How do people afford £30k-£60k cars with normal jobs?

motorguy

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

Great show: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/66549-001

basically, people are lured in by car salesman promising just £200 per month finance deals to drive brand new cars. The salesmen trick them into joining and lie to them about not paying a penny at the end of the contract when in fact they will have to pay for every single scratch on the car.

I watched that. It was hideously bad. Very poor journalism and they wheeled out some woman who'd crashed her car and had it badly repaired then got miffed when the finance company billed her for the proper repairs.

If you scratch the car and try to hand it back as if it were in good condition, what do you expect? Theres industry guidelines available as to whats fair wear and tear and what is going to be above that.

motorguy

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

I drive an old car, no turbo, dpf or dmf, just straight 4 pot car. It is old 2002 model and starting to really show age. Dont get me wrong, its reliable and will do 400 miles on a single run easily. But it's just not comfortable as newer cars on longer journeys, I want to get something a bit newer 2012 model but they are so unrelaible if the forums are to be believed.

I was looking into getting a new TDI and people say the modern diesels are money pits, turbos fail, DMF will go every 30K miles and if you're unlucky enoough the rattly DMF can take out the gearbox. There's too much to go wrong on newer cars. The fiel savings from newer diesels aren't worth the expensive wear and tear they are prone to.

If your current car is doing the job, then i'd stick with it. Unless you need a diesel, i'd be buying a petrol next time.

Just for info, i've a 2016 Passat, bought with 15K miles from a VW dealer back in April as an Approved Used car. Its been back in three times with an engine management light on relating to the DPF, the dealer couldnt work out what was wrong with it so they had to escalate it to VW themselves. They diagnosed it as need a new emissions module - catalytic converter, DPF and some other bits for that - total cost would have been in excess of £2,200 had it not been under warranty. :eek:

And thats a year old diesel car with a mere 15,000 miles at the time - the VW dealer couldnt even diagnose the fault.

motorguy

RichardD1970 wrote: »

What people? I have ran diesels for years, latest a 64 reg Grand C-Max and never had a problem despite the driving pattern being the worst possible according to the "experts".

We'll i'm not an "expert" however as per what i've just posted my year old Passat has taken a DPF / emission control unit with just 15K miles on it. £2,200 if it had been outside warranty. Apparently (according to the service manager who i know) its not an uncommon event.

My brother has a 2011 Mercedes C250CDI Sport - needs a DPF.

My previous 2012 Golf needed an engine top wiring loom at 20,000 miles as it kept stalling (at speed). Cost would have been in excess of £2,000.

DMF failures are commonplace

EGR valve failures are commonplace.

Just because yours hasnt given trouble yet doesnt mean it wont.

seatbeltnoob

motorguy wrote: »

I watched that. It was hideously bad. Very poor journalism and they wheeled out some woman who'd crashed her car and had it badly repaired then got miffed when the finance company billed her for the proper repairs.

If you scratch the car and try to hand it back as if it were in good condition, what do you expect? Theres industry guidelines available as to whats fair wear and tear and what is going to be above that.

To be fair they did tie that women into a clip of an undercover sales pitch where the salesman was telling the customer explicitly that they dont look out for small scratches and damages on return. Even going as far as to say that the car may actually be worth more than the guaranteed value at the end of the finance so they could be entitled to a refund. Which is complete BS.

Your passat tale is what I keep reading on forums and what I am trying to avoid. I do need a diesel (doing 13,000 miles a year), currently drive a petrol and I could have saved around £500 a year by driving a diesel - but could that all the savings be wiped off after the car needs a DPF clean and a DMF change?

I was actually looking at a passat or a nice a6 avant as a replacement/upgrade to my ancient golf. But I read that the 1.9tdi is decent and reliable but the 2.0tdi are quite unreliable.

The a6 avant of the 2010+ marque dont event come in the 1.9tdi engine as it is deemed too weak for that age and come in a 2.7tdi model whose reliability is completely unknown because not enough people have that engine.

All in all. It seems you just take a chance with modern cars and you have nothing BUT to get a brand new car on finance so the warranty can sort out any of these niggling issues.

Stoke

motorguy wrote: »

You can PCP a new Fiat 500 for £129 a month with £499 deposit.

http://www.stoneacre.co.uk/special-offers/offer/fiat/500-hatchback-12-pop-3dr/1421

Doesnt seem like a lot? Would you be "financed up to your teeth" paying out £129 a month? Maybe they just earn more than you?

Or more to the point.... they earn less than me, that's why they're financed up to their eyeballs.

The last thing I want to do is spend £129 of my hard earned money every month on a Fiat 500.

motorguy

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

To be fair they did tie that women into a clip of an undercover sales pitch where the salesman was telling the customer explicitly that they dont look out for small scratches and damages on return. Even going as far as to say that the car may actually be worth more than the guaranteed value at the end of the finance so they could be entitled to a refund. Which is complete BS.

