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Anyone having trouble shifting small cars lately?


RustyNuts

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2 hours ago, C1am said:

True. Having just sold a car, the buyer didn't even look at receipts for all the work I'd done, but was more concerned with the minor dents and scrapes. The car that replaced it is a lot worse cosmetically. 

Maintaining a car is seen as a waste of money, had the conversation with someone a few days ago about the timing chain on their car, it’s down on power now, the EML is up and it’s a bastard to start. Fully expecting the call when the pistons have hit the valves. 

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4 minutes ago, sierraman said:

But years ago people weren’t seriously in the shit with the credit cards living in a house they fundamentally couldn’t afford, whose idea of a night out is chalking a line out at home off an Ikea coffee table.

My mindset of 'I'll only have it if I can actually afford it' seems quite old-fashioned now. 

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1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

My mindset of 'I'll only have it if I can actually afford it' seems quite old-fashioned now. 

But it's just another way of loading the costs in people's heads. And quite often 100-200 per month for a new warrantied car is easier to rationalise for a non car person to budget for. They're not like us where I'm happy to get under a car to replace an alternator etc. 

 

We've a salary sacrifice lease scheme in work. It's £195pm (no deposit) for a new Fiat 500. That includes your insurance, maintenance and the car. All you do is put fuel in and drive away. I can see why this is a desirable option for people. 

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2 minutes ago, Spurious said:

But it's just another way of loading the costs in people's heads. And quite often 100-200 per month for a new warrantied car is easier to rationalise for a non car person to budget for. They're not like us where I'm happy to get under a car to replace an alternator etc. 

 

We've a salary sacrifice lease scheme in work. It's £195pm (no deposit) for a new Fiat 500. That includes your insurance, maintenance and the car. All you do is put fuel in and drive away. I can see why this is a desirable option for people. 

I guess that could work for some people but it would be no good for anything longer than a few miles commute. 

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There's a Mk.4 Fiesta around the corner from me, 'W' reg, plenty of test and looks pretty decent. Been there two weeks so far at £475, seemingly no interest. I'd like it but can't until the Mercedes goes. 

Car market is all over the place right now, people are splurging on the desirable stuff but the everyday bargain bucket stuff just doesn't appear to be shifting. Has everyone really made that much out of lockdown that nobody needs to be downsizing for a bit and reining in the spending? I thought half the country were furloughed and had a wage cut, or lost their jobs completely. House prices are going stupid too.

 

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Interest rates are low, so no point saving as you get feck all. Hence many are buying nice cars and classic cars. Especially in the boomer generation and on. 

Those that can afford to buy a house are unlikely to be those that have been furloughed. In fact they will have saved a lot of money from not having to commute but also other stuff like buying lunch (£5 easily a day). 

£200 pcm for a car isn't really a lot for most, despite what some on here may think. There are plenty who also pay less than that for a 3yr old dealer used too. 

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I think there’s every point in saving, the sudden and unexpected lockdown and change to people’s circumstances has highlighted that. Far too many people have got all the nice car and the big house but nothing in the bank for if it turns to shit, people just aren’t financially resilient enough. One months pay gone and a lot are in financial difficulties. 

I don’t know what we are complaining about though, think of all the cheap chod you could be in for a few hundred sovs. 

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Car loans are the new sub prime mortgages in the USA. You can get an 84 month loan.. new car prices have gone crazy. You can easily pay 90k for a truck now. Mid size cars are 5o+. 

All I read about is the latest 800bhp hypercar, all I hear about are bloody 911's.. I can't afford my 18th X1/9 as anything "retro" is suddenly worth a fortune. 

We are down to 1 car for the first time in 20 years. My son was seriously looking at a Yaris hybrid on the never never, at age 22. He claims to be a car enthusiast, and works with cars for a living. He grew up around yank V8s, Saab Turbos, and all the "interesting" stuff we drool over now

Thankfully I talked him out of it and he's bought a lacquer peeled, pogweasel pink corolla T sport with 190bhp. 

Strange times.

 

I predict a massive crash, interest rates going crazy, and some people losing their shirt. Hang on to those shiters!

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, sierraman said:

Not if you lose your job it isn’t. Which let’s be frank at the moment for a lot of people is a real possibility. 

Agreed. A lot of people still furloughed on 80% of their wages. It ends in October - that's when things will get worse.

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11 minutes ago, Bren said:

Agreed. A lot of people still furloughed on 80% of their wages. It ends in October - that's when things will get worse.

At the moment we are on a ‘false floor’ if you like, the pubs are open, shops etc. A lot of businesses are bollocksed, they’re keeping going to use the furlough then it’ll be a case of winding up come end of summer. Then we’ll know about it. 

