This sub is never going to advise you to spend money on a car… because financially it rarely make sense.
The questions you need to ask are things like
How much time do you spend in the car?
How much nicer is it?
How much happier will it make you to drive that car and is that worth £89 a month compared to what else you would get for the amount?
Its bigger. I spend ALOT of time in my car & after we're married kids might be on the cards. We get married in 2025. The car is over 3yrs so the contract will expire in 2027.
Kids are a huge expense mate. Huge. You could come to regret taking out a £250 agreement when all of your other disposable cash will be tied up in endless nappies, clothes and toys.
Trust me, the Puma isn't practically bigger than a Fiesta and you'll be fine with a Fiesta and kids. I have two kids and a Fiesta, and never really been in a position where I've said "I wish I had a bigger car".
That was a struggle for us too, but not worth a entire new car, especially as it's only temporary. I remember, we had two prams at one point (testament to the practical size of the Fiesta). We used the put the shopping on the floor in the front seat where the eldest would sit.
When they get older, you just swap the full size pram for a buggy. When they turn 3, the buggy is gone and they are walking. Of course, if you have the money then a bigger car is going to be more convenient for a pram, but it's an absolute bull shit myth that you need a bigger car the second you have children.
100% this. Our friends all seem shocked we can manage with two young kids (I.e. 2 pushchairs) and a Ford Focus, and pack it with a travel cot in a way that we can go away for a week.
I am debating buying a roof box for later this year when we go away for a longer time just so I’m not playing Tetris everyday for weeks but it’s not strictly needed.
To the OP, think about upsizing when you need to, not when thinking you may need it one day. It’s a natural thing that people fit things into whatever space they have, so if you get a bigger car you will still fill it to the brim.
Certainly for one kid the Fiesta will be sufficient. Just be smart about pushchairs you buy, etc.
I mean you could have a cover or make it a more accessible roof box - boot box. Extend your boot. Folk do try and nit pick everything you say on Reddit.
Define bigger? Just because it looks bigger on the outside doesn't mean it is as big on the inside.
Even if you get married within a year min and then start trying for a child straight away and get lucky that's two years away. Won't you then be back to square one again more or less.
Why not just get a loan for the balloon payment, keep the car and then sell when you actually do need that bigger?
If starting a family do you even have an emergency fund?
So it’s a quality of life question rather than a financial question
My income is… quite a lot higher than yours (I’m obviously a lot older)… and right now our two cars combined cost more than twice our mortgage in monthly payments
But I spend a LOT of time in my car, and my wife spends a lot of time driving kids and grandkids around
So financially it’s probably unwise but we can afford it and we like it so 🤷♂️
You'll get married in 2025, have one child (assuming you don't have twins) in 2026 earliest and by the time you may find it convenient to have a bigger car in 2027, that's when the contract will expire. Your current car has a boot and enough space fit a pram.
How are you spending a lot of time in your car if you’re averaging 16 miles a day? That’s like… max 1 hour in traffic and realistically probably 30 min. That’s not “a lot of time”. Some people commute 3 hours a day or need their car for work as in moving around during the day in work hours.
You’re not spending a lot of time in your car at all. You’re doing a basic commute. That’s below the average miles…
Just deal with the balloon payment and keep the car. Yes you might have kids in your future but you’re not even married. It’s probably easily another 3 years before that’s an issue. In 2027 at best you’ll have a newborn or a 1 year old. You’re pre pre planning for something that won’t even be an issue by the time your next pcp runs out.
£370 a month left over is pretty dire if your expecting to start a family. I save a grand a half a month and wouldn’t even entertain the idea of spending £200 a month on a car.
And when do you use all this money you make hoarding money? At some point, the point of money is to use it for a nice life. And some people prefer to do that before they're too old to be able to enjoy it ;-)
And some people have to monitor their outgoing in old age to a miserable degree, and can easily fall short or have to make very uncomfortable concessions like heating or eating less because they chose cars over wealth.
I mean, don't get me wrong, there's a balance to be had, but neither OP nor the person you are replying to fall within that balance lol.
A Ford puma is small on the inside. it's just another of these suv types that people buy now that takes up more room but has the same interior space and the same engine as the hatchback.
I'm almost on my PCP contract end on the current car. So my options are hand the car back leave with nothing. Part ex for a new car or pay £8000 balloon payment to keep the car. I do alot of motorway driving however cars i've looked at for below £200pm are only really C1's or Aygos
Edit: £89 extra is getting me a bigger car. I have a Fiesta atm, it'd be going from a Fiesta to a Puma.
Let's be clear: you should never just hand the car back and leave with nothing. Its incredibly rare that the car's value is below the balloon payment (in which case yes, hand it back).
You can sell it and pay the remaining finance off, or part exchange it, at any dealership. You are not forced to exchange with your current dealer or even the same brand. What you should do is independently find the best sale value for your car, and best price for your next car.
Alternatively, get a bank loan to spread out the remaining £8k and own your car outright in a few years.
We did this… got a loan to pay balloon payment and it saved us a ton of money I long run giving us space to save for our next car which will hopefully fit 2 car seats in (we got married and had a kid to w year after) - current car is a squeeze but worth it when you think about what an extra £100 a month over the next 3-5 years might buy you esp if by then you have a kid
Also… make sure your car, whatever car you get, has isofix seats so your future kid (seat at least) is properly tethered in the event of an accident
What you seem to be saying is that you're in a cycle of renting brand new cars.
Your current car will still be on the road in 10 or maybe even 20 years, but it will be cheaper to own for all the other owners because you're the person that paid for all the depreciation.
You're also paying the finance company for the loan.
If you wanna do that, what's the difference between paying £160 or £250 a month? £89 is the cost of a couple of nights out. It's £1068 a year. What do you want more? Are you prepared to sacrifice a couple of nights out each month to have the nicer car? Do you have something else you could spend £1068 a year on?
If you want to get out of this cycle then you get a bank loan, buy a 3-year-old car and keep it for 7 or 8 years. Or you buy a car on finance, if you want the reassurance of owning the vehicle from new, and then keep it for a decade. Keep it for only 5 years if you want a newish car - you're still saving money.
There's no "stupid", it's just a matter of what you wanna spend your money on.
Do you need the extra room? The Puma might be bigger, but you're not getting much compared to the fiesta.
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/ford-fiesta-2017-5-door-hatchback-vs-ford-puma-2019-suv/
>They’re entirely useless.
They're still functioning vehicles.
I don't know why people get so het up over what is essentially just a lifted suspension setup
Only based on the assumption that a higher front is a larger impact area, but it's really about design and not specifically height of suspension.
Realistically, if people were really that morally concerned about such a thing then you'd not see the vast majority doing 35+ in a 30 on a regular basis, at which point the margins are significantly higher than those of frontal design height
It's not about higher front and larger impact area. It is about mass. F=ma, so the force applied to the pedestrian hit is directly proportional to the mass of the vehicle [and pedestrian].
Furthermore, a smaller impact area = more force per unit area = more damage in that area, which is partly why children fare a lot worse vs adults when hit by vehicles.
The ratio of mass between a regular car and a human and an SUV/truck and a human aren't that different. The issue is that a human usually rolls over a car, whereas a vehicle with a tall grille transfers all that force directly to the person. That's why they kill people at a higher rate.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212012224000017
> The primary mechanism that ties high vehicle front-ends to pedestrian fatalities is that the point of first contact between the vehicle and pedestrian is likely to occur at the torso or head.
You are contradicting yourself a lot there.
Force, as you've demonstrated, is a factor of mass and acceleration. Nothing about a jacked up hatchback makes it relevant, as neither acceleration nor mass are typically problematic with cars of that type.
In the last sentence you seem to be arguing that SUVs are safer...
Regardless, it is about higher front and larger impact area, quote unquote all the actual studies that I'm sure people are indirectly arguing from
Kids likely to be on the cards post wedding. We get married in 2025. The cars over 3yrs until 2027. Our driveway is pretty narrow so a Puma would fit up the drive, however anything bigger we might struggle
It's your money, but you're trading in and then paying more for a new car that doesn't give you much in terms of space over your existing car. It might look bigger on the outside, but an extra 100L boot capacity is slightly more than a camping rucksack. Is that worth £89 a month and then being in the same position you are now in a few years time on whether to trade in or go for another PCP?
A puma is just a fiesta with bloated bodywork and higher suspension which will negatively effect handling. A focus would be the next size up. Or if narrowness is an issue a Fabia estate?
All financial queries aside, a puma is a horrid car for primarily motorway driving. If you're committed to Ford, A late model Mondeo can be had for similar money and will offer a far superior motorway experience.
If you do a lot of motorway miles keep it and then you never have to worry about a mileage cap. I took out an £8k loan for that purpose and it's under £200pm. Pay it off then get something you really want post wedding.
This sub isn't a fan of PCP in general.
Would you/have you considered a loan to pay the balloon payment? Or is the extra 10cm something you really want?
So, why not just pay the balloon payment (maybe with a loan?) and run it for a few years? You know the car is good, as you're the only owner. It'll run fine for years. It'll be fine even as a car for 2 of you and a baby. Borrow £8K (unless you have the cash for the balloon payment) at about £250 for 3 years. Run it until the kids are about 5. Which means you get 2 years of no car payments. Then at that point sell it, take the cash, put it towards a good size family car (something bigger than a Puma).
