Car choice/options - Saving for a house
Discussion
I appreciate that this is going to differ/vary as not everyone is in the same financial position as me/other people. But what is the best way, car wise, when it comes to saving money for a deposit?
The general consensus seems to be get a cheap snotter and just save everything that you can but i'm not 100% convinced at times. An absolute dog of a car is not going to serve it's purpose for social and commuting use and can potentially cost more money getting it repaired and roadworthy if/when it breaks down/fails MOT etc. Or having to cut your losses and get rid and then get another which means more money down the drain.
Maybe it's just me being scared of getting something very cheap after having a few lease cars. After the Audi goes i really wanna start putting some serious money away as apposed to £100-£200 a month max that i am able to now.
What's the best way to go about it?
The general consensus seems to be get a cheap snotter and just save everything that you can but i'm not 100% convinced at times. An absolute dog of a car is not going to serve it's purpose for social and commuting use and can potentially cost more money getting it repaired and roadworthy if/when it breaks down/fails MOT etc. Or having to cut your losses and get rid and then get another which means more money down the drain.
Maybe it's just me being scared of getting something very cheap after having a few lease cars. After the Audi goes i really wanna start putting some serious money away as apposed to £100-£200 a month max that i am able to now.
What's the best way to go about it?
Sad as it is, I think you need to do the sums on petrol vs diesel, then look for a local, cheap car. Snotter seems unfair, but I'd be thinking in terms of something being sold by a retiree, preferably one owner, FSH, that sort of thing. Then limit yourself to preventative and essential maintenance, doing the basics yourself. There's nothing inherantly wrong with an old, well maintained car, but it's not going to feel like a brand new Audi. That said, I picked up a late 90's A4 1.9TDi and it was a very pleasant place to be. £900, one owner, FASH, and a log of every fuel fill up and the associated mileage and mpg since purchased. My tip would be to look in the local supermarket and shop for sale boards. Waitrose may well yield a better car too...
culpz said:
The general consensus seems to be get a cheap snotter and just save everything that you can but i'm not 100% convinced at times. An absolute dog of a car...
There is a very happy mid-ground between near-new-leased-expensive and "absolute dog". There is a massive choice of very decent, very presentable cars for a grand. Some of them are even quite good fun to drive.culpz said:
is not going to serve it's purpose for social and commuting use...
What do you mean by that? Do you mean it won't get you where you want to go? Or is there some kind of "keeping up appearances" subtext?The GF's mum needed a car for the short-term, needed it fast and it had to be cheap - I found her an old ford focus 1.6 for £550 with a new MOT, decent tyres and it didn't look like it had been bent round a tree.
She expected to have replaced it by now but has been using it for over a year and the only justification for getting rid of it would be for something nicer (cars to her are a tool for a-b travel and she tends to collect the odd dent shall we say too).
It has had 2 new tyres on the front and been topped up with oil and that's it.
So from that kind of example, just think of how much cheaper it is than almost any lease or 'normal' newer car?
It stands about £60 per month at the moment which is going down for each month driven - If you leased a £150pm car (plus deposits of course) it would have cost probably closer to £2k by now.
If you have the spare cash and want something nice then who cares but if you are hell bent on saving every penny you get then the snotter is a no brainer, unless you do big mileage of course.
She expected to have replaced it by now but has been using it for over a year and the only justification for getting rid of it would be for something nicer (cars to her are a tool for a-b travel and she tends to collect the odd dent shall we say too).
It has had 2 new tyres on the front and been topped up with oil and that's it.
So from that kind of example, just think of how much cheaper it is than almost any lease or 'normal' newer car?
It stands about £60 per month at the moment which is going down for each month driven - If you leased a £150pm car (plus deposits of course) it would have cost probably closer to £2k by now.
If you have the spare cash and want something nice then who cares but if you are hell bent on saving every penny you get then the snotter is a no brainer, unless you do big mileage of course.
I was in a similar position to you and some people thought I was crazy but...
I took out a PCP deal on a NEW Ford Fiesta TDCI. Yes it was money down the drain, and it wasn't the best 2 years of my life to drive but the monthly payments, fuel, tax (£20) and servicing worked out less that I was paying just in petrol previously. With the extra security knowing that I would have pretty much trouble free motoring for a couple of years meant I didn't need to keep any money aside for extra repairs (didn't even need a set of tyres in the time I had it). Just add fuel and drive. I'm now a homeowner looking for something more interesting to drive.
