I'd like to purchase an expensive car, but when?

Ted1990

GSDMum said:

Love it when people realise a dream! If you're comfortable with splashing out, then go for it. 
I'm looking at the practicality though, could you leave the car in an airport or station car park while you caught a plane or train? Where would you leave it while you went out for a meal, or visited a shopping centre? Would you feel the need to buy a common or garden runabout as well?

Hi GSDMum. Thanks for your input and positivity. It's one of those things in life where part of me thinks that although it's a luxury item, why not? Why not enjoy myself while I can and I'm able.

Yes, I'd definitely need a daily car as well. I'd either keep my current car or get into a cheap runaround. I work from home so I don't commute. I'd use the Maserati for road trips in Europe and fun drives at the weekends. Cheers!

Ted1990

motorguy said:

The likes of Oracle Finance do bespoke PCP and finance packages at quite low rates of finance for supercars and stuff like that so might be worth the O/P talking to them IF he would have a preference to keep some / most of his money wherever it is now earning interest and thus keep his options open.
He might also then get protection from a large market drop if the residual was guaranteed.
Not saying "PCP it" by any means but its an option the O/P might feel is worth looking at.
The other thing i would say is, the likes of that Maserati would be very much a niche market thus come resale time it could take a long time to sell OR could attract relatively low bids from dealers.  Definitely worth getting the opinion of people who know these cars inside out.

Thanks for the extra info Motorguy. PCP is not something I've thought about, but I'll take a look. Yes, there are a few examples on Autotrader that have been on there for 6+ months. These tend to be lower spec or odd colours. I'd be looking at a white one with a lot of trim options. These seem to sell very quickly at around 2-4 weeks.

Ted1990

AdrianC said:

Grumpy_chap said:

thegentleway said:

Anyway, have you driven one? If not why don’t you hire one for a few days? Should help you decide how much pleasure you’ll get out of it and if it’s worth the running costs/depreciation. 

Can you hire a Maserati?
It is not the average car available from the local Avis or Hertz.

Plenty of supercar hire places.

Would you happen to know any in the Midlands?

Ted1990

Sandtree said:

GSDMum said:

I'm looking at the practicality though, could you leave the car in an airport or station car park while you caught a plane or train? Where would you leave it while you went out for a meal, or visited a shopping centre? Would you feel the need to buy a common or garden runabout as well?

I can understand from a practical point of view that you may need a second vehicle, some of these types of cars don't exactly have the biggest boot for transporting family holiday luggage to the airport etc but never really understood the concerns of leaving it in carparks or outside restaurants etc. 

When we had ours the only downside was the occasional comment from strangers and most the time that was just a "nice car" or "fancy doing a swap?" etc when outside London. It certainly didn't change our parking habits nor did we even think of getting a second car.

Hi Sandtree.

Yes, I agree. A second car would definitely be what I'd go for. Either keeping my current car or getting a cheap runaround. Did you own a GranTurismo? Cheers.

Ted1990

neilmcl said:

Why does this thread remind me of the Lamborghini "Galliardo" thread a little while back 😉

I hope you're not insinuating I'm not a car guy or 13 years old haha! (I assume the Galliardo thread was one of these?)

I do really love cars, I've never been in a position to buy a really nice one until recently.

Cheers

Ted1990

AdrianC said:

Ted1990 said:
I didn't realize that my credit score had no bearing. What's the point of it if not loan approval?

Your credit history affects loan approval.
Your credit score is just a marketing tool to sell you credit-monitoring services.

That's eye-opening! I always wondered why you could pay to increase the number.

Biggus_Dickus

@Ted1990

Beautiful looking car;...fanny magnet par excellence. Carpe Diem!

However, if you’re lamping out £55k make sure you have a lengthy/rigorous test drive;...I’ve had my heart set on a few pricey cars over the years only to find my hopes and expectations were completely shattered when I actually got to drive them. 🤔

p.s. Lionel Messi used to own a  GranTurismo MC Stradale.😁

AdrianC

Ted1990 said:

AdrianC said:

Grumpy_chap said:

thegentleway said:

Anyway, have you driven one? If not why don’t you hire one for a few days? Should help you decide how much pleasure you’ll get out of it and if it’s worth the running costs/depreciation. 

