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Stop-gap car?
So I currently drive a very reliable cheap car, costed me £6000 exactly 3 years ago, worth less than £2000 these days, 130k on the clock. Recent service+MOT had been cheap and uneventful. With these 6 months old tyres, I don’t foresee any major expense needed on the car until next MOT in a year’s time, where new front tyres might be needed. I feel I’ve gotten lucky with this reliable car.
However, the car is expensive to run, due to being a thirsty Mercedes C class coupe diesel with fat tyres. So my 18k annual mileage almost means new tyres every year and £2200 fuel cost for 42mpg. Biggest problem is that it only has 3 doors. We are planning to have a baby, and wife is adamant rear passenger doors are a must for the family car.
So what’s the best way to afford stop-gap car. The reason it will be a stop-gap car is that I’ve been saving up for the Tesla Model 3, original plan was to drive the current one until I can buy a Model 3. Unfortunately wifey isn’t happy lifting the baby into back seat of a 3 door car.
I’ve done a massive spreadsheet, worked out on average, this car costs me £380 per month, £4600 per year, £13,800 in total over 3 years. That is including car depreciation (6000 to 1800), servicing, MOT, fixing, tax, fuel but excluding insurance.
Per year breakdown as follow:
- 2200 fuel (at 42mpg)
- 230 tax
- 1410 depreciation
- 690 servicing, MOT, tyres and fixing
Average to £378 per month
If I lease a hybrid car with real world 55mpg, I should be able to afford the following:
- 1600 fuel (at 55mpg)
- 0 tax
- 3400 leasing cost per year (initial payment over 3 years + monthly cost)
- 350 servicing, MOT, tyres and fixing
Average to £450 per month, I think I can still afford up to £500.
The hybrid car in above figure is Hyundai Ioniq. For some reason total cost of leasing (via LingsCars) is only £10500 whereas total cost of PCP with the local dealer over same period is £12700. How come leasing is 20% cheaper?
My requirements are simple:
- 17-18k annual mileage
- Adaptive cruise control is a MUST
- 4/5 doors, 5 seats
- budget of up to £500 running cost
- No diesel!
- More expensive EV is okay but has to be able to cover 200 miles for when we visit my parents. EV’s fuel budget would drop to £600, allowing more budget on the car.
So is leasing the best option for me? Is the Ioniq the only viable option? Any other car would fit inside my budget?
PCP? Personal Lease? Or chance another second hand car? Or some other innovative method?
Also, why doesn’t people budget their cars by monthly running cost? This way makes EV and hybrids very attractive. Why people also doesn’t budget their leasing/PCP using total cost (like above)? The dealers get mad when I give them a 3 year car budget, they were all trying to make me pay more deposit to fit in lower monthly payment, my 3 year car budget means they have nothing to spin. Why doesn’t everyone do this? This is the ultimate price you’d spend, concentrating on monthly payment is just foolish.
However, the car is expensive to run, due to being a thirsty Mercedes C class coupe diesel with fat tyres. So my 18k annual mileage almost means new tyres every year and £2200 fuel cost for 42mpg. Biggest problem is that it only has 3 doors. We are planning to have a baby, and wife is adamant rear passenger doors are a must for the family car.
So what’s the best way to afford stop-gap car. The reason it will be a stop-gap car is that I’ve been saving up for the Tesla Model 3, original plan was to drive the current one until I can buy a Model 3. Unfortunately wifey isn’t happy lifting the baby into back seat of a 3 door car.
I’ve done a massive spreadsheet, worked out on average, this car costs me £380 per month, £4600 per year, £13,800 in total over 3 years. That is including car depreciation (6000 to 1800), servicing, MOT, fixing, tax, fuel but excluding insurance.
Per year breakdown as follow:
- 2200 fuel (at 42mpg)
- 230 tax
- 1410 depreciation
- 690 servicing, MOT, tyres and fixing
Average to £378 per month
If I lease a hybrid car with real world 55mpg, I should be able to afford the following:
- 1600 fuel (at 55mpg)
- 0 tax
- 3400 leasing cost per year (initial payment over 3 years + monthly cost)
- 350 servicing, MOT, tyres and fixing
Average to £450 per month, I think I can still afford up to £500.
The hybrid car in above figure is Hyundai Ioniq. For some reason total cost of leasing (via LingsCars) is only £10500 whereas total cost of PCP with the local dealer over same period is £12700. How come leasing is 20% cheaper?
My requirements are simple:
- 17-18k annual mileage
- Adaptive cruise control is a MUST
- 4/5 doors, 5 seats
- budget of up to £500 running cost
- No diesel!
- More expensive EV is okay but has to be able to cover 200 miles for when we visit my parents. EV’s fuel budget would drop to £600, allowing more budget on the car.
So is leasing the best option for me? Is the Ioniq the only viable option? Any other car would fit inside my budget?
