Mid life crises (?)- leasing a new alfa spider!

quixy_2

Hi

Seems like i'm going thru a mid-life crises(!). I have recently been pricing up leasing an alfa spider.....

Contract runs for two years at 319 a month (10kMPA) I could take out service contract and rac etc - but would be covered under manufacturers warranty.

Will only be driving socially as use train to commute.
Only have two years ncb on insurance from 2004-2006 so the insurance is quoted at 800pounds.
So intotal this will work out about 450 a month including petrol.
I take home about 1900 a month with about 800 on the mortgage.

Is this nuts?! Or should I indulge myself ?(I never had a sports car before, and suspect I never will)

Heres hoping someone can dissuade me!
Or at least advise where i can lease a spider for 12months rather than commit to 24!!

Cheers

Rich.

Almost_Redundant

Hi Rich,
I think I can relate to where you are coming from. I'm in the situation where I earn similar money (although I hate the job) but dont own a house. My deposit money is burning a hole in my pocket and i've always wanted a Porche. Unfortunately as you get older, you get more sensible!!
My way of dealing with this is to start buying the cars I used to love but couldnt afford at the time. For example, last year I paid £1700 for a 1993 Mk2 MR2. Always liked these cars when they first came out but never had the cash. Now they are dirt cheap. Ok, its nowhere near Porsche standard or status. To make up for this, i've fitted a 3.0L V6 engine into it. Now its a sports car - very quick. A Porsche wouldnt look right outside my rented, terraced house either and i'd be constantly worried that it would get vandalised/stolen etc.
In your case, £450 a month is a lot of commitment for 2 years. You may get tired of it / find a new car to drool over or have other priorities crop up.

It wouldnt leave you a great deal left over each month.

I'm slowly learning that expensive cars should only really be for people who can afford them. Not fair I know but a fact of life. Hire a real sports car for a day or two - ferarri etc to get the buzz of a lifetime.
All in my opinion of course!!

Pobby

Must admit I know where you are coming from.I have had Beamers,Audi and all sorts including a twin turbo nutter machine. Also I only have a £26 a month i/o mortgage, lol!And I was earning about £2,300 a month after tax( largely reduced now because of a severe down turn in trade but with 2 full time incomes I could afford the deal on the Spyder. What I have found is that I became bored with all the cars after a short while.Almost Redundant has a great idea. Buy something way cheaper and older and do it for cash.Something old but sexy.

This little baby floats my boat( no man, not the chick although I would rather go on holiday with her rather than you). Set you back sub 2 grand. For the same sort of money you could get a 4 litre version.

http://www.modifiedstreetcars.com/car_images/toyota/Toyota-soarer-1783.jpg

I bought a 2 year old Y reg Omega for a really cheap price and I still have it.

balsingh

i wont' offer you any advice on your dilemma but can point you in the direction of www.contracthireandleasing.com where I have seen the Spider at £279/month.

zeon999

There is a great deal on the Limited Edition version of the Spider which has just been released with £3000 worth of extras, like 19" wheels, leather upholstery and metallic paint.

http://www.lease-hire.co.uk/special-offers/cars/Alfa+Romeo/Spider/208/11

quixy_2

Thanks for all the replies!

Yes have seen contract hire and leasing - that price is+vat so about the same. Thanks anyway.

I know wht u mean about older and classic - the idea started with a MERC R107 - love the 80's ones - pure class. But its the upkeep and the maintenace thats the prob. I know close to zero about cars (just the style I like!). So I thought to go down the new leasing route to keep mainteneace costs to a minimum (especially needed with alfas so i hear!).

Would have to be a convertible tho. Looked at mx-5s and hondas2000s but nothing comes close to the alfas styling (below 30k value).

Prob not worth financially shafting myself for!

zeon999

Oh I also forgot to say to be honest maintenance added to a 24 month contract with low mileage is a bad move really.

The contracts with maintenance only work out worth it genrally if your planning on doing 15,000 miles a years or more or 36 month contract.

Remember any faults will be covered under the guarantee so you only have servicing costs which for a low mileage 24 month contract is really not worth worrying about.

EDIT

Oh and nearly all leasing companys can offer 12 month leasing contracts, but problem is they are normally very expencive compared to 24 month or 36 month contracts.

Hintza

My only advice is check the national economy. I personally think this givernment is smoking its socks. I work for myself and I have seen business fall off a cliff in the last few months.

I used to do some consultancy (event management) and the company I did work for is laying of about a third of their staff. Inflation is way higher than is stated and any cut in interst rates would be inflationary also. In my view interest rates should really rise.

How is your mortgage set up are you OK on that for the next 2 years? I think that and your own job security should be the deciding factors also add perhaps another £50 a month for inflation over the two year period.

Apart from that can you get me one too..........please!

Almost_Redundant

Ok. Your contract hire for the Spyder over 2 years @ £319 = £7656 + Ins + fuel.

Going back to my post earlier re older cars for example:

Mercedes CLK320 - A 10 yr old model should cost no more than £5000 (for a decent one). That leaves £2656 to spend on it in the unlikely event it breaks down - Not very likely in my opinion if you get a good one. I would guesstimate that after 2 years it will still be worth £3K - £4K if you look after it. Meaning the whole thing saves you about £3K-£4K (well this is a moneysaving site!!) Dont worry about the 10 yr thing, My MR2 is 15 years old now with 121000 miles and as strong as ever!
Agree strongly with Hintza too regarding the economy over the next few years. You really do get a lot of good old car for your money these days.

zeon999

Why would you want a 10 year old CLK320 if your looking at getting a brand new Alfa Spider?

http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=232521

compared to

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MERCEDES-BENZ+CLK/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-25-4294967077-4294967262/advert.action?R=200816308048437&distance=127&postcode=st189jx&channel=CARS&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&model=CLK&min_pr=5000&max_pr=&max_mileage=

I get what your saying though used car prices have dropped massivly due to everybody being so bothered about making sure they buy brand new cars to keep their image.

Aslong as you dont mind driving round in an older car then you can find some amazing deals ATM due to used car sales dropping so much.

david69_2

sounds like you've got champagne ideas and lemonade pockets i used to buy nice cars years ago but soon realised it was a waste of money.