Best Way to Finance a £30-40k car?

Tiptop2000

Plenty to think about there. I am slightly concerned about going from a relatively efficient but sporty 123D to a 4x4. Love the Land Rovers for their sturdiness but the Mail article made me think twice about them. Not a fan of the Hyundai's or others really.

Quite like the new Mazda CX5 as that has a bit of style about it and is efficient. The other option was going down the fun Audi S4 estate or more efficient but still powerful BMW 335d or 535d.

We have a 18month old hungarian vizsla (think lab size) so need a bigger car to carry everything. I had thought about the other financing options but the reccos on potentially spending the £20-max25k mark seem to make a lot of sense.

Took a Range Rover for a spin yesterday and I loved its high up position and quality of interior cabin (whilst an 08 plate it still felt special). The majority of other 4x4's don't feel special. The Q3/Q5 are the only ones probably. The BMW just feels the same as my 123D and as I want something different it makes sense.

Whatever I buy I am going to be spending £20-25k and its about making the best return on that depreciation liability (not really an asset is it!). The positive is that I want to enjoy the hard earned money but do it wisely and not bankrupt myself with running costs. The good thing is we only do major miles every 3-4 months as we work from home.

Lots to consider. A massive thanks to all who shared their wisdom, let me know if anyone has any other gems to share.

TradePro

Tiptop2000 wrote: »

Love the Land Rovers for their sturdiness but the Mail article made me think twice about them. Not a fan of the Hyundai's badge

Do yourself a huge favour and go and drive one, and look at one up close - it could be the best half an hour you ever invest.

Tiptop2000

Will defo go and take a look. Sunday window shopping is already in the plans. Don't want to rule anything out at this stage. Big investment for me but an exciting one at least.

motorguy

Strider590 wrote: »

It's funny, cash used to be king...... Until they fine tuned the finance and lease hire packages and realised they could make more money AND get people hooked on buying new cars every 3 years.

Very little to do with the finance and lease packages and a lot more to do with peoples expectations. They generally *know* how much discount they're 'entitled' to before they go near the dealership and chances are they'll know more about the car their about to buy than the salesman does because they'll have researched it online.

Unless your prices are cut to the bone in your adverts, the phone doesnt ring. And then when people come out they expect more discount to the point where theres nothing left in the deal.

Thats the *fact* of the situation.

I would say your local franchise dealer would practically burst into tears if you walked in with cash and bought nothing but the car for the following reasons

(a) the dealership wouldnt make commission on the finance
(b) he wouldnt get a signing fee from the finance company
(c) he wouldnt be able to sell you 'gap' insurance (well less likely to succeed)
(d) he wouldnt sell you tyre insurance
(e) he wouldnt sell you a scotchguard pack
(f) he wouldnt sell you a service pack
(g) he wouldnt sell you mats and flaps
(h) he wouldnt sell you a boot lining
(i) he wouldnt get your trade in at trade price
(j) he wouldnt get profit on your trade
(k) etc, etc, etc.

Thats where the money is. A mate of mine went for a job as a Merc salesman. They basically told him that there was that little profit in selling a car that they just treated them as 'units'. The real money was in the add ons.

motorguy

Strider590 wrote: »

See, you managed to save up the 8k, but what they rely on is people being so skint that the only option is to take another vehicle and keep paying the monthly payments. Most people live beyond their means, so with the odd exception, they're trapping people into these deals over and over again for decades.

Friend of mine has done exactly this, but there is no way he'll ever save enough for the final payment at the end.

A lot of people are happy doing this. They're happy with a monthly payment as they can budget for that and they're unlikely to have any unexpected bills on a new car.

You can get a brand new car now for £99 a month or less, and use your old car as the bulk of the deposit. Why would anyone *save* for a new car when they can do that?

TradePro

motorguy wrote: »

Unless your prices are cut to the bone in your adverts, the phone doesnt ring. And then when people come out they expect more discount

+1

I think the public think we get the cars for nothing.

motorguy

Tiptop2000 wrote: »

Whatever I buy I am going to be spending £20-25k and its about making the best return on that depreciation liability

Expect to lose at least 50% of that over three years and you wont be too far out.

If you're buying an RR or similar, i'd pay the bit extra and get one from a main franchised dealer with a full years warranty and extend it when its up - the bills on something like this can be horrendous.

motorguy

Strider590 wrote: »

Most people live beyond their means, so with the odd exception, they're trapping people into these deals over and over again for decades.

You need to get your head around this - budgeting a monthly amount for a car is not necessarily living beyond your means.

What did Paul Getty say? If it appreciates buy it, if it depreciates lease it.

Iceweasel

TradePro wrote: »

Do yourself a huge favour and go and drive one, and look at one up close - it could be the best half an hour you ever invest.

Driving a new LandRover is a great driving experience - I'll give you that.

But to experience what it's like to run and maintain one all you have to do is stand in the shower - turn the cold water full on - then tear up £10 notes into small pieces and throw them down the toilet.

If you can do ten a minute, after 2 to 3 hours or so you'll have a good idea of what it feels like to fund an Indian RangeRover habit for a month.

After a 6 months you'll understand just how good your German BMW was.

TradePro

Iceweasel wrote: »

Driving a new LandRover is a great driving experience - I'll give you that.

But to experience what it's like to run and maintain one all you have to do is stand in the shower - turn the cold water full on - then tear up £10 notes into small pieces and throw them down the toilet.

If you can do ten a minute, after 2 to 3 hours or so you'll have a good idea of what it feels like to fund an Indian RangeRover habit for a month.

After a 6 months you'll understand just how good your German BMW was.

Just to clarify, I was suggesting the OP drives a Santa Fe, I had already advised him how bad LR's are.

p.s. they must be bad if a Beemer feels trouble free in comparison