CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Well I've been trawling PistonHeads/Scoobynet/MLR and it or me thinking.
Pretty much all my car life (13 years and 30 cars) I can honestly say I've never been able to fully afford the cars or been driving in one way or another  for example with my Scoobys I've been able to buy/run/insure them but if they needed a rebuild or even a full set of tyres I'd be buggered 
Now in the not to distant future I'll be able to afford (buy) something a bit special ie an E46 M3, RS4 or even an C63 AMG.
BUT if I did then my old rule would apply ie of the M3 needed a £700 service it would hit me financially and the cost of fuel etc. Now with performance cars like Evo's and especially scoobys being so low eg a 2004 Blobeye STI going for 6k! Would you rather have a 'Nice' fast car that you could maintain properly and modify if you wish and not have to worry about the money or have the quedos and status of having a more grown up V8 beast on the drive and hope no big bills come in?
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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Any cars going to hit you financially in one way or another, new ones with depreciation, old ones with higher maintenance. All of them will need services so you cant avoid that. What i'd do is decide how much a month your prepared to loose then see what you can get.
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daymoon
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Registered: 1st Aug 08
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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I would not want to have a car that I would just be able to drive and if something went wrong I would be fcuked.
That is what happened when I got the E36 a year and half ago. Was paying £60 a week in fuel and £270 a month for uni fees. Was earning about £600 a month and come MOT time it really stretched me.
When I sold it and changed to the TDi Bora and was spending half the money on fuel I really could feel the financial benefit.
[Edited on 16-01-2012 by daymoon]
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taylorboosh
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
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try and save so much a month for when things do go tits up... if they dont its a helping hand for the car after
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Ricky352
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Registered: 6th Apr 07
Location: Lisburn, N.I.
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I've always rather had a nice sum of money in the bank and a cheaper car. You've got to have something incase something goes wrong imo.
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Corsa_Sport21
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Registered: 13th Apr 08
Location: Leven, Fife. Drives : 205 GTi
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I wouldn't like to have a car that i would have to leave parked on the drive for a month or 2 till i could afford to fix it if it broke etc. Then have to sell it because realistically i couldn't afford to fix it again if something major went wrong.
Probably the reason that within the last 4-5 years i havn't spent more than 1500quid buying a car lol.
Unless you have been scrimping and saving every last penny to buy said choice cars, then i would go for it and see how you get on. You only live once after all and if you think you can manage, go for it.
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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Think im starting to get too sensible, but something like a C63 AMG WILL sting you to the tune of 600-700 a month I reckon by the time you've taken all into consideration. Same goes for anything similar really M3's, RS's etc. Total waste of money & unjustifiable unless your loaded imo.
Spend £6k on an old scooby or Evo & fair enough it might bite you hard at some point but just be cautious & prepared for that to happen, you'll get similar enjoyment for half the outlay.
[Edited on 16-01-2012 by Colin]
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Yeah I thought you'd say about the monthly amount thing...the only problem is we've always been shit with money so pretty much every month we always spend what we have in one way or another! Not wasting etc but an extra meal out or spend it on the baby.
I suppose it's living within your means no matter what car you have isn't it? Even if you own a Veyron and have a 100k in the bank 20k on tyres is gonna sting! So I suppose if you can't afford to fix whatever car you have when it breaks you shouldn't own it?
The way I see it is if you have say £1500 a month disposable income and by that I mean after mortgage/bills etc then say £500 a month to run a car isn't unreasonable? BUT you'd have to have maybe 2-3k in savings to pay for the inevitable bills. So many people must have cars they can't afford
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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I like your thinking Col...might look into getting something in the middle like an M3. At least then it's a bit more grown up but cheap enough to have some left over.
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taylorboosh
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
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most peopel just find a way through it
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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Depends how much having a nice car means to you I guess. I used to enjoy it, but with the state of the roads, other peoples disregard for your pride and joy plus the ever increasing strain on the wallet from the pumps/ins/tax etc its just not worth it.
I make enough now / have enough disposable income to buy pretty much what I want, but I just cant justify it to myself any longer.
Apparently the best time financially to buy a car is at 7yrs old & keep it for 3yrs, servicing yourself. Thats what I plan to do. Plenty decent motors out there for 5k!
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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At one point when I was living at home I was paying out £900 a month for loans and car running etc and was earning £1400. That was when I had my first scooby and spent like £300 on fuel
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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quote:
Originally posted by CORSA NUT
I like your thinking Col...might look into getting something in the middle like an M3. At least then it's a bit more grown up but cheap enough to have some left over.
I thought about getting a Manual 3L E36M, I reckon they'll start to go up in value in a few years.
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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quote:
Originally posted by Colin
Depends how much having a nice car means to you I guess. I used to enjoy it, but with the state of the roads, other peoples disregard for your pride and joy plus the ever increasing strain on the wallet from the pumps/ins/tax etc its just not worth it.
I make enough now / have enough disposable income to buy pretty much what I want, but I just cant justify it to myself any longer.
Apparently the best time financially to buy a car is at 7yrs old & keep it for 3yrs, servicing yourself. Thats what I plan to do. Plenty decent motors out there for 5k!
Good point! I did this when I had my 182 and although it all FELT right I still wasn't happy for some reason! It's kind of like I NEED to be running something I can't afford to make it more fun I dunno
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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quote:
Originally posted by Colin
quote:
Originally posted by CORSA NUT
I like your thinking Col...might look into getting something in the middle like an M3. At least then it's a bit more grown up but cheap enough to have some left over.
I thought about getting a Manual 3L E36M, I reckon they'll start to go up in value in a few years.
Been looking at these too but need a 'newer' car ideally. My 323i was a brilliant motor
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Paul_J
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Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
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I've always owned cheap cars so that I don't care if I smash them up.
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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Really all I needs something that can fit all the shopping & suitcases in these days!!
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Tomnova16
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Jan 06
Location: Gerrards Cross Drives: Porsche 911
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M3 and a credit card. /thread
http://www.lemass.co.uk/ for all your automotive/bodyshop needs
Located in Chalfont st Peter
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whitter45
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Registered: 15th Nov 02
Location: Norton
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for me you need to be able to run the car rather than just afford to buy it
It depends what drives you - for me if you can afford the car but would have to worry about running costs then surely that would take away some of the pleasure of driving it
also your assuming your love of cars would continue and it may not then a high running cost car becomes a burden especially if your worried about costs.
Also think about how much they lose - depending on the year - if your worried about running costs then surely big hit in depreciation comes into especially in the current climate when very few people want V8 high performamce cars
Everyone will have a different view and good luck if you get one
[Edited on 17-01-2012 by whitter45]
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whitter45
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Registered: 15th Nov 02
Location: Norton
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quote:
Originally posted by CORSA NUT
Yeah I thought you'd say about the monthly amount thing...the only problem is we've always been shit with money so pretty much every month we always spend what we have in one way or another! Not wasting etc but an extra meal out or spend it on the baby.
I suppose it's living within your means no matter what car you have isn't it? Even if you own a Veyron and have a 100k in the bank 20k on tyres is gonna sting! So I suppose if you can't afford to fix whatever car you have when it breaks you shouldn't own it?
The way I see it is if you have say £1500 a month disposable income and by that I mean after mortgage/bills etc then say £500 a month to run a car isn't unreasonable? BUT you'd have to have maybe 2-3k in savings to pay for the inevitable bills. So many people must have cars they can't afford
but most M3's C63's will be on a lease and probably the people driving them are getting money from their company etc to pay for it
Guy at work had an M3 as he opted out and put his opt out allowance towards an M3. Then he realised fuel bills, tyres, road tax at £463 a year just wasn't worth it
He also struggled to sell it on - ended up almost giving it away and it was a good spec in carbon black and tan leather etc
for me if I was going to throw 500+ at a car i would be looking at moving house and putting my money that way
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BarnshaW
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Registered: 25th Oct 06
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i personally have money a side for the reason if things go wrong, things will always go wrong and its nice to have a bit of money to the side for this particular reason.
my advice would be to choose a car, save a bit of money to the side and when you have this money then buy the car.
performance per £ subaru is the best bet out your list.
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richc
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Registered: 24th Mar 07
Location: Ilkeston
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quote:
Originally posted by CORSA NUT
At one point when I was living at home I was paying out £900 a month for loans and car running etc and was earning £1400. That was when I had my first scooby and spent like £300 on fuel
Sounds like me
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Stu
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Registered: 3rd May 00
Location: Madchester UK Drives: 2014 BMW M135i
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quote:
Originally posted by Colin
Depends how much having a nice car means to you I guess. I used to enjoy it, but with the state of the roads, other peoples disregard for your pride and joy plus the ever increasing strain on the wallet from the pumps/ins/tax etc its just not worth it.
I make enough now / have enough disposable income to buy pretty much what I want, but I just cant justify it to myself any longer.
Apparently the best time financially to buy a car is at 7yrs old & keep it for 3yrs, servicing yourself. Thats what I plan to do. Plenty decent motors out there for 5k!
Im the same now matey! I just don't have the desire to have a really nice road car these days, you need to have way deeper pockets than you used to:
- It costs a fortune both to run and to fix
- Im scared that Im going to get my front door kicked in for it
- I cant park it anywhere cos it will either get dinged by some selfish driver or some jealous chav will key it
- The roads are too busy so you cant use the performance anyway
- Too many speed cameras and cops
Im happy with what I have done in selling my M5, at first I missed it but now I dont at all. Well happy with the Saab I have bought, 50mpg, 200bhp+, auto, comfy, reliable, cheap and Im not really that arsed if it picks up a dent or needs the bumper respraying. Just bought a track car to give me my speed fix, a cheap phase 1 Rallye 16v. Its dead easy to work on so means I can get my hands dirty a bit with it (something I couldn't really do with my RS6 and M5), but also means I can properly put my foot down and push the car.
Im probably getting old but I just think fast cars are pointless for the road these days, in the REAL world a Smart for Two is probably a quicker car than my old M5 was round the places I drive 
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Nic Barnes
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Registered: 5th Apr 04
Location: nowhere near ginger people
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No point trying to look flashy if you can't actually afford it.
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richc
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Registered: 24th Mar 07
Location: Ilkeston
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Obviously my situation (financially is totally different to yours Stu/colin but i see where you are comming from.
I know have a discovery that i do abit of off roading/green laning with and i love it - even though everyone thinks its a piece of shit compaired to my last car.
Its not 'economical' or fast, But;
- It doesnt matter if i get it dented/scratched
- I dont worry when i leave it anywhere.
- I service it myself. Because of this i have more money to spend on doing extra things like changing diff/gearbox/transfer oils which can be expensive and are not included in a 'normal' service in a garage.
- Its pretty old school design so mechanically everything is easily changed by the DIY, so i never even consider a dealer for anything. There are plenty of land rover specialist that do dirt cheap parts - example swivel cup bearings knakerd and hub about ready to fall off. Bought the full rebuild kit for £16. Both bearings (same make as the land rover ones), all gaskets, grease, seals etc. Couple of hours work job done.
But when i go out in a friends car (megane 225, r32 golf, astra vxr, alfa 147 etc), you do get the twitch for a couple of hours but then it all goes away again
I think when im debt free i will change my mind though.
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