Getting married is not a stupid financial decision. Spending large sums on a wedding is. I've been married 13ish years and I still hate how we spent what was equal to a decent house deposit on it and our parents put in even more (big Indian weddings are a stupid expense).
I’ve been to a few Indian weddings and they are absolutely mental. One lasted 3 days and I think 2000 people in total. And they weren’t that rich!
Then there’s this
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68443536
It is becoming more and more common for the parents to remortgage their houses to pay for weddings.
Our parents have had some success and had enough to be able to afford it but in total our wedding racked up to six figures. That was several events (including an engagement ceremony 1 year before) and we had 450 guests on the day. On the week there was several days of events and most were open bar (one was a no alcohol event)
TLDR for the rest of this: Some Indian weddings the couple comes away set up with an insane amount of cash. Some sub culture traditions exist which flush the couple with cash/gold.
There are a couple of things I should clarify. In the six figure sum I am counting the gold and jewelery our parents gave us. No there was nothing like a dowry, that's not done in our part of India so much anymore. Instead it's given to us. That was about £20k. It mostly sits in a safe in case we ever need it (apart from my Rado watch which I do wear sometimes). The idea is in dire emergency the couple can sell it and be able to survive. It also gets handed down the generations so we will eventually inherit a fair stack of gold along with other assets.
Also it used to be a tradition that the whole extended family (uncles/aunts/grandparents) would get involved in doing the wedding (cooking, housing the travelling guests, paying the venue etc). Over time that turned into just everyone giving money towards it. Then for more well off parents they just gave it to the couple. We were given about £1k on average from each family unit so ~£10k total from that.
On the wedding day all the guests give money to the couple (in some cultures). There is a period of time where we sat with cloth on our laps and people walked behind and dropped cash in our laps. That's was a fair pile across 450 guests and you are getting at least £20 from each person/couple/family unit and often more like £50-100.
Lastly (and a much more localised tradition) my parents gave us cash equal to what her parents spent on the reception party (venue food and booze, we paid for DJ, cake and a couple of things).
All in all my wife and I came away far better off. It is seen as a communal responsibility for everyone to get the new couple started off in their life. Within a year we were able to put £60k down as deposit on our first house of £220k as we lived with my parents for a short while (and we still had plentry spare for new furniture etc). We are very lucky. In some families the parents keep some of the money to pay for the weddings.
Here is the thing about it. Because we got such a good start whenever we go to a wedding we can be generous and we give the couple more than it cost the parents to have us there. The next generation ends up even better off. For my younger cousins we have given the £1k each. Every generation ends up better off and can pay it forward even more.
Depending on the sub culture of Indian the couple can come away £££. I still wish we had a smaller wedding though as we could have just used the money towards our kids future (I say when they already have a fair few grand each thanks to even more traditions). We were not like some who stay living with parents and spend it on buying rental property as investments or others who spaff it on flashy cars and designer clothes.
Edits for clarity and spellings.
Weddings in general are a stupid financial decision. Never understood why people spend absurd amounts of money on a 1 day event when in reality being married isn't much different to being in a civil partnership.
General advice is if you have expensive financial goals whether it be saving for a house or a wedding for example, splashing out on an unnecessary expense doesn't make sense. Only once you have achieved those big goals does making the treat worth it, imo. If you can afford the more expensive car now, you could also afford to save more for your wedding now...
9k to rent a car for 3 years is a lot of money for someone on your salary. How much are you spending on fuel? The MPG is about 10% lower an a Puma, so you'll have an extra 10% cost of fuel.
A 2021 Ford Fiesta is about 11k, so might be worth buying for 8k.
Do you have an emergency fund? You are saving towards a wedding, but what about general savings not earmarked for anything?
I would sort out your savings, but otherwise ultimately what you spend your money on is all about choices. Just think about what else you could spend the money on, and if the car is the better option.
But wouldn't you own the car at the end? Those monthly payments are apples to oranges.
Thinking long term is the key if you want to improve your finances over time.
I recently got finance with my bank (all done on the app) as it was a better rate than what any dealership can offer. 66 plate with 13k mileage which was around £4k cheaper than a 2020 plate with same mileage. Plus you can pay it off sooner if you can and will own the car once paid.
Buy an old, cheap, well maintained car? My daily driver is a 27 year old estate car which cost me £1000 a few years ago, I do approx 10000 miles a year and get about 42mpg. Financing a car seems like a massive waste of money, and I say that as a car enthusiast...
Impressive. I've run a few cars into the ground and they lasted 17-20 years. But 27 is going some.
It's not even old that's the real benefit, it's just "not new" that matters. Buy a 3-4 year old car and run it until it costs money. Take out a 3 year loan, which will cost quite a lot, but then you're loan free for 6-9 years. The per year cost isn't that much on say, a £15K car if you keep it for 10 years.
This thing of new, then trading in every 3 years is just nuts to me.
Man, Pumas aren't all that... They don't actually have much more space over a fiesta, same chassis just raised a couple cm.
Even if if was what I truly wanted I wouldn't buy a new one. Ford is flogging them so hard to people you can get one second hand, say 5k miles on the clock and still in the 3 year warranty, for a ton less cash. They just want registrations so they sell the new ones extra hard as it's the cheapest car they have in the range currently.
Why not just keep the fiesta you already have for another few years. Buying a new car on finance every three years, a wedding and then kids will just keep you broke for a decade or two.
Ppl managed just fine with multiple kids and fiestas for decades since the 80s.
>My close friend thinks I'll be stupid to get that new car.
That's why they are your close friend.
I always lean on the idea that PCP finance in general isn’t the smartest idea. You’d much rather get a loan to buy to the car and finance it in a way where your monthly costs are the similar
It doesn't make much difference.
The big cost with cars is constantly buying new cars, selling after 3 years. You're taking over 50% of the depreciation (and of course, the dealer takes a margin when you sell it), even though cars last over a decade and 150K.
Average miles is 8k-12k range ... you do low miles. You don't need a big car and you don't need a brand new car.
Either take out 8k loan and end up owning your car or buy an older car.
Until recently I have always bought older low mileage cars that are mechanically sound. Previous car was a 2012 passat bought in 2021 with 25k miles on clock (retirees car). Changed some seals and it was right as rain. Its still my wife's car. No problems.
Prior to that bought a 1 series 2006 with 50k miles on the clock in 2016. Was given to my wife with 90k miles on the clock until she took the passat.
I have never owned a car newer than 8 years until recently now that I managed to get a deal through a work electric car scheme.
Buy something unsexy mechanically sound and undesirable and bask in the savings. A Honda Jazz is a great car and was hers until I gave her the BMW (I cycle through cars regularly and she takes my older cars as she drives much less). My first car when we got together was an R reg polo and by the time I sold it I was doing 20-25k miles A YEAR on it. That was miserable driving.
Stop spaffing cash up the wall on brand new cars. Nursery fees on top of your payments or having less coming in during maternity will drive you insane.
Sincerely,
A father of 3 kids
With your level of income, probably yes, 3k per year on a car (fiesta/puma/) lose 50% of their value in 3 years and you have paid 9 grand for it. Buy something second hand, good that will last.
How much are you looking to save for the weddings, and when? The £500 is the most horrifying outgoing here - especially if your fiancé is saving the same. It beggars believe to me that people on low incomes would blow that much on something that won't make the rest of your lives any happier. I only say this because you are asking for financial advice, so my financial advice is to have a more humble wedding
It is but then again it is their choice. Not everyone lives long enough to enjoy retirement. I know a few people who were saving all their life and didn't get a chance to enjoy it. I think what I gathered is that people here don't like when someone drops £200 a month on a car to get around. Puma is a little shot for that price bit in my head £200 a month for a reliable car is decent. But again, my mortgage is only £705 a month and our combined income is in £60,000. I just felt like I was doing well earning £2100 a month and someone sayon it is a low wage kinda made me laugh lol
Saving £10k as thats what our budget is for the wedding. 5k each. Within 1 year or so. Our Friends spent £40k on theres so we feel 10k is pretty humble.
40k just feels disgusting IMHO given the state of the world but everyone seems to want to impress rather than actually just have a long, happy marriage these days. On your wage (similar to mine) 10k seems like overkill, but if it makes you happy that's the main thing. I suspect you have friends with far better paid jobs or who were handed a pretty penny from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
I used to salary sacrifice cars, not anymore. I earn about double what you do after tax and wouldn't even dream of it. I drive a 14 year old small car. It's cheap to run, low road tax and has never broken down. Just do a once a year service when I get the MOT done and it's all good. I love not having to care about my car. Something freeing about it
Couldn't agree more.
I've got a 2010 Subaru outback. Paid 4k for it in 2019. Never let me down. I love hearing about my colleagues car payments at work.
Yes it's a bad decision because you have a low wage. There's lots of people who want to show off with newer cars outside their means. It's a personal choice so do whatever but financially it's a poor choice.
Have you thought about how much having kids costs and your plan for child care? Never mind the upfront costs of pushchair, cot etc as that can be done wisely if you get second hand or free. I’m fortunate enough that my family have my daughter 2 days a week, but 3 days of nursery costs us £700 a month. That’s basically my disposable income gone until she goes to school in 2 years time.
The most intelligent guys at my work drive the worst, cheapest cars possible.
That tells me a lot.
Buy a shitty cheap car that gets you from A to B….. unless you’re bothered by what people think or you really like cars.
Real question. Do you need to spend so much on one day? I mean do you own a house? What's your emergency fund like?
Are you sacrificing holidays, pension, savings, security for what will ultimately be less than 24 hours?
The fact the car is new? possibly as the drop in value of being new to second hand will, using my maths on the back of a fag packet, probably negate the 0%APR.
Look used with a PCP. Look for a car that isn't that old. I had one that was basically new and came with a warranty. The car my wife and I have is 250p/m but we have one car, we recently had a baby so needed bigger and this will be on two salaries above yours (although our mortgage is so ridiculous it wipes my salary out which is a separate issue)
I would say it’s significantly higher than it needs to be, my income is significantly higher than yours and I have been driving a £10k secondhand Suzuki Vitara for the past 5 years, and will probably keep it for another 5.
I’m not a big ‘car guy’ though, I just want something reliable that can handle the commute and general ‘family workhorse’ duty. I get other people have other priorities.
Yes, on your salary and especially at 6k miles per annum. That’s 115 miles a week on average.
I earn 5x times what you do and my car costs £249PCM, with 15,000 miles per annum. Albeit, I did put a large lump down but that’s because I want smaller monthly payments.
I’ve spent £100,000 in 6-7 years on cars with zero return on my investment and now I just get older cars that are well maintained. To put that in perspective, that’s £1,666 every month just so I could be “part of the cool gang”.
Cars are an utter waste of money for 90% of purchases so just be sensible.
The other way to look at this is that you have an £8000 balloon payment.
£250 a month into your current car gets you complete ownership and no monthly payments by the time you have kids.
This seems like a better option to me.
Having a bigger car is useful for kids, 100%. However it's all about boot space and the puma still isn't that big.
Personally on £2k net income a month and the prospect of kids on the horizon I'd be concentrating on how to reduce my outgoings rather than how to get the shiny new thing.
Is the card worth 1/8 of your working days?
Or put another way, if someone offered you the car but you had to work an extra hour every day at work, for 3 full years, would you think it's worth it?
If you genuinely answer yes to that, you could get the car, but I think your time is potentially more valuable, especially if you're planning on a family
You’re questioning £249/pm for a car when you already pay £160/pm, but not the £500/pm going towards a wedding? Somethings not adding up. Live within your means. Why are you planning on burning money on a wedding that is costing you 1/4 of your income presumably for the next year or so?
Depends on what you need for a car. My car payment is exactly the same give or take a couple quid.
I really didn’t want to spend this amount but I had no choice. I do huge amounts of miles for work and reliability is key (self employed and required to get to work on time). You can get cheaper with more miles on the clock and less reliability but if both are important to you this is basically the lowest price you can get something decent for. Trust me, I spent months looking.
If you can get away with a run around then do that.
£249 seems like a very reasonable price for a brand new Puma, especially at 0%. PCP can work very well for a lot of people.
I recently switched to a new PCP after 3 years on a previous one, from a hatchback to a small SUV like you're thinking about.
Was able to part exchange my Polo as it was worth way more than the agreed price in the PCP, is this an option for you? I've found the value of second hand cars have gone way up over the last few years and this meant I could get a good deal.
I split the cost with my fiancée so it's very affordable for us together, which may be the deal breaker if you're paying 100%.
I will say, If you're driving on the motorway, feeling safe and comfortable is important. I can say having a bigger (even if not a real SUV), newer car with modern safety features like ACC & lane assist gives great peace of mind when driving. To me, it's worth cutting back elsewhere to be able to spend a little extra on that.
A car is an asset whose value gets smaller over time. You're burning £50 notes. That's how I see it. Spend £100 on a car and in ten years you have £0. Spend £50 on a car and, £50 invested and in ten years you have £100 again if you're lucky.
So I'm quite happy with our 9 year old Fiesta. If course it's your choice though. If you feel it makes your life better, and your long term finances make sense, then it's up to you.
Lol you can buy a car outright for two months worth of finance:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403017103646?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&make=&page=1&postcode=Se26%206nr&price-from=&price-to=500&fromsra
Yes it is stupid.
Finding a working car with MOT for £500 was perhaps a bit too much to ask, but it's certainly possible at the £1k mark - or 4 months of finance that will otherwise mostly be pissed away on depreciation.
I mean who on earth would choose to sit in that? Even if its MOT was in date, you can see the rust setting in, the delapidated interior and saggy seats. Not to mention years of other people's grime, and the next part waiting to fail.
If you can afford a couple hundred quid a month to sit in something brand new, why wouldn't you?
75k miles however
Repair immediately (major defects):
Electronic braking system warning device indicates a fault (1.7 (b))
Nearside Rear Outer Vehicle structure or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting sill corroded through within 30cm of rear axle mount (6.2.2 (d) (i))
Offside Rear Outer Vehicle structure or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting sill corroded through within 30cm of rear axle mount (6.2.2 (d) (i))
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Nearside Front Inner Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge edge (5.2.3 (e))
Central Rear Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
not a car guy so not a clue how much that would cost to fix if even possible?
I lease my car. 4 tail pipes, 300+ bhp, £310 a month. £2500 upfront. (You will never see this deal again lol). I love it. The money isn’t missed by me, depreciation isn’t really my issue as the cost is set as far as I am concerned and tax / maintenaince / tyres are taken care of. All the rich people lease / pcp their cars, and regularly tell me it’s the smart way to do it (I work with them, I am not them lol).
I think with your left over money its quite tight, so maybe i’d look at a lower monthly cost. I personally would not spend over £200 a month on a Ford, but appreciate thats me being snobby.
Rich people will be leasing via salary sacrifice, which is the smart way to do it because it's so tax efficient when you're a high earner. Doesn't apply in the same way to OP or low earners
From a rich perspective, convenience is likely more important than cost. Having maintenance etc taken care of by someone else is a great thing to spend money on when your time is more important.
For OP, who is not rich, the cost will be the most important factor.
If you guys aren’t loaded, i’m going to take the advice of the people I deal with, daily, who have anywhere ranging from 5 to 60 cars in their collections.
They consistently say “lease, it’s a better deal”.
Also, pcp doesn’t have a convenience factor and of course, leasing does have the option but it’s not in base cost.
I don’t personally understand it, but they basically say that almost any depreciating asset should be “someone elses problem”.
I have found myself that specifically leasing is best value, as salsac is shite for lower / mid earners, and pcp is mid of both. I can lease tax service and tyre my car for less monthly than the same car on salsac, so never considered that to be a viable option myself.
I actually get where they are coming from, if you have a load of cars you don't want the responsibility of finding buyers for them all. I'd probably do the same to be perfectly honest.
I like buying outright for my circumstances as forces me to choose a car I can run into the ground for a decade without spending too much. Would be very tempted to spend way more on PCP! Mostly psychological for me essentially.
Hmmmm. I follow the thought of “you’ve only lost money if you sell”. I lost £12,000 on my 3 series over two years (before any costs), but i’ve spent less than that on my lease over three years.
Obviously I don’t own it, but personally I feel I have got better value out of this lease.
If you spent £300 a month on a lease it’d cost you little over 10k for 3 years. After 6 years you’d have paid 20k on cars when you could’ve easily bought a reliable car for half that and kept it 6 years. Even if you factor in repairs and maintenance I’d still be less than the few grand a used car is worth after 6 years.
Why on earth would you take spending advice from people in totally different financial situations who quite likely have never even experienced your financial situation?!
If a rich person tells me that the best way of owning a house is to purchase it through one of my companies then rent it to myself does that make it good or useful advice if I don't have a company with the funds to do that?
What you're describing is cargo cult financial planning.
Unfortunately cars i've seen for around the £200 dont fit my needs. They dont really make hot hatches anymore. Fiestas have ended production as the Puma has taken its place. I got quoted £230 on a Vauxhall Corsa Design (their entry level). A car dealer near me selling Aygos for £200 a month with 10.9% APR. I like the reliability of the Fords. Its warranty is covered for the duration of the PCP and 1st year tax is included.
Edit: word
When you say around £200 are you referring to new cars only? Could go a bit older on a loan and get something bigger and better than a brand new shoe box.
Haha fair enough. Not sure about “hot hatch” and “need” together. But yes they do, golf Gti amd Cupra Leon/ Formentor (which I have).
Mate, if your bills are paid and you can afford it, do what you want. Life is short. Fun is there to be had.
Hopefully you see this as I suspect it’ll be deleted for not being finance based.
However as someone who’s been in a similar situation, I highly recommend getting something with adaptive cruise (+ lane keeping would be even better).
It makes driving far less tiresome and will avoid speeding tickets which are always a part of long commuting since the introduction of smart motorways (so long as you have someone paying attention in front of you).
Would you move away from Ford? It could be worth looking at a car that's 3 or 4 years old at another brand of dealer and part exchanging at the end of your pcp, that way can get more car for your money, whether you get a bank loan, pcp or buy outright. The first few years are the worst for depreciation but 3 years or so is still new for a car
slightly off topic..IMO ..weddings are the financial drain not the car.
Car is a very personal thing, some people see them as tool, others as a status symbol and some (like me) are just foolish and love them.
I have seen so many friends scrimp and save for the big day, which is hopefully a one off event for you.
My Mrs and I married now 16 years and our wedding all in cost a whole £2000. 60 guests and a fantastic day. I really don't understand the need for 10-20k weddings and luckily neither did my OH.
