PhD Student Trying to Buy a car

waterswims

Hey,

I am basically here to look for advice. I am currently a PhD student and I am looking into buying my first car. As far as I can see I have 3 options, buy some old car that I can afford outright but will likely be unreliable due to wear and tear, buy a newer car on finance, or take out a personal loan and buy the newer car outright.

Now as a full time student I don't have a salary, however I do get an annual stipend of £13,500 a year (paid quarterly) which is not taxed and I am exempt from council tax. For comparison, a colleague was a Maths teacher for 2 years before starting his PhD and he has a similar amount of disposable income. I also get irregular payments for teaching undergraduates which works out to be approx £100 a month. My rent is cheap, £300 a month, and my other expenses don't add up to much so I can easily afford the repayments and the added cost of insurance, petrol etc.

I have an interest free overdraft on my student account with HSBC which I used reasonably frequently during my undergraduate degree (I am told this is expected and doesn't affect credit much) but I am now safely out of. I also have a student credit card with a limit of £500 which I have been using as a way of building a credit history, never missing a payment, and 90% of the time paying it off in full before the interest is applied.

I guess what I would like to know is what would people advise for me to do, and what kind of loan/finance amount would I be accepted for (if any)

WellKnownSid

What do you need a car for?

waterswims

Hardly see how that is relevant to the discussion. But I live in an area of the country which makes it difficult and expensive to travel to see friends and family ect. The petrol cost would be far cheaper than the train prices. As I say I know that I can afford the repayments, it's not about that.

WellKnownSid

waterswims wrote: »

Hardly see how that is relevant to the discussion. But I live in an area of the country which makes it difficult and expensive to travel to see friends and family ect. The petrol cost would be far cheaper than the train prices. As I say I know that I can afford the repayments, it's not about that.

Well, if you do 500 miles a year vs 50,000 miles a year will make a huge difference in terms of type of fuel / age of car you should be looking for.

If it's just you in the car 99% of the time popping to Tesco or if you regularly travel with your harp and four other members of your band across the country every weekend may also make a difference as to the type of car you should be looking at.

Very difficult for anyone to advise if you just tell us you want a car...

Any clues appreciated...

BrassicWoman

If the repayments are affordable, how much do you have in savings to put down towards the car?

mustang121

You are a student. If I were you I would get buy a 2nd hand car that you can afford outright. Less stress and hassle.

The whole "old cars are unreliable" is what mugs says to talk themselves into getting finance. The key is to inspect the car before buying and take a reliable friends who knows cars.

From my experience Hondas are reliable cars that age well, but like everything, so long as they've been looked after.

Alternatively, if you don't actually need a car for daily activities why not just buy a bicycle and hire a car for the occasional family / friend visit?

waterswims

Well, if you do 500 miles a year vs 50,000 miles a year will make a huge difference in terms of type of fuel / age of car you should be looking for.

If it's just you in the car 99% of the time popping to Tesco or if you regularly travel with your harp and four other members of your band across the country every weekend may also make a difference as to the type of car you should be looking at.

Very difficult for anyone to advise if you just tell us you want a car...

Any clues appreciated...

I will not be using it for day to day commute, maybe a shopping once a week, visiting my grandparents (~20 miles each way) once a fortnight and maybe once every 3 or 4 weeks a longer journey to cities further away.

The advice I am after is more to do with loans though, not a car recommendation. Does my status as a student and the fact that my income is not a salary paid by an employer but instead a grant from the Research Council effect my chances of securing a loan/car finance/HP/PCP/whatever? And if so, to what degree?

waterswims

If the repayments are affordable, how much do you have in savings to put down towards the car?

Lets say £1000 reasonably comfortably, could rustle up some more if needs be

waterswims

Alternatively, if you don't actually need a car for daily activities why not just buy a bicycle and hire a car for the occasional family / friend visit?

It costs loads to rent a car, especially if I am going somewhere for say the weekend. 3 days rental could get up to £100. Plus it is entirely inconvenient if I want to do anything on short notice

DCFC79

Get 1 for £2000, its possible to buy 1 that wont be a lemon.

DCFC79

waterswims wrote: »

The advice I am after is more to do with loans though, not a car recommendation. Does my status as a student and the fact that my income is not a salary paid by an employer but instead a grant from the Research Council effect my chances of securing a loan/car finance/HP/PCP/whatever? And if so, to what degree?

Who knows, how do you know you can afford the repayments when you don't know what the repayments would be ?