Man maths, investing and throwing money on unaffordable cars
Discussion
Morning all,
A few heads up for my post below.
- Yes, I am trying to avoid advice from and paying for a financial advisor.
- I would love some opinions on what you would do.
- No, I cannot afford both cars outright, even if I could, I wouldn’t necessarily do so.
- I’d love to hear some ‘thinking out of the box’ answers.
Now I am settled in a new home, with steady overheads and a good mortgage, I am looking to proceed with my car plans.
My situation is as follows..
I have a budget of circa 25k. (18k aside with a car for sale soon, worth at its lowest of 7k)
I am after two cars, first a Merc estate, no older than 15 MY at a budget of 15k. The second, I have been set on an F Type for quite some time. The F Type a car that I plan to own until I kick the bucket.. Early model, 14 reg coming in under 28k.
My man maths calculation totals this to £43k. Obviously having a 15k shortfall.
What are your opinions?
The obvious being ‘go save another 15k’. I have a good credit history and probably wont do that.
1) Should i finance both, leave a pot of £10k for monthly payments and add to that pot a set amount each month?
2) Would you buy the Merc outright, with a remainder of money going onto the Jaguar deposit?
3) Should i look at investments for the cash, the most ‘risky’ way. (House prices in my area are UK high, so my deposit would be slightly low for a B2L).
Any other thoughts?
Thanks all, I feel I would take your advice on board more than a guy in a suit and tie after a fee.
Cheers,
H
A few heads up for my post below.
- Yes, I am trying to avoid advice from and paying for a financial advisor.
- I would love some opinions on what you would do.
- No, I cannot afford both cars outright, even if I could, I wouldn’t necessarily do so.
- I’d love to hear some ‘thinking out of the box’ answers.
Now I am settled in a new home, with steady overheads and a good mortgage, I am looking to proceed with my car plans.
My situation is as follows..
I have a budget of circa 25k. (18k aside with a car for sale soon, worth at its lowest of 7k)
I am after two cars, first a Merc estate, no older than 15 MY at a budget of 15k. The second, I have been set on an F Type for quite some time. The F Type a car that I plan to own until I kick the bucket.. Early model, 14 reg coming in under 28k.
My man maths calculation totals this to £43k. Obviously having a 15k shortfall.
What are your opinions?
The obvious being ‘go save another 15k’. I have a good credit history and probably wont do that.
1) Should i finance both, leave a pot of £10k for monthly payments and add to that pot a set amount each month?
2) Would you buy the Merc outright, with a remainder of money going onto the Jaguar deposit?
3) Should i look at investments for the cash, the most ‘risky’ way. (House prices in my area are UK high, so my deposit would be slightly low for a B2L).
Any other thoughts?
Thanks all, I feel I would take your advice on board more than a guy in a suit and tie after a fee.
Cheers,
H
ajap1979 said:
Have you driven an F-Type?
Thanks for your response, I have indeed, a soft top (newer reg 18). I had never been a fan of soft tops or being a tad poser, but I could be swayed by the convertible in the right colour (grey or silver).
Coupe I have not driven to date. IMO they do look better in my eyes.
Bank loan for £15k, surely they’ll be a lower rate of interest than whatever you can get on car finance?
Investments are a different kettle of fish, and if you’ve “only” got £28k no way you’re going to make £15k profit quickly unless you get a lot of leverage.
Personally I’d probably try and get something cheaper than the Merc estate for the practical car, but that’s a different question. And whole used car market is nuts at the moment , so I guess you might not even save that much by downgrading to a Skoda or whatever.
Investments are a different kettle of fish, and if you’ve “only” got £28k no way you’re going to make £15k profit quickly unless you get a lot of leverage.
Personally I’d probably try and get something cheaper than the Merc estate for the practical car, but that’s a different question. And whole used car market is nuts at the moment , so I guess you might not even save that much by downgrading to a Skoda or whatever.
Edited by Jawls on Monday 21st March 12:05
What I generally do when looking for another car is the following:
Pick what car first - that tends to be the easy part.
Look at my budget - always too small!
At this point I have to start looking at older and older versions of the car that I want to fit in to my budget.
Now you might need to wait a while for the right one to come along, but they do eventually.
