RE: Alpine A110 | PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
Royal Jelly said:
otolith said:
Unfortunately, now that the Elise is dead the Alpine is as light as you are going to get in this sort of serious but usable sportscar. An MX-5 is lighter but not as focused.
That’s a fair point..For me as much as I like the Cayman...it isn't exactly light when you look at the numbers. What I've always liked about the A110 is that it only has around 250bhp yet it still gets from 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and 0 to 100 in 10.5 seconds(my old E92 M3 needed a 4.0 V8 with 414bhp to achieve similar numbers to that). Lightness makes a genuine difference I reckon.
I'd imagine that you would feel that extra lightness in the A110 in the corners and under braking in comparison to the Cayman for sure.
I saw one of these in the flesh a few weeks ago in a car park in North Yorkshire. It was absolutely stunning. The photos don’t seem to do it justice. I thought my 911 would look incongruous nestled amongst the tourist cars and farmer pickups, but this was on another level - it was blue and seemed to glow in the sunshine. I’m going to try and test drive one at some point. I was smitten!
Apologies for the vulgarity all, but out of interest (and this is by no means A110-specific), how are you A110 owners financing your purchases?
I've loved the idea of an A110 ever since the Caterham-Renault partnership was announced back in the day. Where Alpine has opened just down the road from me, it's got me thinking/pining. There is no question that I'd want the car, I drove a Legende spec one at the Chelmsford launch event and it was just fantastic. It appeals to me in a different way than a Cayman (which I've also tested. Bloody brilliant and I totally understand and respect the choice by the drivers/owners).
While I'm earning a bit more nowadays, if I was to buy one it would be by far the most expensive/nicest car I'd ever owned, and I'm anxious that I'd be getting into a ruinous situation due to heart overruling head. I just wondered what people are spending per month on financing one in order to work out whether I'm right to be anxious or whether I'm being unnecessary cautious and it's just time for big boy pants and a brave pill...
Lot of variables, for sure, but hive-mind ballpark?
TL:DR; What is the minimum you feel you need to be earning in order for financing a £50-60k French sports coupé to be comfortable?
I've loved the idea of an A110 ever since the Caterham-Renault partnership was announced back in the day. Where Alpine has opened just down the road from me, it's got me thinking/pining. There is no question that I'd want the car, I drove a Legende spec one at the Chelmsford launch event and it was just fantastic. It appeals to me in a different way than a Cayman (which I've also tested. Bloody brilliant and I totally understand and respect the choice by the drivers/owners).
While I'm earning a bit more nowadays, if I was to buy one it would be by far the most expensive/nicest car I'd ever owned, and I'm anxious that I'd be getting into a ruinous situation due to heart overruling head. I just wondered what people are spending per month on financing one in order to work out whether I'm right to be anxious or whether I'm being unnecessary cautious and it's just time for big boy pants and a brave pill...
Lot of variables, for sure, but hive-mind ballpark?
TL:DR; What is the minimum you feel you need to be earning in order for financing a £50-60k French sports coupé to be comfortable?
JDansey said:
TL:DR; What is the minimum you feel you need to be earning in order for financing a £50-60k French sports coupé to be comfortable?
Er, about the same as financing any car in the £50-60k bracket? Not sure that it being a French sports coupe makes much difference. Personally, I'm looking at it as a keeper so big deposit, low monthlies on 3/4 years and plans to pay off the balloon at the end. Having said that, based on current residuals there seems a good chance that unless is was purely lease/finance you'd see a lot back at the end if you sold. That can't be guaranteed of course, but limited supply, clear USP, highly regarded, three years in an no catastrophic fundamental design or engineering flaws really emerging, unlikely to be replaced like for like, 2030 rapidly approaching, all the indicators are generally pointing the right way to reduce risk.
As with any car, it’s down to you. If you earn 250k with a 3k mortgage and 3 kids in private school etc you may have a smaller fun-car margin than someone earning 40k…
Your 3 main options are - buy it with cash. If you have the cash, will you regret spending it?
Finance the purchase - higher monthlies than a PCP but you’ll own it at the end of the term..
PCP - lower monthlies, but you’ll hand it in at the end (assuming it isn’t worth more than the GFV).
