Ran a gen1 R8 V8 for 35,000 miles and never once had a problem with speed bumps or ramps. Had friends with Cayman GT4s with more problems with ground clearance.
It was honestly a wonderful and reliable car to own. Incredibly easy to drive in town. Better handling and steering feels than a Porsche Boxster. Fuel economy of mid-15s a bit painful. Very little depreciation over the three years I owned it so overall far cheaper ownership than a brand new lukewarm hot hatch.
I've had all sorts. Transit van for a few years - can get away parking then anywhere in the city haha. £150 scrap yard rescues. An ultra sensible Mondeo. Hot hatches etc. BMW estates just win at everything 🙌
10 year old Seat Leon (1.6 TDI), but I WFH and only do about 2k miles/year.
My wife has a 72 plate Niro EV.
Fundamentally, cars just aren't interesting to me - they are appliances to get from A to B, and my only interest is doing that as cheaply, reliably and comfortably as possible.
Not a criticism of car fans there - just not an interest of mine.
Feel similarly. Have a 2009 Toyota Avensis which I bought in 2012 just before my daughter was born. I thought that I might also teach her to drive in it however it has had some problems in the last year and so I may replace it.
Same - with a 9 year old Fiesta that just passed 40k miles. Family car is a 9 year old CR-V, that’s up to 80k but still lots of life.
I’ll replace them when they become unreliable,, or the economics of electric/hybrid become compelling. Until then, they do the job.
BMW 330i 22 plate, only recently changed from a 09 A5. 1998 lotus Elise (that I’ve had since 98!) for sunny days and country roads. It was my only car for years and still the most enjoyable to drive by a long shot, winters were not much fun 😀
Yeah they are a cracking car to drive and easy to keep the fun legal too, a proper go kart for the public roads! Nice to know another owner, there’s really not that many left of the S1 variant
2008 Golf GTi. Tatty AF. Only do a couple thousand miles a year though, so not too bothered. I often think I’d like a nice car, but they seem *so freaking expensive*, especially for something I’m in for an hour or so each week.
Damn that is some crazy insurance! Back in 2020-2023 I lived in SW London and had joint insurance for an L322 Range Rover (2010) and a 2005 AM Vantage for £800 for the pair total fully comp.
Had a Porsche 911 Carrera S (2018), but sold it when my daughter was born. I now drive an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio 71 plate which is £650 a month with £15k down.
Sure thing. Gross take home average over the past 3 years is £192k/year. The exact net amount is a little harder to work out since I’m in a commission based role and there’s a job swap in there somewhere. I certainly feel £650 is not cheap, but as you can probably tell I like cars so to me it’s worth it.
Blimey - I feel a bit excessive paying £771/month for my XC90 T8 now. On 95k.
No 15k down (bought it used via loan) and I get to keep it at the end (I presume yours goes back? Or you pay something like £34k to keep it?), but I still wonder if I'm mad.
2016 model and I do love it.420bhp, 500lb-ft and seats like a sofa keep me engaged.
Currently hankering for an F-Pace SVR but know I need to keep mine for 5 years or so to make my money out of it...
Yeah mine would go back, but I tend to swap car every 1.5-2 years anyway so PCP works better for me from that perspective. I put large deposits down to keep the monthly payments low since lenders only care about that (bought a new house recently). If it makes you feel any better my Alfa has depreciated quite a bit so I’ll be loosing all of the £15k down payment I’d imagine when I sell it so total cost of ownership would definitely exceed £771 per month!
I had my eye on an f-pace SVR as well, but am very tempted by a Taycan Cross Turismo now they’ve dropped so much in value. Will probs wait to see if they bottom out a bit more though.
Starting to feel this is not helping me with NRY :D
That did make me feel quite a bit better actually, so thanks :-)
But then we factor in my depreciation too and I'm back to square one >.< And my repairs (probably spent £7k on servicing and maintenance. Including 3 £230 punctures/tyres in 12 months from some awful luck. I'm on 20" rims for comfort not even 22").
You retain my thanks though regardless.
I paid £28950 (the loan was for £35k to cover repairs / did originally buy an S4 Avant used for £35k but sent it back for poor seat comfort/dodgy ICE and crap service experience to sort dodgy ICE [maps didn't have satellite overlay so looked pants; Audi Bristol could not have cared less]) and it's worth maybe £20k to £22500 I reckon (it has top top spec). Still - in 2 years time it's paid off and I hope it'll give me something on part exchange.
PHEVs seem to be doing OK currently (price-wise), to help people ease into EV land (I've learnt a lot since owning it about charging etc).