So in your case, you want a Merc Estate and an F-Type that you are going to keep long term, so prioritise the F-Type, see how the budget is going and maybe go a bit older for the Merc Estate, I'm sure there are some fine ones out there that are maybe a few years older, you are already getting to the point where you should be buying on condition rather than mileage at 7+ years.
P.S. Maybe OP is on holiday at the moment and it's gone 12:00 where they are, so perfectly entitled to have a scoop or 2 if they want.
Pick what car first - that tends to be the easy part.
Look at my budget - always too small!
At this point I have to start looking at older and older versions of the car that I want to fit in to my budget.
Now you might need to wait a while for the right one to come along, but they do eventually.
So in your case, you want a Merc Estate and an F-Type that you are going to keep long term, so prioritise the F-Type, see how the budget is going and maybe go a bit older for the Merc Estate, I'm sure there are some fine ones out there that are maybe a few years older, you are already getting to the point where you should be buying on condition rather than mileage at 7+ years.
P.S. Maybe OP is on holiday at the moment and it's gone 12:00 where they are, so perfectly entitled to have a scoop or 2 if they want.
Buy bitcoin and retire in a year….
Tbh Depends on your disposable income, how much you put aside for a pension, how much you want to be readily accessible in the event of being out of out unable to work. What level of risk you are happy with and the rate of return you want to get out of longer term/shorter term investment, how long you intend to keep the cars for and what mileage you’ll do and expected depreciation of the cars.
Tbh if you’re not sure might be worth speaking to a financial advisor rather than listening to diatribe on here.
Can’t tell you what is right in your situation but this is what I do <drivel> Interest rates are still low and inflation is increasing, so borrowing is still relatively cheap at ~3% . I like having a pot of money available in case I need it and i set a minimum comfort level based on my outgoings (normally 4-5 months of regular outgoings - single income household so I need to make sure there is a short term buffer in the event I’m out of work). I tend to keep cars for min 5 years, I get loans or finance to pay for the cars over that term, the debt tracks the value of the car for the 1st 3 years near enough and then leaves you increasingly with value in an asset if you need to sell. I stick my cash in an easy access ISA and use something like free trade where I can dabble (£1K) + it’s a bit of lowish risk fun. I figure you can always pay the finance off faster if you decide that is what you want to do and as funds allow. </drivel>
Tbh Depends on your disposable income, how much you put aside for a pension, how much you want to be readily accessible in the event of being out of out unable to work. What level of risk you are happy with and the rate of return you want to get out of longer term/shorter term investment, how long you intend to keep the cars for and what mileage you’ll do and expected depreciation of the cars.
Tbh if you’re not sure might be worth speaking to a financial advisor rather than listening to diatribe on here.
Can’t tell you what is right in your situation but this is what I do <drivel> Interest rates are still low and inflation is increasing, so borrowing is still relatively cheap at ~3% . I like having a pot of money available in case I need it and i set a minimum comfort level based on my outgoings (normally 4-5 months of regular outgoings - single income household so I need to make sure there is a short term buffer in the event I’m out of work). I tend to keep cars for min 5 years, I get loans or finance to pay for the cars over that term, the debt tracks the value of the car for the 1st 3 years near enough and then leaves you increasingly with value in an asset if you need to sell. I stick my cash in an easy access ISA and use something like free trade where I can dabble (£1K) + it’s a bit of lowish risk fun. I figure you can always pay the finance off faster if you decide that is what you want to do and as funds allow. </drivel>
Edited by MDUBZ on Monday 21st March 13:10
To add to my facetious earlier response, I have topped up my savings with a bank loan to finance car purchase.
It’s ok, but paying back a loan is always a pain.
I would always prefer to save up the total amount.
Apart from anything else, this gives you time to think.
Sometimes you can find that you are saving for something, only to find that you change your mind during the process.
Finally I don’t see a huge surge in demand for thirsty 2 seaters coming in the near future, so I wouldn’t fret about missing the boat or anything.
It’s ok, but paying back a loan is always a pain.
I would always prefer to save up the total amount.
Apart from anything else, this gives you time to think.
Sometimes you can find that you are saving for something, only to find that you change your mind during the process.
Finally I don’t see a huge surge in demand for thirsty 2 seaters coming in the near future, so I wouldn’t fret about missing the boat or anything.
Thanks all for the responses. No morning drinking or holiday unfortunately ha ha.
I had recently sold my Lotus and Classic Mini to fund the budget and to create an indoor space for an F Type. Both of which I wasnt fully attached to.
Suggestions have been great, bank loans do seem to be the best option from a few and I like the idea of concentrating on the Jag first as ll keep this longer no doubt.
I had toyed with the idea of an XF to daily and match, but after Land Rover ownership before and travelling abroad by car, I think the merc would offer more reliability.
Thanks again
I had recently sold my Lotus and Classic Mini to fund the budget and to create an indoor space for an F Type. Both of which I wasnt fully attached to.
Suggestions have been great, bank loans do seem to be the best option from a few and I like the idea of concentrating on the Jag first as ll keep this longer no doubt.
I had toyed with the idea of an XF to daily and match, but after Land Rover ownership before and travelling abroad by car, I think the merc would offer more reliability.
Thanks again
plenty said:
I personally wouldn't ever spend more on cars than what I had available as liquid cash in the bank. But if absolutely had to, a personal loan has to be the best way if you have a good credit history.
Yup, it might be considered "old fashioned" by the mumflies generation but you can buy and run decent cars on a budget.If you're worried about the neighbours just stick a cheap dateless plate on it.
If it’s something you really want and can afford then do it, even if it means taking a bit of low risk finance. You’re only borrowing about 50 percent of the Jag so it should be fairly safe overall.
I’ve only borrowed for cars in my early days when I didn’t have savings available. Nowadays I can avoid finance and spend cash but it does obviously limit the budget and rule out anything too fancy. No real regrets though. I am due to come into some money soon so have been considering buying a really nice car to keep. The head says I should invest it but life is short and it won’t be long before we are all forced into expensive and soulless EVs.
I’ve only borrowed for cars in my early days when I didn’t have savings available. Nowadays I can avoid finance and spend cash but it does obviously limit the budget and rule out anything too fancy. No real regrets though. I am due to come into some money soon so have been considering buying a really nice car to keep. The head says I should invest it but life is short and it won’t be long before we are all forced into expensive and soulless EVs.
Pit Pony said:
I wouldn't be buying either car whether I had £25k, £43k or a zero interest loan over 100 years.
That's my think.out of the box suggestion.
If you want an estate buy an.old Mondeo shed for £1k spend the rest on any thing you like, but maybe an Aston ?
I think the F Type comes from my obsession with the E Type. But without entering into the classic car scene and having more usability. Just out of interest what would you go for?That's my think.out of the box suggestion.
If you want an estate buy an.old Mondeo shed for £1k spend the rest on any thing you like, but maybe an Aston ?
Id love an Aston, but again id be looking at adding 10k, getting into a 10 year older car with potentially higher maintenance costs. Which would come under the next categories of cars, alongside 911s etc. what next, id be drooling over 360 Modena’s and so on.
1k mondeo would be a no go, partner, kids and dog on some potentially long trip. Its got to pass some strict protocol from the misses, hence something 7 years or newer.
Cheers.
F1HLG said:
Pit Pony said:
I wouldn't be buying either car whether I had £25k, £43k or a zero interest loan over 100 years.
That's my think.out of the box suggestion.
If you want an estate buy an.old Mondeo shed for £1k spend the rest on any thing you like, but maybe an Aston ?
I think the F Type comes from my obsession with the E Type. But without entering into the classic car scene and having more usability. Just out of interest what would you go for?That's my think.out of the box suggestion.
If you want an estate buy an.old Mondeo shed for £1k spend the rest on any thing you like, but maybe an Aston ?
Id love an Aston, but again id be looking at adding 10k, getting into a 10 year older car with potentially higher maintenance costs. Which would come under the next categories of cars, alongside 911s etc. what next, id be drooling over 360 Modena’s and so on.
1k mondeo would be a no go, partner, kids and dog on some potentially long trip. Its got to pass some strict protocol from the misses, hence something 7 years or newer.
Cheers.
Maybe my currency search is set to the Russian Ruble.. I have seen plenty around 28k from dealerships (not checked the dealerships out) with FSH and some with even 30/40k on the clocks.
I am not after a mint one that said and would take something with 50k, I mean some of my older cars were on 200, so 50/60 feels new for me
I am not after a mint one that said and would take something with 50k, I mean some of my older cars were on 200, so 50/60 feels new for me
Edited by F1HLG on Tuesday 22 March 14:09
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