How much did you spend on your car

My_Digital_Self

We've just paid 15% of our household income for a 3 year old luxury car... in cold hard cash (all saved up by being MSE).
We're both petrolheads & this is our only car at present despite having owned many other vehicles in the past - we're hanging onto this one until it's more trouble than it's worth, and from the full service history we don't expect any big bills in the near future either.
Finance has suited us in the past, as our other outgoings were unusually low for our income (2 professionals).
We've never bought a brand new car - never saw the point of taking the initial hit of depreciation or dealing with new model 'niggles'.

MrMoo123

I lease now because the way I see it:

say a car is £20k brand new - you lost about £5k just driving it off the forecourt. You then run it into the ground for 3 years putting milleage on it and stone chipping the body work. When you come to sell it your lucky if you get £8k for it and then you have all the hassle of trying to sell it to have people coming round and offering you silly money, you usually end up knocking £1k off the asking price (including the £100 you spent on advertising it for a few weeks) because you want to get rid of it. That's not including the money you have spent on taxing it for 3 years either (2 if your lucky enough to get 12 months free when you bought it).

So in 3 years you've lost £13k + road tax or to put it another way - £555.55 a month.

You could lease it for 3 years for less then montly cost then that and get the road tax included. At the end of the 3 years give it back and get a new one. No hassle of selling the old one.

My point of view.

NBLondon

wannabehermit wrote: »

My last few cars have cost me about £800 (so less than 1% of DHs annual salary) to buy, ..... [bit cut out here] so spent £6000 (£3000 cash), so after interest has been added on over the 3 years it will be just over 50% of DHs salary.

erm - hang on.

£800 is 1% of salary implies salary = £80,000

£3000 with interest over 3 years is 50% of salary = £40,000 :huh:

That's a hell of an interest rate!

Or has DH's salary dropped dramatically in the intervening time requiring MSE behaviour?

Weird_Nev

My last car was about a weeks wages, it's lasted 18 months and 16k miles so far with routine maintenance and a few bits and bobs.
It's still about 40p a mile though, all in.
I'm definately going the wrong way:
Audi 80 Tdi: Bought for £2,600 in about 2003
Nissan 200SX: Bought for £4,100 in 2006
Toyota MR2 (mk1) Bought for £1,600 in 2008
BMW 328i Bought for £700 in 2010!

They're getting cheaper and older as I grow up!

Alizarin

My car (V reg Micra) cost me £2475, which at the time was 23% of my annual salary.

I bought it 6 years ago with 80,000 miles on the clock and it's still running perfectly well now. Best investment I ever made

somethingcorporate

Our first car was a 2000 plate Yaris, cost £1,500 - about 1.3% of joint household income. What a scrooge!

cambermam

I paid £250 for my p reg Clio with 70k on the clock.
That was 2 years ago and have spent about £200 on repairs (that includes 4 new tyres fitted).

Ok it's not a looker but who cares? It gets me where i need to be and that's all i want.

scheming_gypsy

I have two cars:
1 - L reg MR2 with 94k on the clock. Cost me £505
2 - N reg Volvo 850 T5 estate with 190k on the clock. Cost me £675

Currently weekly take home is £633, so the pair of them cost me less than 2 weeks wages.

mcjordi

right ill list mine:
1. first car 1994 L escort 1.4 (cost £100)- scrapped for £40 (had it about 8 months)
2. micra 1litre G reg paid £100 for it - had 1 day i really hated it sold for £120 the following day
3. 1.8 Diesel Mk3 fiesta paid £200 for it M reg full service history had it 7 months before rolling in after hitting a patch of diesel scrapped for £80
4. K reg 1.1 mk3 fiesta paid £120 for it.. failed Mot on welding had 3 months - scrapped for 120 quid funnily enough
5. G reg 1.4 mk2 astra paid 150 quid for it. didnt really like it so sold it for £160 about 6 months later
6. L reg corsa 1.5 TD (brilliant car- sold above car to buy this one) £250 with 1 months mot and a years tax mot cost £120 to get it through (written off by white van man. (got £800 for the car plus £100 scrap)
7. Mk3 1.6 astra P reg. £150 (bloke was scrapping it but it was servicable so i got a mot on it.. engine blew about a year after ownership. scrapped for 100 quid
8. T reg corsa 1.0 12v (worst car ever) (paid £800) written off by police car.. paid out £2k on it.. (was a blessing in disguise heap of crap it was.)
9. N reg 106 diesel. paid £400 for it. full mot and 6 months tax.. (written off after 2 weeks.. rear ended ) got £675 for it plus 100 scrap
10. R reg 1.3 fiesta mk4 £400 i think.. had it two years before it was using more oil than petrol (sold as spares or repair for £200)
11. S reg 1.9 diesel xsara £350 paid. had 1 year till head gasket went on it.. (had a coolant leak i forgot about) £180 scrap
12. R reg mk4 fiesta paid £150 as spares or repair (wanted brake pads ) again had 1 year before using poo loads of oil (sold as scrap for £180)
13. W reg mk5 fiesta £410 paid got tax and brakes sorted owed me £600.. too small so sold at cost to a mate.
14. T reg xsara 1.9d (current car) brillaint bargain as very low mileage for age £410 ebay bargain...

so ive had lots of cheap cars and havent really lost anything on them.. cheap and cheerful so long as it starts stops and go's ill drive it..

cyclonebri1

Juess chap forget these issues.
Sorry to mc jordie for his detailded post
Buy the car you can afford,


FULL STOP, without sacrificing anything else