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2 hours ago, sierraman said:

I think there’s every point in saving, the sudden and unexpected lockdown and change to people’s circumstances has highlighted that. Far too many people have got all the nice car and the big house but nothing in the bank for if it turns to shit, people just aren’t financially resilient enough. One months pay gone and a lot are in financial difficulties. 

I don’t know what we are complaining about though, think of all the cheap chod you could be in for a few hundred sovs. 

If someone has tens of thousands in savings, with little to no mortgage left to pay and a decent pension, then is it worth carrying on saving as much per month or reduce what you save and treat yourself to a toy? Plenty of boomer middle classes in that position. Hence 60/70/80 classic car price increases. 

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27 minutes ago, SiC said:

If someone has tens of thousands in savings, with little to no mortgage left to pay and a decent pension, then is it worth carrying on saving as much per month or reduce what you save and treat yourself to a toy? Plenty of boomer middle classes in that position. Hence 60/70/80 classic car price increases. 

Some people are fortune to be in that position but for every one of those there are 2-3 people coming up to retirement saddled with debt or with a head in the sand mortgage still on interest only. 

I get what you are saying though, my dad still fannies about saving £200 a month of whatever into some crappy saver at 0.5% thinking he’s making millions. He’s nearly 70, lives on his own, he’s gone on for years saying he’d like a Jaguar, I’ve told him just to go and get one bought but he won’t have it. He was banging on about buying a old shape Corsa. You just can’t help some people. 

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2 hours ago, Barry Cade said:

Strange times.

I predict a massive crash, interest rates going crazy, and some people losing their shirt. Hang on to those shiters!

I don't know. Things are so daft right now that I wouldn't like to predict anything. What I do know is this; houses anywhere worth living are going up in value fast. People who have been used to the commute and have proven they can work from home are buying houses in nice places because they can sack off the commute and the requirement to live anywhere near the office. Cornwall, Devon, Shropshire and North Wales (all places I know well) are all seeing it. Trouble is, it's fucking the housing market up even further, putting even more pressure on first time and local buyers. Sunak's Gubbermint-backed 95% mortgages aren't helping either (and that's as close as I'm sailing towards the rocky shore of politics). 

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37 minutes ago, SiC said:

If someone has tens of thousands in savings, with little to no mortgage left to pay and a decent pension, then is it worth carrying on saving as much per month or reduce what you save and treat yourself to a toy? Plenty of boomer middle classes in that position. Hence 60/70/80 classic car price increases. 

I am drawing down [slowly!!...] my Pension Pot, as <if I live to be 75> it wouldn't buy a chinkkie meal for us both as an income....

So I spunked £250 (cash in/cash out) for SuziQ.....

You can PCP right off with your Fix It Again Tony 500, m8.  ;)

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Also this week, I've had two cold callers about the Sierra that lives (actually it's dead) on my drive but they are a different breed from the usual dealer boots, take it off yer ands for ya type. 

These seem genuinely interested, always wanted one types. 

One actually offered decent money. 😮

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Some people are fortune to be in that position but for every one of those there are 2-3 people coming up to retirement saddled with debt or with a head in the sand mortgage still on interest only. 
I get what you are saying though, my dad still fannies about saving £200 a month of whatever into some crappy saver at 0.5% thinking he’s making millions. He’s nearly 70, lives on his own, he’s gone on for years saying he’d like a Jaguar, I’ve told him just to go and get one bought but he won’t have it. He was banging on about buying a old shape Corsa. You just can’t help some people. 

It’s the fear of hard saved easy spent and he’s right in some respects but £10k buys a lot of XJ/XK these days and worst case he ends up with a lovely ornament.
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11 minutes ago, bangernomics said:


It’s the fear of hard saved easy spent and he’s right in some respects but £10k buys a lot of XJ/XK these days and worst case he ends up with a lovely ornament.

I think he whittles about if it goes wrong, he lives 250 miles away from me so he’s at the mercy of the woefully shit garages near him. When he lived nearby he was always up for buying old shit cars. Probably because he could rely on me cobbling whatever went wrong back together.

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7 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

My mindset of 'I'll only have it if I can actually afford it' seems quite old-fashioned now. 

I inherited that same mindset from my parents and it has served me well.

Someone on another forum suggested that I should do an Angel Dust PCP; my response of "and who'll touch someone who does 30,000 miles a year though?" was met with - I kid you not - "clock it". Criminality aside, being a member of the so-called "gig economy" - read, "mostly unemployed" - means I'd not want any more money leaving this household than is absolutely necessary. Knowing I'm saddled with a Rishi Loan is bad enough: hence my driving a nearly-eighteen year old BMW and forking out for a gearbox repair rather than spend the money that'll cost on what could be someone else's world of hurt.

My commute on the A1 makes me encounter at least two transporters full of 17-plate onwards motors every day. Where do they all go...?

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20 minutes ago, R1152 said:

I inherited that same mindset from my parents and it has served me well.