PCP? Personal Lease? Or chance another second hand car? Or some other innovative method?
Also, why doesn’t people budget their cars by monthly running cost? This way makes EV and hybrids very attractive. Why people also doesn’t budget their leasing/PCP using total cost (like above)? The dealers get mad when I give them a 3 year car budget, they were all trying to make me pay more deposit to fit in lower monthly payment, my 3 year car budget means they have nothing to spin. Why doesn’t everyone do this? This is the ultimate price you’d spend, concentrating on monthly payment is just foolish.
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Comments
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How is buying a new car at £450-500 a month in any way sensible when your current car costs you £380?
Would it not be sensible just to buy a cheap 5-door hatchback like a Focus or something for £2-3K and with the money you save you'll be able to reach the goal of a Tesla more quickly, and you'll actually own the car so have something to dispose of and return a few quid when you get your Model 3.
Madness.0 -
BeenThroughItAll wrote: »How is buying a new car at £450-500 a month in any way sensible when your current car costs you £380?
Would it not be sensible just to buy a cheap 5-door hatchback like a Focus or something for £2-3K and with the money you save you'll be able to reach the goal of a Tesla more quickly, and you'll actually own the car so have something to dispose of and return a few quid when you get your Model 3.
Madness.
Remember, that is the total cost of running the car. For 20-30% increase, I can have adaptive cruise and not having to think about unforeseen fixing bills. All while burning less fossils, producing less pollution.
Of course I’m open to a 3 grand second hand car, please do point me in the right make and model to search for. But I imagine it’d be hard to find one with adaptive cruise, automatic gearbox and no reliability issues. Petrols will also cost about the same if not more than my current diesel to run. It’s the total cost of motoring I’m concerned about, not the cost of car.
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Remember, that is the total cost of running the car. For 20-30% increase, I can have adaptive cruise and not having to think about unforeseen fixing bills. All while burning less fossils, producing less pollution.
Of course I’m open to a 3 grand second hand car, please do point me in the right make and model to search for. But I imagine it’d be hard to find one with adaptive cruise, automatic gearbox and no reliability issues. Petrols will also cost about the same if not more than my current diesel to run. It’s the total cost of motoring I’m concerned about, not the cost of car.
You say 'expensive to run' about your current car.
You say 'best way to afford' about a new car.
Not language typically used by someone who isn't concerned about cost.
Why is adaptive cruise so important? You're only doing 18K a year. That's ~375mi a week. 'Normal' cruise control should be more than adequate for ~70mi a day.
What I don't get is that you say you're saving for a Model 3, then in the same breath say you want to *increase* expenditure on 'not a Model 3', thereby reducing the potential saving power. All for 13mpg?
I already did point you at the Focus. That'll do all you want for 3K. Job done.
Can't find one with cruise? Buy a Mondeo.
Can't find one you like? Buy a Honda Civic or Accord.
Don't like Hondas? Google '5 door hatchbacks' and look at the pretty pictures until you find something you do like.
Madness.0 -
Leasing is not always cheaper.
Leasing companies get good discounts and the car is never yours.
Extra £70 a month to save money? My calculator says error with i tried working that one out.
Your going to need to average 68mpg over that 18,000 miles to even start to break even never mind save money.Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
BeenThroughItAll wrote: »You say 'expensive to run' about your current car.
You say 'best way to afford' about a new car.
Not language typically used by someone who isn't concerned about cost.
Why is adaptive cruise so important? You're only doing 18K a year. That's ~375mi a week. 'Normal' cruise control should be more than adequate for ~70mi a day.
What I don't get is that you say you're saving for a Model 3, then in the same breath say you want to *increase* expenditure on 'not a Model 3', thereby reducing the potential saving power. All for 13mpg?
I already did point you at the Focus. That'll do all you want for 3K. Job done.
Can't find one with cruise? Buy a Mondeo.
Can't find one you like? Buy a Honda Civic or Accord.
Don't like Hondas? Google '5 door hatchbacks' and look at the pretty pictures until you find something you do like.
Madness.
You are right in the sense I should be saving for the car I ultimately want. While money is a concern, I have calculated I can afford to go up to £500 a month running a car, and I want to take this opportunity to get adaptive cruise. It’s a critical feature of the car I need, because standard cruise are just about useless on rush hour motorway. The sooner autonomous cars get here the better, adaptive cruise is a good start for now. 57 of my 60 miles commute is on a road I can use adaptive cruise.
With a used car, this does mean getting another diesel, which I’m not very keen on. While diesels are great on the motorway, as a fuel it is just horrible. Horrible before it gets burnt and worse at the tailpipe.
From which generation does the Focus and Mondeo start to have adaptive cruise? Which engine is timing chain driven? How reliable are Ford’s automatics? I think they are less reliable dual-clutch variant rather than bullet proof torque converter type? I have time to wait for the right car, but I need to know which generation/spec/engine to look for. Especially important for a 5+ years old car, where many components are due for a change very soon.