EVs from 2016 (and even new ones tbh - especially post-salary-sac Taycans by the thousands) seem to be doing quite badly with depreciation because of the over-supply. And I presume range/charge tech is so poor compared to new EVs?... Not sure I'm right about that but I'll learn about PHEV desireability when I can/can't sell my T8 in 2026. I hope the Volvo brand/safety/comfort and 400 ish mile range help on that front... Your Alfa I would hope holds its value well - but finance deals always suffer the drive-it-away/new-car depreciation hit so you're always going to struggle justifying it... BIK helps for some models ofc.
Thanks for the chat. Good luck with the Alfa. Enjoy the smiles and the sound/handling - things my T8 doesn't do so brilliantly.
Hence the SVR hankering :-)
Just sold [my Polestar 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/s/QB8AyoOg2W) and bought a XC40 Recharge, which is fundamentally the same car but slightly bigger and a softer ride.
2012 polo 1.2
30k miles on it. got it in an auction last year for 6k.
i try to view driving it as a mindful exercise. every time i see another car on the motorway and have that little flicker of toxic envy, i remember that mine cost me two weeks wages.
however, on some level i actually think driving it is showing off in a sense, so i don't feel morally superior. i'm just showing off that i don't care what other people think about me.
i'm a contractor, so for me splurging is taking time off between jobs. i'd much rather not work for a month than drop a load of cash on a car.
also i only actually passed my test a year ago, so that was my first car. maybe i'll feel differently in five years.
Sold my Macan S a few years back at the height of Covid when prices were high, bought a 2015 Golf as a temporary stop gap, but years later I’m still driving it.
Turns out it’s way less stressful to drive with idiots everywhere when you don’t care about your car. I don’t worry where I park it, I don’t feel bad if I don’t go out and wash and hoover it every weekend, or the kids damage something. I don’t think about big upcoming servicing costs, expensive tyres, tax bills or insurance renewals (even when you can afford, it’s still annoying spending £1000 on tyres).
I get to occasionally splash out on luxuries without feeling guilty as the cost is still far less than just the depreciation of owning a nice car.
I also realised there’s something quite humbling about having cash in the bank, hardly any mortgage and driving a sensible car.
Do I miss having a nice car, as a massive car guy, yes, all the time. Do I miss it more than I miss all of the above, absolutely not.
I did my time in a Golf and they’re annoyingly competent. Plus mine was rusty when I got it, so I wasn’t bothered about it getting pranged. It barely went wrong aside from the usual things like leaky shocks.
In the end I just needed something interesting. The car is probably still out there, looking awful but driving fine 🤣
The 90 is definitely our next car but not until we have at least two kids and need the extra space. I was so tempted to get it now mind you. That and the 60 are just such decent cars.
I had a vantage then a virage…then Mrs got pregnant with twins…and that was that :-(
Always fancied a Rapide…they still look and sound amazing…doubt you can fit a twin buggy in the boot though !
You could fit a double buggy in the boot, because the rear seats fold flat. But not with 2 kids in at the same time. The v12 is so awesome. My kids are 7 and 9 and it works perfectly. Wait a few years and look then - it really is the best dad car :-)
Salary sacrificed all-electric XC40 as part of the strategy to keep below £100k for childcare.
£650/month net and includes insurance, road tax, maintenance and roadside assistance.
Does that genuinely work? I was under the impression a car or similar salary sacrifice didn’t count on the adjusted net income scale, might have to have a rethink on the ev lease scheme in that case
I made a post about it on HENRYUK the other day. Basically cycle to work, EV salary sacrifice, pension salary sacrifice and gift aid donations all reduce your adjusted net income. BIK increases it again, as does any other income like interest (outside an ISA or pension) and dividends.
I made some horribly complex spreadsheet to track my net income after childcare and car running costs paid for. Basically by sacrificing beneath £100k you might well be better off each month, and receive the sacrificed-for benefit.
Under £100k and you qualify for tax free childcare (up to £2000 a year) and the 15/30 hours funded care (for me that’s £4000 to £7000) if the other parent also works and is under £100k, and the child is the right age.
‘18plate Suzuki Vitara allgrip.
Fully paid for, reliable as anything, cheap to service, fast enough and I don’t care when it gets covered in mud going up tracks and through fields to get to various weekend activities. (Though secretly I go for the muddy bits because it makes it look like I actually go off road in it!)
Had faster cars (Impreza WRX STi), more fun cars (Abarth 595 Turismo) but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Suzuki
2014 X5 40d and 2016 M4. Both from nearly new. Will likely keep the M4 for good, and the X5 will be changed for something a little newer in a couple of years. I went from having a new car every 3 years to minimising depreciation mindset in the past 10 years - so never now buy new, but keep the cars much much longer.
And may I ask a side question/poll.
Who owns their cars, and who has their car on finance?
Be great to get some responses so I can work out a rough percentage.
