Purchase Demotivation Help

Scrimps

This is a pointless and frivolous thread for which I apologise but I do actually need your help/insight if you can provide it. I keep wanting to buy a new (used car) but it's not in my financial plan and don't really need it.

We are 2 adults, 1 X 9 month old and another due at the end of Feb. I have a 2006 Clio 1.5dci and a 2004 1.4 petrol clio (just so cheap second hand!) Obviously they're both old cars, they're pretty reliable with a couple of niggles on the 2006 electrics (struggle to get the full beams on/off at times, keep having to change indicator bulbs). We only do about 8-10k per year. Most repair costs are just servicing and replacement of worn parts rather than repairs.
Neither of us need the car for work. We live in Cornwall which is difficult to get around without a car and we regularly go to the beach surfing.

We could do with one car really but keep the petrol as a spare, when the diesel did break last time it was a panic thinking that we would be entirely without a car. DH also went on a trip for 3 weeks and I was stuck without a car for 3 weeks, for these reasons we got a second car. There are 'car clubs' local to me where I could hire a car for a day or two at relatively little expence if we really needed a second car for a bit.

Logic tells me that I should sell the petrol car, despite not getting much for it at least I won't keep spending money on it for tax and insurance.

Logic also says I can manage with just the diesel car. Even when baby number 2 arrives, we'll still fit everything in the boot and two child seats will fit in the back. We drove to Northumberland as a family of 3 for a little holiday and the car performed perfectly the entire time.

When we do the once per month trip to visit family in Dorset, I arrive home with a aching back and frayed nerves and immediately start the search for an estate 'rep' type car where I could do the journey and arrive home feeling refreshed and relatively unruffled. I spend the journey thinking how nice it would be to do the journey in comfort and with no/little road noise and if I hear about an accident on the M5 or something I always think how much more secure my family would be in a larger/newer car.

I start looking at cars and immediately get 'want inflation'. I don't want to spend £10k on a car but actually find little for less that I would like, or if I do, tend not to think the trade up is worth it. My money would be better spent in a freedom fund for when baby number 2 arrives but I just can't shake this want for another car and a nice one at that. Right now I don't have £10k above my emergency fund but it wouldn't take all that long to get there. Please help.
Sorry for the ramble.

elsien

What does your other half think given that it's a joint decision if it's household finances?

Scrimps

His thinking is just as confused as mine, we're both on the same page but he thinks £10k is more excessive than I do. Our dynamic does tend to be, we make a decision to do something, I figure out how we can afford it.

I've just been reading about the Diderot effect, a nice car would look a little out of place on our drive

ratrace

As baby is coming in feb and you will be on a reduced income

if i was you i would stick to the cars you have

Herzlos

You could get a much newer Clio for a lot less than £10k. I'd go petrol too at that kind of mileage.



But if you're getting ok with those ones, you're probably best just running them into the ground and getting rid when they are no longer economical to repair.

attila_

I don’t know if this method would help, but this is what we do and how we have bought cars in the past.

We work out how much disposal income we have and how long it would take to pay back a car using this disposal income. Our target is 1 year, any longer and it starts interfeering with what we may wish to use this income for different things (i.e not cars!).

This therefore dictates the value to be spent on a car. We prefer doing it this way before looking at cars to avoid ‘choice inflation’ as you put it. It limits your choice to a value which you can afford and payback (to yourself) in a year. You need to make sure you have saved up the disposable income so when you buy a car you’re effectively repaying yourself.

For us to reach a car value of £10k using the method above has taken years in terms of waiting for increased wages and the right financial circumstances. Hence before then our budget has usually been £3-4k for a car and they have generally lasted about 7-8 yrs.

You can get so much car for £3-5k especially as a young family where you’ll be looking for space and reliability.

If you can afford £10k based on the above that’s great but if not I’d wind down the search criteria and save your pennies for the little ones and other nice things in life.

AdrianC

Herzlos wrote: »

You could get a much newer Clio for a lot less than £10k. I'd go petrol too at that kind of mileage.

<nods> - but go up a size or two. £2k will easily get you something like a petrol Insignia, less than a decade old.

Scrimps

Yes I certainly wasn't looking to get another Clio. More like a Passat. Did look at Insignias too and then managed to progress to a c class merc.

In reality it's just not on the financial agenda for the next few years especially when my car's are fine. I'll the payback calculations but may also test drive some just to scratch that itch of driving a nicer vehicle

Herzlos

Going for a bigger car is the only situation that makes sense - I know we can't fit all our baby crap in something as small as a Clio.
I wouldn't get anything fancy though, because with 2 small kids it's going to be a mess anyway


You get an awful lot of car for the money with an Insignia, and the boot is massive.

AdrianC

Herzlos wrote: »

You get an awful lot of car for the money with an Insignia, and the boot is massive.

Most importantly at this end of the market, it's deeply undesirable.


Look at Passats, and you'll pay a lot more for the same age/condition of car - simply because people WANT Passats. Or, to put it another way, for the same money you'll get an older, shabbier Passat.

Scrimps

That's why I looked at Insignias for a bit. I understand it's not a 'car persons' car but bearing in mind I drive 2 old clios: would I get the desired effect of arriving my destination relatively unruffled and having not suffered road noise for 3-5 hours on the journey?

I remember having to do a Bournemouth to Birmingham and back trip in one day in an Alfa Romeo guilietta (spelling?) hire car and getting home feeling absolutely fine. I would not feel like that in my Clio!