Workmate is after a car, 4-5k

[[TW]Fox]

Ok, let's spin it the other way around.

His motoring expense at the moment is, say 420 per month plus fuel. He wants to reduce that as far as possible to fund a move closer to work which will make fuel costs minimal.

How does he achieve that?

By spending a grand on a Mk2 Mondeo.

Seriously, there is no half-way. He either keeps his £340 a month no faff no Hassle Volvo, or he goes super-cheap and spends £995 on a Mondeo.

Anything other than those two options simply doesnt save enough money to be worth the bother, especially if it requires borrowing to acheive.

And no, not a thrashed Mondeo ST either. A boring, normal, 1.8 or 2.0. If he's so tight on his finances that the £75 a month difference I highlighted is a big deal then he's stuff if the car needs any sort of expensive work, so no sports models with £90+ a corner tyres.

Mondeo on 15's. Job done.

 

[act smiley]

There's still a substantial benefit to a middle ground of the lower ~£1k budget on something other than the plainest thing on earth though, if its been mentioned that being vaguely interesting was a factor; sure there'd be slightly higher running costs but its not necessarily a massive difference if carefully looked at.

£420/month is ~£5k a year - £75 tyres instead of £50 and that sort of thing would impact on the saving, but its certainly not the biggest chunk of it by a mile.

 

[monkey_boy]

Am I correct in thinking that even though he might not save much per month by swapping to a £5k car, but wouldn't he at least have something to show for his expenditure. At the moment, the £340 is an indefinite expense unless he either swaps to a car that's his or just stops driving?

If so, then surely there is a middle ground. If he was to end his pcp today. He would liberate £340 a month. If he can put by an extra £100 per month and put back his move by a few months (to lets say 6 months from now) he'll have over £2.5k and that will net him a considerably better, newer more reliable car. With the added bonus that as soon as it's time to move he's now got that extra spare money each month and a car that's considerably better.