I took out a PCP deal on a NEW Ford Fiesta TDCI. Yes it was money down the drain, and it wasn't the best 2 years of my life to drive but the monthly payments, fuel, tax (£20) and servicing worked out less that I was paying just in petrol previously. With the extra security knowing that I would have pretty much trouble free motoring for a couple of years meant I didn't need to keep any money aside for extra repairs (didn't even need a set of tyres in the time I had it). Just add fuel and drive. I'm now a homeowner looking for something more interesting to drive.
Edited by thewoodgnome on Wednesday 28th September 14:23
I'm in the same boat, just sold my BMW 745i and got a 55 plate Toyota Corolla. Cheap to buy, it came "almost" fully serviced...I just fitted a new auxillary belt and front wiper blades for the grand total of £31. Done 1400 miles so far and been good as gold. Going from 24mpg to 44mpg has been quite nice. Running costs should be a massive saving, more than the fuel difference.
I've done just about everything in terms of the financial routes into car ownership at almost every "normal every day car" level. The super cheap sub £2k snotters have been the cheapest without a shadow of a doubt.
If you buy sensibly i.e. something that isn't too complicated, that has cheap parts, so a mainstream brand with a common engine, advertised with a long MOT then you can't go far wrong. You can learn to service it yourself as a service history stamp doesn't add much value at this level and even tyres can be had cheap if you go part worn.
My most notable success was an X reg 3dr Honda HRV in that gold/ginger colour. Bought it for £1200, ran it for a year and 15k miles, put a litre of oil in it once, changed 2 tyres for part worns, sold it via eBay for £1400 within 24hrs of advertising.
If you buy sensibly i.e. something that isn't too complicated, that has cheap parts, so a mainstream brand with a common engine, advertised with a long MOT then you can't go far wrong. You can learn to service it yourself as a service history stamp doesn't add much value at this level and even tyres can be had cheap if you go part worn.
My most notable success was an X reg 3dr Honda HRV in that gold/ginger colour. Bought it for £1200, ran it for a year and 15k miles, put a litre of oil in it once, changed 2 tyres for part worns, sold it via eBay for £1400 within 24hrs of advertising.
We are in the process of buying a house and had to consolidate everything in preparation for a purchase.
I sold my e92 for a good chunk of change and bought saab 93 aero of the same year and condition for £1300. It's brilliant and I have nearly £8k extra in the bank. It will pay for just a third of the stamp duty, but it's still a big chunk of change to help with things.
It was meant to be a short term car, but we like it so much I can't see us getting rid for a few years.
I sold my e92 for a good chunk of change and bought saab 93 aero of the same year and condition for £1300. It's brilliant and I have nearly £8k extra in the bank. It will pay for just a third of the stamp duty, but it's still a big chunk of change to help with things.
It was meant to be a short term car, but we like it so much I can't see us getting rid for a few years.
Sold my decent car to top up the house deposit and our main car was then a 10 year old 1.6 Focus that I picked up for £1500. It worked perfectly, including ice cold air-con. Despite its age and the 100k miles on the clock, it was fun to drive and never let us down. In fact, checking the MOT history of it now shows that it's still on the road.
Don't be worried about driving something old for a year, it's quite liberating having a car that you don't really care about.
Don't be worried about driving something old for a year, it's quite liberating having a car that you don't really care about.
thewoodgnome said:
A cheap Lease deal on a cheap to run motor would work just the same if not better. A couple of years of suffering is well worth it in the long run.
A brand new car isn't 'suffering'! Anyway, if you're applying for a mortgage I wouldn't take out a lease deal, as it then shows as a credit agreement on your file. The fewer monthly outgoings the better.
IanCress said:
thewoodgnome said:
A cheap Lease deal on a cheap to run motor would work just the same if not better. A couple of years of suffering is well worth it in the long run.
A brand new car isn't 'suffering'! Anyway, if you're applying for a mortgage I wouldn't take out a lease deal, as it then shows as a credit agreement on your file. The fewer monthly outgoings the better.TooMany2cvs said:
culpz said:
The general consensus seems to be get a cheap snotter and just save everything that you can but i'm not 100% convinced at times. An absolute dog of a car...
There is a very happy mid-ground between near-new-leased-expensive and "absolute dog". There is a massive choice of very decent, very presentable cars for a grand. Some of them are even quite good fun to drive.culpz said:
is not going to serve it's purpose for social and commuting use...
What do you mean by that? Do you mean it won't get you where you want to go? Or is there some kind of "keeping up appearances" subtext?Yes, just meaning that it needs to get me to work and back and obviously just general use day to day. Otherwise, i haven't got a clue what you're on about.
IanCress said:
A brand new car isn't 'suffering'! Anyway, if you're applying for a mortgage I wouldn't take out a lease deal, as it then shows as a credit agreement on your file. The fewer monthly outgoings the better.
Haha, I laughed at that too, "Oh how I suffered in my brand new lease car that some people in the country could not ever hope to afford"...As I said before though - If you have the cash, buy what you want, if you want to save then get something as cheap as possible. You don't state mileage so I assume it is not too high? In which case a snotter is perfect and even a cheap lease car is more expensive - At least all lease cars cost around £2k per year inc deposit etc.
As above, affordability is calculated on monthly outgoings. Go onto an online mortgage calcuclator and adjust your monthly outgoings by £200pm, you may be shocked as to how much less you can borrow.
Rick1.8t said:
Haha, I laughed at that too, "Oh how I suffered in my brand new lease car that some people in the country could not ever hope to afford"...
OK so my use of the word 'suffered' may not have been the best 
but I do think too much emphasis is put on the fact it's a new car. New doesn't automatically mean it's any good, it just means it is a predictable (not the cheapest) method of running a car.thewoodgnome said:
Rick1.8t said:
Haha, I laughed at that too, "Oh how I suffered in my brand new lease car that some people in the country could not ever hope to afford"...
OK so my use of the word 'suffered' may not have been the best but I do think too much emphasis is put on the fact it's a new car. New doesn't automatically mean it's any good, it just means it is a predictable (not the cheapest) method of running a car.Rick1.8t said:
thewoodgnome said:
Rick1.8t said:
Haha, I laughed at that too, "Oh how I suffered in my brand new lease car that some people in the country could not ever hope to afford"...
OK so my use of the word 'suffered' may not have been the best but I do think too much emphasis is put on the fact it's a new car. New doesn't automatically mean it's any good, it just means it is a predictable (not the cheapest) method of running a car.
culpz said:
I appreciate that this is going to differ/vary as not everyone is in the same financial position as me/other people. But what is the best way, car wise, when it comes to saving money for a deposit?
The general consensus seems to be get a cheap snotter and just save everything that you can but i'm not 100% convinced at times. An absolute dog of a car is not going to serve it's purpose for social and commuting use and can potentially cost more money getting it repaired and roadworthy if/when it breaks down/fails MOT etc. Or having to cut your losses and get rid and then get another which means more money down the drain.
Maybe it's just me being scared of getting something very cheap after having a few lease cars. After the Audi goes i really wanna start putting some serious money away as apposed to £100-£200 a month max that i am able to now.
What's the best way to go about it?
When you say snorter there are a lot of options even if you only want to spend 2-3k then your options are pretty much endless.The general consensus seems to be get a cheap snotter and just save everything that you can but i'm not 100% convinced at times. An absolute dog of a car is not going to serve it's purpose for social and commuting use and can potentially cost more money getting it repaired and roadworthy if/when it breaks down/fails MOT etc. Or having to cut your losses and get rid and then get another which means more money down the drain.
Maybe it's just me being scared of getting something very cheap after having a few lease cars. After the Audi goes i really wanna start putting some serious money away as apposed to £100-£200 a month max that i am able to now.
What's the best way to go about it?
Family Car:
2008 Renault Laguna Dynamique (a leftfield choice but you get more car for your cash.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Saab 9-3 (the normal PH choice)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Mazda 6 Sport
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Coupe
CLK270
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
CLK320
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
BMW 330i
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
You need to work out what size of car you want & take it from there.
I agree with the sentiment about not leasing if you're looking at getting a mortgage, the less debt \ outgoings the better.
I know a guy that spent 9k on a deposit on a lease car and north of 400 pcm, he rents a house but is looking at buying
.
If I had 5k to spend I'd get a decent diesel and just concentrate on saving up for the Mortgage.
If I couldn't justify that much (after all it's a house and houses ain't cheap) than go for a focus / Golf and not give a stuff what people think while I'm saving for "Thy Gates"
After all a house is an appreciating asset, very few cars can lay the same claim.
I know a guy that spent 9k on a deposit on a lease car and north of 400 pcm, he rents a house but is looking at buying
. If I had 5k to spend I'd get a decent diesel and just concentrate on saving up for the Mortgage.
If I couldn't justify that much (after all it's a house and houses ain't cheap) than go for a focus / Golf and not give a stuff what people think while I'm saving for "Thy Gates"
After all a house is an appreciating asset, very few cars can lay the same claim.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff