turboman786

Please dont flame this Q as it is a hypothetical one...!!

Scenario:......Say you wanted to buy a £35k car, lets say a 911 C2s or something like that, used obviously....

You have the £35k, so buying it is no problem....

BUT, having forked out the £35k you dont really have much left in the way of savings...

Now these cars cost a fair bit to run, say £1200 insurance, £100pw petorl, £1500 a year to service, £800 tyres a year.....PLUS the main cost which is depreciation os say £5 kpa....

Now say I had a mortgage of £500pm, no other debts, and earnt £50kpa....

Could I comfortably own this car?

(the above examples of figures are purely made up!!!)

Strange q, Im sure lots of strange responses will follow....

sti-04!!

I would say you could. 50k a year is around £3200 a month. So unless your out getting hammered every weekend then it shouldnt be a prob. IMHO

The Chief

Yeah i'd say no problem - my Scoob has probably cost more than a 911 in servicing, mods and repairs. (about 5k) and i earn a damn sight less than 50k so a 911 which is a bit more bullet proof would be no problem.

at the end of the day buy one with new tyres and a up to date service schedule and your sorted for 12 months, stick 200 quid away a month which hopefully should pay for any probs or repairs.

If it starts to cripple you, you can always sell it!!!

billythekid

I had a boxster for a year (Cost 34995 so close enough ) and a bit. I worked out my running costs to be in the region of 400 a month. (all in exc depreciation) based on just under 10k miles a year.

Blueblaster

I think this is an excellent question and one that more people should be asking themselves before they hurl themselves into supercar ownership. Off the top of my head I would say it'll cost you 400 quid per month excluding depreciation.

An awful lot of people buy cars and then plough every last penny they have into them to keep them on the road. If you are this kind of person then you really don't need a very high income to run the vehicle if you don't have any finance costs. One additional cost you could look at is the opportunity cost of not earning interest on your £35k savings. This will be ignored by an accountant, but an economist will tell you that you could probably earn 4% interest after tax on your £35k which equates to £1400 per year. Even though you are not taking out a loan to buy your car you are losing out on the interest that your savings would be earning.

As this is a hypothetical question I can be as judgemental as I like . Anyone who has £35k in the bank and spends all of it on a car and then has to scrabble around to find the money to run it is a fool. They can't afford it. They should be making a more balanced decision based on a number of factors such as:
- keeping a lump sum in the bank for unforeseen disasters
- putting some into long term savings/pension
- paying off a chunk of mortgage early (many people don't appreciate the full cost of their mortgage)
- keeping some money aside to actually live life and experience what the world has to offer and not just pour money into a car

I'll leave the emotional postings to other people.

Deep Singh

Must say I sort of agree with blue.
It also depends alot on age. If you were say 21 and in that financial situation I'd say buy the car as you have many more years to save etc. If you were 35+ and in that situation then thats a different matter. Spending all your savings and a fair amount of your disposable cash on a car when it should be going towards investments/pensions etc seems a little fool hardy.

All very much IMH0!

B9GLY

i agree with you there, but you only live once!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! enjoy it while your here i say!

1 thing i would add is, if i had saved up 35k there is no way i would blow all of it on a car!!!! why not get a 20k car(say brand new STI??) and then you have a new car that should have less problems and a good warrenty and still have 15k in the bank???

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I earn just under 40k, live in a 500k house and have no martgage, I can't afford to run one, mainly cos I have kids and have to run 2 cars

darren...

I think the real factor here is the depreciation...

Don't ignore the effective finance cost of the car - it's either an interest rate that you're paying or an interest rate you're not getting so it counts either way. I did put together a spreadsheet to help work it all out including the benefit in tax of not having a company car. If it helps at all PM me and I'll dig it out - bear in mind it just helped me to order a new car though

davyboy

That could be a bit short sighted as you are on this earth a long time!

bpm1588

yes but your going to be dead a lot longer

Blueblaster

Money doesn't make you happy, but having no money will make your life hell. Even the richest members of this forum will tell you that it would them a long time to add £35k to their bank account.

eldudereno

Only you can decide if you can afford to own such a car as only you know exactly what spare cash you have.

What other outgoings have you got???

Wife? Girlfriend? Single? Cigarettes? Holidays? Restaurants? Takeways? Alcohol? Gym? ......

the list is endless

Fabioso

I wouldn't spend £35k on a car unless I earnt well over a 100k. Unless you got no mortgage, no kids, no expensive other half and a well sorted pension!



I think anyone who sticks a significant portion of their income into a car is nuts...........oh yeah I did that a few times

Suresh

That sounds like a good benchmark if you want to spend but still save

paulwrxboro

put 25k down and get 10k credit get up every morning and love your drive to work or blasting about weekends love the car and the feeling a real nice car gives you everyday
i got this feeling from my first scooby/wich i could not aford but did not sell cos i just loved the car
if cars are your thing then go for it. i know people who spend money on golf, clothes,****, betting,drink,or drugs thats up to them.cars are my thing and i love to have a nice car
saying that if i was single id have a lambo but i have an audi family come first

zxr750Nick

You do what feels right for you.......

But spend 20k on a nice enough car and spend the extra 15 on the house or paying off a bit of the mortgage.
Think of it like this. You may spend 5hrs a week in the car, but 80hrs at home. So where do you want to spend the money?
I have lived in a stack of differnt places and only once (early 90s) have lost a penny.

The other question I would ask 'Is the fun/satisfaction from the car proportional to the spend'? Lots of people on here might say so, but a laugh can also be as cheap as chips these days.

Nick

turboman786

Thanks for the constructive comments above...

I guess it all is a matter of which is your greater priorities in life....

I always promised myself a 911, and COULD get one now, but Im always weighing up the pros and cons, and sometimes feel that the practicalities of owning such an expensive (to me!) car may outweigh the fun factor....

If only the car I want was £25k, it would make it such an easy decision, but hey thats life!

AllanB

I was lucky enough to be doing very well a few years ago and paid for my Scoob in full with money saved in a year ! Far from that position now and when you take into account the depreciation and costs of running then you have to question the decision. I would have invested the money in another property and should have done that but that said you can't drive a house and the car has given me a great deal of pleasure.

Would I do it again ? ...no but I would certainly consider another performance car and something less prone to depreciation like a Porsche would be high on my list or somethign with lower running costs like a Honda NSX or something not juicy like an Elise. Its nice owning a brand new car but the maths doesn't stack up at all and to be honest any expensive car is goign to cost you in the end unless you really know the market well and can buy something reliable cheap to run that will gain value and lets face it if such a car existed we'd all want one so the prices would go up !


AllanB

davyboy

Well, keep the 35k car a few years and thats exactly what you'll have.

Spend 25k on a 996 and you wont lose much money, and the running costs will be about the same.

Dave

New Page 1

Blueblaster

I desperately want to scream "NNOOOOO!!!!! Don't do it!"

Look, this is clearly not a hypothetical question so how about you give us the real figures so we can tell you what we think. I reckon it would take you years to save that amount of money and although you really want the car (which I can totally understand) you know you should really give yourself a small treat and do the sensible thing with the rest of the cash. I agree that you only live once, but you also only get given £35k in cash once. Don't blow it, mate.

bbigman2000

Yes you could afford it in my view, I do.

Blueblaster

Forum regulars will know that I am often the lone voice advocating the sensible balanced approach. I am not the boring 50-something preacher that many people believe I am, although I do appreciate I can get carried away sometimes . This is a widely viewed thread so I hope a lot of people will read this posting and will reply to my next question.

Do my postings actually influence the choices people make?

The reason I ask this is that postings like the last one by bbigman2000 are very simple and look awfully persuasive to me. I sometimes think that people make a posting on here looking for someone to give them the justification for buying something that they really know in their heart of hearts they can't afford. However, if I have helped someone make a choice that will set them up nicely for the future then it will all have been worthwhile .

billythekid

You are kidding right? You think that this guy - who earns around 3 grand a month with only 500 outgoing at present with 35k cash to put in the car cant afford it!

I think its probably a good idea he buys the car! Firslty - he has 35k to get a good desirable 911. This will ensure his 35k does not turn to 20k overnight in depreciation. If he selects the right car it should not depreciate more than 5% pa. Secondly, he has 2500 a month of unused income. Now sure he needs to save for the future etc but thats a lot of income just sitting around. Why not have some fun with it - the guy has always wanted a 911 and IMVHO he can easily afford it - a lot more easily than some people I have seen diriving 80ks worth of 997 away on PCP paying 800 notes a month just on finance and only covereing the depreciation.

There is being sensible - which is obviously a good idea. I think you could easily afford to get into something nearer 50k - a 996 GT3 or similar - but I think you are doing the right thing looking at something closer to 35k.

If you dont like it / cant afford it after the summer than just sell it - ok you might lose a few quid but you will have had fun doing it. Just make sure you get a decent car from the start.

Blueblaster

Just to correct a couple of points - he said he had a mortgage of £500pcm and not outgoings of £500pcm. He also said he had £35k in savings and not £35k to spend on a car. Minor points .

No other comments.

BTTT

bbigman2000

Mate I clear 50-60k per annum, my mortgage and outgoings are about £1200 a month, and I run an RS6 with ease.

I cannot see a problem with him affording it.

Dannybwoy

What i always say when thinking about a purchase or making any important decision is this.

"If it feels right, and you dont have to think about it too much, then it probably will be right, not give you any problems. But.............. If you have to think about something for too long and have major reservations, then it probably is a no no and re think the whole thing"

I know its all very touchy feely stuff, but its stood me in good stead for 29 years.

Dan

Dieseldog

Once you've paid your 'essentials' (mortgage, council tax, food/drink, leccy/gas/water bills, clothes, holidays etc) how much do you have left over every month? If it's the grand or thereabouts you might need to have a £35k car then it's your decision how to spend it.

I think your attitude changes depending on your age. In my twenties I was a lot happier to spend money on cars than I am now (late 30's). I totted up the likely cost of a £40k Z4MC and it came to £850/month (i.e. about £14k of gross salary. At my stage in life I just thought it made more sense to spend it on a mortgage.


< settles into wingback chair, lights pipe >

billythekid

Whats the difference between saying 35k to put into a car and 35k in savings??

This is a car forum... but everyone has different circumstances I guess. I dont have kids and my main passion in life is cars. Some people spend a lot of money on Golf or Horse riding etc. I like to spend my spare money on my cars, but I guess things might change when I get a bit older.

Blueblaster

OK, let's take this a step further shall we? (Who would of thought I could get people discussing personal accounts on Scoobynet?)

Mortgage £500 pcm
Council Tax £100
Food and drink (£10 per day) £300
Performance car insurance £100
Performance car maintenance/servicing £150
Utilities/telephone/broadband/home insurance £100
Petrol (12,000 per year @ 20mpg and £1 per litre superunleaded) £225
Road Tax £15
Holidays (2 x £1000 per year) £160
Clothes and shoes £50
Social life £100
Mobile phone £50
Birthday and Xmas presents £50
Toys (DVDs, games, music, newspapers/mags) £50

Total £2000

All of a sudden our £3200 is down to £1200 and you're still not making any contribution to the cost of a second car, pension, savings, children, wife, contingency fund for disasters...

Please take the above list as an example only - I know everyone will have different costs, but they won't be a million miles away from those above. I just can't understand why so many people on this site view savings and disposable income as a bad thing that must be spent on heavily depreciating consumer goods. Do all the sensible things first and then sit back and enjoy spending what you have left, safe in the knowledge that you are financially secure.