How the hell do people afford cars these days?

[mikeiow]

ChocolateFrog said:

In a roundabout way.

Sold my V8 Touareg and bought a Duster.

Only a couple of grand difference but the Duster is 10 years newer and a fair chunk cheaper to run.

How different does it feel to drive?
I’m curious….does a modern Duster compare well with a decade old Touareg?

[ooid]

I keep hearing people dumping ropey range, cayenne or touregs and replacing them with dacias, Kias.. It used to be further towards japanese like Jimny, Rav4 or Crv. So many over-priced brand new cars out there but in reality they are total garbage, not good for value.

[Deep Thought]

ooid said:

I keep hearing people dumping ropey range, cayenne or touregs and replacing them with dacias, Kias.. It used to be further towards japanese like Jimny, Rav4 or Crv. So many over-priced brand new cars out there but in reality they are total garbage, not good for value.

The reality is, they're an indulgence for most rather than a necessity.

So can easily be let go if someone tires of the costs or wants to cut down on their outgoings.

Edited by Deep Thought on Sunday 11th September 10:59

[fflump]

flibbage0 said:

I honestly don't know how people afford these cars. Just to clarify I am NOT jealous as I love seeing nice cars, if anything I am genuinely intrigued as to how people make enough money to buy such nice cars.

With the general cost of living unless your house is paid off I don't understand how there's so many Range Rovers on the road and I'm not talking Evoque's either.

Anyway one day I hope I am in the position to buy a nice car for my parents, they deserve it more than I do.

I've always liked seeing folk in nice cars too ever since I was a kid. I'm pushing 50 but will still stand and stare as a some exotica drives past. I tend to be attracted to cars that are clearly a labour of love for the owner like an nice Interceptor, E-type or even Cerbera. That said, I was straight out of the house when a Monza SP2 pulled up outside.

For a lot of people a 'nice' car makes them feel good which if they can afford it is money well spent. If wafting round in a FFRR is your thing then you can buy a decent 8/9 yr old L405, stick a dateless plate on and your £25k car won't look drastically different to a £100k late gen4.

I never spent more than £8k on a car until the house was paid off simply because I would not enjoy a pricier car while still holding debt as even if you're paying cash the opportunity cost is the mortgage rate you could be paying off. If we upsized house-wise needing a mortgage I'd go back to cheap cars again but I struggle with the concept of handing over £100,000 in stamp duty for the privilege of moving. You can buy a lot of metal for that!

[okgo]

flibbage0 said:

I honestly don't know how people afford these cars. Just to clarify I am NOT jealous as I love seeing nice cars, if anything I am genuinely intrigued as to how people make enough money to buy such nice cars.

With the general cost of living unless your house is paid off I don't understand how there's so many Range Rovers on the road and I'm not talking Evoque's either.

Anyway one day I hope I am in the position to buy a nice car for my parents, they deserve it more than I do.

A great many people put cars at the top of their priority list - some mad people on this site spending half their income on cars every month. Loads more people earn enough money that the cost of living crisis simply isn’t an issue. Lots of successful business owners about. Business leases etc etc.

[Puzzles]

I see it a bit with middle aged people, they have a house they don’t want to move from, mortgage paid off, so what else do they spend their masses of disposable income on.

[Superflow]

As people enter middle age their parents start dropping dead often leaving them property worth a lot of money.An example is a couple we know her father died and they sold the house to the tune of £500k and subsequently placed £100k of metal on their driveway seemingly overnight to people not in the know.

Another lady we know split from husband during covid works part time as teacher and has two daughters the eldest has just been put into a fee paying school and she drives an almost new BMW X model she told us her parents paid which is fair enough.

[pb8g09]

fflump said:

I never spent more than £8k on a car until the house was paid off simply because I would not enjoy a pricier car while still holding debt as even if you're paying cash the opportunity cost is the mortgage rate you could be paying off.

Whilst I understand what you're getting at, I recently bought a 40k mile M235i for £18k. I have wanted one for 5 years and finally had the cash 'spare' to buy it.