If the cars worth more than the residual value, dont hand it back, trade it in or sell it privately instead. They no doubt trawled round the worst dealers looking for the worst salesmen and put their quotes in the worst context.

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

Your passat tale is what I keep reading on forums and what I am trying to avoid. I do need a diesel (doing 13,000 miles a year), currently drive a petrol and I could have saved around £500 a year by driving a diesel - but could that all the savings be wiped off after the car needs a DPF clean and a DMF change?

I genuinely thought that manufacturers would have had this DPF nut cracked after 10+ years, but clearly not. The service manager told me of a woman who'd had the same fault on an out of warranty Tiguan and was facing a £2,200 bill to get it sorted.

I'd planned on running the Passat for a good few years but now it'll be with me no longer than the day its manufacturers warranty expires.

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

I was actually looking at a passat or a nice a6 avant as a replacement/upgrade to my ancient golf. But I read that the 1.9tdi is decent and reliable but the 2.0tdi are quite unreliable.

The a6 avant of the 2010+ marque dont event come in the 1.9tdi engine as it is deemed too weak for that age and come in a 2.7tdi model whose reliability is completely unknown because not enough people have that engine.

All in all. It seems you just take a chance with modern cars and you have nothing BUT to get a brand new car on finance so the warranty can sort out any of these niggling issues.

Well, thats kind of my findings too - although i opted for a year old car as there was a significant saving over a new one. As i said i'll run it the two years remaining on the warranty and then take it from there.

If you're looking for something common or garden like a passat or mondeo or insignia theres good savings to be had buying at a year old.

motorguy

Stoke wrote: »

Or more to the point.... they earn less than me, that's why they're financed up to their eyeballs.

The last thing I want to do is spend £129 of my hard earned money every month on a Fiat 500.

Good to hear you're on more than minimum wage. Go you!

I'm guessing you're not a girl so i wouldnt imagine a Fiat 500 would hold a lot of appeal, and likewise and with respect, not everyone wants to drive around in a 15+ year old Mazda Demio.

If they're say, 21 and even only earning minimum wage and doing a 40 hour week, then they've £1,100 or a so a month home with them. Hardly financed to the eyeballs.

Maybe mum and dad are paying for the car? Quite nice to be able to do if you're a parent and can afford to.

My sons ex-gf's parents got her one when she was 18. It was an enabler for her as she was training to be a radiologist or similar so needed to be able to get to various hospitals, university, etc reliably and safely. It wasnt a big amount to them but it made a big difference for her.

My niece took out a new Corsa on a finance deal a number of years ago. She had previously been getting a few pounds as a child minder but got a job in a call centre 30 miles from home. The car enabled her to commute safely, economically and reliably. Shes been there 3 years and got a couple of promotions and is now their recruitment officer.

If someone is still living at home and has any sort of a job at all, £129 a month doesnt seem like a big amount of no doubt quite a high amount of expendable income.

Cornucopia

RichardD1970 wrote: »

What people? I have ran diesels for years, latest a 64 reg Grand C-Max and never had a problem despite the driving pattern being the worst possible according to the "experts".

All of my recent cars have either had the PSA 1.6 diesel or Renault 1.5 diesel engines, and they include both new and used cars. I have not had any of the problems typically cited for modern diesel cars over probably >200k of driving in 5 different cars.

Stoke

motorguy wrote: »

Good to hear you're on more than minimum wage. Go you!

I'm guessing you're not a girl so i wouldnt imagine a Fiat 500 would hold a lot of appeal, and likewise and with respect, not everyone wants to drive around in a 15+ year old Mazda Demio.

If they're say, 21 and even only earning minimum wage and doing a 40 hour week, then they've £1,100 or a so a month home with them. Hardly financed to the eyeballs.

Maybe mum and dad are paying for the car? Quite nice to be able to do if you're a parent and can afford to.

My sons ex-gf's parents got her one when she was 18. It was an enabler for her as she was training to be a radiologist or similar so needed to be able to get to various hospitals, university, etc reliably and safely. It wasnt a big amount to them but it made a big difference for her.

My niece took out a new Corsa on a finance deal a number of years ago. She had previously been getting a few pounds as a child minder but got a job in a call centre 30 miles from home. The car enabled her to commute safely, economically and reliably. Shes been there 3 years and got a couple of promotions and is now their recruitment officer.

If someone is still living at home and has any sort of a job at all, £129 a month doesnt seem like a big amount of no doubt quite a high amount of expendable income.

True that. Glad it's not my money

motorguy

Cornucopia wrote: »

All of my recent cars have either had the PSA 1.6 diesel or Renault 1.5 diesel engines, and they include both new and used cars. I have not had any of the problems typically cited for modern diesel cars over probably >200k of driving in 5 different cars.

You have a heart like a lion! :beer: