Budgeting for cars?

OldBeanz

shinytop wrote: »

What miserable bunch of old skinflints we are with cars (myself included). Hasn't anyone blown a large chunk on something exotic?

Depends what you call exotic and what you would call a large chunk. I have a part time job driving cars so have driven R8’s A8s, Mustangs,M5s, M4s, Megan Trophy’s in the last year.
I have recently bought a new M140 as it is the last car in its class to be rear wheel drive, last to have a 3litre engine in its class, was more environmentally friendly than the 2 seater I used to own (divide everything by 5 rather than 2) and of course is an automatic.
Why would anyone buy a 2nd hand car? I am sure tests have shown all sorts of spillages which you would not want to sit on or touch.

JoeEngland

shinytop wrote: »

What miserable bunch of old skinflints we are with cars (myself included). Hasn't anyone blown a large chunk on something exotic?

Exotic holidays yes, exotic cars no Even then the most we've spent on a holiday was 8k

JoeEngland

OldBeanz wrote: »

Depends what you call exotic and what you would call a large chunk. I have a part time job driving cars so have driven R8’s A8s, Mustangs,M5s, M4s, Megan Trophy’s in the last year.
I have recently bought a new M140 as it is the last car in its class to be rear wheel drive, last to have a 3litre engine in its class, was more environmentally friendly than the 2 seater I used to own (divide everything by 5 rather than 2) and of course is an automatic.
Why would anyone buy a 2nd hand car? I am sure tests have shown all sorts of spillages which you would not want to sit on or touch.

I've never tested or bought a secondhand car that looked like it had any strange spillages. It's hardly a real worry when buying them. Still, I'm thankful for new car buyers spending more than they need to because it ensures a supply of secondhand cars for people like me

Spreadsheetman

shinytop wrote: »

What miserable bunch of old skinflints we are with cars (myself included). Hasn't anyone blown a large chunk on something exotic?

LOL!

Cars are just an annoying necessity to me. I only need something reliable and economic that I don't have to think about, I couldn't care less about luxury or driving experience.

Wenlock

JoeEngland wrote: »

Exotic holidays yes, exotic cars no Even then the most we've spent on a holiday was 8k

£8k on a single holiday?!

I’m in my fifties. I doubt my total lifetime spending on holidays is more than two or three thousand pounds. Consisting of two self catering foreign holidays and the odd UK cottage rental (only including my personal share of the costs to be fair).

Each to their own but it would make me feel sick to spend much money on a holiday.

In terms of cars, I agree with the idea of buying a reasonable quality car at the one or two year point to minimise depreciation. Then keep it for several years until repair costs become higher.

If I didn’t have elderly relatives to take to hospital appointments I don’t think I would bother running a car at all.

leviathan

westv wrote: »

I really am not looking forward to the day I have to drive an automatic.

I used to think that and then I got a reasonable modern one circa 2005 but what makes it work is having lots of engine power. I wouldn't want one in a NA 1.8 for example.

westv wrote: »

For me part of the joy of motoring is being in control of the gears.

Yep. Now controlled with the right foor instead of the left hand.

I have a few cars. The auto is a daily & family car which makes sense for traffic. I also have a scream to 9k rpm and thrash the gears car, so on balance it depends on the mood

shinytop

Spreadsheetman wrote: »

LOL!

Cars are just an annoying necessity to me. I only need something reliable and economic that I don't have to think about, I couldn't care less about luxury or driving experience.

I understand a lot of people just aren't interested in cars. However, when you spend a lot of time driving it's nice to be in something.... nice. If I spent lots of time watching TV I wouldn't want to sit on a kitchen chair watching a fuzzy 14 inch screen, even though both are functional.

shinytop

JoeEngland wrote: »

Exotic holidays yes, exotic cars no Even then the most we've spent on a holiday was 8k

Same here with cars (excluding motorcycles of course ) vs. holidays. We're off tonight to blow a substantial sum on our latest trip.

zagfles

JoeEngland wrote: »

Financially buying a new car is not commonsense when you could buy a one or two year old with 10-15k miles for several thousand quid less. Buying new is a matter of personal preference more than anything else.

You can buy via a broker and get several thousand off. My last car was 20% off the list price, brand new off the dealer forecourt. The supposed massive first year depreciation only applies when you look at the list price. Virtually no-one pays the list price.

I once compared notes with someone who always buys cars about a year old and sells after about 4 years - he had much higher maintenance costs than I do, I buy new and sell after 10+ years, despite his cars being younger on average.

zagfles

Wenlock wrote: »

£8k on a single holiday?!

I’m in my fifties. I doubt my total lifetime spending on holidays is more than two or three thousand pounds. Consisting of two self catering foreign holidays and the odd UK cottage rental (only including my personal share of the costs to be fair).

Each to their own but it would make me feel sick to spend much money on a holiday.

Depends on the holiday. Someone I know spends 6 months in SE Asia every year - he probably spend around £8k but that's probably what he'd spend at home in those 6 months!
Only time we spent that sort of amount was on a holiday in NZ but it was for 4 of us for a month.