Hi all. What better medium to expose your silliness than to lots of random internet strangers (and a couple of work colleagues who I think are on here and might recognise me). So...
The rationale was that I'd be able to put together more money on the side to pay the loan off early and avoid a lot of the interest. As always, life has been getting in the way, and the little nag at the back of my head that I was in a very silly position is growing and growing. It's not that I can't afford that much, but it's still a very, very high interest loan and I'm throwing money away. To make things even worse, the car is very seldom used since I started commuting to work on the train. I'm paying £525/month to have a Focus sat on my drive that I use very locally 2-3 times a week, and for much longer journeys once a month or so (running from Liverpool to Leeds and back to see family, for example). Don't get me wrong, it's very nice, but it's a lot of money.
Once you've unfolded yourself from the laughter, I'd appreciate serious comments on what you'd do in this situation (but I'll allow any random insult at the start of your reply!). Do I sell up, buy an absolute shed and pay off as much of the loan in one go that I can? Do I sell up, buy a reasonable car for about £10k, using the rest to pay a chunk off the loan, saving some interest and getting me closer to the end? Any other suggestions?
If you suggest getting a car that's not a shed, then I've only got a small-ish wishlist: petrol, auto (I'd love a BMW with a ZF8), any body shape, not halogen headlights, climate control. Any other features over and above this are definitely just a bonus (such as cruise/speed limiter).
- In March 2019, I bought a 2017 Ford Focus Estate for about £14k, using a HP agreement at 5.9%, paying about £275/month
- In December 2021, with used prices how they were, I was able to ship the car off to WBAC for £12k, paying off the remainder of the finance and leaving me with enough for the up front payment on a Hyundai Kona EV lease, paying £300/month for the rest of the 3 years.
- In March of this year, I "got the ick" about having a lease, and in a moment of madness, got a loan for £25k ( @ 10%, please don't laugh too hard), terminated the Kona lease early and bought a 2022 Ford Focus Estate. This is now a steaming £525/month, or a total payable of over £31k. No, I don't know what possessed me to go ahead with the loan at this rate.
The rationale was that I'd be able to put together more money on the side to pay the loan off early and avoid a lot of the interest. As always, life has been getting in the way, and the little nag at the back of my head that I was in a very silly position is growing and growing. It's not that I can't afford that much, but it's still a very, very high interest loan and I'm throwing money away. To make things even worse, the car is very seldom used since I started commuting to work on the train. I'm paying £525/month to have a Focus sat on my drive that I use very locally 2-3 times a week, and for much longer journeys once a month or so (running from Liverpool to Leeds and back to see family, for example). Don't get me wrong, it's very nice, but it's a lot of money.
Once you've unfolded yourself from the laughter, I'd appreciate serious comments on what you'd do in this situation (but I'll allow any random insult at the start of your reply!). Do I sell up, buy an absolute shed and pay off as much of the loan in one go that I can? Do I sell up, buy a reasonable car for about £10k, using the rest to pay a chunk off the loan, saving some interest and getting me closer to the end? Any other suggestions?
If you suggest getting a car that's not a shed, then I've only got a small-ish wishlist: petrol, auto (I'd love a BMW with a ZF8), any body shape, not halogen headlights, climate control. Any other features over and above this are definitely just a bonus (such as cruise/speed limiter).
