downgrading car lifestyle
Discussion
Sold my 4 series and bought a Cooper S F56. Love it far more, park it anywhere, can still hoon it when the mood takes me and will do 50mpg on a run. I've got a wife and 2 kids and we can all squeeze in it for around town runs and I use it for work. Do it, try it and if you don't like it, try something else.
Muzzer79 said:
Assuming a 3 year cycle, that PCP would have been taken out in early 2021, so I assume that people have done well out of the GFV being undervalued.
My BiL has an X3 that came to a PCP end. Rather than trading in, they just kept the car and financed the balloon. Payments stay about the same, car is perfectly fine, no need to change.
Thinking of doing the same with mine. Mine was on a 4 year pcp and now had it just over 3.5 years. Looking to get into a newer car is looking to cost around another £100 a month or more for the same car but newer, plus the extra tax as mine has now come out the extra tax for cars over £40k. Still like mine so considering keeping and a loan for the balloon will be about the same as my payment now. My BiL has an X3 that came to a PCP end. Rather than trading in, they just kept the car and financed the balloon. Payments stay about the same, car is perfectly fine, no need to change.
Geffg said:
Thinking of doing the same with mine. Mine was on a 4 year pcp and now had it just over 3.5 years. Looking to get into a newer car is looking to cost around another £100 a month or more for the same car but newer, plus the extra tax as mine has now come out the extra tax for cars over £40k. Still like mine so considering keeping and a loan for the balloon will be about the same as my payment now.
As someone that has never purchased a car other than with cash, bank loan or company car.Is the above the norm for PCP, re-finance the balloon at the end?
NomadicTurbo said:
As someone that has never purchased a car other than with cash, bank loan or company car.
Is the above the norm for PCP, re-finance the balloon at the end?
It is now. It didn’t used to be, pre the truss rate rises they’d just roll over into a new contract and a new car. Is the above the norm for PCP, re-finance the balloon at the end?
AmyRichardson said:
Missy Charm said:
Which one is the shredders forum? I've looked for by using a search engine to query 'shredders forum' and have only been able to find people talking about paper shredders! Speaking as a lifelong clerical worker, entering into such discourse would be a busman's holiday but never mind.
I've 'downgraded' my own car by owning it so long that it's sunk from 'boring hatchback' to 'old banger'. It's still pretty much the same, albeit with additional squeaks and rattles and the sort of interior wear that dealers are wont to call 'patina'.
"The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)"I've 'downgraded' my own car by owning it so long that it's sunk from 'boring hatchback' to 'old banger'. It's still pretty much the same, albeit with additional squeaks and rattles and the sort of interior wear that dealers are wont to call 'patina'.
(Auto correct prefers ninja turtles/bodybuilding to low cost motoring...)
stanlow45 said:
NomadicTurbo said:
As someone that has never purchased a car other than with cash, bank loan or company car.
Is the above the norm for PCP, re-finance the balloon at the end?
It is now. It didn’t used to be, pre the truss rate rises they’d just roll over into a new contract and a new car. Is the above the norm for PCP, re-finance the balloon at the end?
I don’t think the issue is so much interest rates as the fact that new cars are now so feckin expensive….
I ‘downgraded’ from a Golf R MK7.5 to a Golf R Line MK8. Honestly. It was brilliant. Sold that for another Golf R and am now at a point where I’m sick of Golf R’s and want something else. Roads are crap, can’t even drive the speed limits in a straight line most of the time due to the state of the roads and when you can there’s usually someone slower in front of you stoping your progress.
I found with the Golf R Line it was fast enough, cheap to run and comfortable. Certainly didn’t suffer with feeling every bump in the road like we do in the current Golf R.
I’d be quite happy to go maybe go into something a bit higher/comfier and it not be a performance offering now.
I found with the Golf R Line it was fast enough, cheap to run and comfortable. Certainly didn’t suffer with feeling every bump in the road like we do in the current Golf R.
I’d be quite happy to go maybe go into something a bit higher/comfier and it not be a performance offering now.
Alex_225 said:
When I was younger, it was all about the new cars, the latest hot hatches etc. My tastes have varied, V8s etc. But buying some higher mileage or well used but mint cars has taught me you can have something sensible, inexpensive and fun for not much money. Also a car that could give you years or use as well.
So rather than something high end and/or fairly new, there's loads of interesting stuff out there to be enjoyed relatively cheaply.
This. I’m in my late 30s and have likely just peaked in terms of money spent on my own car. With a young family it felt like now was the last chance. My kids, paying off the mortgage, and renovating the house should really come first, plus I want to retire before I’m 60. So rather than something high end and/or fairly new, there's loads of interesting stuff out there to be enjoyed relatively cheaply.
Master Bean said:
I've gone from a 250hp Saab 9-5 to a 100hp Fiesta. Obviously much slower but still has cruise control and air con. Still gets me to places.
