Whats is wrong with saving for a car.

[buzyg]

Just reading a few current threads and had to pose the topic. I think it may be a generation thing, or how you are brought up, as our kids are the same. But I some times feel I'm the only one on the planet who buys things with the money they have saved up. Please tell me there are lots of like minded folk out there.

 

[mr wilks]

Just reading a few current threads and had to pose the topic. I think it may be a generation thing, or how you are brought up, as our kids are the same. But I some times feel I'm the only one on the planet who buys things with the money they have saved up. Please tell me there are lots of like minded folk out there.

If you are referring to the thread where £600 a month to "rent" a car is discussed like its perfectly normal then for once i'm with you here i didn't comment at the time as i genuinely have no idea if this is now deemed as acceptable
Age may well have a bearing as by now (52) you would hope to have some common sense either by luck or by experience but then again perhaps others have a much higher disposable income after their living costs & investments have been removed so those figures may be the norm to throw at car finance :? just not for me , if my job goes awry at least when i'm staring out the front window my cars will still be there

 

[markplant]

I did wonder when I'd seen the numbers , and can't honestly remember the details but unless it's hire purchase an you keep whatever it is at the end , then 600 a month to not own something seems like a lot,

 

[Mr Tidy]

Maybe it is a generational thing as I'm also getting on in years!

But I've always owned my cars, although I did have a couple of small bank loans when I was much younger. Possibly my parents attitude to staying debt-free was also a factor. After reading what ClumUK said I'll admit my Dad was also a Scot!

And I've known a few people who have had issues with lease/PCP deals because they have changed their job or workplace location (and in one case lost their job) then suddenly the length of the lease and/or mileage limitations throw up major problems. :roll:

Then again us oldies are more likely to have some disposable cash - I used part of a lump sum from an early work-place pension for my 1st Z4 and an inheritance helped fund my current MC.

 

[M1k3yC]

I'm in my late thirties and I strongly prefer to pay cash. I financed my M135i because I wanted the lump of money available to do work on my house, but after my house was finished I saved hard and paid the car off early so I could avoid a good chunk of the interest. You effectively get a rebate on the interest if you pay off the agreement early but you need to check for early repayment penalties or minimum periods linked to other benefits, such as free servicing.

 

[TitanTim]

Depends, if you can make finance work for your personal circumstances then why not?

Over the years I've tended to take out bank loans to part pay for second hand cars then moved onto PCPs for new cars.

With the M140i Ive had it on a 4 year PCP but will be paying it off soon, worked better for me rather than paying 38K upfront.

Tim.

 

[mr.tourette]

I save for every vehicle Ive ever bought since I was sixteen.. always pay with money in the bank, never spent more than 8k and Ive some nice kit down the years, I too cant get my head around this pcp business. I guess if you have to have the latest and greatest with no worries about servicing and the like its fine but I've never felt the need to have a new car on the drive or something I cant afford to own outright.. horses for courses though, if it suits you and you want to throw your hard earned at it then fire away :driving:

 

[ronk]

Look at the cost to "Rent" the car v Depreciation on these PCP type of deals. No matter which way it works out I still cannot get my head around it.
A young colleague used to say his car was just another household bill to pay each month.

Financing a car at a decent rate with some of the incentives would be acceptable. However in this day and age of job insecurity it would worry me doing that.

 

[john-e89]

I do both tbh, saved for donkeys years to pay off the mortgage which we’ve done along with buying some rental properties along the way as a pension so these days I don’t mind PCP as bricks and mortar rent pays the car finance. I’d rather have a lump of cash ready to drop onto another house than use it on a car even though you pay the interest as in the long run a few K on interest is not really an issue when you’ve property to pay for it.

 

[scootr]

It is a generational thing. A bit shocking too. I read most people finance the car, pay it off, and keep it for one year with no payment then jump right into another new car and new payment. At least they get one year to catch up or even get ahead with out that 500 a month payment. But if you lease there never is that payment free year is there? These people just pay perpetually.
And this new generation that says they will never own a home because it is a too expensive & risky comprises 25% of the luxury car market. That figure coming from a gen that comprises 22% of the population. We all know you can make a worse investment than buying a luxury car on time :?

 

[Jembo]

Cars have got proportionally so expensive the only option for the vast majority is to finance them.. & they’ve been clever in conditioning the masses to make people think they’re doing them a favour.