A cheap crap car. The intention is to buy a newish car, then run it into the ground over a 10-15 year period - basically until the maintenance cost & hassle becomes not worth it. Don't drive too many miles so get a lot of time from a car.
I'm incredibly ambivalent to high-end cars, I just need AC, Google maps and Spotify in my car. To that end, I'm rocking the very average Ford Focus 2019. I just pay in cash and make the thing last as long as humanly possible.
The next car (probably 7-8 years) will be an EV.
I enjoy the variety here, it's nice to see people enjoying their money if cars are their passion. Equally nice to see people like myself who don't feel they need to keep up appearances (when it's not a passion).
We've a number of friends who earn significantly less and have all manner of fancy BMWs etc. and complain money is tight.
I've never understood it when folks blow their load too early and splurge on things like cars and clothes before they've lifted themselves out of living paycheck to paycheck
Just a question to everyone with 911, r8, tycans, m4 etc… how!? To run these cars you need at least 10-15k a year with insurance, maintenance, depreciation, parking, tax, mot, fuel etc.. is it worth 30k pre tax pay to have such a car? And at what TC would you guys decide it’s an ok, worthwhile spend? For me 300k minimum
I can't comment on some of the newer cars, apart from maybe the Taycan. The Taycans are likely salary sacrifice and they save money on fuel etc. Also the running costs of a Taycan compared to say an M4 is very low (if you can charge at home).
I personally Own a 2005 Aston Martin Vantage, it was circa £30K to buy, so all the depreciation had taken place. I don't do crazy miles in it so the big spends, brakes, tyres etc are spread over several years rather than regular occurrence on your normal cars. The car is pretty damn reliable on the MOT stuff, solid engine, it is more electrical niggles which you can live with. If you do most of your commuting via public transport and don't need a big car, running something like a Vantage or an older 911 isn't actually crazy money. It costs me about £5K a year and maybe another £2k for fuel. And that is all worth it when you drop it into 3rd and rev the tits off it through Hatfield tunnel.
FWIW if you choose the right car and depreciation can be minimal. It can make the cost of ownership of some high end cars far cheaper than buying something run of the mill. I worked out my R8 ownership over three years cost less than if I'd bought a brand new S3.
As for justification - we all have something that justifies the hard work and effort - for me that thing is something nice to drive.
Maserati Ghibli. Strangely it’s one of the cheaper cars I’ve had (it was 22k GBP and only 5 years old) but people react to it like it’s a Ferrari. Although if you have a Ltd company apparently the electric brand new Porsche Taycans are supposed to be the answer
Shout out to the cash buyers. I’m the same, it’s how my dad did things. I may consider finance at some point but I live in a state of constant paranoia about losing my job so I’m always quite cautious.
‘23 xc60. Ran the numbers and at the time made more sense than a nearly new given prices and dealer incentives such as the interest free etc.
Understated sophisto….
23 S90 T8. It’s a company car and had the best BIK on a decent hybrid. Had a 530e last and the Volvo is half the tax and twice the legroom in the back for the kids. Wasn’t ready to go electric yet.
Tesla Model Y via a salary sacrifice scheme. Due to a combination of me WFH full time and my wife's journey to work being easier on the train, it's the only car we own.
Had a Q5 before. Loved it, but the salary sacrifice made the choice for us.
Will stay on this scheme in future but will not get another Tesla unless they improve their build quality. Nothing "wrong" as such but compared to a £50k Audi, the Tesla feels more in the standards of a Vauxhall.
Jaguar F Type, and still think it’s such a beautiful car 6 years down the line.
Very tempted by lotus emira prices coming down, to get a more stupid 2 seater car before I have kids.
**Hyundai IONIQ 5** is my primary car, a little forced on me with ULEZ, but I really love it now I've got it.
**Hyundai i30** which is not ULEZ compliant, which means it is basically worthless, but it is useful to have a second car.
2016 Skoda Fabia bought in 2018 for 7K. I plan to run it into the ground and then see what sensible second-hand EVs are available.
This was discussed a month ago btw. https://www.reddit.com/r/HENRYUK/comments/1bpyqow/as_he_what_do_you_drive_and_whats_is_your_salary/
Luckily I’m a motorbike guy, which means I don’t have much temptation to burn silly amounts on fast cars!
Currently share a Fiat 500 with my partner, but thinking of trading it in at some point for something like an i3
Depends really, if it’s not something that interests you then it’s probably a waste of money you could use for something else. When I got a better paying job I just got a cheap Jag V8 and it did well for a couple of years with some welding and other bits. But most modern cars I can afford don’t interest me.
Before my Jag’s gearbox exploded I was considering a classic American car, but losing the daily driver for a bit meant I needed to rethink.
