Car Finance advice

chloelesliexo

Hope this is in the right thread!!

I've just got myself clear of debt, my only outstanding thing is my car finance on my 2009 ford ka. I have £1000 left to pay.

Unfortunately my car is starting to go majorly wrong with 30,000 miles on the clock. A mechanic said the gear box is wearing, the clutch could be on its way out and the abs is starting to go.

Its estimated the car is worth £3,500 and the repairs are well over £1,000. I drive my car daily so need something reliable.

I was looking at getting a new Vauxhall corsa on 0% finance over 5 years. For the first 2 years I will be paying the £180 per month on my own. Then me and my partner will be sharing the car so this cost will be halved. (he has a company car at the moment which goes in 2 years and wont be buying another, he hardly uses it so we have decided to share)

I really like the idea of getting a new car with 5 years warranty. I've had 2 used cars that were one year old at the time of purchase that have just gone wrong as soon as they reach 3/4 years old.

Just wanted an outside view as to whether i;m making a wise choice?

In comparison a second hand Corsa (2011 plate, 20,000 miles) from Vauxhall in this range is about £10,000 with 7.9% finance on top. The brand new one is £14,000 at 0%


oh and just so you get an idea of my income. I get paid weekly and take home £332 per week (its £22,000 per annum). My only outgoings are my phone at £15 and a gym at £34 which I probably won't renew. I also pay housekeeping to my mum of £100 (she wont take any more from me!)

moohound

£14000 seems a lot for a city car, are there any pre registered ones with delivery miles only.

Just had a look on http://www.nationwide-cars.co.uk and the most expensive one is £13024, have you gone mad with the options list ?

Are you trading the Ka in, if so how much will they give you for it? £180 times 12 times 5 is £10800 is the rest from the trade in?

Don't take the ticket price anyway, go to plenty of dealers and play one off against the other if necessary.

Can't comment on the finance, never used it, only ever spend about £4000 plus old car on vehicles for me.

chloelesliexo

moohound wrote: »

£14000 seems a lot for a city car, are there any pre registered ones with delivery miles only.

Are you trading the Ka in, if so how much will they give you for it?

Don't take the ticket price anyway, go to plenty of dealers and play one off against the other if necessary.

Can't comment on the finance, never used it, only ever spend about £4000 plus old car on vehicles for me.

Yes i'm worried that its quite abit!

Im trading the car in and have got a price of £3500 for it. I'm hoping to negotiate a fair bit. I've only ever bought used cars myself so this is very new for me also!

foxgloves

We've started saving towards replacing our car, but I have to say that with the economy still being very precarious (especially jobs), I wouldn't consider locking us into a car finance agreement on a £14,000 car. There are plenty of good smaller cars around for a lot less money than that. I think that's a lot of money for a small city-type car. When we bought our current car - a Suzuki hatchback, we went for a pre-registered one. It was brand new, but because the paperwork showed the garage as the first owners (for about 5 months), we got a decent amount knocked off, over £2,000, compared to an identical car that hadn't been pre-registered. Get something reliable, but I would advise locking yourself into as little debt as possible, as we just don't know what's around the corner with job security at the moment.

harrys_dad

The reason they offer you 0% finance is because the car is so overpriced at the start. In my opinion you have been unlucky with your experiences, and you are much better off with an older, cheaper car. Is the quote for repairs from a main dealer? There are many cheaper garages around who are just as good. You would be much better off repairing your car, and keeping it for as long as you can. Alternatively, get rid of your car and share his company car now, and save yourself two years' costs.

There are also many 2011 reg corsa's available for far less than £10000. You will always pay top whack at a main dealer. That "5 year warranty" is also reliant on you paying for main dealer servicing throughout that time (not technically necessary but they will wriggle otherwise).

You have taken the depreciation hit already on your current car, why take it again on a new one? This is the main cost of motoring if you want a newer car.

chloelesliexo

harrys_dad wrote: »

The reason they offer you 0% finance is because the car is so overpriced at the start. In my opinion you have been unlucky with your experiences, and you are much better off with an older, cheaper car. Is the quote for repairs from a main dealer? There are many cheaper garages around who are just as good. You would be much better off repairing your car, and keeping it for as long as you can. Alternatively, get rid of your car and share his company car now, and save yourself two years' costs.

There are also many 2011 reg corsa's available for far less than £10000. You will always pay top whack at a main dealer. That "5 year warranty" is also reliant on you paying for main dealer servicing throughout that time (not technically necessary but they will wriggle otherwise).

You have taken the depreciation hit already on your current car, why take it again on a new one? This is the main cost of motoring if you want a newer car.

I might take a further look into used cars. I've just had such bad experience with them!

Would you recommend going to a dealer on autotrader? I've always been a bit wary of them (maybe i've watched too much watchdog!!)

moohound

Totally agree with harry's dad, I've added a bit more on my post for clarity.

There is a longish recent thread about a chap who lost his job and ended up in a right mess with car finance.

Your outgoing are low at the moment but will you still live at home in 5 years? - a bit off topic I know

[Deleted User]

£14,000 is an awful lot for a small car.

There are small cars available for less than half that.

moohound

My car before this one was an ex-motability vehicle, low milage and looked after, not hammered by boy/girl racers! was three years old when I got and kept it for 6 years. My son cried when it got traded in.

[Deleted User]

moohound makes a good point about ex-motability vehicles.

I've just done a search for ex-motability cars in the Manchester area, and found a 2010 10 VAUXHALL CORSA 1.4i 16V, 5 door hatchback, with just 25,000 miles on it, 1/2 leather, heated, seats, Full Service History, HPI and Car Data checked, for barely half what the OP is looking to spend on a new Corsa.

Or, how about a 59 plate Corsa 1.2i 16V club, with just 9,000 miles on it, for exactly half what the OP is looking to spend?

lynz68

Are you sure about your mechanic there appear to be a lot of ifs buts and maybes about what is going wrong with the car. It may work perfectly well for quite a long time. I only recently got rid of a 2002 Ka with 113k mikes on the clock most cars as long as you service them regularly will last a long time. £14000 is a lot for a Corsa and 5 yrs far to long to be paying for a car I doubt your life will be exactly the same for the next 5 yrs for instance what if you want to move out of home?