Help me persuade a good friend!
Discussion
The story so far.
Yesterday evening I received a very frightening text off a good friend of mine. It began: “I’m getting a new car!”
I gave a nonchalant response “What car?!”
And this is where the alarm bells rang as his response was. “Don’t know, I’ve got 10k on finance”
The texts got worse, apparently over 5years he would only pay back 13k
so 11% APR on a 10k loan over 5 years! Seemingly is a good deal in his eyes.
I probed a few questions and thankfully he didn’t get defensive. I was hoping and praying he had been dreaming of a car for a while, something different and exciting. Then the fateful text arrived. Even though he travels a maximum of 10k miles per year, he thinks he wants a Vauxhall Astra 1.7
cdti Sporthatch Sri on a 09 plate. 
Please don’t misunderstand me, these aren’t bad cars. Another good friend of mine has the exact model and they are very good looking IMO. Two weeks ago I had a 15minute drive in his and to say the least I was under whelmed. The 100hp engine is as you would expect, gutless. It shares the same characteristic as most diesels, poor in first and second gears with the power starting to show through in third and fourth. The problem being as you hit third the engine isn’t powerful enough to provide a satisfying push of power.
He is quite interested in cars, but I’m pretty certain he’s jumped on the economy bandwagon. He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of depreciation and that diesel won’t save him a large amount of money when only covering 10k miles per year.
He is 22 years old and has 4 years driving experience along with 1 years ncb. Any good suggestions will be appreciated, no barges as he’s 22 and something that will keep up with the Jones’ as this is most likely why he’s buying the car.
Impress me
Yesterday evening I received a very frightening text off a good friend of mine. It began: “I’m getting a new car!”
I gave a nonchalant response “What car?!”
And this is where the alarm bells rang as his response was. “Don’t know, I’ve got 10k on finance”
The texts got worse, apparently over 5years he would only pay back 13k
so 11% APR on a 10k loan over 5 years! Seemingly is a good deal in his eyes.I probed a few questions and thankfully he didn’t get defensive. I was hoping and praying he had been dreaming of a car for a while, something different and exciting. Then the fateful text arrived. Even though he travels a maximum of 10k miles per year, he thinks he wants a Vauxhall Astra 1.7
cdti Sporthatch Sri on a 09 plate. Please don’t misunderstand me, these aren’t bad cars. Another good friend of mine has the exact model and they are very good looking IMO. Two weeks ago I had a 15minute drive in his and to say the least I was under whelmed. The 100hp engine is as you would expect, gutless. It shares the same characteristic as most diesels, poor in first and second gears with the power starting to show through in third and fourth. The problem being as you hit third the engine isn’t powerful enough to provide a satisfying push of power.
He is quite interested in cars, but I’m pretty certain he’s jumped on the economy bandwagon. He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of depreciation and that diesel won’t save him a large amount of money when only covering 10k miles per year.
He is 22 years old and has 4 years driving experience along with 1 years ncb. Any good suggestions will be appreciated, no barges as he’s 22 and something that will keep up with the Jones’ as this is most likely why he’s buying the car.
Impress meFor the love of God , no!
He could get a much better car, for half the amount.
He could get a bank loan with less than half of that APR figure.
If he likes Astras, he could get a petrol version cheaper, that will have the same overall running costs.
So many decisions, but make no mistake, his current one is a awful.
He could get a much better car, for half the amount.
He could get a bank loan with less than half of that APR figure.
If he likes Astras, he could get a petrol version cheaper, that will have the same overall running costs.
So many decisions, but make no mistake, his current one is a awful.
SWoll said:
It's his dime, no good trying to push your car buying fantasies on him. If he asks for advice, fine. Otherwise I would let him get on with it tbh.
It's a shame, but not everyone is a PH.
This is exactly what I usually do. But we've been good mates since we were about 8 and I can't bare to watch this bullsIt's a shame, but not everyone is a PH.
t happen again 
doogz said:
StottyZr said:
“I’ve got 10k on finance”
The texts got worse, apparently over 5years he would only pay back 13k so 11% APR on a 10k loan over 5 years! Seemingly is a good deal in his eyes.
Dunno if i'm missing something, but that doesn't seem like a bad deal, over 5 years? Is it?The texts got worse, apparently over 5years he would only pay back 13k
so 11% APR on a 10k loan over 5 years! Seemingly is a good deal in his eyes.Just as an example, here's a '10 plate, 1.6 petrol for £8000;
http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
This isn't a one off neither, there's plenty on AT.
http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
This isn't a one off neither, there's plenty on AT.
doogz said:
StottyZr said:
“I’ve got 10k on finance”
The texts got worse, apparently over 5years he would only pay back 13k so 11% APR on a 10k loan over 5 years! Seemingly is a good deal in his eyes.
Dunno if i'm missing something, but that doesn't seem like a bad deal, over 5 years? Is it?The texts got worse, apparently over 5years he would only pay back 13k
so 11% APR on a 10k loan over 5 years! Seemingly is a good deal in his eyes.Although, the difference between 7% and 10% over 3 years is only a few quid a month – so in the grand scheme of things it's not going to change the his life.
It's not like it's a 30 year mortgage at 10% rather than 3%.
Besides, depending on the chaps circumstances he might not be able to get 7-8%.
Banks and loan companies nudge APRs all the time depending on salary, house, credit cards and phase of moon.
As for the car.
- shrug*
)Rawwr said:
There's a fully-optioned 40,000 mile BMW 545i in the classifieds for under £10k. Steal his money and buy that for him.
no barges.Well, its settled then. Ill watch another friend throw a few £000's away
Last night I was shocked to hear a friend of mine is paying £3000 insurance on a Ford Ka with 1yrs NCB. Apparently he bought the first quote he saw on a comparison site. I told him he was stupid (along with a few friends) he told me to find a better quote. The first check I did I found £1615 from Bell. He's now going to cancel his insurance and take out the one I found for half the price. What a bellend! The level of stupidity is unbelievable.
StottyZr said:
2 months ago I was given £9500 at 6.5%, a quick look on the money saving expert shows £10000 over 5years is offered at 6.3% from the Alliance and Leicester. This is a total repayment of £11500 as apposed to his £13000. You can understand why I don't want a good friend to effectivly throw away £1500?
So you've pointed him in the direction of Alliance and Leicester, haven't you??E30M3SE said:
So you've pointed him in the direction of Alliance and Leicester, haven't you??
I will tonight he's coming over to mine. The Astra petrol looks a good shout especially for 8k. I think I'm going to take him for a few test drives and show him how he can afford a car that is far far superior (although maybe a little older) than an Astra. Audi A3 3.2 quattro I'm thinking :scrathchin: these are around 4k now.It is disappointing when a friend asks for advice and tell them the bad bits.
A mate of mine drives a 205 1.4 - he fills the oil up when the light comes on, and sometimes leaves it a while before that. It blue smokes everywhere and has done for some time. I have even had that fateful call of 'if there is no oil on the dipstick how much do I put in...'.
He is now looking at buying an RX8 as they look nice...how much are engine rebuilds on these now days?
A mate of mine drives a 205 1.4 - he fills the oil up when the light comes on, and sometimes leaves it a while before that. It blue smokes everywhere and has done for some time. I have even had that fateful call of 'if there is no oil on the dipstick how much do I put in...'.
He is now looking at buying an RX8 as they look nice...how much are engine rebuilds on these now days?
StottyZr said:
2 months ago I was given £9500 at 6.5%, a quick look on the money saving expert shows £10000 over 5years is offered at 6.3% from the Alliance and Leicester. This is a total repayment of £11500 as apposed to his £13000. You can understand why I don't want a good friend to effectivly throw away £1500?
Unfortunately these headline APRs are only available to people with really good credit ratings. As soon as the rating goes down a bit, they will still offer the loan but at a much higher rate, sometimes double or triple!Jabbah said:
Unfortunately these headline APRs are only available to people with really good credit ratings. As soon as the rating goes down a bit, they will still offer the loan but at a much higher rate, sometimes double or triple!
Yeah I thought this but I had nothing really to do with credit, never missed a payment but never had a credit card... And they gave me £9500 at 6.5% with no problems within minutes. He's in the same situation as me but he had a loan for a previous car and paid it all off. Theres no reason he would get knocked back, and even if he does whats wrong with trying?StottyZr said:
I will tonight he's coming over to mine. The Astra petrol looks a good shout especially for 8k. I think I'm going to take him for a few test drives and show him how he can afford a car that is far far superior (although maybe a little older) than an Astra. Audi A3 3.2 quattro I'm thinking :scrathchin: these are around 4k now.
I'd would expect the insurance of the Audi to be quite a bit, group 18 I think. If he wants to be sensible (I would say 'feel' sensible) by having a car that's good on fuel, then why not point him in the direction of a 1-series diesel. Will depreciate a lot less, probably cost a little more to insure granted, but does have some credibility.By all means, show him he could have for that money, his head may be turned slightly.
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