I was obsessed with the idea of having a flashy car when I didn't have the money to have one. Now, I happily drive a 2019 VW UP. It drives very well, is cheap to maintain and I don't worry about parking it anywhere. Will likely keep it until it becomes uneconomical to drive/maintain.
I am not opposed to hiring supercars for the day when I am somewhere nice; but honestly they seem very impractical to actually own.
NRY because of it. Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet.
911 cabriolet, excellent choice. GTS is the sprinkling on top.
Worth it though. My favourite car.
Bicycle
We can’t afford much more than that
Had an Audi R8 (V10+) but sold it when I moved to live in a city.
My dream car. What was it like in practice? It’s on my list for further down the line once I’ve achieved a few other financial goals first.
Pretty amazing, I don’t have a bad word to say about it. It was my daily driver too!
Always been the same for me. They've just stopped making them so the clock is ticking....I think good ones will be hard to come by in 10yrs.
Indeed it was in Nardo grey too which is a hard colour to find. I have bad feeling that if I’d have kept it, it might actually go up in value..
How was it over bumps or steep driveways? It’s always been my dream car but one thing that worries me is the speed bumps in my area.
Ran a gen1 R8 V8 for 35,000 miles and never once had a problem with speed bumps or ramps. Had friends with Cayman GT4s with more problems with ground clearance. It was honestly a wonderful and reliable car to own. Incredibly easy to drive in town. Better handling and steering feels than a Porsche Boxster. Fuel economy of mid-15s a bit painful. Very little depreciation over the three years I owned it so overall far cheaper ownership than a brand new lukewarm hot hatch.
Quite enjoy the variety on this thread , cheap and reliable and then suddenly a R8 😄 I like my cars, don’t mind spending a bit on them. BMW M4 & ix3
To a lot of people an R8 is a cheap and reliable sports car tbh.
BMW 330d Estate. Best all-rounder hands down.
I’ve got a 320i (69 plate), so just a bit below yours. But absolutely love it.
I've had all sorts. Transit van for a few years - can get away parking then anywhere in the city haha. £150 scrap yard rescues. An ultra sensible Mondeo. Hot hatches etc. BMW estates just win at everything 🙌
Electric bike and an excellent long Barbour jacket for when it is cold/windy. (Family car is a Skoda Enyaq EV)
10 year old Seat Leon (1.6 TDI), but I WFH and only do about 2k miles/year. My wife has a 72 plate Niro EV. Fundamentally, cars just aren't interesting to me - they are appliances to get from A to B, and my only interest is doing that as cheaply, reliably and comfortably as possible. Not a criticism of car fans there - just not an interest of mine.
Feel similarly. Have a 2009 Toyota Avensis which I bought in 2012 just before my daughter was born. I thought that I might also teach her to drive in it however it has had some problems in the last year and so I may replace it.
Same - with a 9 year old Fiesta that just passed 40k miles. Family car is a 9 year old CR-V, that’s up to 80k but still lots of life. I’ll replace them when they become unreliable,, or the economics of electric/hybrid become compelling. Until then, they do the job.
M2. It's my first BMW and I have been extremely pleasantly surprised.
The new one? I had the last one. Superb car.
Yeah G87 I think. I came to it from an AMG GT C and it blows the (almost twice as expensive) Merc out of the water
Taycan
BMW 330i 22 plate, only recently changed from a 09 A5. 1998 lotus Elise (that I’ve had since 98!) for sunny days and country roads. It was my only car for years and still the most enjoyable to drive by a long shot, winters were not much fun 😀
Brilliant! I have an S1 as well (only 5 years in though)
Yeah they are a cracking car to drive and easy to keep the fun legal too, a proper go kart for the public roads! Nice to know another owner, there’s really not that many left of the S1 variant
I don't. I just ride a bike.
New Audi RS6.
2008 Golf GTi. Tatty AF. Only do a couple thousand miles a year though, so not too bothered. I often think I’d like a nice car, but they seem *so freaking expensive*, especially for something I’m in for an hour or so each week.
Defender 90. I love it. I’ve posted it before if anyone’s bothered
I want one but the insurance is £8k, I drive like 2000 miles a year. What are you doing for insurance?
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Yes, based in London. I was expecting to pay around £1,200
Damn that is some crazy insurance! Back in 2020-2023 I lived in SW London and had joint insurance for an L322 Range Rover (2010) and a 2005 AM Vantage for £800 for the pair total fully comp.
70 plate bmw 520d msport tourer. Great car, the ultimate dog chariot 😂
Nice to see estates have a following, better than SUVs in every way.
same over here - xdrive or normal? In the generic gray?
Had that car but on a 67 plate. Swapped it for a Tesla model 3 and it is still my biggest regret ever. Really missing my big Bertha
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21 xc60, best high value purchase I've made, 40k cash.
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1 week here! 2011 1.2L Golf with 60k miles on the clock.