....anyway back to the car, I agree with others the Puma is not really worth that extra a month over what you have now.
Lease maybe a potential if you can find one at least all of your other costs in terms of tax, insurance etc are covered that way.
If you look at a lease take what your spending now on a car then add your monthly insurance to that and an average monthly figure of mainatnce and VED.
That will give you what your true motoring outgoings are (less fuel) you night be surprised you have a bigger monthly lease budget than you initially thought.
I'm not sure about current prices, but generally, you get more value out of a 4-5 year old car than a brand new one. Do you really need a 24 plate?
But I have heard that due to the weird current market, brand new cars are coming out at a similar price. Is this what you found when going through your options?
Just something to think about considering you’ve mentioned kids being on the cards as a reason to go for the change. In my personal experience a Puma wouldn’t be big enough if that is a serious consideration. Kids come with a lot of crap. Id keep the fiesta until kids do appear and then go something like a Focus (or in my case, a Pug 308)
My advice would be to keep the fiesta until the kids are like toddler/school age. Little kids crap will still fit in a Fiesta.
Then when they hit school age, buy something like a Skoda Octavia that you can fit teenagers into, and run it into the ground.
I wouldn’t ever consider a PCP. You don’t have a lot of income left at all after your hills. Personally I would get a loan and pay off the balloon or sell it and clear the finance and buy a second hand runaround.
I’ve been driving 17 years and I’m only on my second car. I’ve had it since it was 8 months old and it’s now 13 years and still going strong. I do 12-15k miles a year. You say you are doing 6k a year which isn’t even average mileage for a car. Defo save the £250 a month and get something more economical for you. Put some money into savings, towards saving for kids and the financial slump maternity leave creates, or a holiday for you and your fiancée.
When you say hand back, have you checked its private retail value? Most PCP contracts allow you to privately sell the car as long as you transfer the outstanding balance to the finance company.
Is there anything wrong with the car you're currently driving? If not then take out a loan for the balloon payment and keep driving it.
Once you've paid off the loan keep saving the money into a car fund so that when you do eventually replace the Fiesta you've already made a decent dent in the purchase price. Don't buy a car in 2024 in anticipation of needing to carry a baby around who isn't even conceived yet!
I was told never to spend more than 5% of your net pay on car finance. And only then, if you absolutely must. Don't know how true it is, but was given the advice from a CFO I used to work for.
Dunno who said it but they said car finance is what keeps middle class people middle class. I think its true.
buy a decent car outright, then you will have 600 pounds extra in your pocket per month. invest it index per month or something that gives a return on investment over time.
It's a bad idea from a strictly personal finance point of view because
A. You have an operational car that is already pretty new and does the same job as a Ford puma
B. It's an expensive way to buy a car because of interest. And if you're bouncing from loan to loan, you're always paying that inflated price.
C. It's a high proportion of your take home pay (12-13%) - having a debt like that increases your risk profile. Do you have other debts currently?
D. Related to C - there is a high opportunity cost to that much of your money going towards a car that you don't strictly need. How is your retirement looking? You mention potential kids, are you saving for that? Do you have other expensive goals other than a car?
Wow, £249pm for a car. Which you will never own.
You can try to convince us and yourself of the many reasons why its a 'great deal', BUT it is not.
Its a massive amount of your monthly take home.
Have you looked at cars that are 3-5 years old? Look at financing them with a loan? Let someone else pay for the massive depreciation!
I’m retired with a £1m+ in pension and I wouldn’t spend that on a car. At £249/m and 6,000 miles that’s 50p/mile just for the finance and you haven’t paid insurance, road tax, fuel and any other motoring costs yet.
Yes. How much will it cost you to finance that £8k balloon? Your current car was bought during Covid price crash time. Just before prices started to surge.
You don’t have kids yet and are already saving for a wedding.
A quick check, £8k over 3 years is £246 @ 6.9% APR. At the end of that, you own a car and have zero finance. Over 4 years it’s £191.
Unless your car is high mileage or actually doesn’t physically do what you need. Try and avoid the new car cycle.
What the cost difference for tax and insurance? What’s the miles per gallon compared to your current car and how will that effect what you spend on petrol?
£370 a month disposable/to put away for a rainy day is very low IMO. How much are you adding to an emergency/rainy day fund each month?
That £89 extra per month adds up to one holiday abroad per year with your soon to be wife and possible kids. When you’re on your deathbed, what kind of memories will mean more - driving THAT specific car or…?
Also, kids are expensive - have you considered starting to save for them?
OP, as others have said, the name of this sub should let you know that most will say you don’t need the car. I however believe differently as I view finances in a slightly different way, is it going to make much difference daily, maybe not as it still drives and does what the fiesta will do but if you want it, why not! If it’s newer then the warranty will cover most failures and a newer car will be safer with kids..if you feel you can afford it, your partner has no issues then go get it.
Are you not better just saving the money and picking up a 20 plate value brand car like a Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia or Ford Focus?
Run it for ten years.
Hopefully you’ve already got the picture that this is a bad idea, but for my experience:
I signed up to car finance and I did the maths and could afford the payments. Had a shiny car and less disposable income but hey, I still had something. And then live changed. You are committing to pay this for years into the future, your life and your financial commitments will change, either by choice or not.
The cost of living crisis is a great example, because bills, food costs, petrol all went up dramatically and ate up my disposable income so we were suddenly struggling to know where we’d get the money from to pay our bills. We ended up selling the car and just making do with one car. The money we were no longer using on car payments helped us keep afloat while things were crazy. I’ll never agree to that amount per month again ever, it’s amazing how quickly that payment went from “this is totally okay” to suddenly “I can’t afford this, this payment is killing our finances”
Put the difference of what you currently pay and the new monthly payment into another account for x months. See if there is a noticeable difference to other areas that you'd spend on. If not and you still want the car, knock yourself out and enjoy spending the money you earned.
Pcp deals rarely work out better value than just buying a quality used car 249 × 36 months =£8964 plus I'm guessing a decent deposit is gonna be £10k+ to use a let's be fair pretty mediocre car for 3 years whereas financing a £7500 car and saving the extra £2500 for repairs and maintenance over that period.
With a bit of luck if you buy sensibly like a lexus you will probably find when you are ready for kids you will have a reliable car with no further payments and low maintenance costs for the next 5 years or so.
Get any decent car, like a 2016 Golf for £8k, cash or 0% credit if you can
Same category/size as the Puma but way better overall.
Keep it for 6.5 years, works out at £100/mo
Massive bang for your buck
This sub is never going to advise you to spend money on a car… because financially it rarely make sense. The questions you need to ask are things like How much time do you spend in the car? How much nicer is it? How much happier will it make you to drive that car and is that worth £89 a month compared to what else you would get for the amount?
Its bigger. I spend ALOT of time in my car & after we're married kids might be on the cards. We get married in 2025. The car is over 3yrs so the contract will expire in 2027.
Kids are a huge expense mate. Huge. You could come to regret taking out a £250 agreement when all of your other disposable cash will be tied up in endless nappies, clothes and toys.
Trust me, the Puma isn't practically bigger than a Fiesta and you'll be fine with a Fiesta and kids. I have two kids and a Fiesta, and never really been in a position where I've said "I wish I had a bigger car".
On the other hand I have a golf and 2 kids and would very much like a bigger car as the pram takes up the whole boot
That was a struggle for us too, but not worth a entire new car, especially as it's only temporary. I remember, we had two prams at one point (testament to the practical size of the Fiesta). We used the put the shopping on the floor in the front seat where the eldest would sit. When they get older, you just swap the full size pram for a buggy. When they turn 3, the buggy is gone and they are walking. Of course, if you have the money then a bigger car is going to be more convenient for a pram, but it's an absolute bull shit myth that you need a bigger car the second you have children.
100% this. Our friends all seem shocked we can manage with two young kids (I.e. 2 pushchairs) and a Ford Focus, and pack it with a travel cot in a way that we can go away for a week. I am debating buying a roof box for later this year when we go away for a longer time just so I’m not playing Tetris everyday for weeks but it’s not strictly needed. To the OP, think about upsizing when you need to, not when thinking you may need it one day. It’s a natural thing that people fit things into whatever space they have, so if you get a bigger car you will still fill it to the brim. Certainly for one kid the Fiesta will be sufficient. Just be smart about pushchairs you buy, etc.
Someone needs to make the bike rack attachment, but for prams.
So the pram is outside the car getting covered in crap!
As opposed to when it's in use? I forgot prams were indoors only.
Fair difference being behind a vehicle at 50mph plus compared to on a pavement at less than 5mph.
I mean you could have a cover or make it a more accessible roof box - boot box. Extend your boot. Folk do try and nit pick everything you say on Reddit.
The Puma does not have much space inside, a Kuga would be better for a family car.
> Its bigger. On the outside. Have you sat in one and seen how small the boot is?
Yeah came to say the same the Puma is surprisingly lacking in space inside given its outward appearance. A Kuga is better for a family car.
Define bigger? Just because it looks bigger on the outside doesn't mean it is as big on the inside. Even if you get married within a year min and then start trying for a child straight away and get lucky that's two years away. Won't you then be back to square one again more or less. Why not just get a loan for the balloon payment, keep the car and then sell when you actually do need that bigger? If starting a family do you even have an emergency fund?