All have their merits. One thing is for certain, however; if you’re financing or PCP’ing, think hard about whether you’re comfortable with the monthlies, because if it is stressful to you, you will regret it and it’ll spoil your ownership experience.
Your 3 main options are - buy it with cash. If you have the cash, will you regret spending it?
Finance the purchase - higher monthlies than a PCP but you’ll own it at the end of the term..
PCP - lower monthlies, but you’ll hand it in at the end (assuming it isn’t worth more than the GFV).
All have their merits. One thing is for certain, however; if you’re financing or PCP’ing, think hard about whether you’re comfortable with the monthlies, because if it is stressful to you, you will regret it and it’ll spoil your ownership experience.
JDansey said:
TL:DR; What is the minimum you feel you need to be earning in order for financing a £50-60k French sports coupé to be comfortable?
Irrelevant really, because it's only looking at half of your balance sheet. Same salary at 30 with a big mortgage and kids vs house paid off and approaching retirement.ddom said:
SidewaysSi said:
Pah. Everyone knows people buy Caymans because they can't handle a real Porsche.. 
People buy Caymans because they want to moan about Alpine 
Some people do get quite emotional about things.
craigjm said:
blade7 said:
Boring engine, boring gearbox, quite a few nasty owners.
really?JDansey said:
TL:DR; What is the minimum you feel you need to be earning in order for financing a £50-60k French sports coupé to be comfortable?
When I was looking at pretty much the same possibility, I reduced it to finding out what the monthly PCP payment would be, and asking 'can I afford that much a month on a car?' (taking into account it would be replacing an existing car that's not free to run). Then I would have taken say a 3 year PCP, and worried later about whether to borrow to pay off the balloon and keep it, or not.Another way of looking at it is that Dan Prosser PCP'd an Alpine, and my understanding is that car journalism is quite poorly paid since, well, you're getting to drive all the most exciting cars hard for 'work', so what do you need a salary for as well? https://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-fleet/alpi...
otolith said:
Irrelevant really, because it's only looking at half of your balance sheet. Same salary at 30 with a big mortgage and kids vs house paid off and approaching retirement.
This is a really good point. I didn't phrase my question particularly well.I was more interested in what the owners' experience of monthlies/deposit requirements is. Do Renault/Alpine take the p*ss with financing (more/less than other manufacturers)? I'd work out the rest relative to my particular situation.
If I was to finance a car, I’d be going for a bank loan almost certainly. They’re a good chunk cheaper than most car finance houses. That said, and perhaps this was pre- Covid bubble, dealers were desperate to sell you finance so they would knock more off the car/throw in options…
If that’s still the case, then take the in-house finance, then use cash or a bank loan to pay that off straight away.
If that’s still the case, then take the in-house finance, then use cash or a bank loan to pay that off straight away.
SidewaysSi said:
ddom said:
SidewaysSi said:
Pah. Everyone knows people buy Caymans because they can't handle a real Porsche..
People buy Caymans because they want to moan about Alpine Some people do get quite emotional about things.
Royal Jelly said:
If I was to finance a car, I’d be going for a bank loan almost certainly. They’re a good chunk cheaper than most car finance houses. That said, and perhaps this was pre- Covid bubble, dealers were desperate to sell you finance so they would knock more off the car/throw in options…
If that’s still the case, then take the in-house finance, then use cash or a bank loan to pay that off straight away.
Once you get over 25k an unsecured bank loan is not as easily accessible as PCP may be for many.If that’s still the case, then take the in-house finance, then use cash or a bank loan to pay that off straight away.
Followed this thread with interest . I have a A110 legende and to some extent both the positives expressed by fellow owners and the negatives posted by non owners are all true. It’s a good car but it falls short , in my view, of being a great car. The quality of the interior, the infotainment, the uncomfortable legende seats, no manual and the engine which is good but not great mean it is by no means a 10 out of 10 car. Many owners I know will disagree and I am fine with that, it’s only my view as one owner of many.
It looks great and handles very well though. I have no regrets buying one but certainly am unlikely to keep it for more than another 3 or 4 years .
It looks great and handles very well though. I have no regrets buying one but certainly am unlikely to keep it for more than another 3 or 4 years .
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