Old Banger vs Used Finance?

onomatopoeia99

Student_debt_Hype wrote: »

There is also the added (but MUCH less important) factor of 'appearances', while we aren't a suit and tie company, client expectations of us are a large part of acquiring and maintaining them (I work for a UX development company). My collegues drive new fords and VW's, my boss drives a BMW, this is all part of the client 'coffee table talk'. And this isn't a case of envy (at least I don't think so!) it's more of a 'our clients are snooty !!!! holes and this banger could affected their judgement of the company', nothing to do with anything in the company itself!

Company needs to provide you with an appropriate vehicle if it believes what you roll up in will affect client perception then. It cannot require you to purchase a particular car or class of car.


I rarely do meetings, but if someone parked in our carpark and they had an old banger, or a bland euro/jap box, or something more exotic, it would make no difference to the meeting, though I would ask about something exotic or classic, as I like interesting / unusual cars (and own some).

DD265

Last May I bought an '05 VW Golf TDI for £3250. Paid for partially with help from family and I stuck the rest on a 0% credit card, paid off before the promotional period ended. Prior to that I had a car I'd bought brand new on PCP; I much prefer owning outright especially as my repayments were extortionate on account of my high mileage. I did have help finding and inspecting the car; my FIL is very knowledgeable so I had the confidence to move forwards.

If you can work out your budget, the guys on here are really good at suggesting specific makes/models/years to look at. E.g. some specific engines are shoddy, but go a year earlier (or later) for the same model of car and you'll get the decent engine. I'm sure there are a few on here that would be happy to find links to specific cars and tell you what to look out for etc.

Jonesya

If you're buying a used car you want to minimise your maintenance and repair costs - so forget the flashy German brands, or even the UK brands, the Japanese rank highly for reliabilitity and many are made here in the UK.

Consider Toyota and Honda - both ranked highly for reliability.

wgl2014

ginashamz wrote: »

I suggest the Mazda RX8 231hp edition. Will blow the water with their diesel euro boxes.

Just don't get a rusty one with knackered suspension, if this is too much of a risk you could pretend to buy a BMW M2........

Or back in reality...... Plenty of choice for reasonable if boring cars that don't look like total sheds. Civic, Golf, Focus are all common and acceptable, I would consider some me basic spec cars which are less popular and hence cheaper.

custardy

DD265 wrote: »

Last May I bought an '05 VW Golf TDI for £3250. Paid for partially with help from family and I stuck the rest on a 0% credit card, paid off before the promotional period ended. Prior to that I had a car I'd bought brand new on PCP; I much prefer owning outright especially as my repayments were extortionate on account of my high mileage. I did have help finding and inspecting the car; my FIL is very knowledgeable so I had the confidence to move forwards.

If you can work out your budget, the guys on here are really good at suggesting specific makes/models/years to look at. E.g. some specific engines are shoddy, but go a year earlier (or later) for the same model of car and you'll get the decent engine. I'm sure there are a few on here that would be happy to find links to specific cars and tell you what to look out for etc.

Over £3K for an 05 Golf?