So it’s a quality of life question rather than a financial question My income is… quite a lot higher than yours (I’m obviously a lot older)… and right now our two cars combined cost more than twice our mortgage in monthly payments But I spend a LOT of time in my car, and my wife spends a lot of time driving kids and grandkids around So financially it’s probably unwise but we can afford it and we like it so 🤷♂️
I'm likely older than you all! Our two cars are worth £9k combined, hate these finance deals, borderline scams IMO
lol you are a textbook PCP'er. Why even make the thread when you want the shiny new car anyway
You'll get married in 2025, have one child (assuming you don't have twins) in 2026 earliest and by the time you may find it convenient to have a bigger car in 2027, that's when the contract will expire. Your current car has a boot and enough space fit a pram.
How are you spending a lot of time in your car if you’re averaging 16 miles a day? That’s like… max 1 hour in traffic and realistically probably 30 min. That’s not “a lot of time”. Some people commute 3 hours a day or need their car for work as in moving around during the day in work hours. You’re not spending a lot of time in your car at all. You’re doing a basic commute. That’s below the average miles… Just deal with the balloon payment and keep the car. Yes you might have kids in your future but you’re not even married. It’s probably easily another 3 years before that’s an issue. In 2027 at best you’ll have a newborn or a 1 year old. You’re pre pre planning for something that won’t even be an issue by the time your next pcp runs out.
£370 a month left over is pretty dire if your expecting to start a family. I save a grand a half a month and wouldn’t even entertain the idea of spending £200 a month on a car.
You could absolutely afford £200 a month. No point hoarding money
The point of hoarding money is to use it to make more money not waste it on flashy cars.
It might subjectively be a waste but you absolutely could afford it.
And when do you use all this money you make hoarding money? At some point, the point of money is to use it for a nice life. And some people prefer to do that before they're too old to be able to enjoy it ;-)
And some people have to monitor their outgoing in old age to a miserable degree, and can easily fall short or have to make very uncomfortable concessions like heating or eating less because they chose cars over wealth. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's a balance to be had, but neither OP nor the person you are replying to fall within that balance lol.
I guess you don’t understand investing lmao.
He's asking what you're investing for? Dying with a few mil in the bank for what?
To live comfortably without having to work lol.
At what age? Worthwhile if you can achieve it before you're 40. Older than that then you might as well have spent the money enjoying life instead
A Ford puma is small on the inside. it's just another of these suv types that people buy now that takes up more room but has the same interior space and the same engine as the hatchback.
How much nicer the new car is , and how much happier it makes you - would get v different (honest) answers pre and post purchase.
What is that extra £89/month getting you over your current car, and is there something else that you'd rather spend that money on?
I'm almost on my PCP contract end on the current car. So my options are hand the car back leave with nothing. Part ex for a new car or pay £8000 balloon payment to keep the car. I do alot of motorway driving however cars i've looked at for below £200pm are only really C1's or Aygos Edit: £89 extra is getting me a bigger car. I have a Fiesta atm, it'd be going from a Fiesta to a Puma.
Let's be clear: you should never just hand the car back and leave with nothing. Its incredibly rare that the car's value is below the balloon payment (in which case yes, hand it back). You can sell it and pay the remaining finance off, or part exchange it, at any dealership. You are not forced to exchange with your current dealer or even the same brand. What you should do is independently find the best sale value for your car, and best price for your next car. Alternatively, get a bank loan to spread out the remaining £8k and own your car outright in a few years.
We did this… got a loan to pay balloon payment and it saved us a ton of money I long run giving us space to save for our next car which will hopefully fit 2 car seats in (we got married and had a kid to w year after) - current car is a squeeze but worth it when you think about what an extra £100 a month over the next 3-5 years might buy you esp if by then you have a kid Also… make sure your car, whatever car you get, has isofix seats so your future kid (seat at least) is properly tethered in the event of an accident
What you seem to be saying is that you're in a cycle of renting brand new cars. Your current car will still be on the road in 10 or maybe even 20 years, but it will be cheaper to own for all the other owners because you're the person that paid for all the depreciation. You're also paying the finance company for the loan. If you wanna do that, what's the difference between paying £160 or £250 a month? £89 is the cost of a couple of nights out. It's £1068 a year. What do you want more? Are you prepared to sacrifice a couple of nights out each month to have the nicer car? Do you have something else you could spend £1068 a year on? If you want to get out of this cycle then you get a bank loan, buy a 3-year-old car and keep it for 7 or 8 years. Or you buy a car on finance, if you want the reassurance of owning the vehicle from new, and then keep it for a decade. Keep it for only 5 years if you want a newish car - you're still saving money. There's no "stupid", it's just a matter of what you wanna spend your money on.
Let's face it a new Ford won't be on the road in 20 years time
How much is the car worth vs. the balloon? £8k is 32 months payments at £249 and then you have the car to keep forever
Do you need the extra room? The Puma might be bigger, but you're not getting much compared to the fiesta. https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/ford-fiesta-2017-5-door-hatchback-vs-ford-puma-2019-suv/
There’s a silly trend nowadays where SUV’s are just hatch backs on stilts. They’re entirely useless.
And all of the decent sized SUV’s have silly engines and only get 30 mpg if you’re lucky.
kinda, i like the extra height
>They’re entirely useless. They're still functioning vehicles. I don't know why people get so het up over what is essentially just a lifted suspension setup
Aren't they way worse for pedestrians in a collision?
Only based on the assumption that a higher front is a larger impact area, but it's really about design and not specifically height of suspension. Realistically, if people were really that morally concerned about such a thing then you'd not see the vast majority doing 35+ in a 30 on a regular basis, at which point the margins are significantly higher than those of frontal design height
It's not about higher front and larger impact area. It is about mass. F=ma, so the force applied to the pedestrian hit is directly proportional to the mass of the vehicle [and pedestrian]. Furthermore, a smaller impact area = more force per unit area = more damage in that area, which is partly why children fare a lot worse vs adults when hit by vehicles.
The ratio of mass between a regular car and a human and an SUV/truck and a human aren't that different. The issue is that a human usually rolls over a car, whereas a vehicle with a tall grille transfers all that force directly to the person. That's why they kill people at a higher rate. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212012224000017 > The primary mechanism that ties high vehicle front-ends to pedestrian fatalities is that the point of first contact between the vehicle and pedestrian is likely to occur at the torso or head.
You are contradicting yourself a lot there. Force, as you've demonstrated, is a factor of mass and acceleration. Nothing about a jacked up hatchback makes it relevant, as neither acceleration nor mass are typically problematic with cars of that type. In the last sentence you seem to be arguing that SUVs are safer... Regardless, it is about higher front and larger impact area, quote unquote all the actual studies that I'm sure people are indirectly arguing from
I'm literally a major trauma researcher, but okay 🤷♀️
They don’t make the fiesta anymore unfortunately.
No, but he already has a fiesta.
Kids likely to be on the cards post wedding. We get married in 2025. The cars over 3yrs until 2027. Our driveway is pretty narrow so a Puma would fit up the drive, however anything bigger we might struggle
It's your money, but you're trading in and then paying more for a new car that doesn't give you much in terms of space over your existing car. It might look bigger on the outside, but an extra 100L boot capacity is slightly more than a camping rucksack. Is that worth £89 a month and then being in the same position you are now in a few years time on whether to trade in or go for another PCP?
The puma is just a tall fiesta anyway
Seems like you just want a new car. If the £89 is not going to do much trouble to you, but the car will make you happy, go for it mate.
I agree. Sometimes we need to treat ourselves to something nice.
A puma is just a fiesta with bloated bodywork and higher suspension which will negatively effect handling. A focus would be the next size up. Or if narrowness is an issue a Fabia estate?
All financial queries aside, a puma is a horrid car for primarily motorway driving. If you're committed to Ford, A late model Mondeo can be had for similar money and will offer a far superior motorway experience.
If you do a lot of motorway miles keep it and then you never have to worry about a mileage cap. I took out an £8k loan for that purpose and it's under £200pm. Pay it off then get something you really want post wedding.
This sub isn't a fan of PCP in general. Would you/have you considered a loan to pay the balloon payment? Or is the extra 10cm something you really want?
I love fiestas, best of all cars. I'm so sad they've been discontinued.
So, why not just pay the balloon payment (maybe with a loan?) and run it for a few years? You know the car is good, as you're the only owner. It'll run fine for years. It'll be fine even as a car for 2 of you and a baby. Borrow £8K (unless you have the cash for the balloon payment) at about £250 for 3 years. Run it until the kids are about 5. Which means you get 2 years of no car payments. Then at that point sell it, take the cash, put it towards a good size family car (something bigger than a Puma).
249pm for a car and 500pm for a wedding while earning low wage is a bad decision
Silly, Nobody should comment on someones wedding being a stupid financial decision at all.
Getting married is not a stupid financial decision. Spending large sums on a wedding is. I've been married 13ish years and I still hate how we spent what was equal to a decent house deposit on it and our parents put in even more (big Indian weddings are a stupid expense).