We have had one for years, i know the engine has a bad reputation but would take the risk over having a 65 bhp 1.2 non turbo, feels more like a proper car than superminis of old.Yup, had 996, Audi A4 v6 cabrio, 3 series, A4 avant 2.0 TFSI, golf GTI Etc. Now have Audi A3 1.4 sport back and it’s brilliant, lots of room, plenty of load space for ikea, supermarket and tip runs, frugal, cheap tax and insurance, all the mod cons. Pretty much perfect for what we need.
For me personally, I was always very happy to have only one car, that was brilliant/fast and did everything I could need a car for.
Then, during lockdown, me and my partner adopted a greyhound. At the time our cars were my manual M2 Comp and she had a 1.0L Lupo, neither of which were very useful for trying to squeeze a dog shaped like Bambi into. I found a banger of an E34 on gumtree, with torn up cloth seats, and the smallest engine, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The dog could lay across the back seats and I wasn’t stressing about tying the precious leather in my M2. That E34 with 60 profile tyres also really showed me how poorly modern cars ride. From there I settled into having a “normal” car, which is currently an i3, and something a bit more impractical for the weekend.
And the i3 I absolutely adore. It’s nippy, but small, yes it runs out of puff on the motorway but I simply don’t care anymore. It happily cruises at 70mph, the dog fits in it, it’s silent, living in a city as I do the tight turning circle is fantastic, and of course I love the story of its construction and design.
Once upon a time I childishly wouldn’t have considered any car that wasn’t a BMW, and had less than 300hp. Now I realise how silly that was of me
Then, during lockdown, me and my partner adopted a greyhound. At the time our cars were my manual M2 Comp and she had a 1.0L Lupo, neither of which were very useful for trying to squeeze a dog shaped like Bambi into. I found a banger of an E34 on gumtree, with torn up cloth seats, and the smallest engine, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The dog could lay across the back seats and I wasn’t stressing about tying the precious leather in my M2. That E34 with 60 profile tyres also really showed me how poorly modern cars ride. From there I settled into having a “normal” car, which is currently an i3, and something a bit more impractical for the weekend.
And the i3 I absolutely adore. It’s nippy, but small, yes it runs out of puff on the motorway but I simply don’t care anymore. It happily cruises at 70mph, the dog fits in it, it’s silent, living in a city as I do the tight turning circle is fantastic, and of course I love the story of its construction and design.
Once upon a time I childishly wouldn’t have considered any car that wasn’t a BMW, and had less than 300hp. Now I realise how silly that was of me
I had a drive in my daughters £5,500 recently purchased Mito QV170 manual the other day,and it simply reminded me yet again of the joys of small point and squirt cars,reminded me a lot of my old MK1 XR2.If I need to downsize 3 cars into 2/1 at any time,or I’m simply too old to get in and out of the Noble,I’ll happily have that off her as a replacement.
It wasn't really a downgrade from what I had before but I bought a 2005 BMW 330i in 2019 on 107K miles for just under £3,500.
Last April it got a tap in the rear and the other insurer decided it was a Cat N, so I got to keep it and just over 50% of what I paid for it in the bank. Which means I'm Shedding now but it's such a good all-rounder there is nothing I can think of to replace it without spending thousands more then watching it depreciate!
Last April it got a tap in the rear and the other insurer decided it was a Cat N, so I got to keep it and just over 50% of what I paid for it in the bank. Which means I'm Shedding now but it's such a good all-rounder there is nothing I can think of to replace it without spending thousands more then watching it depreciate!
Crippo said:
After 15 years of Perfromance cars, early morning drives around Wales, countless track days and 2 trips to the North West of Scotland,I have well and truly scratched that itch. Cars keep you poor and they give you stress when they break. I sold my car. Banked the money, got my garage back and now do loads of cycling.
I have no money stress, I’m not going to kill myself or anyone else and my license is no longer in danger. I really dont miss it at all. I look at nice Sports cars and they don’t get my heart rate pounding at all. I have almost zero interest in cars now and I count that as a blessing.
Please tell us about your VX220 Turbo, always loved & still want one of these !I have no money stress, I’m not going to kill myself or anyone else and my license is no longer in danger. I really dont miss it at all. I look at nice Sports cars and they don’t get my heart rate pounding at all. I have almost zero interest in cars now and I count that as a blessing.
I haven't raved about my shed for a while but driving doesn't need to be an expensive hobby to remain fun. My sheTTy is a pretty decent car to drive. I don't know how Audi has done it because it's based on a Golf platform but Golfs and similar don't seem as interesting to drive. Maybe it's because the seating is further back and you're lower down? The seating position certainly feels sporty. It's not particularly fast but not slow - 180bhp is good enough for me. Oh, I paid about £1500. It has cost me about £2k in 6 months to get it through the MOT and deal with other issues, and still isn't perfect, but I still enjoy driving it. Fuel economy etc is more than acceptable.
No. I am going in the opposite direction because time is running out and the future looks terrible. What is there to look forward to? Super expensive cars, barren interiors, and more technology that restricts your freedoms.
I hope to look back when I'm almost dead and be thankful for all the cars I enjoyed before it was all taken away or destroyed.
I hope to look back when I'm almost dead and be thankful for all the cars I enjoyed before it was all taken away or destroyed.
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