My search is not helped by autotrader useless keyword finder. “Adaptive cruise” gives adaptive headlights and standard cruise control. There’s also the horrible vague adverts and multitude of adaptive cruise marketing names (distronic, active cruise, etc). So knowing which make/model/trim to search is critical.forgotmyname wrote: »Leasing is not always cheaper.
Leasing companies get good discounts and the car is never yours.
Extra £70 a month to save money? My calculator says error with i tried working that one out.
Your going to need to average 68mpg over that 18,000 miles to even start to break even never mind save money.
“The car is never yours”. Is this a problem if I never planned to keep the car? I'm new to car leasing, please excuse this dumb question.0 -
why not buy a £5,000 car such as an skoda octaiva petrol get it converted to lpg for say around £1,500 that way you tick most if not all of the boxes
5 door - check
petrol - check
cheap to run (lpg) - check
cd player, cruise - check
good on the motorway - check
mate you gunna be a DAD and the mrs will be on maternity pay whcih means money will be tight, you need to be vey very carfull before committing yourself to any fleese deals, babies are not cheap, life just got serious“People are caught up in an egotistic artificial rat race to display a false image to society. We want the biggest house, fanciest car, and we don't mind paying the sky high mortgage to put up that show. We sacrifice our biggest assets our health and time, We feel happy when we see people look up to us and see how successful we are”
Rat Race0 -
Your hang-up on adaptive cruise seems strange but I'll let that one go
IMHO you're certainly not money saving looking at it like this - how about a Volvo V40/V60 - high early depreciation, economical, pleasant place to spend time and likely to come with bells/whistles inc. adaptive CC
Take their finance offer and haggle for 2yrs warranty as well as the 2yrs servicing they're offering and for your lease money you should walk out with an asset at the end of 3yrs
I'm running a 5yo top of the range Jag XF with warranty/service pack on not much over £500pm (and about the only thing it doesn't have is adaptive CC)0 -
Your wife is right - 3 door cars with babyseats are a nightmare.
If you don't have adaptive cruise control now then you won't miss it in the next car. I'd either:
A. Sell the current one and put some cash towards a used 5 door car within your budget, and run that until you can afford the Tesla. If you can put money aside now, then hold off until nearer the baby is due, then you should have a fair amount of cash to play with.
B. Keep the current car and buy a cheap 5 door car to use with the baby.
C. Bin the Tesla idea, and put that savings plus your cars value into something long term that suits your mileage plus 5-door requirement. Your mileage means you might be able to use a pure electric like a Leaf (if you have charging point at work), or a plug-in hybrid like a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Or just get a diesel Insignia like everyone else.0 -
It’s a critical feature of the car I need, because standard cruise are just about useless on rush hour motorway. .
Its only useless if you drive up the !!!!!! of people and trundle along looking no further than the end of your bonnet with your brain in neutral. Use planning and preparation and proper lane discipline and standard cruise control is perfectly good for the job.
The lorries my company got in 2014 came with adaptive cruise control which was active by default. Didn't take many weeks of doing 300-400 miles a day using it before the adaptive part of it was the first thing you'd turn off when you got in the cab. If you like unintentially trundling along a motorway at 50MPH then adaptive cruise control is great because that is what you usually end up doing quite a lot without realising it.0 -
why not buy a £5,000 car such as an skoda octaiva petrol get it converted to lpg for say around £1,500 that way you tick most if not all of the boxes
5 door - check
petrol - check
cheap to run (lpg) - check
cd player, cruise - check
good on the motorway - check
mate you gunna be a DAD and the mrs will be on maternity pay whcih means money will be tight, you need to be vey very carfull before committing yourself to any fleese deals, babies are not cheap, life just got serious
LPG conversion never occurred to me. But for a car I only intend to keep for 3 years, spending 30% of value of the car to do conversion is probably not worth it.
Well put on the baby front. It will get hectic. This is why I’m doing my research so far in advance, we have not even started trying yet. The reason I was looking at leasing/PCP is that they say it will put a monthly price to the cost of motoring, nothing unexpected. I wanted to hear from other people whether it’s true.Your hang-up on adaptive cruise seems strange but I'll let that one go
IMHO you're certainly not money saving looking at it like this - how about a Volvo V40/V60 - high early depreciation, economical, pleasant place to spend time and likely to come with bells/whistles inc. adaptive CC
Take their finance offer and haggle for 2yrs warranty as well as the 2yrs servicing they're offering and for your lease money you should walk out with an asset at the end of 3yrs
I'm running a 5yo top of the range Jag XF with warranty/service pack on not much over £500pm (and about the only thing it doesn't have is adaptive CC)
I’m a bit confused, how would leasing/PCP give me an asset after 3 years? I thought the monthly cost only pays for the depreciation.0
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