I did it once, never again.

Instead the last two cars I’ve bought were pre registed, a 2016 plate with just 200 miles on the clock for 62.5% of its list price.

3 years later I traded it in with just a £6k loss in January this year for one with only 16 miles on the clock for 67% of its list price.

Yes you have to save up hard to have the cash to bargain, but IMO have saved big time

 

[ClumUK]

I've never bought a car newer than 10yrs old, so always paid in cash. Also never borrowed any money apart from mortgages & student loan, and can't see myself doing so in future either. I do own a few 'nice things', but always had to wait until I could afford to buy them outright. I guess it's partly down to an upbringing by my Scot father

 

[scootr]

I've never bought a car newer than 10yrs old, so always paid in cash. Also never borrowed any money apart from mortgages & student loan, and can't see myself doing so in future either. I do own a few 'nice things', but always had to wait until I could afford to buy them outright. I guess it's partly down to an upbringing by my Scot father

He taught you right My Dad cosigned my first used car loan. The payment was 70 a month at some horrible interest rate. I drove that VW Bus across the US 4 times (without a cel phone). :rofl: I learned to do my own service and maintenance along the way, think I slept in every national park in the country before selling her.

 

[Smartbear]

Avid piggy bank fan here
Rob

 

[Mister T]

Totally agree with you, I've never bought a car on finance. I saved for quite a while to buy my Aston Martin.

Edit:
Looking to add an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio to the fleet soon, will be paying cash for it.

 

[ronk]

The savings ethos is fine and I still continue to do so even if I’m an old fart. Old habits die Hard - the problem is when we get older we tend not to spend as much on toys, cars, hi fi, houses etc - Then when we get really old we spend next to nothing. The pension stays the same and the savings go up and up because we can’t go out and spend nor really want to.
Then we need care and the savings goes to pay the fees!

I suppose the moral is get some spending done while you can because it’s going to get spent by somebody eventually.

Now where’s that new Z4 brochure?

 

[Mister T]

The savings ethos is fine and I still continue to do so even if I’m an old fart. Old habits die Hard - the problem is when we get older we tend not to spend as much on toys, cars, hi fi, houses etc - Then when we get really old we spend next to nothing. The pension stays the same and the savings go up and up because we can’t go out and spend nor really want to.
Then we need care and the savings goes to pay the fees!

I suppose the moral is get some spending done while you can because it’s going to get spent by somebody eventually.

Now where’s that new Z4 brochure?

#YouCantTakeItWithYou

 

[scootr]

The savings ethos is fine and I still continue to do so even if I’m an old fart. Old habits die Hard - the problem is when we get older we tend not to spend as much on toys, cars, hi fi, houses etc - Then when we get really old we spend next to nothing. The pension stays the same and the savings go up and up because we can’t go out and spend nor really want to.
Then we need care and the savings goes to pay the fees!

I suppose the moral is get some spending done while you can because it’s going to get spent by somebody eventually.

Now where’s that new Z4 brochure?

Amen Brother Spend it while it's still fun ! Mustang GT. BMW Z4. next :driving:

 

[Argyll Andy]

I've never bought a car newer than 10yrs old, so always paid in cash. Also never borrowed any money apart from mortgages & student loan, and can't see myself doing so in future either. I do own a few 'nice things', but always had to wait until I could afford to buy them outright. I guess it's partly down to an upbringing by my Scot father

Must be a Scots father thing. I buy mine cash, same as my dad did and my daughter, who’s at uni and works two jobs, bought her 16 plate Seat Ibiza cash at the start of the year

 

[buzyg]

I do both tbh, saved for donkeys years to pay off the mortgage which we’ve done along with buying some rental properties along the way as a pension so these days I don’t mind PCP as bricks and mortar rent pays the car finance. I’d rather have a lump of cash ready to drop onto another house than use it on a car even though you pay the interest as in the long run a few K on interest is not really an issue when you’ve property to pay for it.

This I can relate to John. We have borrowed a fair chunk of money, by our standards, over the years to put into property. The figures tell me the best way to earn more is to borrow more, in the current climate. But my head tells me to pay off all of our mortgages before we retire. I have to admit once that happens assuming all goes well, there may be a temptation to borrow for a dream car. Though as long as we are healthy I suspect we will still save for them.