[Closed] I had a crappy Ford Escort at 23

Yeah, but ‘Car payments are ruining our lives’..

Yea, but young people not moving out and getting on the house price ponzi scheme is ruining boomers retirement plans to live on the proceeds of downsizing and a series of slum buy to let terraces in Bradford.

I see all these young kids in nice expensive cars and I think, well... It's better than pissing it up against the wall!! I do wonder how many realise they won't own the car at the end.

I had a crappy mk2 escort 1600 Ghia X at the age of 18 (circa 1999)! It cost me £100, insurance was nearly 10x times that.

About 3 years later I replaced with a Classic Mini Checkmate, British Racing Green, it came with a knife to start it! Again it cost me £100, insurance was a lot cheaper than the escort. I blew the headgasket a couple of times a year and made it "not so slow".

A couple of years after I replaced it with a 2.5V6 mondeo for £500, that was a shock coming from a Mini! I got rid of it after about 5 years, as a friend was kind enough to let me borrow his car for 8 years! So up until my mid 30's I had only spent £700 on buying cars and was only without a car for a couple of years, as I didn't need one. It's all good, I spent the money on mountain bikes instead 😉

My current car cost about the same as one of her monthly payments. Status and 'fitting in' costs money.

Can't go with the thread title - first car was £7k, bought age 22 on bank loan for about £200/month, paid off in 3 years. I lived at the parents for a year of that. I could just about afford the loan and living in a flat/shared place for the other two years. I don't feel the need to do a mid life crisis car now - been there. Looking back it was too much car, but realistically the bank loan was significantly less onerous than PCP or HP and I always had the option to sell the car at any point.

The girl in story just seems to be a financially challenged chump who has walked into this eyes wide shut. Parents maybe ought to have known that and maybe, just maybe, gone along to prevent her being handed a large amount of rope and not having the wherewithal to refuse it.

Simple solution. Don't pay. Lose car. Open Autotrader (or car selling website of choice). Cars within 20 miles, sort by price low > high. Spent £500. £1000 if you're feeling flush.

You're buying a brand new ****ing car. That's a good monthly payment for what you're getting but you don't need it.

Not quite new:

Her 23-year-old daughter, Victoria, was sold a second hand Audi A1 on a five-year hire purchase deal in early 2017

although

she was persuaded to buy the Audi, which will end up costing her more than £20,000

which does seem a lot for a used car where:

autoexpress:
Prices for the new Audi A1 begin at £18,450 with deliveries starting at the end of November. Audi has confirmed the new A1 Sportback will be priced from £18,450 for the base SE model, climbing to £23,180 for the range-topping S-Line.

which probably means a sticker price of £18k, if the HP was about 6%.

Can't have been that used.

If it's HP they should just hand it back and walk with whatever fees and cash difference they need to pay. Life lesson.

I took me a long time to realise that credit catches up with you eventually.
Other than a 93k mortgage, and a small credit a agreement for an £800 camera, I owe nothing to anyone else. I'd like to keep it that way.
Buying a new car is a mugs game, leasing a brand new car is also a mugs game.
If you must, get a loan and get a 5yo used car for 5k. Much more affordable and wont depreciate like a rock (its already done that).

mrmonkfinger

Member
she was persuaded to buy the Audi, which will end up costing her more than £20,000

which does seem a lot for a used car

They're including the cost of credit in there, who knows what the cost of the actual car was.

Seems odd that there was no conversation when she arrived back at the family home with a pretty new car.

Question 1: Can you afford it? Well, let's have a look at those numbers then.

My sister in law rents a flat at £1k per month, then bills, on take home of just over £2k. Still lives a champagne lifestyle. No idea how she affords it. She's 47

Still lives a champagne lifestyle. No idea how she affords it.

Maybe it's Cava?

Buying a new car is a mugs game, leasing a brand new car is also a mugs game.
If you must, get a loan and get a 5yo used car for 5k. Much more affordable and wont depreciate like a rock (its already done that).

Only a mugs game if you can't afford the payments.

I bought a 5k car for cash 5 months ago - so far it's cost me £1800 in repairs - I feel like a ruddy mug! 🙂

The wife's car is always a new small car bought on PCP - she commutes further than me and needs something she can rely on.

VW Beetle 1972 1200, think £650?

Money pit, I got rid when my wages were just about covering what I owed my Dad for the previous month’s repair bill.