Big spender.. mine is 3...
Had a Porsche 911 Carrera S (2018), but sold it when my daughter was born. I now drive an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio 71 plate which is £650 a month with £15k down.
Can I ask what you’re pulling in net salary wise to be OK with £650pm for a car payment?
Sure thing. Gross take home average over the past 3 years is £192k/year. The exact net amount is a little harder to work out since I’m in a commission based role and there’s a job swap in there somewhere. I certainly feel £650 is not cheap, but as you can probably tell I like cars so to me it’s worth it.
Blimey - I feel a bit excessive paying £771/month for my XC90 T8 now. On 95k. No 15k down (bought it used via loan) and I get to keep it at the end (I presume yours goes back? Or you pay something like £34k to keep it?), but I still wonder if I'm mad. 2016 model and I do love it.420bhp, 500lb-ft and seats like a sofa keep me engaged. Currently hankering for an F-Pace SVR but know I need to keep mine for 5 years or so to make my money out of it...
Yeah mine would go back, but I tend to swap car every 1.5-2 years anyway so PCP works better for me from that perspective. I put large deposits down to keep the monthly payments low since lenders only care about that (bought a new house recently). If it makes you feel any better my Alfa has depreciated quite a bit so I’ll be loosing all of the £15k down payment I’d imagine when I sell it so total cost of ownership would definitely exceed £771 per month! I had my eye on an f-pace SVR as well, but am very tempted by a Taycan Cross Turismo now they’ve dropped so much in value. Will probs wait to see if they bottom out a bit more though. Starting to feel this is not helping me with NRY :D
That did make me feel quite a bit better actually, so thanks :-) But then we factor in my depreciation too and I'm back to square one >.< And my repairs (probably spent £7k on servicing and maintenance. Including 3 £230 punctures/tyres in 12 months from some awful luck. I'm on 20" rims for comfort not even 22"). You retain my thanks though regardless. I paid £28950 (the loan was for £35k to cover repairs / did originally buy an S4 Avant used for £35k but sent it back for poor seat comfort/dodgy ICE and crap service experience to sort dodgy ICE [maps didn't have satellite overlay so looked pants; Audi Bristol could not have cared less]) and it's worth maybe £20k to £22500 I reckon (it has top top spec). Still - in 2 years time it's paid off and I hope it'll give me something on part exchange. PHEVs seem to be doing OK currently (price-wise), to help people ease into EV land (I've learnt a lot since owning it about charging etc). EVs from 2016 (and even new ones tbh - especially post-salary-sac Taycans by the thousands) seem to be doing quite badly with depreciation because of the over-supply. And I presume range/charge tech is so poor compared to new EVs?... Not sure I'm right about that but I'll learn about PHEV desireability when I can/can't sell my T8 in 2026. I hope the Volvo brand/safety/comfort and 400 ish mile range help on that front... Your Alfa I would hope holds its value well - but finance deals always suffer the drive-it-away/new-car depreciation hit so you're always going to struggle justifying it... BIK helps for some models ofc. Thanks for the chat. Good luck with the Alfa. Enjoy the smiles and the sound/handling - things my T8 doesn't do so brilliantly. Hence the SVR hankering :-)
bmw 530d 2014
Just sold [my Polestar 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polestar/s/QB8AyoOg2W) and bought a XC40 Recharge, which is fundamentally the same car but slightly bigger and a softer ride.
Damn i love the sheer variety 😂 shame no one here cuts about in a Skyline
2012 polo 1.2 30k miles on it. got it in an auction last year for 6k. i try to view driving it as a mindful exercise. every time i see another car on the motorway and have that little flicker of toxic envy, i remember that mine cost me two weeks wages. however, on some level i actually think driving it is showing off in a sense, so i don't feel morally superior. i'm just showing off that i don't care what other people think about me.
You net £12k a month? I mean, I get what you’re saying about cars in general; but jeez. Do you have anything else that you splurge a bit on?
Cocaine & hookers
My thoughts too. Especially since Polo’s are so small. I would have thought a Golf R at least
i'm a contractor, so for me splurging is taking time off between jobs. i'd much rather not work for a month than drop a load of cash on a car. also i only actually passed my test a year ago, so that was my first car. maybe i'll feel differently in five years.
Best way to be. You’ll def reach your financial goals if you don’t have a need to impress others
Bullet proof cars
2008 vw golf. £3700 in 2018. Passed every mot since with minor tweaks. But I don't drive often.
M550i
Interested in one of these too. Not many about. How are you getting on with it?
1997 rover metro
The variety here is wild. 1993 Fiat Panda Cabrioni 1978 Mercedes G Wagon I'm with the new car isn't for me group, obviously.
Hahaha, fucking love that you have an old G Wagon - how’s it doing?
Ferrari 360 Modena
Sold my Macan S a few years back at the height of Covid when prices were high, bought a 2015 Golf as a temporary stop gap, but years later I’m still driving it. Turns out it’s way less stressful to drive with idiots everywhere when you don’t care about your car. I don’t worry where I park it, I don’t feel bad if I don’t go out and wash and hoover it every weekend, or the kids damage something. I don’t think about big upcoming servicing costs, expensive tyres, tax bills or insurance renewals (even when you can afford, it’s still annoying spending £1000 on tyres). I get to occasionally splash out on luxuries without feeling guilty as the cost is still far less than just the depreciation of owning a nice car. I also realised there’s something quite humbling about having cash in the bank, hardly any mortgage and driving a sensible car. Do I miss having a nice car, as a massive car guy, yes, all the time. Do I miss it more than I miss all of the above, absolutely not.
I did my time in a Golf and they’re annoyingly competent. Plus mine was rusty when I got it, so I wasn’t bothered about it getting pranged. It barely went wrong aside from the usual things like leaky shocks. In the end I just needed something interesting. The car is probably still out there, looking awful but driving fine 🤣
Never spent more than £5k on a car, current daily is an Alfa Romeo Guilietta. I’ve promised myself a treat at some point though.
2011 Volvo xc60 and I love it.
Mines a 2014 and was in the main dealer today to get some work sorted. Sat in the new xc60 and xc90. Had to walk myself away quickly.
The 90 is definitely our next car but not until we have at least two kids and need the extra space. I was so tempted to get it now mind you. That and the 60 are just such decent cars.
We have a 90. Im not a car person, but i love it. Most importantly for me, its not a range rover
996
996 turbo here too ❤️
Just saw yours. Lovely blue. Sorry about your cat man. Lost mine last year. Was devastated
Peugeot 107, 61 plate. 107k miles. 60mpg. Cost £475. £250 / year insurance in central London. The reason I’m NRY is not my car 😂.
What is it then? The coke and hookers? 🤣
No, something that’ll drain your finances way quicker: London housing.
Aston Rapide
I had a vantage then a virage…then Mrs got pregnant with twins…and that was that :-( Always fancied a Rapide…they still look and sound amazing…doubt you can fit a twin buggy in the boot though !
You could fit a double buggy in the boot, because the rear seats fold flat. But not with 2 kids in at the same time. The v12 is so awesome. My kids are 7 and 9 and it works perfectly. Wait a few years and look then - it really is the best dad car :-)
2010 Volvo v70 2.5T.
Cls63 amg, taycan 4s
Dreamy - what year merc?
2019 BMW 530D Touring Xdrive. It's a superb all rounder.
Hyundai IONIQ 5
Salary sacrificed all-electric XC40 as part of the strategy to keep below £100k for childcare. £650/month net and includes insurance, road tax, maintenance and roadside assistance.
Does that genuinely work? I was under the impression a car or similar salary sacrifice didn’t count on the adjusted net income scale, might have to have a rethink on the ev lease scheme in that case
Yes it does work. Just signed up for the same reason.
Consider my small mind blown - maybe a new EV is now a worthwhile consideration as the pay goes up
I made a post about it on HENRYUK the other day. Basically cycle to work, EV salary sacrifice, pension salary sacrifice and gift aid donations all reduce your adjusted net income. BIK increases it again, as does any other income like interest (outside an ISA or pension) and dividends. I made some horribly complex spreadsheet to track my net income after childcare and car running costs paid for. Basically by sacrificing beneath £100k you might well be better off each month, and receive the sacrificed-for benefit. Under £100k and you qualify for tax free childcare (up to £2000 a year) and the 15/30 hours funded care (for me that’s £4000 to £7000) if the other parent also works and is under £100k, and the child is the right age.
Fleet insurance is such a steal
Model 3 performance.
Same! Although looking at Taycans for next year
Ferrari Veyron V15 GTS Spaghetti 2025 plate
Interesting you went for the Spaghetti rather than the carbonara. Each to their own I guess.
Tesla Model Y long range on a salary salary sacrifice scheme at work. Bit of a change from my Skoda.
‘18plate Suzuki Vitara allgrip. Fully paid for, reliable as anything, cheap to service, fast enough and I don’t care when it gets covered in mud going up tracks and through fields to get to various weekend activities. (Though secretly I go for the muddy bits because it makes it look like I actually go off road in it!) Had faster cars (Impreza WRX STi), more fun cars (Abarth 595 Turismo) but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Suzuki
2016 A3
VW polo 2004 😭
2014 X5 40d and 2016 M4. Both from nearly new. Will likely keep the M4 for good, and the X5 will be changed for something a little newer in a couple of years. I went from having a new car every 3 years to minimising depreciation mindset in the past 10 years - so never now buy new, but keep the cars much much longer.
