, that's including £30k of finance, insurance, 1 annual service & MOT , tax, 5k miles worth of petrol, and 1 set of tyres & brakes every other year.
The £300 left over every month would likely cover most unplanned repair costs.
Sorry, to get clarity, that’s £1200 a month purely reserved for the car right?The £300 left over every month would likely cover most unplanned repair costs.
Dalto123 said:
Very good points here. Another consideration is a first gen 997 with a rebuild engine. These do usually come with a warranty (be it by Porsche, or the other company that did the work - Hartech appears to be a popular company for this). Value wise, I think this gen 911 are doing quite well considering early ones must be about 12 years old now.
I can only speculate, but perhaps ones with rebuilt engines won't depreciate as much as original cars - or maybe even appreciate a little in value?
Either way, I think you're getting a lot of car for £25k here http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
See, the Cayenne there looks a bit plain looking? Should I be worried about the 70k miles there? Are any big services due on the Cayenne at that point?I can only speculate, but perhaps ones with rebuilt engines won't depreciate as much as original cars - or maybe even appreciate a little in value?
Either way, I think you're getting a lot of car for £25k here http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
Jasandjules said:
What about a DB9 Volante? Get it checked out and also get a warranty on it......
I checked some out and they really do look gorgeous. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...
This looks stunning for the price although I wouldn’t get the convertible.
AMGJocky said:
If you want one of those cars bad enough, then do it. If it comes back to bite you in the arse somehow, sell the car and move on.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. I’m ready to make some losses. Would early repayment charges apply on car finance? I assume on a loan they will. lesstatt said:
How about a SLK55 AMG, or an XKR Jag, should be very reliable indeed and won't lose too much in depreciation
I just checked the price of SLK55 AMG and the SLC’s and I’m really surprised by the cost of them. I expected them to be much higher. Obviously the SLC is better but you’re getting a lot of car for that money! But living in London, it just doesn’t have that wow factor. So many of them being driven it kinda dilutes the appeal of it to me (vain I know). But I did see a SLK55 in white last week and thought it looked great.
Effectively you're asking whether to put half your disposable income into car finance, then take on the running costs out of the other half.
It's probably possible if you really, really hate pubs, clothes, holiday, and your pension and really, really like Tesco Value Pot Noodles.
In your situation I would either lease whatever I could get for £300 a month (and even that is more than you need to spend) or try to get a £20k car with as much cash as you could save up in a year for a deposit. While an S4/BMW x35i coupe/Golf R etc. won't compare with a junior supercar like you're suggesting, you'll actually have a life outside your garage.
(Of course, if you did manage to buy the right car and prices go up over the next five years, you'd be kicking yourself if you didn't do it. But to run a car like that with very little in liquid assets would be an absolute nightmare - think of all those skint girls who live for their ponies, and ask if you really want to live like them).
It's probably possible if you really, really hate pubs, clothes, holiday, and your pension and really, really like Tesco Value Pot Noodles.
In your situation I would either lease whatever I could get for £300 a month (and even that is more than you need to spend) or try to get a £20k car with as much cash as you could save up in a year for a deposit. While an S4/BMW x35i coupe/Golf R etc. won't compare with a junior supercar like you're suggesting, you'll actually have a life outside your garage.
(Of course, if you did manage to buy the right car and prices go up over the next five years, you'd be kicking yourself if you didn't do it. But to run a car like that with very little in liquid assets would be an absolute nightmare - think of all those skint girls who live for their ponies, and ask if you really want to live like them).
Might not be the kind of car you are interested in, but brand new BMW M6's can be had for around £800 a month on PCP, 0% interest
positives - 3 year warranty, your own spec, modern tech, no interest charges, crazy quick, service plans are cheap
negatives - depreciation, not "exotic"
The depreciation can be horrific, especially if you sell after a short time, but is offset by no interest charges and huge discounts
positives - 3 year warranty, your own spec, modern tech, no interest charges, crazy quick, service plans are cheap
negatives - depreciation, not "exotic"
The depreciation can be horrific, especially if you sell after a short time, but is offset by no interest charges and huge discounts
A couple of friends with similar cars (Aston Martins - AMV8 and a DB9) say their running costs are £6000 pretty much consistently each year. That includes fuel and insurance but not depreciation and finance. So finance might cost you a couple of grand a year and depreciation will come down to what you buy, but call it £4000 a year and your total might come to about £1000 a month.
You could do it, whether it's sensible or not is another matter but plenty of people lose five or six grand a year in depreciation on very mundane everyday cars - at least you're after something special!
Edit: you could probably run one of the modern TVRs (T350, Tuscan) for significantly less than your budget. Depreciation is non-existent and running costs are sensible. Maybe not quite as exotic as a Maserati but it will turn more heads, if that's your thing!
You could do it, whether it's sensible or not is another matter but plenty of people lose five or six grand a year in depreciation on very mundane everyday cars - at least you're after something special!
Edit: you could probably run one of the modern TVRs (T350, Tuscan) for significantly less than your budget. Depreciation is non-existent and running costs are sensible. Maybe not quite as exotic as a Maserati but it will turn more heads, if that's your thing!
Edited by Crumpet on Thursday 28th July 17:05
Ranchitup said:
matrignano said:
I comfortably ran my Aston V8 Vantage on less than £1,200 a month, that's including £30k of finance, insurance, 1 annual service & MOT , tax, 5k miles worth of petrol, and 1 set of tyres & brakes every other year.
The £300 left over every month would likely cover most unplanned repair costs.
Sorry, to get clarity, that’s £1200 a month purely reserved for the car right?The £300 left over every month would likely cover most unplanned repair costs.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff