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

thescouselander

fred246 wrote: »

Our last family car cost £8000. I sold it 17 years later for £250. Cost £38 a month. It only broke down once - in it's first week of ownership. No major repairs. Kept it totally away from garages (apart from MOTs) so no damage done. Drove exactly the same the day I bought it as the day I sold it. No banging (I assume a banger would bang). For 14 of the 17 years I was earning six figures. I guess cars aren't a priority for me. Nobody at work bothers about what you drive. Some neighbours I think are a bit upset. It's like I've run away with the ball and refuse to play. I think they would like me to have a little Mercedes so they can prove superiority with their big Mercedes.

I imagine if you're on good money and living somewhere nice the neighbors probably think your old banger brings down the appearance of the street. Apart from that they probably couldn't give a monkeys about what you drive.

motorguy

buglawton wrote: »

50% of diesel drivers plan to switch fuel
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/diesel-sales-set-slump-due-pollution-fears-autocar-investigation
(Survey of 1000 drivers)

And how and when was that question posed? "Given that most local councils are planning on implementing congestion charges for diesels and the risk of increased road tax, do you plan on buying a diesel again next time?" OR "Given the economy of your car and the continued advances in making diesels cleaner, do you plan on buying a diesel again next time?"

I genuinely cant believe you are buying in to this propaganda nonsense being circulated. Its the newspapers trying to drum up a scandal. They are stirring and stirring the pot to make diesels the "enemy" and then when the dumb and stupid actually listen to them and dont buy diesels they can put headlines like "diesel sales plummet", etc, etc.

They're trying to create the next big sensationalist scandal. They want another PPI scandal or house price crash scandal and they're trying hard to stir public opinion against PCP deals and diesel cars. Frankly with a load of badly written unsubstantiated nonsense.

They all ran huge stories in April - "finance deals UP 20% in March as more people use PCP finance to buy cars" and tried to use that as "evidence" that PCP finance is out of control, and then in May "Diesel sales crash by 20% in April as buyers abandon diesel in their droves" - when the absolute reality of the situation was (as published by Glass's Guide and real motoring bodies) that people brought forward the purchase of their new car in to March to avoid the tax changes on 1st April, sales then dropped during April because so many people had bought in March instead.

It was genuinely laughable yet the gullible and dumb fall for it.

motorguy

thescouselander wrote: »

I imagine if you're on good money and living somewhere nice the neighbors probably think your old banger brings down the appearance of the street. Apart from that they probably couldn't give a monkeys about what you drive.

I imagine he lives somewhere where the neighbours dont really give a !!!! what he drives but he has a chip on his shoulder.

Strider590

thescouselander wrote: »

I imagine if you're on good money and living somewhere nice the neighbors probably think your old banger brings down the appearance of the street. Apart from that they probably couldn't give a monkeys about what you drive.

These sorts of streets tend to be typical middle-class suburbia, relatively new, detached 2 or 3 bedroom houses, German cars up and down the street, the sort of place my folks moved away from, they'd joke about about how when one neighbour gets a new car, within a few weeks both homes either side will have a new car too.

The funny thing is the house I grew up in was a 5 bedroomed house sat on 2 acres of land, with a full sized snooker room above the double garage, it had similar homes next to it and the most well off people around there drove old bangers like rusty old Vauxhall cavs. Folks moved from there because it was too big for two people to look after.

Some people want money and a decent lifestyle, some people just want to pretend.

Mercdriver

buglawton wrote: »

50% of diesel drivers plan to switch fuel
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/diesel-sales-set-slump-due-pollution-fears-autocar-investigation
(Survey of 1000 drivers)

For guidance on leading questions in opinion polls/surveys you only have to go to Yes, Prime Minister:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZZJXw4MTA

FlameCloud

I took delivery of my first ever brand new car in April last year - a BMW 435D which cost, after haggling a bit, a smidgen under £49,000. On BMW's own PCP plan, it is £545 a month.

I get a £400 car allowance a month (after tax) so in reality it costs me £145 a month.

Yes, it is self indulgent, however it makes me smile whenever I get in and drive it. I can afford it, so why shouldn't I spend my money in a way that suits me?

Keep_pedalling

Strider590 wrote: »

These sorts of streets tend to be typical middle-class suburbia, relatively new, detached 2 or 3 bedroom houses, German cars up and down the street, the sort of place my folks moved away from, they'd joke about about how when one neighbour gets a new car, within a few weeks both homes either side will have a new car too.

The funny thing is the house I grew up in was a 5 bedroomed house sat on 2 acres of land, with a full sized snooker room above the double garage, it had similar homes next to it and the most well off people around there drove old bangers like rusty old Vauxhall cavs. Folks moved from there because it was too big for two people to look after.

Some people want money and a decent lifestyle, some people just want to pretend.

I live in one of those streets, although this one was built in the 30s, and don't recognise this behaviour at all. I just ordered a new Golf GTE but when that eventually turns up, the last thing I expect to see is a rash of new cars appearing on my neighbours driveways in response.. that certainly did not happen with any of the other new cars I had, in the last 30 years.

Strider590

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I live in one of those streets, although this one was built in the 30s, and don't recognise this behaviour at all. I just ordered a new Golf GTE but when that eventually turns up, the last thing I expect to see is a rash of new cars appearing on my neighbours driveways in response.. that certainly did not happen with any of the other new cars I had, in the last 30 years.

You don't live in one of the those streets, these "new money" types wouldn't be seen dead in a house that old. It's also not just cars, it happens with conservatories to, one gets one, next thing you know every house in the street has one.

System

rudekid48 wrote: »

I always lease cars, have zero interest in owning one, can comfortably afford the payments and see it purely as a mobility expense. This wouldn't suit everyone I know, but I'm no "mug". Some people see owning a car as an asset - I don't, I see it purely as a means to get from A - B. What I lease every 2 years depends on what deals are around at the time and which models I like the look of.

I bet if you do the maths on what it costs you to travel a mile it would work out very little different from getting a taxi.

£250 a month = £3000 a year. UK average mileage 10,000. So in addition to all the other static costs, maintenance plus fuel costs you've got an additional 30p per mile to add to that. If we go on HMRC rates then you're looking at around 75p per mile. Around here a taxi is a quid a mile.

System

Cornucopia wrote: »

For me, Leasing/PCPs work at both ends of the spectrum (and the mid-market for new cars has always been difficult). At the low end, getting a new car for £100-£175 per month is a no-brainer.

But it is only £100-£175 a month if there is no up front payment. Almost every lease/PCP below £200 a month has an initial rent or deposit of £3000+.