Early-retirement wannabe

Anonymous101

Marine_life wrote: »

I'm not sure about that......cigarettes, beer, fast food?

Its only a waste of money if you derive no utility from it (and that utility can include fun and peace of mind). As I'm now a private buyer I would not buy a new car but I would (and did) buy a one year old car which has already lost around 30% of its list price (and with only 3,000 miles).

Its possible to be both flash and frugal

Ok, that's a fair point about fags, booze and take away's. They're also hugely wasteful. Once you add in deposits, balloon payments, depreciation and monthly payments new and nearly new cars can be well over £500 a month. You'd be hard pushed to spend that on most other things.

I agree though its about finding a balance. I bought a 18 month old car myself and did lose a large amount initially. I don't however feel that I've got to keep up with the Jones's and change my car every 2 years. Luckily for me my company car policy accepts cars up to 10 years old so I have a certain amount of flexibility.

cobson

The words of the frugal guru...

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/04/22/curing-your-clown-like-car-habit/

AnotherJoe

Anonymous101 wrote: »

Ok, that's a fair point about fags, booze and take away's. They're also hugely wasteful. Once you add in deposits, balloon payments, depreciation and monthly payments new and nearly new cars can be well over £500 a month. You'd be hard pushed to spend that on most other things.

I agree though its about finding a balance. I bought a 18 month old car myself and did lose a large amount initially. I don't however feel that I've got to keep up with the Jones's and change my car every 2 years. Luckily for me my company car policy accepts cars up to 10 years old so I have a certain amount of flexibility.

I'm paying a tadge over £200/month for a brand new car. No depreciation as it's PCH. No petrol or diesel costs at all as it's electric which is 20% the price of those. Maintenance minimal. And a far better smoother drive.

atush

i've had new cars- they are nice.

But I prefer to buy late model used fromd emos to up to 2 years old. Less depreciation, still in warrenty.

atush

Marine_life wrote: »

I'm not sure about that......cigarettes, beer, fast food?

Its only a waste of money if you derive no utility from it (and that utility can include fun and peace of mind). As I'm now a private buyer I would not buy a new car but I would (and did) buy a one year old car which has already lost around 30% of its list price (and with only 3,000 miles).

Its possible to be both flash and frugal

yep thats what I do. Didnt read this until after i posted as was on a different page lol

michaels

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I'm paying a tadge over £200/month for a brand new car. No depreciation as it's PCH. No petrol or diesel costs at all as it's electric which is 20% the price of those. Maintenance minimal. And a far better smoother drive.

There is always someone he who got a better deal through. Our leccy car was 130pm all in but still much more expensive than our second car that had only petrol in the 2 years we had it and was just written off for exactly what we had paid for it 2 years previously.

OldMusicGuy

I bought a 47 year old car and so far it's gone up in value by about 25% since I have had it........

jimi_man

Anonymous101 wrote: »

Ok, that's a fair point about fags, booze and take away's. They're also hugely wasteful. Once you add in deposits, balloon payments, depreciation and monthly payments new and nearly new cars can be well over £500 a month. You'd be hard pushed to spend that on most other things.

I used to smoke Benson and Hedges when I was in my 20’s and when I gave up they were about £1.80 a pack. I note that now they are over £11 a pack. At 20 a day, that’s £4K a year, which makes a huge dent (sorry!) into the costs of a car.

tigerspill

Anonymous101 wrote: »

I think for most people cars are the single biggest waste of money through their lives.

It took me several mistakes to learn that lesson! :money:

Not if you buy the right car.
I have been driving a 911 now for four years for free due to the value increasing. Has covered all costs - fuel, insurance, maintenance etc.
Not bad.
OK not a new car - it was a few years old, but still not a bad drive.
I have a friend has driven nice cars all his driving life and has never lost a penny on any of them.

Snakey

A vaguely-car-related point that springs to mind is that unless you have a convenient devoted daughter living next door I can't imagine a rural late-retirement phase is going to be much fun. As such, you might be better off with a flat in town (like wot I got ). And people say you shouldn't be leaving it too late to make a big move like that because it's more stressful after (say) seventy. So when would you make that move? A bit - or a lot - earlier than "the last possible moment" so that you can save on what looks like a massive cost of running cars for those extra years? You could use the extra money to help you get settled socially, maybe.