For £8k in this market, I could have got an 80k mile 335i or maybe a well looked after high mileage 130i which both have the propensity to now throw big bills at me each year. The £10k difference on my mortgage takes my mortgage debt from £360k to £350k - i.e. sweet f*ck all difference, so paying the extra money for a car that will hopefully last me at least a few years longer than the alternatives was worth it.

(to add, I didn't want to buy a shed as my last one blew up on me).

[mat205125]

pb8g09 said:

fflump said:

I never spent more than £8k on a car until the house was paid off simply because I would not enjoy a pricier car while still holding debt as even if you're paying cash the opportunity cost is the mortgage rate you could be paying off.

Whilst I understand what you're getting at, I recently bought a 40k mile M235i for £18k. I have wanted one for 5 years and finally had the cash 'spare' to buy it.

For £8k in this market, I could have got an 80k mile 335i or maybe a well looked after high mileage 130i which both have the propensity to now throw big bills at me each year. The £10k difference on my mortgage takes my mortgage debt from £360k to £350k - i.e. sweet f*ck all difference, so paying the extra money for a car that will hopefully last me at least a few years longer than the alternatives was worth it.

(to add, I didn't want to buy a shed as my last one blew up on me).

Did you seriously increase your mortgage to fund a depreciating car?

[The Rotrex Kid]

mat205125 said:

pb8g09 said:

fflump said:

I never spent more than £8k on a car until the house was paid off simply because I would not enjoy a pricier car while still holding debt as even if you're paying cash the opportunity cost is the mortgage rate you could be paying off.

Whilst I understand what you're getting at, I recently bought a 40k mile M235i for £18k. I have wanted one for 5 years and finally had the cash 'spare' to buy it.

For £8k in this market, I could have got an 80k mile 335i or maybe a well looked after high mileage 130i which both have the propensity to now throw big bills at me each year. The £10k difference on my mortgage takes my mortgage debt from £360k to £350k - i.e. sweet f*ck all difference, so paying the extra money for a car that will hopefully last me at least a few years longer than the alternatives was worth it.

(to add, I didn't want to buy a shed as my last one blew up on me).

Did you seriously increase your mortgage to fund a depreciating car?

I read it that he has spent the £10k on a car rather than overpaying his mortgage.

[pb8g09]

mat205125 said:

pb8g09 said:

fflump said:

I never spent more than £8k on a car until the house was paid off simply because I would not enjoy a pricier car while still holding debt as even if you're paying cash the opportunity cost is the mortgage rate you could be paying off.

Whilst I understand what you're getting at, I recently bought a 40k mile M235i for £18k. I have wanted one for 5 years and finally had the cash 'spare' to buy it.

For £8k in this market, I could have got an 80k mile 335i or maybe a well looked after high mileage 130i which both have the propensity to now throw big bills at me each year. The £10k difference on my mortgage takes my mortgage debt from £360k to £350k - i.e. sweet f*ck all difference, so paying the extra money for a car that will hopefully last me at least a few years longer than the alternatives was worth it.

(to add, I didn't want to buy a shed as my last one blew up on me).

Did you seriously increase your mortgage to fund a depreciating car?

No, try again.
The point I'm making is that spending £10k on a better car in my eyes is better than taking 2% off my mortgage (by overpaying) which I would not notice.

[fflump]

pb8g09 said:

fflump said:

I never spent more than £8k on a car until the house was paid off simply because I would not enjoy a pricier car while still holding debt as even if you're paying cash the opportunity cost is the mortgage rate you could be paying off.

Whilst I understand what you're getting at, I recently bought a 40k mile M235i for £18k. I have wanted one for 5 years and finally had the cash 'spare' to buy it.

For £8k in this market, I could have got an 80k mile 335i or maybe a well looked after high mileage 130i which both have the propensity to now throw big bills at me each year. The £10k difference on my mortgage takes my mortgage debt from £360k to £350k - i.e. sweet f*ck all difference, so paying the extra money for a car that will hopefully last me at least a few years longer than the alternatives was worth it.

(to add, I didn't want to buy a shed as my last one blew up on me).

Totally understand and I am not one to ram my personal preferences down anyone's throat. My £8k bought a used-approved 4 year old Alfa 156 sportswagon with warranty so I was hardly slumming it. Since I last took out a mortgage the difference between house prices and car prices has further diverged so an extra £10k on something that you spend significant time in and rely on is entirely understandable as makes a minuscule difference to debt. It's all about personal preferences-some folk might want to shed it to afford a granite kitchen worktop-hopefully not too many PH'ers though!

[What The Deuces]

pb8g09 said:

No, try again.
The point I'm making is that spending £10k on a better car in my eyes is better than taking 2% off my mortgage (by overpaying) which I would not notice.

Out of interest have you ever done an overpayment calculator and looked at what it does to the term?

I overpaid my fist mortgage by £100 a month and the term went from 25 to 14 years

[Jaguar steve]

Deep Thought said:

ooid said:

I keep hearing people dumping ropey range, cayenne or touregs and replacing them with dacias, Kias.. It used to be further towards japanese like Jimny, Rav4 or Crv. So many over-priced brand new cars out there but in reality they are total garbage, not good for value.

The reality is, they're an indulgence for most rather than a necessity.

So can easily be let go if someone tires of the costs or wants to cut down on their outgoings.

I'd guess letting an ostentatious or prestige car go isn't always about money either, and it's highly likely those who've walked away from one will have become acutely aware of what a needy pain in the arse such cars often are.

[Lincsls1]

Jaguar steve said:

I'd guess letting an ostentatious or prestige car go isn't always about money either, and it's highly likely those who've walked away from one will have become acutely aware of what a needy pain in the arse such cars often are.

Yep, the 'best' cars are often not the best cars.
For reliability and dependability, I reckon its the base model of any given car range that is the best.

[pb8g09]

What The Deuces said:

Out of interest have you ever done an overpayment calculator and looked at what it does to the term?

I overpaid my fist mortgage by £100 a month and the term went from 25 to 14 years

So £10k today would take 11months off my mortgage. I'd be a bit worried if in the future I didn't have that amount to clear the final year 11 months early in any case (appreciate that I'd save £4.7k in interest but split that over 25 years and it's negligible).


You do raise a good point though - and by paying cash for the car and not PCP/leasing, I can now overpay my mortgage monthly. So yes, I would do both.

[Deep Thought]

Jaguar steve said:

Deep Thought said:

ooid said:

I keep hearing people dumping ropey range, cayenne or touregs and replacing them with dacias, Kias.. It used to be further towards japanese like Jimny, Rav4 or Crv. So many over-priced brand new cars out there but in reality they are total garbage, not good for value.

The reality is, they're an indulgence for most rather than a necessity.

So can easily be let go if someone tires of the costs or wants to cut down on their outgoings.

I'd guess letting an ostentatious or prestige car go isn't always about money either, and it's highly likely those who've walked away from one will have become acutely aware of what a needy pain in the arse such cars often are.

Yup. Very true. High maintenance costs, high running costs, not always the most reliable.

[nickfrog]

Jaguar steve said:

I'd guess letting an ostentatious or prestige car go isn't always about money either, and it's highly likely those who've walked away from one will have become acutely aware of what a needy pain in the arse such cars often are.

Yes that's what you did Steve isn't it? I remember you explaining you couldn't cope and that you didn't need to show off anymore (or words to that effect).

Very wise move if those were indeed your motivations and constraints, full marks to you.

[joropug]

What The Deuces said:

Out of interest have you ever done an overpayment calculator and looked at what it does to the term?

I overpaid my fist mortgage by £100 a month and the term went from 25 to 14 years

I took out a 35 year mortgage during a move at 32 years old (last year) - £300pm overpayment shaves it down to 25 years, £150 each for my Wife and I we don't notice it but sure as hell will notice paying off our mortgage at 57 rather than 67!! Well worth doing in my eyes, there might be better ways to invest sure, but for me that is the safest one and the one ill notice the most.

[okgo]

I’d have just taken a 25 year term in the first place.