Can you hire a Maserati?
It is not the average car available from the local Avis or Hertz.

Plenty of supercar hire places.

Would you happen to know any in the Midlands?

Oh, there'll be plenty... Some of them may even be reputable and not just a money-laundering front.

I'd be starting from reputation and car list, and leaving the location low on the list. After all, wouldn't you prefer to drive to collect the car somewhere with good roads to give it what little exercise you actually can without smearing it over the scenery or getting locked up?

Why restrict yourself to the UK? I'm sure your missus-to-be will warm to the idea far more readily if the rentaMaser is tied in with a Tuscan holiday... Gotta be better than picking it up on the outskirts of Sutton Coldfield, right?

GeordieGeorge

Ted1990 said:

GeordieGeorge said:

I normally buy my used cars outright, especially the high-end ones, and you definitely don’t need to be able to afford it twice.

What you do need to do is to buy a very good example, even if that means that it’s not one of the cheaper ones. That means no work needs doing, cosmetically it should be A1, and you expect a full service history.

I’ve bought cars that need something very minor doing in the past but think now that it’s nearly always a sign that the current owner doesn’t really look after it properly.

Once you’ve bought, work on building your savings back up, and possibly put money aside earmarked for the car, as cars do need some money spent on them sometimes.

Be willing to take your time finding the right one, which means not overlooking imperfections, and being OK walking away even if you’ve taken time out and travelled to see it.

Thanks for your response and insight George.

I totally agree with you. I'd definitely want a great example with a full service history.

That's good advice on putting money aside for the car. I do that now, but my current car isn't too expensive to run, although petrol can run high sometimes. I'm under no illusion the Maserati will be worse haha. Cheers.

I bought a McLaren last year, a 650s. I’ve never spent so much on a car, and may never do it again, but every day, whether I drive it or not, it gives me immense pleasure. Just knowing that it’s mine, and is sitting there in the garage if I want to use it makes me happy.

I paid for the exceptionally expensive McLaren warranty for the first year, but will “self warranty” after that, accepting that I may get a big bill, but also comfortable that it’s only a small probability and that because I look after my cars well I’m less likely than many people to have a serious issue.

GeordieGeorge

Ted1990 said:

GeordieGeorge said:

Stubod said:

..I think you are looking for the "money spending" forum rather than money saving forum?

OK, you are a long time dead, but this just seems a complete waste of money unless you have at least 10* the amount saved than you are looking to spend on this rather expensive "luxury".

By all means by another "nice" car, but get something that will leave you with plenty of money to look after it and spend on other life life "essentials".....IMHO...

I’ve more than one very nice car, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t try my best to not waste money buying and owning them. Some people seem to have this strange idea that being careful to not waste money means never having nice things, but that’s really not a sensible view.

My most recent car seems to have gone up in value by about then thousand pounds since I bought it, and a few years ago I ran an Audi R8 for four years with all of the costs of ownership being less than the amount it appreciated over the time, meaning that it was free motoring.

We don’t live on bread an water, we don’t all eat only the yellow-label reduced food, and we don’t all drive a well-used Yaris, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all view our choices through a money-saving lens.

That's a good way to look at it, George. I've always done my best to be careful with money and never lived above my means. In fact, I rarely spend money on myself. This is just of those cars I've always wanted to own and 'treat' myself with. We all work hard, and it's nice to purchase something you really like and want to own, even for just a few years. I'd hate to look back when I'm older and think 'I wish I'd got one of those when I could enjoy it.'

How was the R8? That's another favorite of mine! I prefer the original shape, and I think they still look amazing on the road.

I’ve had two now, the original V8, and then the facelifted  “plus” version. I think that the original one was the better of the two, and it was wonderful. It was comfortable, brilliant on long drives, but, of course, a proper sports car.
I swapped when some hot hatches started being faster than it, but looking back that was a bit silly, as it was still more than fast enough and the Plus model, without the adjustable suspension, was not as nice to use for “normal” driving; it was set up with one eye on track work.
And yes, it looked amazing. Little children would jump up and down with excitement when they saw it, it seemed to bring real joy to people.