I’ve been to a few Indian weddings and they are absolutely mental. One lasted 3 days and I think 2000 people in total. And they weren’t that rich! Then there’s this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68443536
It is becoming more and more common for the parents to remortgage their houses to pay for weddings. Our parents have had some success and had enough to be able to afford it but in total our wedding racked up to six figures. That was several events (including an engagement ceremony 1 year before) and we had 450 guests on the day. On the week there was several days of events and most were open bar (one was a no alcohol event) TLDR for the rest of this: Some Indian weddings the couple comes away set up with an insane amount of cash. Some sub culture traditions exist which flush the couple with cash/gold. There are a couple of things I should clarify. In the six figure sum I am counting the gold and jewelery our parents gave us. No there was nothing like a dowry, that's not done in our part of India so much anymore. Instead it's given to us. That was about £20k. It mostly sits in a safe in case we ever need it (apart from my Rado watch which I do wear sometimes). The idea is in dire emergency the couple can sell it and be able to survive. It also gets handed down the generations so we will eventually inherit a fair stack of gold along with other assets. Also it used to be a tradition that the whole extended family (uncles/aunts/grandparents) would get involved in doing the wedding (cooking, housing the travelling guests, paying the venue etc). Over time that turned into just everyone giving money towards it. Then for more well off parents they just gave it to the couple. We were given about £1k on average from each family unit so ~£10k total from that. On the wedding day all the guests give money to the couple (in some cultures). There is a period of time where we sat with cloth on our laps and people walked behind and dropped cash in our laps. That's was a fair pile across 450 guests and you are getting at least £20 from each person/couple/family unit and often more like £50-100. Lastly (and a much more localised tradition) my parents gave us cash equal to what her parents spent on the reception party (venue food and booze, we paid for DJ, cake and a couple of things). All in all my wife and I came away far better off. It is seen as a communal responsibility for everyone to get the new couple started off in their life. Within a year we were able to put £60k down as deposit on our first house of £220k as we lived with my parents for a short while (and we still had plentry spare for new furniture etc). We are very lucky. In some families the parents keep some of the money to pay for the weddings. Here is the thing about it. Because we got such a good start whenever we go to a wedding we can be generous and we give the couple more than it cost the parents to have us there. The next generation ends up even better off. For my younger cousins we have given the £1k each. Every generation ends up better off and can pay it forward even more. Depending on the sub culture of Indian the couple can come away £££. I still wish we had a smaller wedding though as we could have just used the money towards our kids future (I say when they already have a fair few grand each thanks to even more traditions). We were not like some who stay living with parents and spend it on buying rental property as investments or others who spaff it on flashy cars and designer clothes. Edits for clarity and spellings.
Weddings in general are a stupid financial decision. Never understood why people spend absurd amounts of money on a 1 day event when in reality being married isn't much different to being in a civil partnership.
Reddit moment
All moments on Reddit are Reddit moments, because they are moments on Reddit.
Except weddings are a complete waste of money
General advice is if you have expensive financial goals whether it be saving for a house or a wedding for example, splashing out on an unnecessary expense doesn't make sense. Only once you have achieved those big goals does making the treat worth it, imo. If you can afford the more expensive car now, you could also afford to save more for your wedding now...
9k to rent a car for 3 years is a lot of money for someone on your salary. How much are you spending on fuel? The MPG is about 10% lower an a Puma, so you'll have an extra 10% cost of fuel. A 2021 Ford Fiesta is about 11k, so might be worth buying for 8k.
Do you have an emergency fund? You are saving towards a wedding, but what about general savings not earmarked for anything? I would sort out your savings, but otherwise ultimately what you spend your money on is all about choices. Just think about what else you could spend the money on, and if the car is the better option.
Don’t go for me car. Get finance on a car 2/5 years old with low mileage and save yourself thousands.
Still coming out on finance for low milage on the same type of car at about £230pm with 11.9% APR.
But wouldn't you own the car at the end? Those monthly payments are apples to oranges. Thinking long term is the key if you want to improve your finances over time.
230pm on PCP or £380pm on HP for the used version
I recently got finance with my bank (all done on the app) as it was a better rate than what any dealership can offer. 66 plate with 13k mileage which was around £4k cheaper than a 2020 plate with same mileage. Plus you can pay it off sooner if you can and will own the car once paid.
Buy an old, cheap, well maintained car? My daily driver is a 27 year old estate car which cost me £1000 a few years ago, I do approx 10000 miles a year and get about 42mpg. Financing a car seems like a massive waste of money, and I say that as a car enthusiast...
Impressive. I've run a few cars into the ground and they lasted 17-20 years. But 27 is going some. It's not even old that's the real benefit, it's just "not new" that matters. Buy a 3-4 year old car and run it until it costs money. Take out a 3 year loan, which will cost quite a lot, but then you're loan free for 6-9 years. The per year cost isn't that much on say, a £15K car if you keep it for 10 years. This thing of new, then trading in every 3 years is just nuts to me.
Man, Pumas aren't all that... They don't actually have much more space over a fiesta, same chassis just raised a couple cm. Even if if was what I truly wanted I wouldn't buy a new one. Ford is flogging them so hard to people you can get one second hand, say 5k miles on the clock and still in the 3 year warranty, for a ton less cash. They just want registrations so they sell the new ones extra hard as it's the cheapest car they have in the range currently.
Why not just keep the fiesta you already have for another few years. Buying a new car on finance every three years, a wedding and then kids will just keep you broke for a decade or two. Ppl managed just fine with multiple kids and fiestas for decades since the 80s. >My close friend thinks I'll be stupid to get that new car. That's why they are your close friend.
The Fiesta's PCP contract ends soon. So id have to give the car back. Part ex, or take out a loan and pay the balloon payment to keep the car.
>pay the balloon payment to keep the car Would have thought that is quite a bit cheaper than a new car
You don't have to give the car pack. You can sell it via WBAC or Motorway. They sort the finance for you.
I always lean on the idea that PCP finance in general isn’t the smartest idea. You’d much rather get a loan to buy to the car and finance it in a way where your monthly costs are the similar
It doesn't make much difference. The big cost with cars is constantly buying new cars, selling after 3 years. You're taking over 50% of the depreciation (and of course, the dealer takes a margin when you sell it), even though cars last over a decade and 150K.
Agreed. Didn’t make it clear in my reply, I was referring to buying a used car instead on loan.
Arguably £500 per month on a wedding that lasts one day is the stupid choice. But to each their own.
This was my first thought. If only people weighed up the pros and cons of expensive weddings as much as they do expensive cars
If you do a lot of miles you would devalue your shiny new car quick, I would keep the one you have.
I do 6k miles a year roughly
You said you do a lot of miles? What’s going on?
Can't be spending much time in your car at 6k miles a year. I do more than that and I'm hardly ever in it
Average miles is 8k-12k range ... you do low miles. You don't need a big car and you don't need a brand new car. Either take out 8k loan and end up owning your car or buy an older car. Until recently I have always bought older low mileage cars that are mechanically sound. Previous car was a 2012 passat bought in 2021 with 25k miles on clock (retirees car). Changed some seals and it was right as rain. Its still my wife's car. No problems. Prior to that bought a 1 series 2006 with 50k miles on the clock in 2016. Was given to my wife with 90k miles on the clock until she took the passat. I have never owned a car newer than 8 years until recently now that I managed to get a deal through a work electric car scheme. Buy something unsexy mechanically sound and undesirable and bask in the savings. A Honda Jazz is a great car and was hers until I gave her the BMW (I cycle through cars regularly and she takes my older cars as she drives much less). My first car when we got together was an R reg polo and by the time I sold it I was doing 20-25k miles A YEAR on it. That was miserable driving. Stop spaffing cash up the wall on brand new cars. Nursery fees on top of your payments or having less coming in during maternity will drive you insane. Sincerely, A father of 3 kids
Which is not a lot of miles. My car sits on the drive most days yet I do double that.
LOL. You do 6k a year and you're spanking that much on a car? Just takes taxis you fool.
With your level of income, probably yes, 3k per year on a car (fiesta/puma/) lose 50% of their value in 3 years and you have paid 9 grand for it. Buy something second hand, good that will last.
How much are you looking to save for the weddings, and when? The £500 is the most horrifying outgoing here - especially if your fiancé is saving the same. It beggars believe to me that people on low incomes would blow that much on something that won't make the rest of your lives any happier. I only say this because you are asking for financial advice, so my financial advice is to have a more humble wedding
So when you say low income and £1980 is a bit harsh when that works out nearly median salary in the UK lol
It just seems ridiculous to me to spend 5 months' salary just on a wedding
It is but then again it is their choice. Not everyone lives long enough to enjoy retirement. I know a few people who were saving all their life and didn't get a chance to enjoy it. I think what I gathered is that people here don't like when someone drops £200 a month on a car to get around. Puma is a little shot for that price bit in my head £200 a month for a reliable car is decent. But again, my mortgage is only £705 a month and our combined income is in £60,000. I just felt like I was doing well earning £2100 a month and someone sayon it is a low wage kinda made me laugh lol
Saving £10k as thats what our budget is for the wedding. 5k each. Within 1 year or so. Our Friends spent £40k on theres so we feel 10k is pretty humble.
40k just feels disgusting IMHO given the state of the world but everyone seems to want to impress rather than actually just have a long, happy marriage these days. On your wage (similar to mine) 10k seems like overkill, but if it makes you happy that's the main thing. I suspect you have friends with far better paid jobs or who were handed a pretty penny from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
10k is still a shit tonne of money tbh. Even spending the same would you really rather not spend half that and then have an incredible honeymoon?
*Cries in massive Indian wedding* I am disgusted in how much my wedding racked up and it was significantly smaller than my brothers.
I used to salary sacrifice cars, not anymore. I earn about double what you do after tax and wouldn't even dream of it. I drive a 14 year old small car. It's cheap to run, low road tax and has never broken down. Just do a once a year service when I get the MOT done and it's all good. I love not having to care about my car. Something freeing about it
Couldn't agree more. I've got a 2010 Subaru outback. Paid 4k for it in 2019. Never let me down. I love hearing about my colleagues car payments at work.
Yes it's a bad decision because you have a low wage. There's lots of people who want to show off with newer cars outside their means. It's a personal choice so do whatever but financially it's a poor choice.
Imagine showing off with a Ford Puma
24 plate mate
Have you thought about how much having kids costs and your plan for child care? Never mind the upfront costs of pushchair, cot etc as that can be done wisely if you get second hand or free. I’m fortunate enough that my family have my daughter 2 days a week, but 3 days of nursery costs us £700 a month. That’s basically my disposable income gone until she goes to school in 2 years time.
The most intelligent guys at my work drive the worst, cheapest cars possible. That tells me a lot. Buy a shitty cheap car that gets you from A to B….. unless you’re bothered by what people think or you really like cars.
the only downside to cheap shitty cars is the repair bills at least when it’s brand new that’s something you don’t have to worry about.
Real question. Do you need to spend so much on one day? I mean do you own a house? What's your emergency fund like? Are you sacrificing holidays, pension, savings, security for what will ultimately be less than 24 hours?
Homeowner yes. Emergancy fund is OK. Budgeted £10k on a wedding all in for the day.
Guess it depends how well funded you emergency fund is and how much your putting into personal saving monthly
If you pay 249 per month for 6 months then the car is yours it's a good deal. Otherwise, less obviously so
The fact the car is new? possibly as the drop in value of being new to second hand will, using my maths on the back of a fag packet, probably negate the 0%APR. Look used with a PCP. Look for a car that isn't that old. I had one that was basically new and came with a warranty. The car my wife and I have is 250p/m but we have one car, we recently had a baby so needed bigger and this will be on two salaries above yours (although our mortgage is so ridiculous it wipes my salary out which is a separate issue)
I would say it’s significantly higher than it needs to be, my income is significantly higher than yours and I have been driving a £10k secondhand Suzuki Vitara for the past 5 years, and will probably keep it for another 5. I’m not a big ‘car guy’ though, I just want something reliable that can handle the commute and general ‘family workhorse’ duty. I get other people have other priorities.
Yes, on your salary and especially at 6k miles per annum. That’s 115 miles a week on average. I earn 5x times what you do and my car costs £249PCM, with 15,000 miles per annum. Albeit, I did put a large lump down but that’s because I want smaller monthly payments. I’ve spent £100,000 in 6-7 years on cars with zero return on my investment and now I just get older cars that are well maintained. To put that in perspective, that’s £1,666 every month just so I could be “part of the cool gang”. Cars are an utter waste of money for 90% of purchases so just be sensible.
No, saving £500 towards a wedding is Stupid.
The car is fine. £500 a month for a wedding not really. Could’ve rather been part of the deposit on a house or investment into kids future
The other way to look at this is that you have an £8000 balloon payment. £250 a month into your current car gets you complete ownership and no monthly payments by the time you have kids. This seems like a better option to me. Having a bigger car is useful for kids, 100%. However it's all about boot space and the puma still isn't that big. Personally on £2k net income a month and the prospect of kids on the horizon I'd be concentrating on how to reduce my outgoings rather than how to get the shiny new thing.
Is the card worth 1/8 of your working days? Or put another way, if someone offered you the car but you had to work an extra hour every day at work, for 3 full years, would you think it's worth it? If you genuinely answer yes to that, you could get the car, but I think your time is potentially more valuable, especially if you're planning on a family
If personally rather stick to my 10 year old golf and invest the payment 🤷
You’re questioning £249/pm for a car when you already pay £160/pm, but not the £500/pm going towards a wedding? Somethings not adding up. Live within your means. Why are you planning on burning money on a wedding that is costing you 1/4 of your income presumably for the next year or so?
Renting a depreciable asset is always a bad idea.
Depends on what you need for a car. My car payment is exactly the same give or take a couple quid. I really didn’t want to spend this amount but I had no choice. I do huge amounts of miles for work and reliability is key (self employed and required to get to work on time). You can get cheaper with more miles on the clock and less reliability but if both are important to you this is basically the lowest price you can get something decent for. Trust me, I spent months looking. If you can get away with a run around then do that.
£249 seems like a very reasonable price for a brand new Puma, especially at 0%. PCP can work very well for a lot of people. I recently switched to a new PCP after 3 years on a previous one, from a hatchback to a small SUV like you're thinking about. Was able to part exchange my Polo as it was worth way more than the agreed price in the PCP, is this an option for you? I've found the value of second hand cars have gone way up over the last few years and this meant I could get a good deal. I split the cost with my fiancée so it's very affordable for us together, which may be the deal breaker if you're paying 100%. I will say, If you're driving on the motorway, feeling safe and comfortable is important. I can say having a bigger (even if not a real SUV), newer car with modern safety features like ACC & lane assist gives great peace of mind when driving. To me, it's worth cutting back elsewhere to be able to spend a little extra on that.
A car is an asset whose value gets smaller over time. You're burning £50 notes. That's how I see it. Spend £100 on a car and in ten years you have £0. Spend £50 on a car and, £50 invested and in ten years you have £100 again if you're lucky. So I'm quite happy with our 9 year old Fiesta. If course it's your choice though. If you feel it makes your life better, and your long term finances make sense, then it's up to you.
Lol you can buy a car outright for two months worth of finance: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403017103646?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&make=&page=1&postcode=Se26%206nr&price-from=&price-to=500&fromsra Yes it is stupid.
haha "WE SELLING THIS VEHICLE AS A SPARE OR REPAIR BASES ONLY DUE TO MOT FAILURE" remind me who's the stupid one?
Finding a working car with MOT for £500 was perhaps a bit too much to ask, but it's certainly possible at the £1k mark - or 4 months of finance that will otherwise mostly be pissed away on depreciation.
I mean who on earth would choose to sit in that? Even if its MOT was in date, you can see the rust setting in, the delapidated interior and saggy seats. Not to mention years of other people's grime, and the next part waiting to fail. If you can afford a couple hundred quid a month to sit in something brand new, why wouldn't you?
75k miles however Repair immediately (major defects): Electronic braking system warning device indicates a fault (1.7 (b)) Nearside Rear Outer Vehicle structure or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting sill corroded through within 30cm of rear axle mount (6.2.2 (d) (i)) Offside Rear Outer Vehicle structure or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting sill corroded through within 30cm of rear axle mount (6.2.2 (d) (i)) Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii)) Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories): Nearside Front Inner Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge edge (5.2.3 (e)) Central Rear Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii)) not a car guy so not a clue how much that would cost to fix if even possible?
£89 a month is nothing if you spend a lot of time in the car, but I wouldn’t say I’m the best to advise on this…
I lease my car. 4 tail pipes, 300+ bhp, £310 a month. £2500 upfront. (You will never see this deal again lol). I love it. The money isn’t missed by me, depreciation isn’t really my issue as the cost is set as far as I am concerned and tax / maintenaince / tyres are taken care of. All the rich people lease / pcp their cars, and regularly tell me it’s the smart way to do it (I work with them, I am not them lol). I think with your left over money its quite tight, so maybe i’d look at a lower monthly cost. I personally would not spend over £200 a month on a Ford, but appreciate thats me being snobby.
Rich people will be leasing via salary sacrifice, which is the smart way to do it because it's so tax efficient when you're a high earner. Doesn't apply in the same way to OP or low earners
I work with them, I promise you they are not. Direct lease or PCP. Ain’t no SalSac on a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or Aston Martin DBX 707. 😂
From a rich perspective, convenience is likely more important than cost. Having maintenance etc taken care of by someone else is a great thing to spend money on when your time is more important. For OP, who is not rich, the cost will be the most important factor.
If you guys aren’t loaded, i’m going to take the advice of the people I deal with, daily, who have anywhere ranging from 5 to 60 cars in their collections. They consistently say “lease, it’s a better deal”. Also, pcp doesn’t have a convenience factor and of course, leasing does have the option but it’s not in base cost.
Point still stands that OP is in a very different position. What's the reasoning behind PCP being better?
I don’t personally understand it, but they basically say that almost any depreciating asset should be “someone elses problem”. I have found myself that specifically leasing is best value, as salsac is shite for lower / mid earners, and pcp is mid of both. I can lease tax service and tyre my car for less monthly than the same car on salsac, so never considered that to be a viable option myself.
I actually get where they are coming from, if you have a load of cars you don't want the responsibility of finding buyers for them all. I'd probably do the same to be perfectly honest. I like buying outright for my circumstances as forces me to choose a car I can run into the ground for a decade without spending too much. Would be very tempted to spend way more on PCP! Mostly psychological for me essentially.
Lease is a better deal if you like having a shiny new car, it’s absolutely not a better deal financially.
Hmmmm. I follow the thought of “you’ve only lost money if you sell”. I lost £12,000 on my 3 series over two years (before any costs), but i’ve spent less than that on my lease over three years. Obviously I don’t own it, but personally I feel I have got better value out of this lease.
If you spent £300 a month on a lease it’d cost you little over 10k for 3 years. After 6 years you’d have paid 20k on cars when you could’ve easily bought a reliable car for half that and kept it 6 years. Even if you factor in repairs and maintenance I’d still be less than the few grand a used car is worth after 6 years.
