New Loan - Am I being sensible?

Darklinglion

ricky_v wrote: »

I was under the impression new cars cost £13-£14k and a half decent second hand car would be about £3-£4k?

If you really want the car which essentially gets you from A to B as well as cheaper models and put yourself into debt paying interest for it then go ahead and enjoy the vehicle however to your original question of then in my humbled opinion no, you're not being sensible. Wait a while and save up.:)

It depends completely on the car I suppose. From my point of view most new basic to average cars are between £10-20k. I'm not really an A-B sort of driver, I'm more for the enjoyment of it.

My current car which is fully paid for and worth about a grand is totally unsuitable for the most journeys I do, but I've loved every minute of owning it. I guess some people just see them as a tool to do a job and others want an experience out of it.

somethingcorporate

Spending 75% of a full years net income on a depreciating asset is sheer lunacy in my opinion.

ViolaLass

You still have about £600 a month unaccounted for - does that not bother you? It would really worry me.

thebritishbloke

Jesus, do not spend £14k on a very well used car when you're only earning £23k. Take that £14k and get yourself a brand new (or nearly new) Fiesta or something.

27col

According to your figures op you have several hundred pounds spare every month. If you are not saving a good part of that, then where is it going. You don't seem to be figuring the repayments into your calculations.
As for spending £14k on an old and high mileage car, it sounds like a ridiculous idea. Still it's your money. Oh no, I forgot. It's someone else's money.

F1F93

Why do you need a big, executive saloon? Space? Speed? Image?

That's the sort of thing you buy because you can, not the sort of thing to get yourself wildly into debt for.

If you post a list of what you need from a car, I'm sure someone can suggest something more suitable.

Also, do you realise that a £14000 loan over 3 years will be over £400 a month? IMO that's an absurd amount of money to spend on a 5 year old car with 100K on the clock. My 3 year old estate with 20k on the clock is just over £100 a month.

Gaz83

Darklinglion wrote: »

Yes I do wonder myself where all the extra money goes!

I'm earning about 1800 before tax each month, so that's about 1450 take home pay. I've a loan currently for £120 a month for a motorbike which will be paid off next month so realistically I'm not taking that into account.

Here's a run down of my current monthly expenditures minus the loan I currently have.

Wage £1450

Housekeeping £425 (Mortgage, council tax, gas, water, elec, home ins, life ins, TV Licence, phone broadband and tv).

Car/bike allowance £125 (Insurance, tax, repairs & tyres etc)

Fuel £50 (approx - more in summer with bike use)

Food £200

Savings £50


Ok ok....Maybe I'm more trying to justify buying a 5 year old, 100,000 mile car for £13-14k?

Outgoings =/= direct debits. It never fails to amaze me the number of people who consider their outgoings as, say, £600 because their direct debits total £600. Presumably these people never eat.

So we've now established that your outgoings are currently £920, soon to be £800. You're only saving £50 a month. What are you doing with the other £480 just now?

Darklinglion

Gaz83 wrote: »

Outgoings =/= direct debits. It never fails to amaze me the number of people who consider their outgoings as, say, £600 because their direct debits total £600. Presumably these people never eat.

So we've now established that your outgoings are currently £920, soon to be £800. You're only saving £50 a month. What are you doing with the other £480 just now?

Well the rest I usually see as mine to enjoy as I see fit. Usually eating out/nights out, clothes, gadgets (I love my gadgets). I suppose I can be overly generous when it comes to Christmas and Birthday presents too which I really need to curb.

I'll usually let it built for a month or two and splash out on something like a new tv, stereo, laptop, phone etc.

Lets say there's certainly space for improvement!

I do have a couple of grand in the housekeeping account but I don't really want to touch that as I see that as an emergency fund for anything that may go wrong at home. Plus I'm overpaying on the mortgage by 15% or so each month since we bought (3 years ago) so I'm certainly making an effort there.

Gaz83

Darklinglion wrote: »

Well the rest I usually see as mine to enjoy as I see fit. Usually eating out/nights out, clothes, gadgets (I love my gadgets). I suppose I can be overly generous when it comes to Christmas and Birthday presents too which I really need to curb.

I'll usually let it built for a month or two and splash out on something like a new tv, stereo, laptop, phone etc.

Lets say there's certainly space for improvement!

I do have a couple of grand in the housekeeping account but I don't really want to touch that as I see that as an emergency fund for anything that may go wrong at home. Plus I'm overpaying on the mortgage by 15% or so each month since we bought (3 years ago) so I'm certainly making an effort there.

Well, at least now you're being honest.

Are you prepared to cut down on socialising, nights out, gadgets, clothes and the like for the sake of a second-hand car?

Darklinglion

F1F93 wrote: »

Why do you need a big, executive saloon? Space? Speed? Image?

That's the sort of thing you buy because you can, not the sort of thing to get yourself wildly into debt for.

If you post a list of what you need from a car, I'm sure someone can suggest something more suitable.

Also, do you realise that a £14000 loan over 3 years will be over £400 a month? IMO that's an absurd amount of money to spend on a 5 year old car with 100K on the clock. My 3 year old estate with 20k on the clock is just over £100 a month.

I don't need a big executive saloon. No-one needs a big executive saloon, but they still sell in their droves because people like them.

I've already got a big executive saloon and it's dirt cheap to run if I'm honest, reasonably fast and comfortable. A 1 litre fiesta would do the job just as well but I just don't like them.