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The best MoneySaving way to have a car
I'm 29 and I've had a driving licence for 11 years, but I've never owned a car. I've always wanted one, but never needed one for work or to get around and so it didn't make financial sense to pay the high cost. I've rented a number of times, so my driving skills are still fine. But right now I really want the freedom of having a car, as I moved to a smaller city where getting back to my hometown would be easier. Something to use on the weekends.
I'm financially stable so it's something I can afford, but I don't want to waste money. I'm not a gambler. I like to think of myself as a MoneySaingExpert, and this sometimes means I spend a long time deciding on things to choose the most cost-effection option, and a car is one of those which I'm really struggling to decide. There's so many factors and risks to consider, and I know little about mechanics. I've at least decided I want an automatic hatchback - I can drive manual, but as an inexperienced driver automatic would be easier. By design, I like Ford Focus - it's roomy, popular and hopefully fairly reliable. But I'm keeping all options open.
I look at this like an investment, and have weighed up some options in a spreadsheet. Over a two year period, I compared a few leasing, subscription (Evogo, etc.) and buying options. Cost of buying a used car (lump sum) vs monthly lease on a new one, tax (if buying), insurance, fuel cost (using each car's combined mpg), deprecation of the car (if buying, using a calculator) and from this the asset value I'd have at the end (e.g. 20% less if owned, £0 if leased). Buying came out cheaper overall than all the leasing options, which is probably no surprise for most but I needed to confirm as a newbie to this.
It's hard to know if you're paying the right price if you don't know much about cars, so I use Autotrader's valuation tool and some others, but they vary greatly.
The only thing I wasn't able to factor in was the cost of servicing, which is where the cost of a car can vary greatly and could send it through the roof and more than a new car lease - which is what concerns me most. To reduce the risk, I plan to get a £99 RAC vehicle inspection on one or two cars to confirm there's no major issues and estimate when things will likely need replacing. Hopefully then I'll achieve my goal of having a car which won't cost the earth.
So as you can see I've gone through a fair amount of thinking with this, but I'm still afraid to go ahead with it. So I thought I'd reach out and ask for some advice from car owners on here. Am I looking at this in the right way? What would you suggest I do? Many thanks!
I'm financially stable so it's something I can afford, but I don't want to waste money. I'm not a gambler. I like to think of myself as a MoneySaingExpert, and this sometimes means I spend a long time deciding on things to choose the most cost-effection option, and a car is one of those which I'm really struggling to decide. There's so many factors and risks to consider, and I know little about mechanics. I've at least decided I want an automatic hatchback - I can drive manual, but as an inexperienced driver automatic would be easier. By design, I like Ford Focus - it's roomy, popular and hopefully fairly reliable. But I'm keeping all options open.
I look at this like an investment, and have weighed up some options in a spreadsheet. Over a two year period, I compared a few leasing, subscription (Evogo, etc.) and buying options. Cost of buying a used car (lump sum) vs monthly lease on a new one, tax (if buying), insurance, fuel cost (using each car's combined mpg), deprecation of the car (if buying, using a calculator) and from this the asset value I'd have at the end (e.g. 20% less if owned, £0 if leased). Buying came out cheaper overall than all the leasing options, which is probably no surprise for most but I needed to confirm as a newbie to this.
It's hard to know if you're paying the right price if you don't know much about cars, so I use Autotrader's valuation tool and some others, but they vary greatly.
The only thing I wasn't able to factor in was the cost of servicing, which is where the cost of a car can vary greatly and could send it through the roof and more than a new car lease - which is what concerns me most. To reduce the risk, I plan to get a £99 RAC vehicle inspection on one or two cars to confirm there's no major issues and estimate when things will likely need replacing. Hopefully then I'll achieve my goal of having a car which won't cost the earth.
So as you can see I've gone through a fair amount of thinking with this, but I'm still afraid to go ahead with it. So I thought I'd reach out and ask for some advice from car owners on here. Am I looking at this in the right way? What would you suggest I do? Many thanks!
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