PCP or second hand £5000

thebullsback

Hi would I be better off going down the PCP route or buying a second hand car for around £5000 which is my max.
Car needs to be reliable for next 3 years until I retire after that I will share my partners car.

motorguy

thebullsback wrote: »

Hi would I be better off going down the PCP route or buying a second hand car for around £5000 which is my max.
Car needs to be reliable for next 3 years until I retire after that I will share my partners car.

£5,000 will buy you a decent used car. Unless you *need* a diesel car because you do starship miles, i'd get a petrol car - you will get a younger, lower miles petrol variant for your money.

I wouldnt be PCP'ing going in to retirement - you're merely kicking the can down the road three years when you've either a big payment or have to start trying to fund a car again.

A £5K, well bought used car will last many many years.

thebullsback

Thanks motorguy.
Any suggestions for reliablity in that price range ??Im not really into cars ......quite like my wifes Vauxhall Agila.

motorguy

thebullsback wrote: »

Thanks motorguy.
Any suggestions for reliablity in that price range ??Im not really into cars ......quite like my wifes Vauxhall Agila.

What size of car are you looking for? and what body type? Small and upright or more conventional styling? 3 or 5 door?

thebullsback

not fussed to be honest i think cars are a compleat money bin.
Im a big guy but i fit in the agila fine but i do think the 1.0 engine is pushing it a bit .

System

Ford Focus. £5k will buy a nice 2010-12 Focus with around 50,000-60,000 miles on that will have plenty of life left in it. There are enough of them for sale that there is no need to settle for anything less than 1-2 owners and full service history.

loskie

don't pcp, buy.
If you don't do many miles you may find a bigger, thirstier petrol car a better bet than a more sought after compact. Or something quirky and far from trendy like a Skoda Roomster

martinthebandit

thebullsback wrote: »

Hi would I be better off going down the PCP route or buying a second hand car for around £5000 which is my max.
Car needs to be reliable for next 3 years until I retire after that I will share my partners car.

If your looking for a car that will last you at least three years and be worry free on a budget of 5k my suggestion would be.....

......spend 1k on the car, £300 or so on getting it fully serviced and put the other 3.7k in the bank to use for any repairs, servicing etc it may (or in the case of repairs) may not need.

Best and most economical way of getting three years worry free motoring I can think off.

JP1978

martinthebandit wrote: »

If your looking for a car that will last you at least three years and be worry free on a budget of 5k my suggestion would be.....

......spend 1k on the car, £300 or so on getting it fully serviced and put the other 3.7k in the bank to use for any repairs, servicing etc it may (or in the case of repairs) may not need.

Best and most economical way of getting three years worry free motoring I can think off.

^^ This, after all, this is a money saving site!

Richard53

martinthebandit wrote: »

......spend 1k on the car, £300 or so on getting it fully serviced and put the other 3.7k in the bank to use for any repairs, servicing etc it may (or in the case of repairs) may not need.

Couldn't agree more, except that my figures would be £2k, £500 (full service including all belts, plus treating any obvious rust etc), and £2500 in reserve.


A while ago, I paid less for a car than I had planned, so I put the remainder in a savings account and added a bit to it every month. It's my 'repairs/maintenance/MoT account' and this year it had built up to the point where it paid for our holiday. It's great when you own an older car to have a 'rainy day' pot you can raid in an emergency.

thebullsback

Ford Focus is in the lead up to now.
Thanks for replies but any more welcome.