When is it financially acceptable to buy a dream car?

Bravepants

I guess I don't have as high aspirations as yourself regarding supercars...but earlier this year I bought what was my dream car from about 20 years ago! I wanted a sporty/weekend/summer/project car, so I was looking for an old kit car or something, but then I remembered I used to own a red Fiat Coupe about 10 years ago...and I loved it, but I wasn't earning enough at the time to keep it...Fiat's aren't that reliable! hehe! But earlier this year I saw a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo Plus and I went for it...it cost me £3300, I have so far spent another £3000 on servicing and other mechanical work, and I intend to spend another £2500 on a respray when I have saved up some more spare cash. So for about £10k I have a car with a top speed of 155MPH and a 0 - 60 time of less than 6 seconds. It's not the speed that i love about the car, it's that I think it's a beautiful and rare car - especially in yellow - the only colour to own in such a car. Of course I have balance in my life...yesterday I paid my allowed annual 10% overpayment off my mortgage, getting it down to less than £60k. So I guess if you have wants that's OK, but try to play the game in regard to responsibility and looking after your future too. No-one has to spend £200K to get a nice car that everyone looks at! Everyone looks at my car too!

jimjames

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Can't answer for jimjames, but for me (3 years younger at just gone 21) it was down to...

And then when I got the house...

1. Putting up with 2nd hand furniture and white goods
2. Watching a B&W TV (see your parents/grandparents for further details!) Yes prices have gone up, relative to income, but also because almost everyone these days lives next door to someone called Jones!

Much the same here. Intense saving for a couple of years to get the deposit together but I'm sure it is harder now but can still be done if you put your mind to it.

I was given a sofa when I first moved it. It was from the in laws and was their one they'd just replaced so was around 10 years old. We had that through 2 house moves and only replaced it 2 years ago so by then it was nearly 30 years old. DOne us well and unsurprisingly the new replacement is already starting to look worn after a couple of years.

Some great replies here and interesting views. I should make clear that my splashing out on a sportscar is probably the same value as many others spend on a normal family saloon but for me spending that much on a car was a first.

sterlingstash

Bravepants - if I had another heart over head moment and splashed out on a sportscar, that one would be it! I love the lines of the Coupes. And yellow is indeed the connoisseurs choice. I would struggle to swallow having to spend the same again on servicing and keeping it on the road, and would probably end up folding and redealing, but awesome choice nonetheless.

shaun_from_Africa

kteara wrote: »

I really appreciate your reply. Can I ask how you managed to buy a house at age 24, hats off to you. Thats really impressive but I can't help but believe that its almost impossible for that to happen today. I would love to get some advice from you though?

Don't forget that when jimjames refers to buying a house at age 24, this was at least 19 years ago and maybe a fair bit longer than that.

I bought my first property in 1985 and it cost me £82,500. I sold it a few years later for £125,000 and it has changed hands twice since then. In 1997 it went for £197k and in 2006 for £255k.

I realise that in 1985, £82k was still a lot of money, but it was certainly a lot more affordable than a 3 bed house in the same area would be today.

Bravepants

sterlingstash wrote: »

Bravepants - if I had another heart over head moment and splashed out on a sportscar, that one would be it! I love the lines of the Coupes. And yellow is indeed the connoisseurs choice. I would struggle to swallow having to spend the same again on servicing and keeping it on the road, and would probably end up folding and redealing, but awesome choice nonetheless.

It's the only car in my life where I've thought to myself "I gotta have one of those!". Agreed about the lines, it's the best thing Fiat ever produced. I also notice that other drivers can't believe that it IS infact a Fiat! Ha!

jimjames

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Don't forget that when jimjames refers to buying a house at age 24, this was at least 19 years ago and maybe a fair bit longer than that.

I bought my first property in 1985 and it cost me £82,500. I sold it a few years later for £125,000 and it has changed hands twice since then. In 1997 it went for £197k and in 2006 for £255k.

I realise that in 1985, £82k was still a lot of money, but it was certainly a lot more affordable than a 3 bed house in the same area would be today.

Pretty much spot on, it was 1994. The house cost £48k which was over 3x salary then.

I should add in response to the original question - when is it acceptable?

I only bought the car after receiving a windfall that was totally unexpected and buying a car that was of an age that it wouldn't depreciate so could be a long term investment if I wanted. I wouldn't have done so if I was buying it out of my normal taxed income and thus affecting my future planning. Once sold the funds will be reinvested into pension and S&S ISAs.

SG27

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Can't answer for jimjames, but for me (3 years younger at just gone 21) it was down to...


1. Working all the hours I could (during my apprenticeship) to save for a 10% deposit
2. Driving old cars (and looking after them myself)...particularly relevant to your situation.
3. Waiting until 28 for my first foreign holiday (and until 34 for my second!)
4. Managing without a mobile phone/Sky/Gym membership


And then when I got the house...


1. Putting up with 2nd hand furniture and white goods
2. Watching a B&W TV (see your parents/grandparents for further details!) Yes prices have gone up, relative to income, but also because almost everyone these days lives next door to someone called Jones!

I did this for almost 8 years. The last few years of which my discretional spending was less than £28 per month! I finally bought at 30. My only regret is not starting to save a couple of years earlier.

With regards to a £50k car. I think it would be sensible to buy one when your income justifies it. If you earn £25k a year then spending twice your gross income on a car can't be justified as sensible.
For example at the hight of my saving 3 years ago I could have bought one outright I would now be driving around a 3 year old super car but still living with my parents at 31! And the car would have lost around a third of its value.

junglejame911

I'm not really sure what the title means - Any dealership will find you wanting to buy a car "financially acceptable" as soon as you walk in the door!

Whether it is finically "sensible" the answer is almost certainly no. But then again if we adopted that approach we would rarely spend money on anything enjoyable. Its entirely up to you.

I've always driven a "decent" car but only ever one I could afford to buy outright and pay for upkeep. I certainly could not have even comprehended buying a fast car at the age of 20 - I simply could not have afforded the insurance!

Personally, a sports car is going to be a present to myself when my family are in comfortable finical position, savings by for the kids to go to college and a decent portion of the mortgage paid off. Probably looking at early 40's (I'm 32 now).

F1F93

Would you ever consider a cheaper supercar? Cars like a Caterham 7 etc will give you very similar thrills to a porsche (possibly more, given that you are so close to the ground and more exposed - think how fun a go kart is when you only get up to 30mph!) but they can be had for £15,000 brand new. You can even build it yourself if you wish, and this may be more enjoyable for you?

This is definitely what my Fiancee and I wish to do. We both love motorsport, so we're going to buy a cheap corsa or something and convert it into a racer - strip it out, new suspension and exhaust etc, then take it on track days. We'll eventually progress up to a caterham.

Now, given the amount of people who go out and spend over £15,000 on their first car, I'd say a Caterham is much more available than a Porsche or Nissan GTR. If it won't do completely, maybe it'll satisfy your cravings until you can afford a GTR?

HTH

robatwork

27/10/2024