Cheapest "monthly" way to get into a newish 5 Series / A6 / E class?

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OP
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Skoda Superb's are nice. Don't know how much they are to lease but they do a good bit of depreciating if you can get a used one
Yeah he did mention he really likes these so it will probably be an option for him. I've ridden as a passenger in a couple and I was really impressed with the ride quality.

Bank loan plus something like the below:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201901224182861?minimum-badge-engine-size=2.4&fuel-type=Diesel&make=VOLVO&postcode=sg137dr&radius=1500&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&model=S80&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&transmission=Automatic&page=5

Accept that you will basically lose the money and spend on a nicer car when you don't do 35K a year?

I do 23K odd a year in a V70, very comfortable. The D5 is pretty decent, mines the twin turbo later one but you would need 2010+ for that.
Yeah I think he will have to rethink what's possible with his mileage. I know he did used to own an s60 d5 and absolutely loved it so a v70 could be on the cards too!

2 year old 5 series (G30) are still nice cars and I doubt many people would be able to tell they aren't almost new.

Combine that with some kind of finance, and that is a far less crazy of an idea than buying a new car and putting 70K miles on it in 2 years.
Yeah I think this is one of the things he is looking into at the moment. I'm trying to get him to hold off until he gets promoted but he's unpredictable when it comes to cars and he could turn up in a new one tomorrow.
 
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Can't scrape more than a grand together.

Wants to drive brand new 5 series.

Really? What's wrong with living within your means?
I get both sides of the coin here really.
I understand people who do this. They see something nice and want it. Most people are the same. With finance acting as a "gateway" to cars people cannot truly afford it's easier to get into these sort of cars with lower income than it used to be. The monthly cost is what lots of people look at rather than the total cost and some of these cars look like a bargain. For only x amount I can get a 5 series rather than a Mondeo etc.

On the flip side, I drive a civic that I bought for £1500 2 years ago and I'm fine with it. I occasionally get the upgrade itch when I see cool cars but I understand it's not financially reasonable to do so while I'm a student. I think some of it is just about life experiences teaching lessons really. I had an absolute turd of a 350z which was starting to catastrophically fail. Although I could afford to put fuel in it and pay for normal consumables I didn't really factor in any sort of engine rebuilds or major repairs and I had to move it on because of the serious amount of money it was costing and would potentially cost me. Paying an outrageous % of monthly income into cars is not fun at all and that's why I started this thread and am trying to guide my friend into a nice car without him going through the same sort of financial issues.
 
Soldato
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Whilst I don't do quite as many miles now I used to regularly do 30k per year. In the higher mileage brackets it comes down to depreciation on the car more than anything. I was working out Ford Mondeos costing me more than an Audi A6 because the residuals were so poor on them.

For a £500 per month budget for depreciation / interest on the loan I've been able to run an Audi A6 (bought at 2 years old for £19.5k loan and no deposit, kept for 3 years and ended up with £4k equity in the car) and an Audi A4 (bought for £26.5k with £4k equity and sold after 2 and a bit years with the same £3k equity left).

To make it work you have to hunt out the right deal and know what the car will likely be worth when you sell it. You also need to get finance cheap, both times I used personal loans at circa 3% and a £5k interest free loan my employer offers.

I would however agree with most of the above posts though, that if he can't scrape together a £1k deposit whilst driving his Exeo swapping to a 5 series or A6 sounds like a bad idea!
 
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