Convincing parents about car choice?
Discussion
No doubt all the powerfully built company directors will scoff at my monetary position but I don't care.
Money wise I live pay check to pay check, month to month. I live by myself so rent, bills etc takes a big chunk from my wages every month. i owe nothing on the car and have no credit card or loans that need paying monthly. Some months are very tight and I sometimes have to borrow a small amount to get me through but this is always paid back immediately.I currently drive a 306 gti-6 which while good is getting old, tatty and is beginning to need work more often than not so is starting to be a drain on the finances.
My parents have offered me £3k to get something newer and different but my mum seems he'll bent on picking the car for me or at least having some say in what I buy. My two brothers are also being given £3k each and from what I can tell there are no such limitations on what they do with the money which is the first bone of contention.
The road tax on the '6 is band K due to age which is affordable for 6 months at a time but mummy dearest is pushing for something cheaper, I suspect she wants me to buy something like a 1.4 focus or something equally drippy purely for the cheaper road tax and MPG.
The problem is, I've been looking at Leon Cupra R's, Renaultsport Megane 225's and Octavia RS's! All will do better mpg than what I have and I do a 45 mile round trip twice a week, sometimes more along the Edinburgh bypass so there will be very little 'press on' use as the Edinburgh Bypass isn't usually clear enough to be doing 70+ on and I end up doing a comfortable 60 or so.
Should I stand my ground and tell her if the money is a gift it should be mine to do with as I please? Try and compromise with her and pick something nice but not earth shattering such as a standard Leon Cupra or the mentioned Octavia RS? Suggestions for something else also gratefully accepted. I don't drive everywhere full on and really only like the overtaking capability of something with a bit of shove rather than driving everywhere up someone's chuff waiting for a hundred yard gap and flying past as fast as possible.
Money wise I live pay check to pay check, month to month. I live by myself so rent, bills etc takes a big chunk from my wages every month. i owe nothing on the car and have no credit card or loans that need paying monthly. Some months are very tight and I sometimes have to borrow a small amount to get me through but this is always paid back immediately.I currently drive a 306 gti-6 which while good is getting old, tatty and is beginning to need work more often than not so is starting to be a drain on the finances.
My parents have offered me £3k to get something newer and different but my mum seems he'll bent on picking the car for me or at least having some say in what I buy. My two brothers are also being given £3k each and from what I can tell there are no such limitations on what they do with the money which is the first bone of contention.
The road tax on the '6 is band K due to age which is affordable for 6 months at a time but mummy dearest is pushing for something cheaper, I suspect she wants me to buy something like a 1.4 focus or something equally drippy purely for the cheaper road tax and MPG.
The problem is, I've been looking at Leon Cupra R's, Renaultsport Megane 225's and Octavia RS's! All will do better mpg than what I have and I do a 45 mile round trip twice a week, sometimes more along the Edinburgh bypass so there will be very little 'press on' use as the Edinburgh Bypass isn't usually clear enough to be doing 70+ on and I end up doing a comfortable 60 or so.
Should I stand my ground and tell her if the money is a gift it should be mine to do with as I please? Try and compromise with her and pick something nice but not earth shattering such as a standard Leon Cupra or the mentioned Octavia RS? Suggestions for something else also gratefully accepted. I don't drive everywhere full on and really only like the overtaking capability of something with a bit of shove rather than driving everywhere up someone's chuff waiting for a hundred yard gap and flying past as fast as possible.
Your mother thinks she is looking after your best intetests suggesting a micra or whatever.
Inform her you would be miserable driving such a car, indeed it may even send you off the rails.....then though clever mathmatics demonstrate to her that your car of choice won't leave you poverty stricken.
Inform her you would be miserable driving such a car, indeed it may even send you off the rails.....then though clever mathmatics demonstrate to her that your car of choice won't leave you poverty stricken.
It's a tough one, but one thing I would say, is that my parents, whilst not always appearing to be fair between the 3/4 of us, in the future, in retrospect, they were and things with the other 2/3 aren't clear at the time. This may be the case here?
Some wheels are better than no wheels imho
Some wheels are better than no wheels imho
MissChief said:
I sometimes have to borrow a small amount to get me through
I think this tells you what you really should be doing! - hate to say it, but your parents are probably right on this occasion.The danger, to me anyway, is that at around £3k, many cars are on the cusp between maintained and cared for and sheddy bangers being run into the ground - so you need to tread very carefully.
Bitofbully said:
I think this tells you what you really should be doing! - hate to say it, but your parents are probably right on this occasion.
The danger, to me anyway, is that at around £3k, many cars are on the cusp between maintained and cared for and sheddy bangers being run into the ground - so you need to tread very carefully.
Last month it was £30 for a couple of days. I did buy myself a treat that month which I really shouldn't have. This month I will be fine. Plenty left over!The danger, to me anyway, is that at around £3k, many cars are on the cusp between maintained and cared for and sheddy bangers being run into the ground - so you need to tread very carefully.
Put to them that a performance car will not only be safer but less chance of anything breaking. The parts are stronger, it wont need to be thrashed everywhere and people generally take better care of them than a white goods car. You will also be happier, get to work on time so keep your job which ultimately means you can move out sooner 
Up to your parents, I'm afraid. Perhaps they're looking at your financial position and feel that getting what is essentially a newer version of your current car will simply perpetuate the situation. Except that with a faster car you'll have potentially bigger bills a few years down the track.
As to whether they should be putting restrictions on you but not on your brothers, perhaps they're reasonably comfortable on how they'll spend the money, but don't have that same confidence in you?
I'd take the money, buy a dull car, get your financial position a little more stable (reduced insurance costs, better fuel consumption, cheaper servicing etc) for 6-12 months, then sell it and buy something you really want. 'Cos otherwise, you may well not get your hands on the £3k in the first place.
As to whether they should be putting restrictions on you but not on your brothers, perhaps they're reasonably comfortable on how they'll spend the money, but don't have that same confidence in you?
I'd take the money, buy a dull car, get your financial position a little more stable (reduced insurance costs, better fuel consumption, cheaper servicing etc) for 6-12 months, then sell it and buy something you really want. 'Cos otherwise, you may well not get your hands on the £3k in the first place.
MissChief said:
Bitofbully said:
I think this tells you what you really should be doing! - hate to say it, but your parents are probably right on this occasion.
The danger, to me anyway, is that at around £3k, many cars are on the cusp between maintained and cared for and sheddy bangers being run into the ground - so you need to tread very carefully.
Last month it was £30 for a couple of days. I did buy myself a treat that month which I really shouldn't have. This month I will be fine. Plenty left over!The danger, to me anyway, is that at around £3k, many cars are on the cusp between maintained and cared for and sheddy bangers being run into the ground - so you need to tread very carefully.
There are so many interesting cars to be had for 3k. Simply say to mum and dad 'I am grateful but won't be dictated on my choice'.
It's strange as i was in a very similar situation recently. I went from a fiesta to a Toyota mr2. My stepdad was dead against it but I knew what I wanted so went for it.
Just do a search on the classifieds for cars in your budget and area. I'm sure you could provide evidence to present to the parents to agree tge car yiu choose is the right one.
It's strange as i was in a very similar situation recently. I went from a fiesta to a Toyota mr2. My stepdad was dead against it but I knew what I wanted so went for it.
Just do a search on the classifieds for cars in your budget and area. I'm sure you could provide evidence to present to the parents to agree tge car yiu choose is the right one.
8potdave said:
Put to them that a performance car will not only be safer but less chance of anything breaking. The parts are stronger, it wont need to be thrashed everywhere and people generally take better care of them than a white goods car. You will also be happier, get to work on time so keep your job which ultimately means you can move out sooner
I don't live with them? Another poster mentioned that I'm a 'worse' risk than my brothers. My older brother got £16k redundancy when his workplace moved to Ireland and blew through £8k of that in the space of three months with nothing concrete to show for it other than being on first name terms with the manager of the local 'amusement arcade' . My mum ended up taking the remaining money off him and putting it into her own account! Compared to him I'm saintly but I could have done so much better with £16k than he did so it annoys me he was so wasteful.I have kids so it must have rear seats so as much as. Would love a S2k or something it won't happen.
Take the money and get a suitable economical car that they approve of (with a little compromise), say thankyou and run it for three years, in the meantime, do all you can to improve your finances and get a better job, then when you have your own money buy what the hell you want and avoid the old "Beggars cant be choosers" situation you are in, they just dont want to lay out three grand on some fast but expensive to run and potentially unreliable car like the one you say yuo already have.
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