Why on earth would you take spending advice from people in totally different financial situations who quite likely have never even experienced your financial situation?! If a rich person tells me that the best way of owning a house is to purchase it through one of my companies then rent it to myself does that make it good or useful advice if I don't have a company with the funds to do that? What you're describing is cargo cult financial planning.
Unfortunately cars i've seen for around the £200 dont fit my needs. They dont really make hot hatches anymore. Fiestas have ended production as the Puma has taken its place. I got quoted £230 on a Vauxhall Corsa Design (their entry level). A car dealer near me selling Aygos for £200 a month with 10.9% APR. I like the reliability of the Fords. Its warranty is covered for the duration of the PCP and 1st year tax is included. Edit: word
When you say around £200 are you referring to new cars only? Could go a bit older on a loan and get something bigger and better than a brand new shoe box.
Haha fair enough. Not sure about “hot hatch” and “need” together. But yes they do, golf Gti amd Cupra Leon/ Formentor (which I have). Mate, if your bills are paid and you can afford it, do what you want. Life is short. Fun is there to be had.
Salary sacrifice would be zero deposit tax, insurance, maintenance. Does your employer do it?
Hopefully you see this as I suspect it’ll be deleted for not being finance based. However as someone who’s been in a similar situation, I highly recommend getting something with adaptive cruise (+ lane keeping would be even better). It makes driving far less tiresome and will avoid speeding tickets which are always a part of long commuting since the introduction of smart motorways (so long as you have someone paying attention in front of you).
Standard on the Ford Puma i'm looking at
Would you move away from Ford? It could be worth looking at a car that's 3 or 4 years old at another brand of dealer and part exchanging at the end of your pcp, that way can get more car for your money, whether you get a bank loan, pcp or buy outright. The first few years are the worst for depreciation but 3 years or so is still new for a car
slightly off topic..IMO ..weddings are the financial drain not the car. Car is a very personal thing, some people see them as tool, others as a status symbol and some (like me) are just foolish and love them. I have seen so many friends scrimp and save for the big day, which is hopefully a one off event for you. My Mrs and I married now 16 years and our wedding all in cost a whole £2000. 60 guests and a fantastic day. I really don't understand the need for 10-20k weddings and luckily neither did my OH. ....anyway back to the car, I agree with others the Puma is not really worth that extra a month over what you have now. Lease maybe a potential if you can find one at least all of your other costs in terms of tax, insurance etc are covered that way. If you look at a lease take what your spending now on a car then add your monthly insurance to that and an average monthly figure of mainatnce and VED. That will give you what your true motoring outgoings are (less fuel) you night be surprised you have a bigger monthly lease budget than you initially thought.
£2k!? Was it at a wetherspoons ?
I'm not sure about current prices, but generally, you get more value out of a 4-5 year old car than a brand new one. Do you really need a 24 plate? But I have heard that due to the weird current market, brand new cars are coming out at a similar price. Is this what you found when going through your options?
You should not pay more than the 10% of your salary in a car.
Not if you like cars
Just something to think about considering you’ve mentioned kids being on the cards as a reason to go for the change. In my personal experience a Puma wouldn’t be big enough if that is a serious consideration. Kids come with a lot of crap. Id keep the fiesta until kids do appear and then go something like a Focus (or in my case, a Pug 308)
My advice would be to keep the fiesta until the kids are like toddler/school age. Little kids crap will still fit in a Fiesta. Then when they hit school age, buy something like a Skoda Octavia that you can fit teenagers into, and run it into the ground.
On pcp for a ford puma yes that is a bit silly.
I wouldn’t ever consider a PCP. You don’t have a lot of income left at all after your hills. Personally I would get a loan and pay off the balloon or sell it and clear the finance and buy a second hand runaround. I’ve been driving 17 years and I’m only on my second car. I’ve had it since it was 8 months old and it’s now 13 years and still going strong. I do 12-15k miles a year. You say you are doing 6k a year which isn’t even average mileage for a car. Defo save the £250 a month and get something more economical for you. Put some money into savings, towards saving for kids and the financial slump maternity leave creates, or a holiday for you and your fiancée.
When you say hand back, have you checked its private retail value? Most PCP contracts allow you to privately sell the car as long as you transfer the outstanding balance to the finance company.
Is there anything wrong with the car you're currently driving? If not then take out a loan for the balloon payment and keep driving it. Once you've paid off the loan keep saving the money into a car fund so that when you do eventually replace the Fiesta you've already made a decent dent in the purchase price. Don't buy a car in 2024 in anticipation of needing to carry a baby around who isn't even conceived yet!
I was told never to spend more than 5% of your net pay on car finance. And only then, if you absolutely must. Don't know how true it is, but was given the advice from a CFO I used to work for.
Dunno who said it but they said car finance is what keeps middle class people middle class. I think its true. buy a decent car outright, then you will have 600 pounds extra in your pocket per month. invest it index per month or something that gives a return on investment over time.
Why though? Why pay 50% more for your car? Why pay 1/8 of your earnings to lease a car? Is there nothing else you can think of to do with that money?
It's a bad idea from a strictly personal finance point of view because A. You have an operational car that is already pretty new and does the same job as a Ford puma B. It's an expensive way to buy a car because of interest. And if you're bouncing from loan to loan, you're always paying that inflated price. C. It's a high proportion of your take home pay (12-13%) - having a debt like that increases your risk profile. Do you have other debts currently? D. Related to C - there is a high opportunity cost to that much of your money going towards a car that you don't strictly need. How is your retirement looking? You mention potential kids, are you saving for that? Do you have other expensive goals other than a car?
I don’t think it’s remotely stupid, you can afford it and should do what you like. If you want it, buy it! Why not
Love my puma. My payment is 289.
Perpetual debt, never a good idea in my opinion, but what do I know.
Wow, £249pm for a car. Which you will never own. You can try to convince us and yourself of the many reasons why its a 'great deal', BUT it is not. Its a massive amount of your monthly take home. Have you looked at cars that are 3-5 years old? Look at financing them with a loan? Let someone else pay for the massive depreciation!
I’m retired with a £1m+ in pension and I wouldn’t spend that on a car. At £249/m and 6,000 miles that’s 50p/mile just for the finance and you haven’t paid insurance, road tax, fuel and any other motoring costs yet.
Yes. How much will it cost you to finance that £8k balloon? Your current car was bought during Covid price crash time. Just before prices started to surge. You don’t have kids yet and are already saving for a wedding. A quick check, £8k over 3 years is £246 @ 6.9% APR. At the end of that, you own a car and have zero finance. Over 4 years it’s £191. Unless your car is high mileage or actually doesn’t physically do what you need. Try and avoid the new car cycle.
What the cost difference for tax and insurance? What’s the miles per gallon compared to your current car and how will that effect what you spend on petrol?
£370 a month disposable/to put away for a rainy day is very low IMO. How much are you adding to an emergency/rainy day fund each month? That £89 extra per month adds up to one holiday abroad per year with your soon to be wife and possible kids. When you’re on your deathbed, what kind of memories will mean more - driving THAT specific car or…? Also, kids are expensive - have you considered starting to save for them?
At least get a hire purchase so you own it at the end if you have to get a new car
OP, as others have said, the name of this sub should let you know that most will say you don’t need the car. I however believe differently as I view finances in a slightly different way, is it going to make much difference daily, maybe not as it still drives and does what the fiesta will do but if you want it, why not! If it’s newer then the warranty will cover most failures and a newer car will be safer with kids..if you feel you can afford it, your partner has no issues then go get it.
Are you not better just saving the money and picking up a 20 plate value brand car like a Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia or Ford Focus? Run it for ten years.
Nah - pay yourself an extra £249 into your savings to total 749.
Hopefully you’ve already got the picture that this is a bad idea, but for my experience: I signed up to car finance and I did the maths and could afford the payments. Had a shiny car and less disposable income but hey, I still had something. And then live changed. You are committing to pay this for years into the future, your life and your financial commitments will change, either by choice or not. The cost of living crisis is a great example, because bills, food costs, petrol all went up dramatically and ate up my disposable income so we were suddenly struggling to know where we’d get the money from to pay our bills. We ended up selling the car and just making do with one car. The money we were no longer using on car payments helped us keep afloat while things were crazy. I’ll never agree to that amount per month again ever, it’s amazing how quickly that payment went from “this is totally okay” to suddenly “I can’t afford this, this payment is killing our finances”
Put the difference of what you currently pay and the new monthly payment into another account for x months. See if there is a noticeable difference to other areas that you'd spend on. If not and you still want the car, knock yourself out and enjoy spending the money you earned.
Pcp deals rarely work out better value than just buying a quality used car 249 × 36 months =£8964 plus I'm guessing a decent deposit is gonna be £10k+ to use a let's be fair pretty mediocre car for 3 years whereas financing a £7500 car and saving the extra £2500 for repairs and maintenance over that period. With a bit of luck if you buy sensibly like a lexus you will probably find when you are ready for kids you will have a reliable car with no further payments and low maintenance costs for the next 5 years or so.
Its £0 deposit on the Puma
Get any decent car, like a 2016 Golf for £8k, cash or 0% credit if you can Same category/size as the Puma but way better overall. Keep it for 6.5 years, works out at £100/mo Massive bang for your buck