Someone on another forum suggested that I should do an Angel Dust PCP; my response of "and who'll touch someone who does 30,000 miles a year though?" was met with - I kid you not - "clock it". Criminality aside, being a member of the so-called "gig economy" - read, "mostly unemployed" - means I'd not want any more money leaving this household than is absolutely necessary. Hence my driving a nearly-eighteen year old BMW and forking out for a gearbox repair rather than spend the money that'll cost on what could be someone else's world of hurt.

My commute on the A1 makes me encounter at least two transporters full of 17-plate onwards motors every day. Where do they all go...?

A mate was in a meeting with another company. There were maybe 3 people from each company. 

The MD's PA came in to inform him that the bloke, touching up scratches and valeting his lease car prior to it going back, had nearly finished, but he just needed to know what he wanted the mileage to be corrected to. 

Then the MD brags to 5 other people that he took out a 3 year lease, at 10k a year, and it's actually now done 60k and he's not paying the excess mileage cost. 

When the meeting finished my mate informs his boss, that they need to find another company to deal with because the owner is a criminally intent fraudster.  

The thing is people who commit fraud like that, think that everyone does it and everyone is the same as them. 

If I were to commit fraud, which I won't, but if I did I wouldn't brag about it. 

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Just now, New POD said:

A mate was in a meeting with another company. There were maybe 3 people from each company. 

The MD's PA came in to inform him that the bloke, touching up scratches and valeting his lease car prior to it going back, had nearly finished, but he just needed to know what he wanted the mileage to be corrected to. 

Then the MD brags to 5 other people that he took out a 3 year lease, at 10k a year, and it's actually now done 30k and he's not paying the excess mileage cost. 

When the meeting finished my mate informs his boss, that they need to find another company to deal with because the owner is a criminally intent fraudster.  

The thing is people who commit fraud like that, think that everyone does it and everyone is the same as them. 

If I were to commit fraud, which I won't, but if I did I wouldn't brag about it. 

It's bloody astonishing, isn't it? Your mate did the right thing.

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34 minutes ago, R1152 said:

My commute on the A1 makes me encounter at least two transporters full of 17-plate onwards motors every day. Where do they all go...?

I would bet a good chunk of them dispersed out to less prosperous parts of the country, where buying something secondhand is much more the norm. 
 

Also other RHD markets. Eire, Cyprus, Malta? Assuming prices are competitive with JDM cast offs. 

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38 minutes ago, R1152 said:

I inherited that same mindset from my parents and it has served me well.

Someone on another forum suggested that I should do an Angel Dust PCP; my response of "and who'll touch someone who does 30,000 miles a year though?" was met with - I kid you not - "clock it". Criminality aside, being a member of the so-called "gig economy" - read, "mostly unemployed" - means I'd not want any more money leaving this household than is absolutely necessary. Knowing I'm saddled with a Rishi Loan is bad enough: hence my driving a nearly-eighteen year old BMW and forking out for a gearbox repair rather than spend the money that'll cost on what could be someone else's world of hurt.

My commute on the A1 makes me encounter at least two transporters full of 17-plate onwards motors every day. Where do they all go...?

To be fair, I think you're in the minority.  You're doing 600 miles per week (and that's every week for the math to work out) which is four times the average weekly national milage in the UK based on 2018 figures. 

I know Honda do 28k miles as their top PCP milage option which isn't far off.. 

 

and yes @mk2_craiga few used to head to Ireland when the exchange rate was good pre-brexit. Demand has dropped off a cliff now due to the Irish revenue adding VAT on top now. People were always a wee bit wary of UK cars as you salt the roads heavily compared to Ireland during the winter (they were white with salt in February round our parts of Manchester). It wasn't a hard and fast rule but the few I would see would be more corroded underneath than a Irish car. 

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22 minutes ago, Spurious said:

To be fair, I think you're in the minority.  You're doing 600 miles per week (and that's every week for the math to work out) which is four times the average weekly national milage in the UK based on 2018 figures. 

I know Honda do 28k miles as their top PCP milage option which isn't far off..

I'm amazed; I'll bet it's a frightening chunk of cash per month?

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5 minutes ago, R1152 said:

I'm amazed; I'll bet it's a frightening chunk of cash per month?

Even better. Toyota will quote 30k miles over 48 months for the new Corolla hybrid 2.0 (think they're near 200bhp with assist)

£330 per month (providing a 7k deposit, and given that most don't pay the balloon or hand the car back, that's probably about normal)

I'm sure you could go cheaper too... 

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I would bet a good chunk of them dispersed out to less prosperous parts of the country, where buying something secondhand is much more the norm. 
 
Also other RHD markets. Eire, Cyprus, Malta? Assuming prices are competitive with JDM cast offs. 

I’d say quite the opposite. People who have money don’t drip it away on fripperies such as borrowing cars.
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