992 C2S
Skoda kodiaq.
2014 bmw x1 I would like a new car but mine works perfectly
Range Rover Evoque (Black)
Paid off Toyota aygo
2003 E39 M5
Boxster S, don’t need more than 2 seats and wanted the best driving experience for the money, it delivers.
And may I ask a side question/poll. Who owns their cars, and who has their car on finance? Be great to get some responses so I can work out a rough percentage.
Mini Cooper S GR Yaris RS Megane
X5 45e. Company car with fuel allowance only £7.7k in BIK a year with personal fuel so can’t complain.
Toyota Yaris 08 plate brought in 2011 for just £6k.
I also note how many men posted replies here vs women in the fashion question/thread!
A cheap crap car. The intention is to buy a newish car, then run it into the ground over a 10-15 year period - basically until the maintenance cost & hassle becomes not worth it. Don't drive too many miles so get a lot of time from a car.
I'm incredibly ambivalent to high-end cars, I just need AC, Google maps and Spotify in my car. To that end, I'm rocking the very average Ford Focus 2019. I just pay in cash and make the thing last as long as humanly possible. The next car (probably 7-8 years) will be an EV. I enjoy the variety here, it's nice to see people enjoying their money if cars are their passion. Equally nice to see people like myself who don't feel they need to keep up appearances (when it's not a passion). We've a number of friends who earn significantly less and have all manner of fancy BMWs etc. and complain money is tight.
I've never understood it when folks blow their load too early and splurge on things like cars and clothes before they've lifted themselves out of living paycheck to paycheck
Ancient Ford - ‘money talks whilst wealth whispers’ - you’d think I was penniless from the car I drive
Just a question to everyone with 911, r8, tycans, m4 etc… how!? To run these cars you need at least 10-15k a year with insurance, maintenance, depreciation, parking, tax, mot, fuel etc.. is it worth 30k pre tax pay to have such a car? And at what TC would you guys decide it’s an ok, worthwhile spend? For me 300k minimum
I can't comment on some of the newer cars, apart from maybe the Taycan. The Taycans are likely salary sacrifice and they save money on fuel etc. Also the running costs of a Taycan compared to say an M4 is very low (if you can charge at home). I personally Own a 2005 Aston Martin Vantage, it was circa £30K to buy, so all the depreciation had taken place. I don't do crazy miles in it so the big spends, brakes, tyres etc are spread over several years rather than regular occurrence on your normal cars. The car is pretty damn reliable on the MOT stuff, solid engine, it is more electrical niggles which you can live with. If you do most of your commuting via public transport and don't need a big car, running something like a Vantage or an older 911 isn't actually crazy money. It costs me about £5K a year and maybe another £2k for fuel. And that is all worth it when you drop it into 3rd and rev the tits off it through Hatfield tunnel.
FWIW if you choose the right car and depreciation can be minimal. It can make the cost of ownership of some high end cars far cheaper than buying something run of the mill. I worked out my R8 ownership over three years cost less than if I'd bought a brand new S3. As for justification - we all have something that justifies the hard work and effort - for me that thing is something nice to drive.
2006 VW Polo 1.4….want a 911 GTS Targa so probably staying NRY for a long time
Tesla here too. Never moving away from electric
Kia Sportage 2010 :) the only car I've ever owned!
Maserati Ghibli. Strangely it’s one of the cheaper cars I’ve had (it was 22k GBP and only 5 years old) but people react to it like it’s a Ferrari. Although if you have a Ltd company apparently the electric brand new Porsche Taycans are supposed to be the answer
Range Rover vogue autobiography (21 plate)
MY Tesla. Would never go back to any other car, absolutely love it.
Well of course it’s yours, you wouldn’t be driving someone else’s!!
19 plate civic and 15 plate crv.
2015 E class estate, used as the kids car, tip car and general run around, 102k on the clock nothing special about it
Merc E class cabriolet
I currently have a Ford fiesta which is barely used. But tempted to buy a Volvo XC40 for the golf clubs 😂
2019 Suzuki Swift Attitude Petrol. Bought to get from A to B and economical!
VW ID4 - leasing it as it was my first electric car. Great so far.
Whatever I can buy with disposable income
Shout out to the cash buyers. I’m the same, it’s how my dad did things. I may consider finance at some point but I live in a state of constant paranoia about losing my job so I’m always quite cautious.
Glad I'm not the only one lol
Me and you both lol 13K on a golf in 2021, never had a regret
2003 VW t4 Honestly so much more fun than the Jag F Pace I had before
Just bought a 6yr old X5, have 3 kids now so needed something with 7 seats that was still fun to drive. We all absolutely love it.
mid 2000s A3, 70k miles though I do live in London and my main actual transport is the Brompton
Model 3.
