Off topic thread

Joe T · 11 Jul 2011 at 15:47

I'm not a new poster, and I dont think I have purchased a bad car (if you're referring to me?).

Here's how it works.

I buy the car at factory cost with a loan. I pay insurance, road tax and interest on the loan. After 5 months I return the car and pay off the loan with the car. The residual value of the car basically covers the loan value.

For me I get:

- no risk
- a new car every c.5 months
- reasonable choice (within the one brand)
- relatively low monthly costs (compared to a 1 or 2 year lease - closest market equivalent).
- ability to try different cars if I fancy a change
- the higher mileage I do the more often I will change cars

This is ideal for me as it means I can afford to sink some capital into something more fun for the weekends without having to compromise on one car which does everything.

I had an SE last time, and while it was not great in the handling stakes it did ride very well and really soaked up the miles.

Maccy · 11 Jul 2011 at 15:51

I've just purchased a new car (to me), and I think it was a great buy!

Joshy · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:06

Looks like I'm going to be without a car for a while.

Called up my insurance company and asked them to switch over cover to my mum's old A4. They want £50 MORE for the year. That's right, 300bhp, group 20, twin turbocharged modified jap import is cheaper to insure than a 1995 Audi A4 1.8...

I couldn't justify that sort of money to insure a car I liked, let alone something that I don't so it looks like I'm going to be on public transport for the foreseeable.

I don't know what I'm going to do when I want to get back on the road with something nice. Insurance prices really have exploded over the last couple of months

Maccy · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:07

Sure it's not just a ridiculous admin fee?

Joshy · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:14

The admin fee is 'only' £20 of that £50 extra I think.

I really think I'm going to give up on cars and get another hobby. I'm getting priced out of them on every front

.

Phate · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:17

Joshy said:
I don't know what I'm going to do when I want to get back on the road with something nice. Insurance prices really have exploded over the last couple of months

Drive something thats cheap to insure till you can afford otherwise?

DRZ · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:21

Joshy said:
The admin fee is 'only' £20 of that £50 extra I think.

I really think I'm going to give up on cars and get another hobby. I'm getting priced out of them on every front .

Pick the right insurer.

26, 0NCB, £700 on the S 430, £266 on the MX-5.

Thomas. PLease. · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:34

Maccy said:
I've just purchased a new car (to me), and I think it was a great buy!

what did you buy?

Joshy · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:39

Phate said:
Drive something thats cheap to insure till you can afford otherwise?

There's no point of me going out and buying some random shed just because it is cheap to insure for two. A) Because I don't need a car and B) I don't want to own a car for the sake of owning a car. If I'm going to spend my own money on something it'll have to be something that I'll enjoy, and I can't think of anything that I'll enjoy that could be described as 'Cheap to insure'

The audi would have slipped through the net because it is already sitting here, it'd save me the hassle of trying to find a buyer for it. That and I'm had a bad idea to remove the interior, find cheap some lowering with a massive drop, putting on some nasty muti spoke, adding a load of stickers and recreating this

:

Princey · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:40

£50 isn't really that much is it, considering you just sold a car and now have a bit of cash. Hell it's the price of a new game or a sub to two porn sites.

Maccy · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:40

Thomas. PLease. said:
what did you buy?

Check the Show Us Your Motors thread

Joshy · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:45

Princey said:
£50 isn't really that much is it, considering you just sold a car and now have a bit of cash. Hell it's the price of a new game or a sub to two porn sites.

But that's £50 on top of the £1450 odd I was paying on the Soarer.

If I couldn't justify the money insuring the Soarer I certainly can't justify it for a sheddy old A4.

[TW]Fox · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:45

To be honest I think the bizarre thing is that your Soarer was that cheap, not that the A4 is expensive. £1500 sounds about right, a good deal even, given your age and location.

Even I was paying 4 figure insurance premiums until I was 23.

Begbie · 11 Jul 2011 at 19:44

How old are you Joshy?

I just think you need to shop around. But fair play, if you don't need a car. Wish I didn't own one sometimes I reckon I would be a pretty rich person!

Joshy · 11 Jul 2011 at 19:56

A month off of being 20, 2 years NCB.

I've been thinking about it a little and it is starting to wind me up a bit :mad:

.

What should I take up now, Knitting or stamp collecting?

[TW]Fox · 11 Jul 2011 at 20:07

1500 quid sounds good, I paid 1k to insure a Mondeo at 19 in a good area.

Begbie · 11 Jul 2011 at 20:12

Joshy said:
A month off of being 20, 2 years NCB.

I've been thinking about it a little and it is starting to wind me up a bit .

What should I take up now, Knitting or stamp collecting?

To be fair, I think biting the bullet here may be the best option. Though with a bit of shopping around you should get cheaper. But building your NCB will only help in the future.

Joshy · 11 Jul 2011 at 21:05

Begbie said:
To be fair, I think biting the bullet here may be the best option. Though with a bit of shopping around you should get cheaper. But building your NCB will only help in the future.

I'm not biting the bullet and spending £1500 to insure a old, crap, 'can't get £250 for it' Audi A4. Don't get me wrong, I spent £2500 last year insuring the Soarer, but the absolute most important factor in that decision was that I liked the car and was in the position where I could easily afford it. I don't like the Audi and I can't really afford to spend that £1500 just for the novelty of having transportation, because at the end of the day that is all the A4 will be. I'm not enthusiastic about it, I'm not going to want to do it up, I'm not going to smile when I start it for a drive to shop, its just going to get me from A to B, and I've never, ever had a car that was just for that purpose and I'm not going to start now, certainly not to the tune of £150 a month in insurance alone. Like I said, I couldn't justify it in order to keep a car that I liked.

The thing is getting me is the fact that I genuinely can't see when I can realistically get behind the wheel again which is a bit depressing.

Rich_L · 11 Jul 2011 at 21:08

Tbf that's reasonable enough especially as I'm guessing you don't really 'need' a car living in Londontown either - 100 a month will get you a 1-3 monthly travelcard.

Only 5 years to go and you should get a nice drop

SS-89 · 11 Jul 2011 at 21:22

Can someone enlighten me as to why a 60 plate e92 335i would cost me only £1500 to insure (Admiral) and yet a 10 plate e92 330i would set me back £2800 with the same company...I can't quite figure it out.