Which Would You "buy" First?

[StuM82]

I suppose this isn't that "off topic" but I'll stick it in here anyway...

As a potential FTB I'm currently saving for a deposit and hope to have £10 - £15k saved by this time next year. I don't currently have a car as I just walk to work. The question is would you use the savings for a deposit on a house/flat next year or just buy a car outright instead?

I'm almost edging towards car and continue to rent. Most people seem to believe that there will be no dramatic crash in the next few years so I won't have lost too much if it takes another three years before I'm in a position to get a mortgage.

The slight doubt would be that by buying a car and needing to save again that I'll miss the boat on house prices being at a low ebb.

Thoughts? I'm aware that it's my choice, other people will think differently, I won't solely follow anyone's advice or sue them if I miss out, etc, etc.

[Harry Monk]

In your position I would buy a £500 car which won't depreciate much. My last car cost me £300, I owned it for 5 years and then sold it for £285 so it cost me £3 a year in depreciation. Never once broke down either.

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

I suppose this isn't that "off topic" but I'll stick it in here anyway...

As a potential FTB I'm currently saving for a deposit and hope to have £10 - £15k saved by this time next year. I don't currently have a car as I just walk to work. The question is would you use the savings for a deposit on a house/flat next year or just buy a car outright instead?

I'm almost edging towards car and continue to rent. Most people seem to believe that there will be no dramatic crash in the next few years so I won't have lost too much if it takes another three years before I'm in a position to get a mortgage.

The slight doubt would be that by buying a car and needing to save again that I'll miss the boat on house prices being at a low ebb.

Thoughts? I'm aware that it's my choice, other people will think differently, I won't solely follow anyone's advice or sue them if I miss out, etc, etc.

Do you actually NEED a car ? Will it enhance your quality of life ? I don't know how far you have to walk. But if I had to walk say two miles to work each day, I wou;dn't buy a car for that, it's useful exercise outside of anything else. If your car means you'll be able to do other stuff as well, like see your mates more, or your family, then it may be worth more.

Cars cost money. Big money. Repairs, tax, insurance, fuel etc. Plus depreciation, it's pissing money down the drain. Also with cars when you don't have one, its not so much of a problem. But when you become dependent on them its hard to give them up.

Saying that I bought the car before the house. Flash car as well. Don't regret it, had a lot of fun with it, but its cost me a lot of money.

[StuM82]

Do you actually NEED a car ? Will it enhance your quality of life ? I don't know how far you have to walk. But if I had to walk say two miles to work each day, I wou;dn't buy a car for that, it's useful exercise outside of anything else. If your car means you'll be able to do other stuff as well, like see your mates more, or your family, then it may be worth more.

Cars cost money. Big money. Repairs, tax, insurance, fuel etc. Plus depreciation, it's pissing money down the drain. Also with cars when you don't have one, its not so much of a problem. But when you become dependent on them its hard to give them up.

Saying that I bought the car before the house. Flash car as well. Don't regret it, had a lot of fun with it, but its cost me a lot of money.

Yes, the purpose of the car would be to see friends and family, get out more, etc. I'd still walk to work as it's only about a mile each way. I would be looking to buy something fairly flash, instead of something more standard like a Fiesta/Focus/Astra/Whatever (nothing wrong with those cars, I used to have a Fiesta myself), to suit my age a bit better (I'm 28).

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

Yes, the purpose of the car would be to see friends and family, get out more, etc. I'd still walk to work as it's only about a mile each way. I would be looking to buy something fairly flash, instead of something more standard like a Fiesta/Focus/Astra/Whatever (nothing wrong with those cars, I used to have a Fiesta myself), to suit my age a bit better (I'm 28).

Flash cars are fun. But parts are expensive and dealers cane you on services/repairs. Go for the flash car, park it on the street and the next day someone keys it. Do you want to pay for the repairs, or knacker your insurance ?

I run an Audi, costs me about a grand a year to maintain. Even the oil is bl**dy expensive and the parts are horrific. Thinking of trading it in for a bulletproof jap car like a toyota. Boring but cheap on the running. Saying that, although the Audi is expensive the thing has never broken down on the hard shoulder etc.

One thing you could do is follow Harrys example and get a budget-mobile. Then you can have the ultility of a car, but scrap it any time you want without it hurting too much financially.

Flash cars are fun, but they are expensive. You need to figure out whether the entertainment you will get from owning the better car is worth the cost. Before you buy, check out some of the user forums for common problems and costs. That way at least you get an up front idea of how much its going to be. Owning something like a BMW or an Audi is in a different world of service cost compared with owning a Fiesta.

[ken_ichikawa]

Go half and half? A motorbike? Cheap to run and easy to maintain.

In that its not as simple as people make out! In that with a vehicle you can commute a longer distance..

There is also the issue of morale! I did once walk 3 miles to work day in day out (Penryn to Falmouth) on account that my dad totalled my bike by reversing over it. In that 2 hours spent daily walking back and forth in bad weather gets old real quick!

[pete.hpc]

I had a similar call to make, I bought a fairly flash and fairly new car because my old jollopy was costing more per month to keep running than the loan on a new, reliable car.

However, when my savings hit a point where I could afford to pay the car loan off, I did just that, because I feel allergic to debt in this climate.

So, it made a huge dent in the savings, but I continue to save and now have a nice car paid off ready for my days as a mortgage holder.

Nothing going to happen in the housing market for a while yet.

It is a Golf R32 BTW

[Executive Sadman]

You can buy a car for next to nothing. If its an undesirable name it might even have low miles and lots of trouble free motoring ahead too.

If money is so tight you cant afford to run such a car id suggest maybe buying a home is a bad idea.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

It is a Golf R32 BTW

Previous tenants of the rental house I'm in had a R32. I say had as someone kicked the door in late one night and stole it under the threat of violence...

Stu, I'd much rather have my money in the bank than advertising it on the street outside my house. Looks like your mind is made up though, enjoy the car whatever you buy.

[MrPin]

You can buy a car for next to nothing. If its an undesirable name it might even have low miles and lots of trouble free motoring ahead too.

Yes, that's how I got a Cadillac!

[Number79]

A car costs money regardless of how little it is used. There is always insurance and road tax. It sounds like insurance could cost you a pretty penny on top of the vehicles purchase price, may be even more.

You have to weigh up what is spent on public transport costs against the cost of a car/road tax/insurance/petrol/parking/mot/maintenance.

You have managed this long, my 2p would be to not bother and keep saving.

Not sure how far you want to travel but what about something dirt cheap like a moped/scooter?

[pete.hpc]

Previous tenants of the rental house I'm in had a R32. I say had as someone kicked the door in late one night and stole it under the threat of violence...

Sounds like a rough area

[StuM82]

A car costs money regardless of how little it is used. There is always insurance and road tax. It sounds like insurance could cost you a pretty penny on top of the vehicles purchase price, may be even more.

That's the main negative against a car. High fixed costs which won't be lowered that much despite low use, maybe only 3 - 4k miles a year maximum. It's not that I couldn't afford to pay it but it would maybe be a bit frustrating for that money to be spent each month for not much benefit.

[Harry Monk]

Yep, even an old car such as my P-reg costs £600 a year in tax, insurance and MOT before it even turns a wheel. I'll be getting rid when those run out and will buy a small bike, a plastic pony or somesuch, £15 tax, £60 insurance and 120+ mpg.

[CrashedOutAndBurned]

I bought a 3 year old car last time to sort of balance out newness and to avoid the biggest bit of depreciation. If you choose the right model and example bangeromics can really work. Yes, you get bills but then you might go a whole year or two spending nothing.

[profitofdoom]

I bought a 3 year old car last time to sort of balance out newness and to avoid the biggest bit of depreciation. If you choose the right model and example bangeromics can really work. Yes, you get bills but then you might go a whole year or two spending nothing.

I am currently selling "56" reg ex company Vectra 1.9 Diesels for £3995.I just sold a traded in "52" reg one with 140k on the clock for £2195.Depreciation doesn't need to be a killer.

[Dorkins]

I did once walk 3 miles to work day in day out (Penryn to Falmouth) on account that my dad totalled my bike by reversing over it. In that 2 hours spent daily walking back and forth in bad weather gets old real quick!

For a daily 2 or 3 mile commute when money is tight it's impossible to beat a bicycle. That length of journey will take you about 20 minutes and you will never pay for fuel or parking. The weather need not be a problem with a small amount of organisation with respect to clothing. Start-up costs between free and low 3 figures, running costs <£20 a year if you can be bothered to learn a bit of bike maintenance (mostly just learning how to replace worn parts). I have been cycle commuting an average of 3 miles each way for the last 5 years, I'd estimate I've spent a total of about £300 in that time including the cost of the bicycle.

[Riedquat]

I find a car essential for a decent quality of life. Sure, I could cycle to work (it's less than two miles) but I hate getting up in the morning anyway so every last second that can be spent in bed is. But that's not what the car is needed for. It's for actually allowing me to have a life, not just an existance, when I'm not working. The idea of being permamently cooped up in a city, bar what few places you can get to conveniently by train or bus, is a complete and utter nightmare to me. Therefore I had no qualms in spending my money on a car, and the house can wait until I'm happy with the prices.

[Number79]

I am currently selling "56" reg ex company Vectra 1.9 Diesels for £3995.I just sold a traded in "52" reg one with 140k on the clock for £2195.Depreciation doesn't need to be a killer.

but the '56 is 4 years old so has passed the worst of the depreciation which I think is what crashed out was getting at. Consider what the '56 cost new compared to the £4k asking price. Good luck with those, I wouldnt touch another vauxhall if it was free.

[CrashedOutAndBurned]

but the '56 is 4 years old so has passed the worst of the depreciation which I think is what crashed out was getting at. Consider what the '56 cost new compared to the £4k asking price. Good luck with those, I wouldnt touch another vauxhall if it was free.

Yes, ideally, I'd have actually gone for even more of a banger but for this to work you have to have the time and space to get a good one - something like a Fiesta that some old dear's babied and has kept in a garage. I was in a bit of a rush and needed a car so paid £4400 for a lowish mileage 3 year old car. It's now six year's old and I'll probably keep it until it's 10 years old or more if it's still working well.

Cars are just wheels to me. Yes, it's nice if you need to get a hire car and you're in some middle of the range brand new car that feels lush but it's never enough to get me down the dealership looking for a 36month deal on some new mean machine.

[Riedquat]

but the '56 is 4 years old so has passed the worst of the depreciation which I think is what crashed out was getting at. Consider what the '56 cost new compared to the £4k asking price. Good luck with those, I wouldnt touch another vauxhall if it was free.

There seems to be a bit of anti-brand feelings against Vauxhall, but why wouldn't you? I've currently got an Astra (first Vauxhall I've had) and am happy with it, although I've not had it for long enough yet to expect anything to go wrong.

[SNACR]

Get something reasonable like a mid range hatchback on HP over 3 years brand new and keep the lump sum in case you need it.

With HP you can always just give the car back after you're half way through so you have that safety net if something goes wrong.

Too many people on here are irrationally averse to borrowing money and seem to be unable to tolerate the idea of losing any money on things like depreciation. However, a new car will have 3 years warranty, will not need MOTs for those 3 years and service intervals tend to be much greater.

You can also keep the car after the three years and run it into the ground over ten years knowing the cars been well looked after by the previous owner - who is of course you.

Edit to add: New car prices have inflated quite a bit over the past couple of years. However, 2nd hand is in a bubble with prices stupidly high particularly on desirable models. One year old low milers generally seem to not offer much saving over what you can beat a dealer down to on new.

[SNACR]

I am currently selling "56" reg ex company Vectra 1.9 Diesels for £3995.I just sold a traded in "52" reg one with 140k on the clock for £2195.Depreciation doesn't need to be a killer.

Is that because there's excess supply, or because of the model change to the Insignia?

I've certainly noticed 5+ year old cars going for stupidly over the top amounts that people somewhere must be paying.

I got more than that trade on the last lot of Saab 93s we got rid of that were that sort of age and all well above average miles.

[pete.hpc]

Whilst not being averse to borrowing money, always remember that having a car loan will have a detrimental effect on how much mortgage you can get.

For me, paying the car loan off meant being able to borrow 50k more at mortgage time, not a number to be sniffed at.

Like a deposit, every £1 is multiplied about 10-fold when it comes to the amount of mortgage you can get.

[Number79]

There seems to be a bit of anti-brand feelings against Vauxhall, but why wouldn't you? I've currently got an Astra (first Vauxhall I've had) and am happy with it, although I've not had it for long enough yet to expect anything to go wrong.

I bought a vectra sri brand new in '98. Had various problems with it and from reading found that they were all more than common. 4 other people that I knew where we lived had vectras, they all had similar issues.

I said after the vectra, which went to scrap as the cam belt snapped, that I would never touch another vauxhall. Wifey wanted a zafira so we ended up getting one anyway. Same sort of engine issues and from reading around they are more than common. 2 guys at work have zafiras, both have had same problems.

Cam belt just went on the zafira, coincidence? probably, but instead of scrapping it I had another engine fitted. Am already looking forward to the day that it gets towed away though.