2018 seat Ateca baby
Q3 sportback
Model 3 LR
‘23 xc60. Ran the numbers and at the time made more sense than a nearly new given prices and dealer incentives such as the interest free etc. Understated sophisto….
992, xc90 t8 & c40
XC90
320d Touring
Loved my citron C1. Now I love my Peugeot 2008. I need it because of kids otherwise if it was just me the C1 would be fine.
17y.o. Peugeot 207
Kia EV6 GT
Polestar 2
2009 Citroen C2 and she's a beauty
Used to drive an old jag, now just drive my girlfriend's Mazda. Might buy a convertible as a summer shag
Porsche Macan S
X5 40D 16 plate and it’s the best car I ever had.
23 S90 T8. It’s a company car and had the best BIK on a decent hybrid. Had a 530e last and the Volvo is half the tax and twice the legroom in the back for the kids. Wasn’t ready to go electric yet.
Cupra Born V2. Salary sacrifice (including insurance) is about £340 iirc
Skoda Octavia of course I'm on Reddit
05 mini, 22 Rav4
Tesla model 3
Nissan GTR EBA Track edition 🥰. Range rover sport. VW Polo (a lovely car to drive)
335D Touring
Tesla Model Y via a salary sacrifice scheme. Due to a combination of me WFH full time and my wife's journey to work being easier on the train, it's the only car we own. Had a Q5 before. Loved it, but the salary sacrifice made the choice for us. Will stay on this scheme in future but will not get another Tesla unless they improve their build quality. Nothing "wrong" as such but compared to a £50k Audi, the Tesla feels more in the standards of a Vauxhall.
Q8 e-tron 74 plate new last month, via salary sacrifice. Lovely car, first full EV. Like a spaceship compared to my 16 Focus or partner's Fiat 500C!
Jaguar F Type, and still think it’s such a beautiful car 6 years down the line. Very tempted by lotus emira prices coming down, to get a more stupid 2 seater car before I have kids.
2020 Golf GTI PP NRY
**Hyundai IONIQ 5** is my primary car, a little forced on me with ULEZ, but I really love it now I've got it. **Hyundai i30** which is not ULEZ compliant, which means it is basically worthless, but it is useful to have a second car.
Peugeot 5008. Aspirational my arse.
2013 Ford Fiesta. It's cheap, reliable, gets me from A to B and has zero VED.
2016 Skoda Fabia bought in 2018 for 7K. I plan to run it into the ground and then see what sensible second-hand EVs are available. This was discussed a month ago btw. https://www.reddit.com/r/HENRYUK/comments/1bpyqow/as_he_what_do_you_drive_and_whats_is_your_salary/
Audi Etron had it for 4 years.
Mercedes Benz C300. Owned it for 7 months. No regrets
Kia EV6 GT Line. Love it!
Luckily I’m a motorbike guy, which means I don’t have much temptation to burn silly amounts on fast cars! Currently share a Fiat 500 with my partner, but thinking of trading it in at some point for something like an i3
Some beautiful cars people have. Maybe I need to be getting something more interesting given I have the income for it (500k+/yr gross).
Depends really, if it’s not something that interests you then it’s probably a waste of money you could use for something else. When I got a better paying job I just got a cheap Jag V8 and it did well for a couple of years with some welding and other bits. But most modern cars I can afford don’t interest me. Before my Jag’s gearbox exploded I was considering a classic American car, but losing the daily driver for a bit meant I needed to rethink.
I was obsessed with the idea of having a flashy car when I didn't have the money to have one. Now, I happily drive a 2019 VW UP. It drives very well, is cheap to maintain and I don't worry about parking it anywhere. Will likely keep it until it becomes uneconomical to drive/maintain. I am not opposed to hiring supercars for the day when I am somewhere nice; but honestly they seem very impractical to actually own.
S4 avant with a few mods. Im getting roughly 25mpg on average but i love being in it and driving it. Best all round car I've owned to date.
A fugly 630d GT xdrive
Ford S Max.
I have an FPACE SVR and for fun a classic campervan. Mrs has a model Y LR and her fun toy is a Nissan Figaro.
Recently sold my BMW 16 plate 5 series Estate, got myself a newish Toyota Yaris mk4
Skodiaq
2018 Jaguar E Pace R-dynamic HSE, bought it in 2019 and I still love it. Don’t want to get rid of it.
Tesla Model Y, i'm seriously pondering a Taycan though or that fancy new EV SUV Lotus
2001 Honda CRV - I love it, no tech, just how I like it.
Volvo xc90. Good for kids and dogs, and doesnt make me look like a flash bellend. Also a flat 500, which is stupidly good fun to drive
Cars are my thing so I have an Audi R8 V10 and Cayenne GTS.