Life after Company Car

daver

daver

daver

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Joined
20 Nov 2010
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Manchester
I just accepted a job where I will go from 45 mile each way commute to walking to work. I currently have a Golf GTD as a company car and so will be looking for a replacement. Will be going from doing 22K miles a year to 3-5k. I want a car but I'm really not sure what I want to spend on it given I will only be in it for a couple of hours usually Sat-Sun rather than the 15+ hours i spend commuting at the moment. Due to undergound parking situation I wouldn't want anything any bigger than a Golf really but equally I wouldn't want something tiny like a 108.

In terms of budget I have up to £15k cash to put towards it or open to leasing if there were good deals, but I don't just want to waste money, equally I don't want something that is going to be high maintenance.

Half a thought at the back of my mind thinks I should get a 2 seater as I might not get the chance again. The other half just says get something reliable with a decent stereo/sat nav.

Just don't know where to start looking. Any suggestions?
 
Very low miles? Walk to work? £15k? If that doesn't scream weekend toy / plaything (if that sort of thing appeals) then I don't know what does.
 
Do you have an interest in cars / enjoy driving / don't mind low MPG and relatively higher service costs?

15k budget and doing only 3-5k per year opens you up to you some very interesting options.

But if you just want a car as a tool to go shops etc then you could spend less than a third of your budget and get great Focus or similar.
 
As above. If you're not a petrol head then spending 15k on a car you barely use will not make a lot of sense.

If you are a petrol head, then that's a different story.
 
Clov!s said:
15k on a car but you'll be walking to work? What's the point? Spend 3-5k on a nice tidy car and save the rest.
Click to expand...

I think for me and for many on this forum this would be a dream scenario. Most of us are limited by what we can run as a daily due to commuting / level of driving. As unecomincal as my car already is, I know if I was in OP position I'd end up with CLS55/63 or something equally as large engined and silly :p
 
The 15K I guess comes from the thought that if I want hassle free motoring then a newish car might be the best option for me, in which case it's probably better to take the cash from my savings rather than take out a lease or something. I have had a company car for 6 years, prior to which I bought a new car for 8K(albeit a small Suzuki Swift) and sold it for 5.5k after 2 and a half years during which I spend very little else on it which seemed like a decent outcome.

I wouldn't call myself a petrolhead, I do like a nice car but I am mainly used to spending a lot of time in my car due to commuting in rush hour(on crappy M56/M6) so probably in car comfort has been more important to me and my current car is a nice enough space to be in with decent media options, touchscreen nav, heated seats etc. This will obviously be different going forward.
 
GT86? It'll scratch your two seater itch and it (without any first hand experience) would probably be more comfortable sitting in traffic than an MX5 etc.
 
I'm sure an original Elise would be in that budget. I'd be interested in something like that if you don't need practicality at all.
 
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